Luka and a Tomato Update

The tomato plants have slowed down their production, but there are new flowers and tiny fruit that are growing. It's just slower than it was. I suppose that has to do with the fall weather. I'm enjoying what I can before they die on me.

Below: My latest tomato harvest

I also harvested some oregano from the garden. I didn't use the tomatoes for spaghetti, but I did use fresh oregano instead of dried. I may need to dry some herbs for summer.

Anyone have any good ideas on how to dry herbs? (Natural (or old-fashioned) ways without buying any extra machines).

Now onto Luka...


I believe that I have the strangest cat ever. I love my little Luka, and she is a tad feisty. I believe she’s between 5-6 months old and growing strong… into a beautiful black cat. I wanted to dress her up in a pet outfit for Halloween, but Cam said, “she’s already in her costume.” SADNESS! LoL.

As she’s gotten older, she’s sleeping a bit more… but not as much as an adult cat. She still wrecks havoc in the house. Let me list her “bad” deeds this week (so far):

(1) Knocked over two potted plants—dirt splattered everywhere
(2) Killed one of those plants
(3) Knocked over my favorite rose vase and broke it. The vase smashed into millions of pieces on the ground
(4) Sunk her teeth into me… A LOT! Biting seems to be an every day thing.

Here’s how I’ve tried to punish her… unsuccessfully, I might add.

(1) Time out in the bathroom for 30 minutes
(2) A loud “NO” with a clap of my hand
(3) Moved her to the hallway and closed the door for 1 hour (withholding attention)

Yup, she doesn’t care what I do. Oh well. I still love her. She does have many lovable qualities:

(1) She has never scratched the furniture or couch with her claws. She is loyal to her scratching post
(2) She cuddles with me at night
(3) She wakes me up at the right time every morning, purring. She gets lots of rubs and kisses, and she likes to lick my face and give me a "bath" in the morning.
(4) She loves every single toy that I've ever given her.. Has never disliked one single toy.
(5) Loves every type of cat food that we've tried.

And tada... Her strangest habit... When she's on the bed, she likes to sleep on her back with her paws in the air... Isn't that funny? I've never seen any other cat do this...

Below: This picture was taken right when she woke up. She was already moving her upper body a bit...

She does have a cute little white belly. But anyway, I thought I'd share. I love my little kitten, despite how bad she can be.

My parents say that she's only fiesty and hyper when I am home. When I am away for the day, she is very quiet and is very docile.

Hmm, I guess she just misses her mommy.

Tomato Problem, Blooms, and Redness

Let me start with some bad news. One of my large tomato varieties has fruited, and one of the tomatoes is completely fine. It's growing perfectly, and its skin is smooth as a baby's bottom. But it's sibling tomato (which grows on a higher vine) has a few spots on it.

Below: The trouble tomato. Can anyone identify what the problem is?

Is it a bug problem? Or a disease? I recently sprayed all of my plants with organic insecticidal soap (made from natural ingredients), so far, I have not seen any aphids or bugs on my plants. Perhaps, I should spray again to ensure that the bug problem is controlled. The damage is minimal, so I'm sure the tomato will be perfectly edible when it's ripe.

Below: The Oregano

In the front vegetable bed, the oregano grew and I never got a chance to pick any of it for spaghetti or other Italian dishes. I would love to dry the leaves, but I've been so busy, I haven't had the time. But alas, it has flowered and a few sprigs have started to die.

In better news, the red bell pepper plant in the front has started to turn red! At first, the color was rust-like, and I thought the plant had been infected with something. But as the plant has matured, the red color has darkened. Isn't she a beaut?

Strawberries, Oregano, and Fruit Trees

My two strawberry plants are doing well. Unfortunately, there are no new strawberries yet. I ate the first and only two strawberries from one of the plants. But as of today, no new growth. They are the ever-bearing variety, so I'm hoping they will fruit later this summer.

Below: The potted strawberry plant.

The potted plant is pretty healthy, and it continues to grow new leaves every day. You can see its new growth at the bottom of its stem. Very green and incredibly promising.

Below: The strawberry plant in the SFG box # 2.

The planted strawberry plant has nice foliage, and the leaves are very green. Even if it doesn't fruit again, it is pretty to look at. I love the leaves--similar to three-leaf clovers.

I'm in need of education from you expert gardeners. I'm not sure how strawberries even form. Do they come from flowers? Or does the fruit just grow off one of the leaves? I'm so clueless. I need to do some research on this.

Above: Oregano from the front vegetable bed. (2 angles of the same plant).

I planted two oregano plants. One is in the front (the photo above), and the other is planted in one of the SFG boxes. The front oregano is flourishing and one sprig is growing very tall. I think I may need to harvest some soon and try my hand at drying. I’d love to make home-made dried oregano for my Italian dishes. Italian food is my absolute fav. (Kinda strange, huh? Since I'm Vietnamese).

I've heard that oregano spreads very quickly, but Cam and I wanted to grow an herb that would come back yearly. At least with oregano, it'll come back for several years and we don't need to replant any.

Below: The nectarine (right) and cherry (left) trees

I absolutely love fruit. I don’t like candies or chocolates that much, but I’ve always had a sweet tooth for fruit. My parents grow delicious apples and pears in their garden, so Cam and I decided to plant a few fruit trees at his home.

In the late April, we planted three trees: (1) cherry (2) nectarine (3) red delicious apple.

Below: The red delicious apple tree
The apple tree (above) had bloomed in early May, and I was expecting to have a small harvest of apples this year. But alas, it was not meant to be. After the flowers "died," we had one small baby apple, and I was so excited. But a bird flew down and carried it away. So sadly, no apples this year. Hopefully, next year.

The cherry tree is still very young, and we didn't have any hope for cherries this year. So hopefully in the next few years, instead of buying cherries from the grocery, I can just go to Cam's house and pick some the tree.

The only tree that we've had any success with is the nectarine tree. I really enjoy eating nectarines, so we bought a tree that already had fruit. We figured we couldn't go wrong!

Below: The nectarine tree