Summer just doesn't want to come.....more weeks of near freezing ahead.
Meanwhile any window area on the south side of our house is basically a jungle...
Meanwhile any window area on the south side of our house is basically a jungle...
Gardening: My Tomatoe and Pepper Progress
- Thread starter estricklin
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I live in the rain state this year south Missouri, today was the first day I could even till so I took advantage of it, got the tomatoes planted also lettuce then the tiller went clunk, busted a ring, started out to be a good day, I guess its beer time
edit: trying Pierces Pride this year so all Heirloom Seeds 4 Brandy wines and 7 Pierces Pride
edit: trying Pierces Pride this year so all Heirloom Seeds 4 Brandy wines and 7 Pierces Pride
Drip irrigation is ready and planting the rest of my peppers this week. Maters, a few peppers and all my herbs are already planted.
12 port drip system.
Coco coir, pine bark and compost mix for the grow bags
Ground plot (organic) is ready too. Worm castings and Alaska fish/kelp ferts. Wally bags are great at only 50cents each.
Peppers im growing
2- Scotch Bonnet Yellow MOA ..from Chileplants
1- 7 Pot Yellow... from Chileplants
2- Early Jalapeno...from Chileplants
1- Mucho Nacho Jalapeno....Bonnie plant from Lowes
2- Lemon Drop from Chileplants and at least 17 seedlings from last years plants.
2-Aji Cito...from Chileplants
1-Thai Giant Orange..from Chileplants
2- Beni Highlands...from Chileplants
2- Gochugaru...from Chileplants
2-New Mex 64...from Chileplants
2- Super Chili Hybrid....from Chileplants
1- Tabasco....Bonnie plant from Lowes
1-Cajun Belle..Bonnie plant from Lowes
10- Lumbre....seeds from Midwestchilehead.....100% germination rate BTW
12 port drip system.
Coco coir, pine bark and compost mix for the grow bags
Ground plot (organic) is ready too. Worm castings and Alaska fish/kelp ferts. Wally bags are great at only 50cents each.
Peppers im growing
2- Scotch Bonnet Yellow MOA ..from Chileplants
1- 7 Pot Yellow... from Chileplants
2- Early Jalapeno...from Chileplants
1- Mucho Nacho Jalapeno....Bonnie plant from Lowes
2- Lemon Drop from Chileplants and at least 17 seedlings from last years plants.
2-Aji Cito...from Chileplants
1-Thai Giant Orange..from Chileplants
2- Beni Highlands...from Chileplants
2- Gochugaru...from Chileplants
2-New Mex 64...from Chileplants
2- Super Chili Hybrid....from Chileplants
1- Tabasco....Bonnie plant from Lowes
1-Cajun Belle..Bonnie plant from Lowes
10- Lumbre....seeds from Midwestchilehead.....100% germination rate BTW
Some of my peppers are in 4" pots and some are in 5 oz Dixie cups and some are in 4 packs. The ones in 4" pots have flower buds already (I planted the seeds in mid-March) I need to move the smaller ones into bigger pots.
My tomatoes are still small, but have just started growing rapidly. I've put most of the 4" peppers and one 4" tomato outside to make room for the other small ones under the lights. And I ordered another fluorescent light fixture from Amazon (different brand this time, I hope it works as well as the first one.) It should get here Thursday.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HEYCRI8/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
My tomatoes are still small, but have just started growing rapidly. I've put most of the 4" peppers and one 4" tomato outside to make room for the other small ones under the lights. And I ordered another fluorescent light fixture from Amazon (different brand this time, I hope it works as well as the first one.) It should get here Thursday.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HEYCRI8/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
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estricklin
Well-Known Member
Glad to see everyone's gardening is going well. I have expanded my garden quite a bit, and bought a small tiller/cultivator to help with the extra work. I have been cultivating by hand with a pic axe and hoe. My peppers and tomatoes are just now starting to take off.
BowAholic
Well-Known Member
mine is getting off to a good start as well... too much rain the last couple of weeks ... the hops tower seems to be working so far too.
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estricklin
Well-Known Member
Something tells me you didn't use a tiller.
Yeah I'm gonna try and plant those hops tomorrow, gotta go to the dentist though because I had a filling fall out...sigh.
applescrap
Be the ball!
Awesome, cant wait to see where this leads.
applescrap
Be the ball!
Damn, I need to move to Arkansas. You guys are living the dream. Awesome plot.
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estricklin
Well-Known Member
Hey is that short piece of fencing where your going to grow your cucumbers? I think I may swing by the co op and get some more T posts and I have some short pieces of chain link what do you think? The wifest doesn't like chasing off copperhead while picking them!
BowAholic
Well-Known Member
yes, those are actually 16' livestock panels...
I have green beans, butter beans, cucumbers, baby watermelons, and cantaloupes growing on them. They work great for any vine crop. I also have mounds on the other end of the garden with Giant pumpkins, watermelons, and cantaloupes on them.
I just planted scarlet runner beans this morning. It will be interesting to see if the puppy leaves them alone. There's a heavy little fence around them, but she can be very determined.
It's still awfully early to plant beans, so if I have to replant them it's not a big deal.
Those yard-long beans look/taste kinda like blackeyed peas, don't they?
It's still awfully early to plant beans, so if I have to replant them it's not a big deal.
Those yard-long beans look/taste kinda like blackeyed peas, don't they?
What's a good plan for running peas? I want to get planting this weekend and have to build some kind of climbing thing for them. I don't want guy wires running here and there like we had when I was a kid.
Nope they taste like green beans with a hint of asparagus. A good variety for up north is called liana. Day neutral and very prolific.
http://www.southernexposure.com/liana-asparagus-yardlong-bean-7-g-p-537.html
IMO they taste best stirfried or blanched then stirfried. I have used them for green bean casserole though and it was very good. Pick them when they are about the diameter of a pencil or smaller and under 18". Let a few get large and go to seed. The pods dry easily when seeds are fully formed.
This year im using the same green plastic fencing for peas. I grew a few snow peas on it last year too. They did great until the summer heat kicked in and the lng beans took over.
I might see what that costs at the lumberyard. I don't need much. Sounds easy to use. I planned to just put posts in on the ends and then a crosspiece across the top. The beds are only 4' wide, but I might plant across both beds because I like peas, and they are nice to munch on while tending the garden.
I could just run the wire across under the cross piece and call it good.
IIRC mine was about 4ft tall and the squares are around 2" each. Its pretty heavy gauge but very easy to work with. Its also a heckuva alot easier to get in a vehicle compared to live stock panels.
Lowes and Homedepot both carry it too. If your posts are strong enough you can just use a wire for the top support. I used wood in the middle too because one end had cukes growing. Look for the largest grid size you can find. It will make picking a bit easier.
Lowes and Homedepot both carry it too. If your posts are strong enough you can just use a wire for the top support. I used wood in the middle too because one end had cukes growing. Look for the largest grid size you can find. It will make picking a bit easier.
StonesBally
Well-Known Member
Chicken wire has served the same purpose for me for years. I use steel stakes and few zip ties to hold it up. Peas, beans, squash, cucumbers all grow well on it and it's pretty cheap.
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Mmmm. Long-beans. Great on plate and easy to grow so long as you are okay with all the wasps/hornets they attract.
Dont give them too much nitrogen though. You will end up with massive plants and no beans.
The dead bean plants are great fertilizer. They are also nitrogen fixing and supply nitrogen to the soil rather than deplete it.
The dead bean plants are great fertilizer. They are also nitrogen fixing and supply nitrogen to the soil rather than deplete it.
applescrap
Be the ball!
Nice work. Glad I didn't plant yet. We just had rain and hail all week. The guy down the street takes good care of stuff and will discount before too long.
Most of these peppers are extremely hard if not impossible to get at local nurseries. A couple local places have Bhuts and Reapers but to me those are just a novelty and off the charts in heat vs flavor. I got one super hot just for grins and because the "hab" flavor is a bit tamed down. I can use 1 pepper mixed in with 450grams of a milder pepper just to kick up the heat of a hot sauce without changing the flavor as much.
My biggest concern now is growing season length needed. The 7 Pot Yellow requires a long season for peppers to ripen. The Scotch Bonnet Yellow MOA does also. I have 2 early producing varieties of hab but those are nowhere near as hot as either of those.
My biggest concern now is growing season length needed. The 7 Pot Yellow requires a long season for peppers to ripen. The Scotch Bonnet Yellow MOA does also. I have 2 early producing varieties of hab but those are nowhere near as hot as either of those.
My local Home Depot has some varieties. I saw Bhuts at my home depot this wkend. I don't remember seeing anything but habs and jalapenos in the past.
My habs and cayennes are producing lots of fruit now.
Yesterday I had a sliced hab with nacho chips and sour cream. My wife came home later and used the same knife to cut some cheese. She said her mouth was on fire. In fact, and to my surprise, the inside of her upper lip blistered pretty bad. Crazy. I guess my mouth is lined with asbestos.
Yesterday I had a sliced hab with nacho chips and sour cream. My wife came home later and used the same knife to cut some cheese. She said her mouth was on fire. In fact, and to my surprise, the inside of her upper lip blistered pretty bad. Crazy. I guess my mouth is lined with asbestos.
I set out 3 tomato plants this morning to see if Puppy leaves them alone (they are surrounded by concrete-wire cages) and if they can go straight from the grow lights to direct sunlight without burning too much. I will plant more this weekend, and some of my peppers. The peppers and one tomato in 4" pots have been outside in the sun for a week and seem to be loving it.
The rest of the tomatoes need to get in the ground soon, or be moved to bigger pots. Currently in 5 oz Dixie cups. The ones I set out were not pot-bound yet, but I have to water them twice a day.
Wife is freaking out about the monarch butterfly migration arriving early this year and there isn't any milkweed yet. Supposedly a monarch was seen at Carley State Park, which is not far from here. I have lots of MW seedlings, but they won't support caterpillars yet. And lots of year-old MW plants just starting to peek out of the soil (they grow really fast once they get going) so I hit them with some Miracle Gro yesterday.
The rest of the tomatoes need to get in the ground soon, or be moved to bigger pots. Currently in 5 oz Dixie cups. The ones I set out were not pot-bound yet, but I have to water them twice a day.
Wife is freaking out about the monarch butterfly migration arriving early this year and there isn't any milkweed yet. Supposedly a monarch was seen at Carley State Park, which is not far from here. I have lots of MW seedlings, but they won't support caterpillars yet. And lots of year-old MW plants just starting to peek out of the soil (they grow really fast once they get going) so I hit them with some Miracle Gro yesterday.
the ground here is saturated to the point it was mud when I planted, had 5 backup plants and expected issues with the water but come to find out the rabbits are eating the leaves and breaking off stalks on 3, im down to 2 backups thinking about a rabbit fence now
Pellet gun and a stew pot.
its my entertainment, I have a beagle that tracks the rabbets but cant see worth a crap so he has his nose the the ground yelping all over the yard tracking the path and the rabbit just moves to the other side if the yard, it knows its safe its so funny he can be 10 feet away and never see him
Bonnie just started offering Red Bhuts so that is why you are just now seeing them at HomeDepot and Lowes. Personally i would rather have the orange hab they offer now. Its a Spartacus hybrid from Lark seed and hotter than a typical orange hab.
You will see what i mean as soon as one gets mature. They don't look like a typical orange hab either.
Ah, I see.
BTW, I grow red habs. Well, they spend a day orange, but then red. Nothing gold can stay
A friend gave me a handful of frozen very large red Caribbean peppers that someone gave him. They look kind of like habanero peppers with 5 lobes. He says they are hotter than a normal orange habanero. (I haven't tasted one yet) I think I'll thaw one and plant the seeds.
The germination rate will probably be terrible, but I've grown successfully frozen pepper seeds before.
The germination rate will probably be terrible, but I've grown successfully frozen pepper seeds before.
Caribbean Red Habs are one of the hotter varieties. Then there is the Red Savina which is even hotter. My Scotch Bonnets should be just a tad milder than either one and my 7 Pot yellow can get about twice as hot. It will likely end up being just a little hotter than the red habs.
The Beni Highlands im growing are a mildish hab. Coming in at only around 50k scoville max. Occasionally you might get one hotter.
Im more of a baccatum fan myself. Im trying the Aji Cito for the first time. Kinda like a lemon drop but upto twice as hot.
The Beni Highlands im growing are a mildish hab. Coming in at only around 50k scoville max. Occasionally you might get one hotter.
Im more of a baccatum fan myself. Im trying the Aji Cito for the first time. Kinda like a lemon drop but upto twice as hot.
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estricklin
Well-Known Member
In my corner of the Ozarks it is also a muddy freakin mess in the garden. I bought some purple hulls, corn and radishes today. Waiting for the ground to become solid again.
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estricklin
Well-Known Member
Well we have about 40 corn plants, about 50 feet of top crop purple hulls, 20 okra, 15 cucumbers, 15 squash, 15 tomatoes, 15 peppers and 6 different herbs. The corn is G90. I prefer a nice "cross" variety as my grandpa called them, which is a cross between sweet corn and feral. Southern Cross is a good variety I think. I'm not much of a corn eater, nor is SWMBO, but we will freeze some and eat it in the winter.
Not much to do now but water and let the Sun shine.
Not much to do now but water and let the Sun shine.
Waiting on the Peppers until they grow a bit more and the weather turns hotter. But I planted Squash last yesterday in one of my beds.
And it stormed last night. Very strong winds. I thought the plants may have been ripped out of the ground! LOL!
Anyway, I am here to as about what kind of fertilizer/soil for peppers? I have had poor yields previously and want to make sure they get the right stuff to grow well.
And it stormed last night. Very strong winds. I thought the plants may have been ripped out of the ground! LOL!
Anyway, I am here to as about what kind of fertilizer/soil for peppers? I have had poor yields previously and want to make sure they get the right stuff to grow well.
StonesBally
Well-Known Member
For more fruit with peppers or tomatoes use a fertilizer lower on nitrogen and higher on calcium and phosphorus. Jobe's tomato fertilizer spikes work well and are slow release so they work most of the season with one application. I usually place one a few inches down on either side of a newly planted starter plant. I also grow peppers and tomatoes under plastic mulch so it's hard to use a water based fertilizer with m soaker hose irrigation system. The plus is no weeds grow under black plastic.
Here is my final harvest from last year. I brought the plants inside my shed at the end of the season, and they came back and have blooms on them. I make pepper sauces out of these.
Clockwise, from the 12 o'clock position:
Yellow 7 pot
Red Jalapenos
Savina
Chocolate Douglah
Trinidad Scorpions
Green Jalapenos
Yellow Ghosts
Nagas (Vipers?)
I know, I know, Jalapenos are not considered superhots.
The second photo shows some of the Trinidad scorpions with their "stingers"
Clockwise, from the 12 o'clock position:
Yellow 7 pot
Red Jalapenos
Savina
Chocolate Douglah
Trinidad Scorpions
Green Jalapenos
Yellow Ghosts
Nagas (Vipers?)
I know, I know, Jalapenos are not considered superhots.
The second photo shows some of the Trinidad scorpions with their "stingers"
I normally dont grow any super hots. Orange hab in normally the hottest i grow. Ive gotten bored with them though and i like Scotch Bonnet flavor better so im trying a couple this year.
The 7 Pot yellow i needed just to zip up other sauces. So im growing one and sofar its seems to be doing better than any other plant. No blooms yet but its super healthy and likes full sun more than some of the others.
I have Mucho Nacho and Early jalapeno. The Mucho Nacho already has 3 pods. The Earlys i grew last year were crazy hot for a jalapeno. Hotter than store bought Serrano. My own serrano though had some zip but just barely more than the Early.
I cant wait to try the Thai Giant Orange. Its supposed to be a milder Thai pepper and super prolific. Ive grown Birdseye and Thai dragon hybrids in the past and all i can taste from them is heat. Now i grow Super Chiles to replace them. Not as hot and they make a killer hot vinegar when green.
The 7 Pot yellow i needed just to zip up other sauces. So im growing one and sofar its seems to be doing better than any other plant. No blooms yet but its super healthy and likes full sun more than some of the others.
I have Mucho Nacho and Early jalapeno. The Mucho Nacho already has 3 pods.
The Earlys i grew last year were crazy hot for a jalapeno. Hotter than store bought Serrano. My own serrano though had some zip but just barely more than the Early.I cant wait to try the Thai Giant Orange. Its supposed to be a milder Thai pepper and super prolific. Ive grown Birdseye and Thai dragon hybrids in the past and all i can taste from them is heat. Now i grow Super Chiles to replace them. Not as hot and they make a killer hot vinegar when green.
