Mid February is Blueberry bush pruning time. Blueberry bushes that have not been pruned on an annual basis (after 3 years of growth) may become overgrown and less fruitful . Proper pruning of blueberries is essential to maintain plant size, shape, and productivity . In the first three years only prune out dead, diseased and broken wood and any crossing or contorted branches. Every year after 3 years, prune  to maintain  an open center to allow sunlight to pass through and allow air movement.Pruning steps are:

1. Disinfect pruners in 1 tablespoon bleach to 1 quart water.
2. Visually observe the blueberry bush.
3. Imagine what the plant should look like when pruning is completed.
4. All diseased and broken canes should be removed first.
5. Canes that are seven years old or older should be considered for removal.
6. No more than two to three mature canes should be removed each year to avoid pruning out too many fruit buds.
7. Selective pruning will help to stimulate new cane growth each year.
8. Remove branches that are touching and any dead twigs.
9. The bush should be narrow at base, open in the center and  free of vegetative clutter.

After pruning fertilize with a 10-5-4 acid loving rhody/azalea fertilizer at the rate of one hand full (2/3 cup) spread over the soil in a ring at the drip line under each plant. Lightly rake into the soil without disturbing roots. No other fertilization for the rest of the year. Keep PH between 4.5 and 5.1.Note that buds are forming on my branches...spring is coming!

My dinner guests enjoyed Chicken Chow Mein last night. This recipe is in my cookbook Dad's Home Cooking: Traditional Recipes for Preparing Healthy Family Meals available at Amazon. I did vary the recipe somewhat because 2 ingredients were not available in the 2 grocery stores I checked, so I had to substitute a different type of noodle and I left the bean sprouts out. Bean sprouts may be a thing of the past in grocery stores because of the contamination and food born illness and death concerns. I guess I will need to start sprouting my own mung beans!

My cookbook is finally published! You can find it on Amazon.com. Search “all” then select “books” and enter:

Dad's Home Cooking: Traditional Recipes for Preparing Healthy Family Meals 

Check it out and FB me! http://www.facebook.com/pages/R-W-Owen/428096413900850

Today I picked some Brussels Sprouts from my winter garden for lunch. They survived the 25 degree F temperatures we had this month without any protection. The plant starts were set out in the garden on August 9, 2012. The sprouts will be steamed and served with butter, salt and pepper.

Last evening was Mexican food for dinner guests. I made three dishes: Enchiladas Rojas, Refried Beans and Spanish Rice. They were served buffet style with shredded lettuce. I had lots of leftovers that can be frozen and used at a later date.

These recipes are from my soon to be published cookbook Dad's Home Cooking, Traditional Recipes for Preparing Healthy Family Meals.

Its time to order seeds for this year's garden! I typically plant about 60 different garden vegetables that includes generally 12 varieties of sweet and hot peppers and 7 varieties of tomatoes. The first step is to inventory all the seeds that I have on hand from previous seasons and determine which ones are in sufficient quantities for this year's planting. I toss the few that are past the "use by" date. I try to buy in quantities that can be used by the "use by" date. Some seeds are good for only 1 year but most are good for 2 to 4 years. I then list all of the seed and mark any that I need to buy. I buy primarily from 2 different catalog seed houses, plus potato seed and onion plants from 2 more suppliers. Most of the seed I buy has been field tested to suit my marine climate. This is very important to plant varieties that will grow in your area. As an example I only grow "Maestro" shelling peas as they are resistant to enation and powdery mildew. Planting any other variety in my area will result in total crop failure. Since my area has moderate summer temperatures, I limit plantings to varieties that will mature in the shortest time possible. The seed catalogs provide the maturity dates so if I see a variety that has a 100 day maturity I don't buy it, but instead try to find something under 80 days or less. I always check the seed catalogs for new varieties that I may be interested in trying.

This year I needed to buy only 12 seed packets and I  have ordered 2 varieties of seed potatoes and 4 varieties of storage onions. Since the potatoes and onions are both "live", I gave both suppliers a "ship date" so the ordered items arrive at or near the time of planting. When to ship is important especially with onions as your planting latitude and time of planting is very important to growing successful crops.

Need something tasty on a cool winter day? One of my favorites is Caldillo (Mexican Stew) served with pinto beans and warm buttered flour tortillas. The stew and beans take awhile to cook so start 3 to 4 hours before serving.  Leftovers can be frozen for use later when a quick meal is needed. Both of these recipes are in my soon to be published cookbook Dad's Home Cooking, Traditional Recipes for Preparing Healthy Family Meals.