2016 - JoeFish Arkansas Grown

JoeFish · Feb 18, 2014

Devv said:
+1 on 76.

Only thing I want to add is I put the newspaper rolled up in a 5 gal bucket and fill it with water, it's much easier to handle when applying.

Babies look superb!

Next time you have two in one of those spots you can put some plastic gloves on, use a fork to lift them out and place them in a bowl of water. The soil will melt away and you should be able to easily separate them. I did this with about 25 plants this weekend and they're all happy.

Keep it green!

Excellent info sir!! I have a few cells that have more than one plant and I will keep that in mind and let you know if I have any problems.
Alright experts I have posted this before but I wanted to get some more thoughts on what kind of pepper this is.... It is from bakers peppers, it was hot, and I planted the seeds. I now have 10 plants in solo cups and don't know what kind they are. I am calling them Trinidad Scorpions but I don't really know. What do you guys think? It is the 2 left peppers. The seeds from the big red one I couldn't get to grow and the seeds from the red one looked completely different.

Spicegeist · Feb 18, 2014

It looks like the pepper he uses for his logo...

I don't know what it is though.

stc3248 · Feb 18, 2014

They look like they may be regular 7 Pots, but hard to tell. Some pods come off misshapen, so it could be any red super, but it is almost certainly of Caribbean Scorpion or 7 Pot being my top two guesses...

JoeFish · Feb 18, 2014

Thanks guys

I have 10. Im going to grow 2 and try and get close friends to grow as many as I can but I just want to be able to tell them what they are growing.

JoeFish · Feb 19, 2014

Tried my hand at getting some forest nutrients for my gardening needs today. Anyone with any knowledge tell if I'm getting the right stuff?

I've done limited research, I was just bored and went hunting for some stuff that looked good. It's all soft and spongy. I figured before the snakes and poison ivy come out I'll just keep on getting it. This is about 15 gallons worth.

JoeFish · Feb 20, 2014

Picked up about 10-15 more buckets this morning.

JoeFish · Feb 20, 2014

MY LIST IS NOW FINAL! NO MORE! GETTIN LATE IN THE GAME!

Updated Grow List:

2/20/2014
Bhut Jolokia Peach - Blue/Red
Naga Morich - Blue/Teal
Bhut Jolokia Yellow - Blue/Beige
Scotch Bonnet Red - Blue/Yellow
Large Red Thick Cayenne - Yellow/Green
Bhut Jolokia Chocolate - Yellow/Hot Pink

Thanks beerbreath81! Everything comes so nice and neat well labeled. I am in serious debt to this man.

Pulpiteer · Feb 21, 2014

JoeFish said:
Tried my hand at getting some forest nutrients for my gardening needs today. Anyone with any knowledge tell if I'm getting the right stuff?

I've done limited research, I was just bored and went hunting for some stuff that looked good. It's all soft and spongy. I figured before the snakes and poison ivy come out I'll just keep on getting it. This is about 15 gallons worth.

I like it! You'll get some good microbiotic life from that, and that soft spongy wood has to be full of mycelium. Good stuff.
How do you plan on using it? A soil amendment or a mulch? I think the bigger chunks are probably mulch, but are you using smaller stuff in the soil?

Sawyer · Feb 21, 2014

Nice, compact list. Plenty of heat, with a side of cayenne.

JoeFish said:
MY LIST IS NOW FINAL! NO MORE! GETTIN LATE IN THE GAME!

Never say never!

Regarding that forest mulch, I'd be inclined to want to compost it some more before incorporating it into the garden soil. Partially broken down material like that can tend to bind up nitrogen until it's fully composted. On the other hand, if you can break it down into smaller pieces, you could use it as a mulch to help control weeds and conserve moisture. Just make sure the soil has adequate nutrients.

Andy posted while I was typing this, and yeah, what he said. You'll definitely get a good dose of microbes and mycelia, most of which would be lost in a hot compost. So that would argue in favor of just using it as a top mulch.

beerbreath81 · Feb 21, 2014

JoeFish said:
MY LIST IS NOW FINAL! NO MORE! GETTIN LATE IN THE GAME!

Updated Grow List:

2/20/2014
Bhut Jolokia Peach - Blue/Red
Naga Morich - Blue/Teal
Bhut Jolokia Yellow - Blue/Beige
Scotch Bonnet Red - Blue/Yellow
Large Red Thick Cayenne - Yellow/Green
Bhut Jolokia Chocolate - Yellow/Hot Pink

Thanks beerbreath81! Everything comes so nice and neat well labeled. I am in serious debt to this man.

ha ha you took the bait on the cayenne, i knew i could get you to grow just one more :rofl:

JoeFish · Feb 21, 2014

Sawyer said:
Nice, compact list. Plenty of heat, with a side of cayenne.

Never say never!

Regarding that forest mulch, I'd be inclined to want to compost it some more before incorporating it into the garden soil. Partially broken down material like that can tend to bind up nitrogen until it's fully composted. On the other hand, if you can break it down into smaller pieces, you could use it as a mulch to help control weeds and conserve moisture. Just make sure the soil has adequate nutrients.

Andy posted while I was typing this, and yeah, what he said. You'll definitely get a good dose of microbes and mycelia, most of which would be lost in a hot compost. So that would argue in favor of just using it as a top mulch.

All of the wood I got will be easily shredded for mulch. I originally wanted to use it like hugelculture (sp?) but I needed more time to let that work its magic I think. So this year I will just use it like mulch and use the fines in my compost tumbler.

Can you tell me where I can read about microbes and mycelia? Can you break it down a little for me?

Thanks for checking in and the advice. It is appreciated!

beerbreath81 said:
ha ha you took the bait on the cayenne, i knew i could get you to grow just one more

Yeah that cayenne it going to be awesome! Anthony you are my hero and everyone needs a hero.

Pulpiteer said:
I like it! You'll get some good microbiotic life from that, and that soft spongy wood has to be full of mycelium. Good stuff.
How do you plan on using it? A soil amendment or a mulch? I think the bigger chunks are probably mulch, but are you using smaller stuff in the soil?

Should I be using the smaller stuff in the soil? I have no idea I just read a lot and my brain tells me what it wants and I usually end up confused!

Thanks for the info! I really appreciate it.

neoguy · Feb 21, 2014

Devv said:
+1 on 76.

Only thing I want to add is I put the newspaper rolled up in a 5 gal bucket and fill it with water, it's much easier to handle when applying.

Babies look superb!

Next time you have two in one of those spots you can put some plastic gloves on, use a fork to lift them out and place them in a bowl of water. The soil will melt away and you should be able to easily separate them. I did this with about 25 plants this weekend and they're all happy.

Keep it green!

That is how I start all my pepper and tomato plants, sometimes as many as 8-10 per cell, more for tomatoes, they separate easily. And, when I replant the pepper seedlings I plant them deeper, just like tomatoes.

Pulpiteer · Feb 21, 2014

You wrote above that you can shred it for mulch, so I'd do that personally. That will be easiest for sure, and you'll get the good stuff growing in that as well. You've just pulled a whole mass of microbiology from the woods with that stuff, which is pretty cool.
Where did you read about hugelculture? I've been casually learning about permaculture stuff for a couple years now, so I'm curious. As Sawyer wrote, there is a danger in the nitrogen being locked up in the short term (and then released again long term as the wood decays), so I've read that you should plant a bunch of nitrogen fixing stuff like clover or beans on a hugel mound. It's all fascinating stuff I think.

Here's a whole bunch of info on this link - including stuff on mycelia and fungus
http://www.permies.com/forums/c/5/

Anyway, good luck and it'll be fun to see what effects that mulch will give you

JoeFish · Feb 21, 2014

Pulpiteer said:
You wrote above that you can shred it for mulch, so I'd do that personally. That will be easiest for sure, and you'll get the good stuff growing in that as well. You've just pulled a whole mass of microbiology from the woods with that stuff, which is pretty cool.Where did you read about hugelculture? I've been casually learning about permaculture stuff for a couple years now, so I'm curious. As Sawyer wrote, there is a danger in the nitrogen being locked up in the short term (and then released again long term as the wood decays), so I've read that you should plant a bunch of nitrogen fixing stuff like clover or beans on a hugel mound. It's all fascinating stuff I think.Here's a whole bunch of info on this link - including stuff on mycelia and fungushttp://www.permies.com/forums/c/5/Anyway, good luck and it'll be fun to see what effects that mulch will give you

I get lost on Wikipedia a lot! That's where I ran across some stuff about hugelcultur. Although I don't know jack about soil biology i still get the general idea. Thanks for the link, it's kind of hard to find good free reading on the subject. I will be keeping this glog updated and we will find out together whatever happens. Pee compost and all!

wildseed57 · Feb 22, 2014

I'm not to far from you all in Mountain Grove, MO. My ex-best has family in Fayetteville, I used to travel to the VA hospital there in Fayetteville also. Nice plot you have as rocky as it is in Arkansas you'll need all the compost you can get. You might want to do a Micro- tea to energize the soil along with plenty of red worms, I have a spot along the river up here where i can get two 5 gallons of red and grey crawlers every other year, they really help the soil, to help break down the compost you can by a edible mushroom starter kit and add it to your compost piles if you like mushrooms.
Growing your own peppers and tomatoes from seed are real easy and a lot of fun once you get the hang of it, been doing that now for 35 years. sawdust and wood chips can rob the soil of nitrogen till its completely broke down I add my chicken manure to it to break it down fast. You can spray it with micro tea that will break down wood fast also. I add a lot of hardwood Charcoal to my soil that really helps it too.

Sawyer · Feb 22, 2014

I haven't tried, but if you just search for microbes and mycelia in the Growing forum here on THP, I bet you'll find some good stuff. I saw in another thread you had mentioned something about hugelkultur. I hadn't heard of that before, but now I'm thinking of trying it with the 10 pickup loads of shredded mulch I have. It's been composting for 5 years now, though, so maybe it's time to just till it into the garden.

Thanks for posting that link, Andy. That site looks like a really good permaculture resource.

JoeFish · Feb 22, 2014

wildseed57 said:
I'm not to far from you all in Mountain Grove, MO. My ex-best has family in Fayetteville, I used to travel to the VA hospital there in Fayetteville also. Nice plot you have as rocky as it is in Arkansas you'll need all the compost you can get. You might want to do a Micro- tea to energize the soil along with plenty of red worms, I have a spot along the river up here where i can get two 5 gallons of red and grey crawlers every other year, they really help the soil, to help break down the compost you can by a edible mushroom starter kit and add it to your compost piles if you like mushrooms.
Growing your own peppers and tomatoes from seed are real easy and a lot of fun once you get the hang of it, been doing that now for 35 years. sawdust and wood chips can rob the soil of nitrogen till its completely broke down I add my chicken manure to it to break it down fast. You can spray it with micro tea that will break down wood fast also. I add a lot of hardwood Charcoal to my soil that really helps it too.

Thanks for the advice! Can I out mushrooms in my compost tumbler you think? I don't really have a pile. I bet your soil is awesome!

Sawyer said:
I haven't tried, but if you just search for microbes and mycelia in the Growing forum here on THP, I bet you'll find some good stuff. I saw in another thread you had mentioned something about hugelkultur. I hadn't heard of that before, but now I'm thinking of trying it with the 10 pickup loads of shredded mulch I have. It's been composting for 5 years now, though, so maybe it's time to just till it into the garden.

Thanks for posting that link, Andy. That site looks like a really good permaculture resource.

Yeah sawyer I've been reading about soil health every chance I get. Wood chips 5 years old buried up and planted on i bet your plants would love that.

wildseed57 · Feb 23, 2014

Yeah my raised beds have some pretty good soil in them I keep having to add more each year if I can as the plants strip it of nitrogen and other minerals, having a million red worms in it helps out alot, I do need to just dig a hole for my plants instead of tilling the beds as I kill a lot of worms that way. I don't think the mushroom mycorrhizal would grow in your compost tumblers if you turn them as it breaks up the spider web like tendrils of the myco. but if you let it set the mushrooms like King Stropharia which look like a giant mushroom at times if you let them go, they are one of the best for growing in the garden, oyster mushrooms are about second best and are more colorful and quite tasty. you can even buy spon for Morel mushrooms but they are harder to get started in a garden you pretty much have to give them their own area to grow in, I use to pick them wild in early spring but my health won't let me walk up and down the hills looking for mushrooms any more.

Sawyer · Feb 23, 2014

wildseed57 said:
Yeah my raised beds have some pretty good soil in them I keep having to add more each year if I can as the plants strip it of nitrogen and other minerals, having a million red worms in it helps out alot, I do need to just dig a hole for my plants instead of tilling the beds as I kill a lot of worms that way. I don't think the mushroom mycorrhizal would grow in your compost tumblers if you turn them as it breaks up the spider web like tendrils of the myco. but if you let it set the mushrooms like King Stropharia which look like a giant mushroom at times if you let them go, they are one of the best for growing in the garden, oyster mushrooms are about second best and are more colorful and quite tasty. you can even buy spon for Morel mushrooms but they are harder to get started in a garden you pretty much have to give them their own area to grow in, I use to pick them wild in early spring but my health won't let me walk up and down the hills looking for mushrooms any more.

George, have you considered growing hairy vetch in your beds in the winter? That can replace most, if not all of the nitrogen lost to your main season crops. Give it something like winter oats or wheat for support (barley lodges under the weight, in my experience) and for extra green manure in the spring.

I agree, mushrooms wouldn't likely do well in a tumbler, certainly not to the point of fruiting. I've thought of trying to get morels started under my apple trees, but haven't given it a try yet.

wildseed57 · Feb 24, 2014

Hey Sawyer, I keep buying bags of the stuff, but for some unknow reason I keep forgetting to cover my beds for the winter. I also have a big bag of buckwheat that was supposed to go on this fall but as usual I was running a month behind on things and didn't get it done.
This March I have to get out on a fairly good day and start replacing the old rotted boards on 40% of my beds, just about the same time I have to plant my spring peas, also I have 50- 20 oz cups that will need to go under a second lighting system that I have yet to buy, Just no money at this point.
I wanted to have the lights the first part of this month, but again it was a no go. So for now I'm scrambling to rearrange things and put them under the lights I have for my overwintering plants and peppers seedlings that I started in January.
At my age its hard to remember what all I have to do and when, even marking it all down doesn't help much, especially when you have bills coming in and your money going out is more than money coming in.