On 6/25/2009 6:05 PM, Dan L. wrote:
In article ,
"Paul M. Cook" wrote:

"Paul M. Cook" wrote in message
...
My basil is growing like wildfre. Easy question, do you harvest just the
leaves or do you ct the stems?

A lot happens in a day. Today I discover many little white glowers all over
the tops of the stalks. Mom says to shave the plants down to 1/2 the
height. So it looks like pesto tonight - with flowers. This should be
interesting.

So I guess just hacking the tops off makes them grow bushier? It's really
amazing the schools of thought I am finding on this. Some people for
example say you only take the leaves and others just say whack away at them
they only grow more.

Gardening is such an inexact science it seems.

Paul

Hmmm ...

Agriculture is the "Science" or practice of farming, including
cultivation of the soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of
animals to provide food, wool, and other products.

Horticulture is the "Art" or practice of garden cultivation and
management.

In my book, Gardening is mostly Art, some Science and dabble of Magic.

Same with Cooking... Dan


In "Horticultural Science" (W. H. Freeman and Co., 1963), Jules Janick
(then a professor of horticulture at Purdue University) described
"agriculture" as referring broadly to the technology of raising plants
and animals. He then divided agriculture into "agronomy", which deals
with field crops, and "horticulture, which deals with garden crops.

However, Janick's "garden crops" are not only what we grow in our own
home gardens. He stated that they "include fruits and vegetables, all
the plants grown for ornamental purposes, as well as spices and
medicinals." He included commercial orchards, vineyards, and "truck
gardens" as within the scope of horticulture.

According to Janick, agronomy generally involves extensive land land
(large tracts with low input per acre) use while horticultural crops
involve intensive land use (smaller tracts with high input). Agronomy
thus deals with such field crops as grain, lumber, cotton, and tobacco;
these are crops that are often consumed or processed when dry or even
dead. Horticulture deals with such garden crops as vegetables and
fruits, including those commercially grown; these are crops that are
often consumed or processed when fresh and alive. (Sun-dried tomatoes
and raisins result from processing fresh crops.) Corn for animal feed,
oil, and corn meal is an agronomy crop; sweet corn eaten fresh is a
horticulture crop.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary