Sawyer '14 - Seed Offer

Devv · Sep 1, 2014

Wow those Naga's are beasts!

Glad you caught the critter, hopefully it will make a new home close to where you dropped it off.

I've been thinking of Bamboo as a wind break. Does it loose it's leaves in the winter?

Sawyer · Sep 1, 2014

I took one of those Nagas to the bar Saturday for the ball game and couldn't find anyone willing to try it. I wound up giving it to someone... I sure hope I explained what they were getting to whoever that was.

The woodchuck came close to suffering a heat stroke. It's amazing to me how intolerant of direct sun some of our native animals are. It was very lethargic when I released it, but seemed to come around after cooling off in the puddle in the shade for a little while. I don't think they travel far, so I'm hopeful it will stay where I released him. It's a wild area around a local lake. I also hope it was unmated and I don't have a family of them to deal with. I had never seen one on my property until last fall, so I hope this is the one and the same, one and only.

The particular bamboo growing here, Phyllostachys aurea, is evergreen. This past winter, with a couple of spells of 0ºF weather, the tops of much of the stand turned brown, but it doesn't seem to have slowed it down any. It makes a great wind break and privacy fence, but is very invasive. It can be contained by about a 24" deep root barrier all around, or frequent mowing for about 20' on all sides.

HillBilly Jeff · Sep 1, 2014

Nice looking pod shots. Ground hogs that eat the garden, get eaten back. Especially if they're a young one. Fry em like a squirrel.

Raised Kentucky wonder this year just giving the back pickle fence a break from pickles. Not impressed. Contender beans have me spoiled. Interested to see how Kentucky Blue does.

Sawyer · Sep 1, 2014

I was having that discussion with someone just recently and neither of us had ever heard of eating one. We didn't have them where I grew up, or I'm sure I would have tried it, or at least have heard of it. This one I trapped yesterday had a pretty powerful musk about it. Not very appetizing.

Kentucky Wonder was the pole bean of choice for most folks where I grew up, but I never particularly cared for it. Our family grew Blue Lake. I planted some Kentucky Blue not long ago, but they got eaten as soon as they came up. Will try again next year. I'm hopeful the Cantare bush beans that are just now coming up will, one, not get eaten, and two, have time to make before frost. Just today I planted some "winter beans" I got from Penny, Garton's Pedigree and Heligoland, but I don't know anything about them other than the names.

OCD Chilehead · Sep 1, 2014

Very nice looking pods. I had one of those Nagas from Judy. Cooked it up in a stir fry. Very good. Didn't melt yor face off.LOL. Glad you caught the garden culprit.

Pulpiteer · Sep 1, 2014

Those Nagas were huge!
The woodchuck was fortunate you were so kind. I've not heard of trap and release of those up here. Everyone hates them.

I looked at Baker Creek and they have some Hairy Vetch. I'll have to keep that in mind for next year, or even a fall planting if I get things going early.

Sawyer · Sep 2, 2014

OCD Chilehead said:
Very nice looking pods. I had one of those Nagas from Judy. Cooked it up in a stir fry. Very good. Didn't melt yor face off.LOL. Glad you caught the garden culprit.

Thanks, Chuck. I haven't tried one yet. I was kind of expecting it to be blistering hot, since that seems often to be the case with the darker pods. Now I'm really interested to check out the flavor.

Pulpiteer said:
Those Nagas were huge!
The woodchuck was fortunate you were so kind. I've not heard of trap and release of those up here. Everyone hates them.

I looked at Baker Creek and they have some Hairy Vetch. I'll have to keep that in mind for next year, or even a fall planting if I get things going early.

Hey, Andy, yes they are. I've seen them described as the brown version of the King Naga. So far they are bigger than my Kings (which aren't ripe yet).

I hate killing anything I'm not going to eat or isn't directly causing me or mine pain or injury. And woodchucks really are kind of cute. As long as they don't become an infestation, I'll cut them some slack. Of course, this attitude has caused the spring and summer gardens to be an almost total loss (except for the peppers). I'm trying to hold out on the deer until cold weather and open season (as opposed to getting a depredation permit). I've got a 50# sack of deer feed and an 8# mineral block to set up off to one side and I'm going to plant buckwheat, rye, and black-eye peas at the two entry points to the garden. Hopefully all that will distract the deer from whatever tiny bit of fall garden I wind up with. Then come open season...

BCHS does have hairy vetch, but my goodness, their prices are high. Do you have a farmer's co-op near by? They often have better prices, though the local co-op here will only sell a full 50# bag. I got mine at a different local shop for about $3.50/lb. I hadn't previously heard about this company, but they have the best price for hairy vetch I've seen at $3.10/lb ...googling... They have an A+ rating on bbb.org. They also have a good selection of native wildflowers and prairie grasses, if you're looking for that sort of thing.

Sawyer · Sep 2, 2014

This is a good thing:

It was getting pretty dry around here.

HillBilly Jeff · Sep 2, 2014

Wettest August here since Noah...and it rained pretty good here today too. Mosquitoes so bad I picked with my rainsuit on even before it started raining lol.

JJJessee · Sep 2, 2014

Sawyer said:
.....My experiment with letting vetch and wild bean grow among the pepper plants continues. A positive aspect I've discovered is the vines help support the pepper plants, connecting plant to plant and branch to branch within a single plant. I think this will help reduce limb breakage and plants falling over as they load up with heavy pods. The chickweed is doing a good job as a ground cover and suppressing less desirable weed growth, though the pepper plants themselves are doing a good job of that now. I did break down and ordered some wild purslane seeds. It's more drought and heat tolerant than the chickweed, so I hope the two will tag team throughout the year.

Hey Saw.It's been a while.
Peppers are looking great! And those Nagas are ginormous!

The vine thing worked well for me this year. If the places are clusters well enough they hang together pretty well, but my Habs and MoAs were single file.
Gourds a few away overtook my Habs about 2 monthns in and they stayed pretty well up right.

My MoAs had muskmelons next to them which didn't seem to want to climb the peppers and as a result I've lost several limbs, even whole plants.

Next year I'm thinking about framing some type a fence wire framed and on stilts several inches above the young transplants and let them grow up through the, say, 2x2 grid. Sticks and string are just not reliable enough.

I used rye and vetch 2 years ago and it was fine, but the rye is so tough it's hard to incorporate with a garden tiller. Last year I did the oats and Austrian winter peas. Worked much much better. We were about 0°F a couple times and it was pushing knee high by mid April. I mowed it before tilling which helps. This year I'm doing the peas with wheat, plus I've found a pound of tillage radish(diakon) I'm going to try to.

Sawyer · Sep 2, 2014

HillBilly Jeff said:
Wettest August here since Noah...and it rained pretty good here today too. Mosquitoes so bad I picked with my rainsuit on even before it started raining lol.

Quite possibly the wettest August here, too, Jeff, though "wet" is a relative term. I certainly didn't have to water constantly as is usual for August. August was actually just about right for peppers and they've really made up for the slow start to the year. The amount of water that fell with today's rain will last at least a week, maybe two if doesn't get too hot. I hear you about mosquitoes. Thick, even in the middle of the day. I was out in the rain today and they weren't too bad, though the temperature was down in the upper 60s, so that may have had something to do with it.

JJJessee said:
Hey Saw.It's been a while.
Peppers are looking great! And those Nagas are ginormous!

The vine thing worked well for me this year. If the places are clusters well enough they hang together pretty well, but my Habs and MoAs were single file.
Gourds a few away overtook my Habs about 2 monthns in and they stayed pretty well up right.

My MoAs had muskmelons next to them which didn't seem to want to climb the peppers and as a result I've lost several limbs, even whole plants.

Next year I'm thinking about framing some type a fence wire framed and on stilts several inches above the young transplants and let them grow up through the, say, 2x2 grid. Sticks and string are just not reliable enough.

I used rye and vetch 2 years ago and it was fine, but the rye is so tough it's hard to incorporate with a garden tiller. Last year I did the oats and Austrian winter peas. Worked much much better. We were about 0°F a couple times and it was pushing knee high by mid April. I mowed it before tilling which helps. This year I'm doing the peas with wheat, plus I've found a pound of tillage radish(diakon) I'm going to try to.

Hey, JJJ, thanks for stopping by. Things are finally starting to ramp up here in Sawyer's Pepper Patch. I think we may be on to something with the vine supports. The wild bean has a very tough vine and so far, wherever the bean is growing, I haven't lost any limbs to breakage. Also, nothing seems to want to eat the wild bean vines, unlike the vegetable beans. With all the bamboo I have, I should be able to figure out some sort of support system to go with the vines.

I'm not sure exactly what mix of winter cover crop I'll use for the main cover this year. For sure hairy vetch (got some locally) and for sure not Austrian winter pea (can't find it locally). I've had good luck with AWP in the past, though. I do have a bag of some sort of tillage radish, don't remember if it's daikon or not. I remember a hard freeze kills them. I haven't noticed a problem tilling in the rye relative to other grains, but I always mow first. Johnson grass is worse for me. I dropped the ball last winter on my grains project, so hopefully I won't do that this winter. In that case, I'll probably have 1/3 to 1/2 the garden planted to various varieties of rye, oats, wheat, barley, canola, and a few exotics, along with vetch throughout. I have even more varieties than before now, thanks to Penny. She sent several varieties of winter grains I didn't have already.

I got between 2.25" and 2.5" of rain out of that system. It was needed. I could have done without the wind that apparently accompanied the system as it moved in in the early hours. I slept right through it, but it blew over a few of my plants. The soil is so loose plants just fell over without breaking and I was able to stand them back upright and prop them up with stakes. Except for the MoAs. The two plants that are bearing well each lost two limbs. Two of them I think I've saved. One broke off in my hand and one I haven't touched for fear it will break. I'm beginning to think MoAs are just prone to breakage. It was still raining while I was out there, so no pics of the damage, but here's one of the pods I picked.

Most of the MoAs came from one plant. A few of them are Grade A or nearly so. The one near the center of the picture with the stinger came from a different plant. The green ones all came from the broken limb. They don't have much flavor, but do have some heat. I guess I'll dry them for extraction or repellent powder. The three red peppers in the lower right are Scott's Funky Reaper and the four red ones in the lower left are my Funky Reaper. I sure thought they looked more similar in pictures last year. Maybe I'll start calling mine Arkansas Reaper... if I even propagate them. The one I've tried so far this year was disappointing in its lack of a thick placenta. The three peach-colored pods in the lower middle are from one of my FR plants that has decided to throw out peach pods. I'll taste one of them later when I work up my nerve.

Devv · Sep 2, 2014

The rye works well as a cover crop if you till it in early, when it's below a foot tall. Otherwise it builds a root system that's just crazy, which is why I plant till and replant. I don't know if you can do that where 'yall are, as the weather is colder. I'm hoping 9-15 is cool enough for me to get the Crimson Clover going, we'll find out! Once it's established, I'll add the rye, and hope to get two crops.

Nice hauls John!

The MoA's look great!

And glad you got some rain!

Thanks for the info on the Bamboo, I'm going to give it a whirl and hopefully it doesn't get too crazy

Comfrey soon too!

Sawyer · Sep 3, 2014

Devv said:
The rye works well as a cover crop if you till it in early, when it's below a foot tall. Otherwise it builds a root system that's just crazy, which is why I plant till and replant. I don't know if you can do that where 'yall are, as the weather is colder. I'm hoping 9-15 is cool enough for me to get the Crimson Clover going, we'll find out! Once it's established, I'll add the rye, and hope to get two crops.

Nice hauls John!

The MoA's look great!

And glad you got some rain!

Thanks for the info on the Bamboo, I'm going to give it a whirl and hopefully it doesn't get too crazy Comfrey soon too!

Thanks, Scott. I'm bummed the limbs broke on the MoAs, but the main structures are still intact.

Now that the rain has softened the soil and knocked down the dust, I'm shifting into high gear for fall/winter gardening.

If you're willing to pay for shipping, I can send you some starts of bamboo and maybe Bocking #14 comfrey (none of the #4 made it... entirely my fault, though). The bamboo is starting to go dormant for the winter, so spring time will be better for that, as well as giving my comfrey more time to expand enough to be divided. Alternatively, the best price I found for Bocking #14 is at Horizon Herbs (they have a 20 root bag, too) and for #4 is at Coe's Comfrey. I also ordered some non-hybrid comfrey seed. Andy has me convinced it shouldn't become too much of an invasive problem. Even if it does, it can't be any worse than the Johnson grass, Lamb's quarters, pigweed, and other less valuable weeds. Let me know if you want some of my bamboo and/or comfrey.

Wes Newman · Sep 4, 2014

I met John today and he was gracious enough to share some pods with me.
Here's a shot of my score.

I've got a list of everything here, but there are a few of the red ones I'm confused on.
I promptly ate the Black Naga, it was nice and Hot.
I'll post a video once I get it edited.

Thanks again John for the great pods!

-Wes

Sawyer · Sep 4, 2014

You're welcome, Wes, and good to meet you. I'm confused on some of them, too, but I've labeled the pods in the picture as best as I can remember:

The Arkansas Reapers are from seeds from an off-type Carolina Reaper I grew last year. I had been calling it Funky Reaper because in pictures last year, I thought they looked like Scott's FR. It's clear this year they aren't, so a new name just to keep them separate. I haven't been impressed with the AR and may not grow it again. The Arkansas Peach is from the same batch of seeds, but unless it has no flavor or heat, I'll definitely grow it again. I'm a sucker for peach-colored pods. The two pods in the upper right I should be able to figure out next time I'm in the garden, but I'm pretty sure that color is not what it's supposed to be. The (yellow) King Naga is supposed to be red, but Duffy at Refining Fire Chile (where I got the seeds) makes a point of them not being stable yet. The shape is right and I have three other plants that should turn red, so I'm happy with one of them being yellow. If they're not labeled, pods are from seeds I saved last year, except for the Bahamian Goat. I got those seeds from Jason. At least one of the red pods in the lower left is supposed to be a Carolina Reaper, either from my seed or Scott's. I had those pods in my hand, just so, walking out of the garden when I got bitten by a horsefly. In the ensuing reaction, the pods went flying.

If you folks haven't seen it already, you should check out the video of Wes and his son eating whole Carolina Reaper pods. I think he got those pods from Judy.

Wes Newman · Sep 4, 2014

Here's my review of the Black Naga.
I'm still trying to hone my review skills and am eating as many peppers as I can get my hands on.

-Wes

Sawyer · Sep 4, 2014

Hah! Thanks for the review. I'm glad to see you're human. After the Reaper review, I wasn't so sure. I still don't see how people can eat whole pods; a 5 mm square piece of that pod would give me worse symptoms than you had.

Durham Bull · Sep 4, 2014

Wow, those MoAs are looking great. I am still waiting for mine to ripen.

Does it takes that long to ripen. I had them in pots since April 15...

Sawyer · Sep 4, 2014

Durham Bull said:
Wow, those MoAs are looking great. I am still waiting for mine to ripen.

Does it takes that long to ripen. I had them in pots since April 15...

Thanks, Sy. I'm getting a few "A" pods to save seed from for next year. Actually, these MoAs are among the first peppers I've had ripen. The White Devil's Tongue were earlier, but most of my varieties have just barely begun to ripen. These went in the garden in late May, I think. How much sun do yours get?

Durham Bull · Sep 4, 2014

Hey John,
We got lots of sun in the backyard and has been a wet summer.
Everything else ripen nicely (brains, fatalii, foodarama sb, primo, sbj7...)

patience is a virtue...