Gardening: My Tomatoe and Pepper Progress

[Agent]

Only two weeks later than I hoped with smaller seedlings than normal, but finally got the whole garden in.

Including the squash/pumpkin/corn unfenced "deer foodplot".

 

[PCABrewing]

Only two weeks later than I hoped with smaller seedlings than normal, but finally got the whole garden in.

View attachment 850002

Including the squash/pumpkin/corn unfenced "deer foodplot".

View attachment 850003

Wow, looks like some nice deep tilling..
You're going to cause soil-envy among the less fortunate.

 

[Agent]

Wow, looks like some nice deep tilling..
You're going to cause soil-envy among the less fortunate.

With that comes the Rat-a-tat-tat of sprinklers if we don't get rain every two days.

But it certainly is carrot ground!

 

[PCABrewing]

With that comes the Rat-a-tat-tat of sprinklers if we don't get rain every two days.

But it certainly is carrot ground!

View attachment 850008

That picture reminds me of a day back when I had a 3yr old toddler following me around the garden as I weeded.
About 2 hrs later I was back out there and found a Jalapeno pepper on the ground with a toddler-sized bit mark in it! Never made a sound but I'm sure the bite mark was deep enough to get some of the flavor of that pepper.

 

[VApatriot]

So the wife bought a pack of Burpee mystery pepper seeds at Wally-World and started a bunch of them. Anyone have any ideas what this pepper might be? It's really productive.

 

[Oldskewl]

I'm guessing an Anaheim Pepper. Thought it was a Shishito but the tip is too straight

https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/...eet-mild-chili-peppers/anaheim-chili-peppers/

 

[VApatriot]

@Oldskewl we're thinking it might be an italian marconi. Either way, it's really happy and prolific. Gonna eat it whether it's sweet or hot. We bought a Sante Fe Grande pepper plant at Lowe's, never grew that before, also very prolific, looking forward to trying those also.

 

[Deadalus]

I grew Anaheims the year before last and they were very prolific. I canned so many I still have some! It does also look like an Italian marconi. I've never grown those however. Anaheims are again in the mix this year, but peppers are just flowering.

 

[passedpawn]

So the wife bought a pack of Burpee mystery pepper seeds at Wally-World and started a bunch of them. Anyone have any ideas what this pepper might be? It's really productive.

View attachment 851633

might be a cubanelle. they are not hot. Look just like that.

 

[passedpawn]

Oooooph. Red Ghost peppers turned red. Holy cow, these might be hotter than my habaneros.

 

[whoaru99]

Isn't it nomal Ghost peppers rank higher Scoville than habanero?

 

[passedpawn]

Isn't it nomal Ghost peppers rank higher Scoville than habanero?

Not sure, but they sure look mean. Normally, I can eat a whole hab by slicing it thin and on chips with sour cream. But I dunno about this red ghost. Gonna take it slow.

I'm also growing several different varieties of Japs to assess the difference in flavor and heat. I save the seeds of the winner and use them next year.

 

[lumpher]

Ghost peppers are Bhut Jolokia. They are many times hotter than Habaneros. I was going to New Mexico State University when they were brought over from India to "Americanize" the plants so we could grow them here. NMSU was 1 of the top-rated U's for agriculture. I stored some of the initial crop chopped up fine in a Rubbermaid freezer container in the freezer. The peppers ate through the Rubbermaid in the freezer.

 

[passedpawn]

Ghost peppers are Bhut Jolokia. They are many times hotter than Habaneros. I was going to New Mexico State University when they were brought over from India to "Americanize" the plants so we could grow them here. NMSU was 1 of the top-rated U's for agriculture. I stored some of the initial crop chopped up fine in a Rubbermaid freezer container in the freezer. The peppers ate through the Rubbermaid in the freezer.

Lol. While I accept you believe that, I have zero belief in it myself. The oil that causes peppers to be hot is not going to dissolve plastic.

 

[lumpher]

Lol. While I accept you believe that, I have zero belief in it myself. The oil that causes peppers to be hot is not going to dissolve plastic.

Lol... It was probably more that they weren't dried, and were still juicy when frozen. I was young and dumb at the time. The ice expansion probably cracked the container, but my version does sound better... anyway, those things were brutal. Some scrapings off the top were enough to make a pot of chili blazing hot.

 

[DBhomebrew]

Pretty sure I know who's been nibbling the tops of my tomato plants.

 

[passedpawn]

Bambi can have some tomatoes from my garden!

 

[corkybstewart]

We've started picking a variety of tomatoes, big and small. And the Romas are looking great, I hope to can a lot of tomato sauce before we leave at the end of September.

 

[Deadalus]

Now the waiting begins for everything to change color. Well except the green zebra tomatoes.

 

[Hanglow]

I just harvested my first ripe sungold of the year. We've had a very difficult growing season so far, extremely windy and cold and very wet for the most part combined with the mild winter meant there were huge numbers of slugs. I got three cabbages from 40 brssicas planted, most squash all eaten and growing slow. Corn slow, beans look terrible.

Still looking forward to some warmer weather

Green dwarf Cherokee tiger purple stripe

Zimbabwe Black finally flowering

Solitary poblano. Slugs have been brutal

 

[Deadalus]

I just harvested my first ripe sungold of the year. We've had a very difficult growing season so far, extremely windy and cold and very wet for the most part combined with the mild winter meant there were huge numbers of slugs. I got three cabbages from 40 brssicas planted, most squash all eaten and growing slow. Corn slow, beans look terrible.

Still looking forward to some warmer weather

Green dwarf Cherokee tiger purple stripe
View attachment 853098
Zimbabwe Black finally flowering
View attachment 853099
Solitary poblano. Slugs have been brutal
View attachment 853100

Sounds like you know it's slugs, but maybe cabbage worms on the brassicas? Slugs barely touch my squash but are bastards on other plants. I finally got some fennel started in the greenhouse, and I discovered how much they absolutely love fennel as they mowed down 4/5 of them. Last one is but a stem and a tiny curl. I broke out a dumper keg and filled containers to the brim for a slug party yesterday!

 

[corkybstewart]

And all of a sudden gardens in our region of France have been uprooted and sent to the compost pile. I probably picked my last tomatoes today, but I still have dozens of pretty green ones that will apparently never ripen. I am holding out hope for the last 3 or four orange beefsteaks to ripen before we leave so I can freeze them. Late summer rains caused a lot of mildew issues-I have a few plants affected but my 2 BILs who live right here have had their entire crops wiped out.
My eggplants and bell peppers didn't do squat, I won't mess with them next year. I'm gonna leave my carrots in the ground until spring, the beets will be packed in sand and put in the wine cave for the winter. I'll see how that works out. I've picked my cayennes and hybrid espaulettes and they are tied up to dry so I can harvest seeds in March
This was a learning year for me, the first time I've actually grown a garden in France so I'll have a much better understanding of what works and what doesn't. The short growing season, and humidity are very different from my experience in New Mexico. We already have 4 hours less sunlight than back in June so everything is shutting down for the winter.
Another successful aspect of my summer has been the cuttings I've made from all sorts of shrubs. I have about 30 assorted rose bushes growing that I started from cuttings. I rescued an ancestral rose that had been transplanted into a very poor spot in the backyard before we bought the house. It's now in my front garden and has sprouted a dozen new branches for the first time in a couple of years. I've got butterfly bushes, camelias, lilacs, hortensias, althias, and other shrubs that I have no idea what they are, that I've grown from cuttings and will get planted in the spring.

 

[Dog House Brew]

Last picking here I believe. Tomatoes are all canned and very few greens are left. Peppers have been nuts this year. Green beans and peppers seem to be able to handle the drought. I watered early and got sick of it! I put the beans under shade cloth tunnels and it worked perfectly. Only issue is trying to weed. I said hell with it this year and let it go. I pulled the bean plants when they were at peak. I didn’t do successive picking this year. I’m going to can these peppers and I’m done! Going to make Cowboy Candy out of these. What Jalapeños don’t get used, I’m dropping them at a friend’s restaurant. I do love the garden, but it gets more difficult every year. Planted sweet corn and the raccoons got it all. The people from yesteryear worked their tails off. Modern day humanity is spoiled AF!

 

[z-bob]

A month ago I planted the first of my pepper seeds for 2025. Assorted chinense varieties and the seeds were 2 or 3 years old. Not a one has come up. (they should still be good) I have fresh seeds for annuum varieties to plant this month. But the seeds I took out of some dried peppers from the spice rack and planted 2 weeks ago are coming up. Chile pequins, and some large round unknown dried peppers from an Asian market.

Tomato seeds get planted around April 1; if I go any earlier than that the plants get too big to manage before I can safely set them out. I also saved seeds from some 6 ounce tomatillos I found in the produce at Walmart, and I'll plant those in mid April. The largest tomatillos I've ever grown were about a pound, but over the years the volunteers from those plants have produced smaller and smaller fruit until now the largest are about ping pong ball sized. That could be because I've let them naturalize and don't take care of them. So it's time to get some new blood. I'll keep a few of the volunteers and plant some new ones, and actually take care of them and fertilize them this year and see what difference that makes

 

[NeilMac]

Allot of people having problems with seeds not coming up. Had someone send me seeds and non came up.
I planted plum tomato seeds yesterday.

 

[Deadalus]

I use seedling heating mats and generally get good germination results.

 

[z-bob]

I use seedling heating mats and generally get good germination results.

I'm using a heating mat! No idea what my problem is. Hopefully the seeds I just bought will do better. I'm also going to try again with some of the old seeds, treating them with 1% hydrogen peroxide before planting. (I'm researching that now to see how long to soak them. I think it's just something like 5 minutes)

 

[hottpeper13]

Why is it that pepper seeds won't germinate after a year in storage? I store all my seeds under vacuum and the peppers are the only ones that don't pop. I have pasillia seeds from last year and will plant them on Mar. 15th. I don't have much faith.

 

[Deadalus]

I'm using a heating mat! No idea what my problem is. Hopefully the seeds I just bought will do better. I'm also going to try again with some of the old seeds, treating them with 1% hydrogen peroxide before planting. (I'm researching that now to see how long to soak them. I think it's just something like 5 minutes)

What temp? Peppers like it hot, about 80-90F. Don't know much about shelf life of pepper seeds or additional specific measures to help germination. I do ok with most varieties but bells I don't seem to get enough starts.

 

[NeilMac]

Seeds can last for decades some centuries. Never had a problem till the last five years about.