Stickman's 2016 Gochu Glog- Transplanting is Finished

stickman · Apr 20, 2016

randyp said:
Nice to be able to catch up Rick.I am always interested in your cooking and green thumb updates.I understand your weight loss issue.With my right hip on the way to a surgery table.I had no choice but to drop a few lb's so I would not strain it more than I already was.Good thing I like fish,because I ate a hell of a lot of it buddy.I will be checking in to see how you are doing.

Hey Randy... thanks for stopping in guy! I hear ya 'bout the aches and pains of getting old(er).

Nobody ever told us before this, but it ain't for sissies...

I still haven't worked on getting my raised beds up on my community garden plot, but hopefully this weekend after I finish clearing a path from the bulkhead stairs to our main electrical bus... on Monday we're having a HVAC company install ductless "mini-split" central AC and I've got to make sure they can wire it in unimpeded. This is probably old hat to those of you living below 40 degrees N. Latitude, but it's all new to us. We had a window-mounted unit when we rented, but now that we own our own place we can do better. I wish there was a way to post the informational .pdf file here, but this is the pertinent info on the Mitsubishi unit if you want to look it up online.

M-SERIES
Indoor Unit: MSZ-FH18NA
Outdoor Unit: MUZ-FH18NA
18,000 BTU/H WALL-MOUNTED HEAT PUMP SYSTEM

Anyway, lots goin' on. I'm up to 39 gochu plants sprouted... just need 1 more to make a full complement. I have Boston Red lettuce, Parsley, Sage and Thyme planted outside. The overnight low temp. is supposed to get down to about 33 degrees tonight and tomorrow night, so I'm gonna have to put a floating row cover over them, but I expect they'll do fine. Cheers all!

Devv · Apr 20, 2016

Good on ya for getting a few things in the dirt!

That's such rewarding entry into the spring.

Wishing you continued success!

stickman · Apr 22, 2016

Devv said:
Good on ya for getting a few things in the dirt!

That's such rewarding entry into the spring.

Wishing you continued success!

Cheers Scott! We finally got some substantial rain today... just in time for the Snow Peas and Epizote that are beginning to clear the surface.

The second wave of seeds is beginning to pop now, and I'm also beginning to see the first true leaves on the older Gochus .. I have 3 pots of Ttaeng Cho Gochus up now... still waiting on the Cheon Wu Shin Jo, Po Cheong and Texas Pequins.

stickman · Apr 23, 2016

The three pots of Cheon Wu Shin Jo seeds germinated today, two more varieties to go for the Gochus! :dance:

stickman · Apr 24, 2016

It's early days yet since I got off to such a late start with my Annuuns but things are moving along OK.

One thing I love about peat pots is that you can pack them a little tighter in a 1020 tray. I jammed in 3 extra peat pots per tray and ended up with my whole allotment of Gochus in 2 trays. I have extras of some of the varieties already up, so if the Po Cheong seeds don't germinate, I'll still have made my target of 40 plants at transplanting.

Devv · Apr 24, 2016

On the road again...

Comptine · Apr 26, 2016

Had to look up what gochu meant. Does this mean you're doing a Korean chili theme this year?

stickman · Apr 26, 2016

Devv said:
On the road again...

Cheers Scott! It surely feels good to have my hands back in the dirt, I just wish the overnight low temperatures would stabilize here. It's probably just as well since I got off to such a late start germinating seeds. Most of my Gochus are beginning to put out true leaves, but I can't show them since there's something wonky about the Photobucket site right now. Maybe it's time to up my THP membership so I can post pics directly...

Comptine said:
Had to look up what gochu meant. Does this mean you're doing a Korean chili theme this year?

That's right Alana. I've loved Korean cuisine for about 40 years now, and it's what led me to this site. For the last 5-6 years I couldn't find actual Korean pepper powder in my area to cook and make kimchi with... it was all produced in China, and the quality wasn't anywhere near as good, so I resolved to grow and process my own. What I love about the Korean varieties grown for drying is that they have a moderate heat, about like the Numex varieties grown in the American Southwest, and when sun-dried, have the earthy, sweet, aromatic qualities of Hungarian Paprika. The "Terroir" in China is different, and they dry their peppers in ovens, which drastically changes the flavor. I'll be transplanting at least 40 Gochus outside when the weather stabilizes. Out of that number, 2 varieties are hybrids and 4 are heirlooms. I'm planning on sequestering blossoms and harvesting seed from the heirloom varieties that have the best all-around heat and flavor.

stickman · Apr 27, 2016

Hi all! Since Photobucket was getting wonky, I decided to pop for Extreme membership in THP to smooth out the flow of pics. Here are some slightly blurry shots of the Gochus... all showing at least the beginnings of true leaves. I want them to grow out at least 3 nodes before I transplant outside.

Saeng Cho Heirloom Gochu

Lady Hermit Heirloom Gochu

Lady Choi Heirloom Gochu

Ttaeng Cho Heirloom Gochu

Korea Winner Hybrid Gochu

Cheon Wu Shin Jo Hybrid Gochu

I'll be sequestering blossoms and saving seed from the heirloom Gochu varieties this year, and determining which are best for heat and flavor.

I've already passed on the sweet Kurtovska Kapijas to my Mom, and will be taking the sweet Hungarian Pimientos out to her this weekend. They're still pretty small, but she has a light box I built for her to help them grow until time to transplant outside.

Still no sign of the Texas Pequins or the Vesena Piperka, but hopefully soon...
Have a great day all!

Jeff H · Apr 28, 2016

And Away we go. :party:

A little small for late April but I'm sure they will catch up quick when you get them outside in a few weeks. :dance:

stickman · Apr 30, 2016

Jeff H said:
And Away we go. A little small for late April but I'm sure they will catch up quick when you get them outside in a few weeks.

Cheers Jeff! How they hangin' out your way?

My wife is in Maine for the weekend, and she took the camera, so no pics of the garden prep until she gets back. Some of my neighbors planted a row of Seaberry bushes along the edge of our property to form a thorny barrier between our garden and a group home that has 8 residents with psych diagnoses. Things got so bad last year that they put up a palisade fence, and now we don't need the Seaberries where they are. I want the things gone because they're sending runners into my garden plot to get at the soil I've been working to improve. Last weekend, the people who want the things moved them to another location, but this weekend I had to dig up all the runners... and if I'm gonna do all that work, I'm gonna claim the area where I was digging for my garden plot. That'll give me 5 raised beds in parallel... 4 by 20 feet long, and a 2 foot space between. Something I've wanted since we moved in here!

stickman · Apr 30, 2016

Alright! The Po Cheong seeds I got from Trippa are starting to sprout finally! The Texas Pequin seeds I got from Shane (stc3248) are making an appearance also. The last holdouts are the Guwahati Bhuts, but I'm not worried if they don't sprout. There are a few places locally where I can get better-looking seedlings than I could produce this late in the game, so no worries.

I got the sod removed and reclaimed as much of the topsoil as I could, and I got rid of those :censored:

Seaberry roots, and I'm bushed! Next steps are roto-tilling the garden to loosen everything up, setting up the raised beds and then the irrigation. I don't know yet whether I'll use soaker hoses or drip tape. Once those things are done it'll be time to start planting in earnest!

randyp · May 1, 2016

Welcome to the extreme section Rick.You will be glad you got it.I will be interested in that Kimchi when you make it this year.I need to try some new prep items I know I will love.Your cow pots would be mud in my grow.I am pretty hard on things.

stickman · May 1, 2016

randyp said:
Welcome to the extreme section Rick.You will be glad you gout it.I will be interested in that Kimchi when you make it this year.I need to try some new prep items I know I will love.Your cow pots would be mud in my grow.I am pretty hard on things.

Hi Randy! If you like garlicky pickles you'll love kimchi. :drooling:

The kimchi juice is also perfect for innoculating pepper mash when making fermented sauces.

I leave the peat pots in the 1020 trays and stiffen the trays by doubling them up, so no problems there...

Here's a 2016 campaign sign I saw during the week that made me both laugh and think how true.

My wife will be back tonight with the camera, so I'll be able to take garden prep pics tomorrow. Have a great rest-of-the-weekend all!

Devv · May 1, 2016

stickman said:
Hi Randy! If you like garlicky pickles you'll love kimchi. The kimchi juice is also perfect for innoculating pepper mash when making fermented sauces.

I leave the peat pots in the 1020 trays and stiffen the trays by doubling them up, so no problems there...

Here's a 2016 campaign sign I saw during the week that made me both laugh and think how true.

My wife will be back tonight with the camera, so I'll be able to take garden prep pics tomorrow. Have a great rest-of-the-weekend all!

I have to agree with the campaign sign, and the last 8 years.. and maybe even further back...LOL

It's time they get their heads out of their butt crack and make some intelligent moves.

Oh, crap! Did I really say the Gov't and intelligence in the same sentence? I need a drink now....

stickman · May 2, 2016

Devv said:
I have to agree with the campaign sign, and the last 8 years.. and maybe even further back...LOL

It's time they get their heads out of their butt crack and make some intelligent moves.

Oh, crap! Did I really say the Gov't and intelligence in the same sentence? I need a drink now....

Don't feel alone Scott... the "gummint" has lots of other folks turning to drink too... :rolleyes:

Things are finally moving in the garden department! Here's a pick of the community garden space I took last week

... and here is one from this morning.

I got a load of planks from my Mom's yesterday, and I'll be knocking the frames for the raised beds together this week. I expanded from 20x20 feet to 20x28 feet and took up all the planks I used for walkways in the square-foot section of the garden to try to keep out the Voles that over-ran it last season. That way I'll spread the plantings out to deny the little bastiges the cover they like to hide in. I'll also be laying down quarter-inch hardware cloth inside the raised bed frames before I fill them with soil and compost to prevent them from tunneling in from the outside. Once I get the first raised bed finished, I'll transplant the over-wintered veggies... Scallions and Horseradish. Then I'll set up the raised bed behind the house for hardening off and transplanting the supers.

I moved all my Gochus downstairs to the grow-box with the supers and i've been watering them with diluted 10-20-10 ferts.

A quick selection of the babies downstairs

I've really gotta get things moving, the Jalapenos have outgrown the maximum height I can raise the lights in the grow-box to...

That's all for now... have a great week all!

OCD Chilehead · May 2, 2016

Looking good Rick.

My dad has the same problem with gophers.

I wounded if when my dad puts his ground cloth down in the raised beds, if he got a garden sprayer and sprayed it with a pepper solution. Maybe that would deter them under ground. I don't have any burrowing animals here. I do have raccoon's that like to dig in my planters because of the fertilizer. I sprinkle some pepper flakes around the plants. That works. I just need to find away to keep the cats away.

Anyways, I can't wait to see the garden kick off.

You and Scott have some great gardens.

stickman · May 4, 2016

OCD Chilehead said:
Looking good Rick.

My dad has the same problem with gophers.

I wounded if when my dad puts his ground cloth down in the raised beds, if he got a garden sprayer and sprayed it with a pepper solution. Maybe that would deter them under ground. I don't have any burrowing animals here. I do have raccoon's that like to dig in my planters because of the fertilizer. I sprinkle some pepper flakes around the plants. That works. I just need to find away to keep the cats away.

Anyways, I can't wait to see the garden kick off.

You and Scott have some great gardens.

Hi Chuck, thanks for dropping by! Sorry to hear your Dad has Gopher problems. Does he live in Colorado too? Raccoons and 'Possums haven't been a problem here yet, but I have to have a serious talk with a neighbor that puts out food for feral Cats to prevent it in the future. :rolleyes:

Are your problems domesticated Cats or feral?

Third time was the charm with the Texas Pequins! My first attempt to germinate them in those expandable peat pellets was a dismal failure... I guess the seedlings didn't like the growing medium. Second attempt was in the year-old Pro-Mix with new Mycos added, and that didn't work any better. Third attempt was in the 50-50 blend of the Pro-Mix and Coco Coir with Mycos added... In case the low germination rate was due to seed that had lost most of its viability, I sowed 6 seeds per pot and got near 80% germination. I gave away some of the extra seedlings but still have a whole 1020 tray of Pequins in 3-inch pots. I'll probably keep 6 or 8, and try to find good homes for the rest.

It's been cold and wet the last 3 days, so still no progress towards knocking together the raised bed frames in the community garden... at least all the digging is done.

That's it for now... have a great hump-day all!

FreeportBum · May 5, 2016

Looking good Rick, garden coming along nicely. Hopefully the weather improves for both of us soon. Cheers

randyp · May 5, 2016

I love it all Rick,The Com spot you have looks like it will get some good sunshine.