Hi Toni, I don't see why that wouldn't work for a tree of any age. Energy used to set flowers and fruit is redirected to vegetative growth. Somebody, please correct me if I am wrong. Pecanman, would Allan Vaughn, LSU extension agent, Plaquemine parish know if the 3 year mark is some sort of growth milestone? Maybe after 4 years the growth is negligable... Have a tree that you'd like to see get bigger, I suspect? Do you graft any of your trees Toni? Makibear - Everyone has a pathetic plant they have to save. Yours is the Monrovia Meyer Lemon. Mine is a tiny Rangpur Lime. So Sad. Saw him behind all of the nice healthy citrus at Orchard supply looking like a no date, pimple faced kid hugging the wall at the prom. Had to buy it. Citrusboy

This is my first time growing the tall dahlias. I started the tubers indoors, and they are getting quite big now. My question is regarding pinching them back. As I understand it, you pinch out all side shoots and disbud side buds in order to get larger flowers. This would give you larger flowers but less of them, right? I'd prefer more flowers even if they were a little smaller, so I am wondering, should I let them grow naturally without pinching? Or, are they pinched in the same way as other annuals, to give you more bloom? I've grown the shorter, bedding dahlias but these seemed to take care of themselves, and I am not sure about the tall ones.

There's always a huge debate as to whether or not buds and blossoms should be taken off before planting outside. Some remove most of them and leave just a few to get some tomatoes earlier. If I want earlier fruits I plant earlier varieties. But once a plant goes into the reproductive cycle of blossom formation and fruit set the energy of the plant is directed more to that process than maturation of the plant itself. And for that reason I take off all buds and blossoms as they appear and before planting out. Orange Minsk is a variety I got quite a few years ago from Andrey in Belarus from whom I get some wonderful varieties every year. He got this variety at a farmer's market in Minsk, where he lives, and so named it Orange Minsk. The full history can be found at Tania's wonderful online tomato base. I wasn't the only one he shared seeds for this variety with but I was the first to list it in the SSE YEarbook thus making it more available and I did send seeds of it to several seed sites for trial, as I do every year to those sites where I've known the owners for many years, thus making it even more available to the public at large. So enjoy it. Carolyn

No need to remove the oregano flowers - but if you're harvesting your oregano, take the flowers along with the leaves - they are edible. As for Garlic: yes, you can use bought garlic bulbs to propagate it, as long as they haven't been treated with a growth retardant. Here's how it's done. Divide the bulbs and plant separate cloves directly in the ground in early autumn to mid-spring. Autumn plantings usually yield larger cloves. Plant about 2cm deep (deeper if winters are severe), pointed end up, and about 15cm apart. Elephant Garlic should be planted about 7-8cm deep and 30cm apart. Forcing the cloves into the soil will delay root development, so be gentle. Choose the largest cloves for the largest bulbs later. Small cloves grow into unsegmented "rounds"; these can be replanted to grow into larger bulbs with the usual count of 7-10 cloves. In warmer climates, refrigerate the bulbs for several months before planting for best results. Garlic is a heavy feeder and, to grow big bulbs, you need highly fertile soil, well supplied with all major nutrients. Full sun is best. Because high humus content and good drainage are also very important, adding compost is advisable. Garlic prefers a pH 6.0-7.0. Plant in full sun, in good light, moist but well-drained soil. Consistent soil moisture is necessary during the bulbing period, but when nearing maturity, somewhat dry soil is best. Bulbs may rot in heavy, wet soils. Keep the area around the plants clear of weeds, but be careful not to damage the shallow roots. Traditionally garlic cloves are planted on the shortest day of the year and harvested on the longest. The following summer, stop watering when the leaves turn yellow and break tops over at the base to speed up drying. After 2 to 3 weeks, when broken tops are brown and dry, carefully lift the bulbs and sun-dry them for a few days. Remove flower stalks as they appear. Garlic will tolerate frosts to Â12C for short periods. Do not grow garlic where other members of the onion family have been grown in the past 3 years.