The Pacific Northwest GLOG 2014...CLOSED FOR THE 2014 SEASON

Today launches The Pacific Northwest GLOG, geared towards growers from this region.  Since there appears to be disagreement on what states, and areas, actually comprise the Pacific Northwest, I will use a broad definition, in order to include more growers.  If anyone thinks the definition could be even more broad, it can always be changed.  Come one, come all.
 
Oregon
Washington
Alaska
Northern California
Idaho
Montana
Wyoming
British Columbia
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Northwest
 
I am from the Rogue Valley, in southern Oregon, so, I will begin with a couple of shots from my yard, which over looks the Rogue River.
 

 

 
Me, and my Cacho de Cabra, which stands at 4' tall.

 
Some non-chinenses.

 
Chinenses.

 
GRIF 9265.

 
I'm using the square foot gardening method.  Plants are getting close.  I like the appearance.

 
A weird cross.

 
MoA, Scotch Bonnet.  Can't wait for these.  I have 4 plants.

 
Weather is into the 90s today, and will hit 101F tomorrow.  It's funny the misconceptions people have about Oregon weather, in particular, southern Oregon.  Good luck to all.  I hope this Pacific Northwest GLOG will be a success!
 

 

[Roguejim]

 
 

I am having a hard time cutting my plants.  I really like the Christmas ornament look to the pods hanging off the branches.  
 
Some pic's from today:
 
Some pods I harvested yesterday and today.
 

 
 
My pickling setup outside on the deck...Happy wife, Happy life!!!
 
 

 
 
Here are some of the Banana Peppers I pickled today.
 

Wow!  I was going to ask how you plan on using your peppers.  Never mind.
 

This has been a nice grow log, Jim.  If yow decide to do it again next year,
I'll try to be a more consistent poster.  I'd like to scale down my own glog a bit 

 
I'll be launching the new PNW Glog 2015 in December.  Looking forward to everyone's new grow lists.

 

[LowDrag]

 
 
Wow!  I was going to ask how you plan on using your peppers.  Never mind.
 
 
I'll be launching the new PNW Glog 2015 in December.  Looking forward to everyone's new grow lists.

 
The hot ones I am going to dehydrate and then grind into dust to use for cooking.  I am going to make ABT's for a buddy of mine with a Ghost Pepper and a Butch "T".  He says he can eat anything hot so I am going to test him.  I made Habanero ABT's for him this summer and he ate three of them without any issue.
 
I put a tiny bit of Ghost Pepper juice on the tip of my tongue today when I cut up the ripest one for the Banana Peppers.  Wow!!!  Talk about instant sting!!!  I was particularly amazed at the smell of the Ghost Pepper though.  I have read where people say they have a fruity smell but until I smelled it I did not have a clue.  DAMN!!!  What a yummy smell, now just if I could eat one.

 

[Roguejim]

The hot ones I am going to dehydrate and then grind into dust to use for cooking.  I am going to make ABT's for a buddy of mine with a Ghost Pepper and a Butch "T".  He says he can eat anything hot so I am going to test him.  I made Habanero ABT's for him this summer and he ate three of them without any issue.
 
I put a tiny bit of Ghost Pepper juice on the tip of my tongue today when I cut up the ripest one for the Banana Peppers.  Wow!!!  Talk about instant sting!!!  I was particularly amazed at the smell of the Ghost Pepper though.  I have read where people say they have a fruity smell but until I smelled it I did not have a clue.  DAMN!!!  What a yummy smell, now just if I could eat one.

Give us a report back on the ABTs. It will be awful! One of these days I'll sample a small piece of a bhut to see what all the fuss is about. Right now, I'm just too chicken.

 

[PaulG]

"I'll be launching the new PNW Glog 2015 in December.  Looking forward to everyone's new grow lists."
 
Sounds good; I'll keep an eye out when the time rolls around.

 

[LowDrag]

Just thought of another question or two.  If I freeze the pods that develop while hanging in the basement should I half them and remove the seeds first or does it matter?  Speaking of hanging, do I need to hang these plants under the grow lights or does that not matter?
 
 
On a side note:   (Facebook post last night)
 
I tried something that I thought I would never try before today. I harvested a Bhut Jolokia to cut up and put in pickled Banana Peppers for a couple of friends of mine. I noticed some juice on the tip of my nitrile glove. I touched the juice to the tip of my tongue to see what the burn would be like. Now, keep in mind that I am a heat wimp so hot peppers to me are Jalapeno's. I smelled the fruity flavor of the Ghost Pepper and I could not resist a taste. I am absolutely certain that a bite would all but kill me but I had to try the juice anyway. Talk about a nice sting on just the tip of my tongue. It lasted for about 15-20 minutes and spread out to my lips just a bit. After that there was nothing. It seems I am going to have to work my up to being able to at least try one someday. Oh and I forgot to mention I have Crohn's disease as well. For those that don't know, Crohn's is IBS on crack and steroids both at the same time but I have found that eating pickled Jalapeno's calms my constant stomach ache down. I told that to my GI doc on Friday which completely amazed her. Talk to ya'll later!!!

 

[Roguejim]

Just thought of another question or two.  If I freeze the pods that develop while hanging in the basement should I half them and remove the seeds first or does it matter?  Speaking of hanging, do I need to hang these plants under the grow lights or does that not matter?
 
 
On a side note:   (Facebook post last night)
 
I tried something that I thought I would never try before today. I harvested a Bhut Jolokia to cut up and put in pickled Banana Peppers for a couple of friends of mine. I noticed some juice on the tip of my nitrile glove. I touched the juice to the tip of my tongue to see what the burn would be like. Now, keep in mind that I am a heat wimp so hot peppers to me are Jalapeno's. I smelled the fruity flavor of the Ghost Pepper and I could not resist a taste. I am absolutely certain that a bite would all but kill me but I had to try the juice anyway. Talk about a nice sting on just the tip of my tongue. It lasted for about 15-20 minutes and spread out to my lips just a bit. After that there was nothing. It seems I am going to have to work my up to being able to at least try one someday. Oh and I forgot to mention I have Crohn's disease as well. For those that don't know, Crohn's is IBS on crack and steroids both at the same time but I have found that eating pickled Jalapeno's calms my constant stomach ache down. I told that to my GI doc on Friday which completely amazed her. Talk to ya'll later!!![/size]

It doesn't matter if the plants are hung under lights. No effect. That can even be hung in the dark. I'm told that seeds from frozen pods will germinate, but germination rates might be lower. I don't risk it.

 

[ColdSmoke]

I am having a hard time cutting my plants.  I really like the Christmas ornament look to the pods hanging off the branches.  
 
Some pic's from today:
 
Some pods I harvested yesterday and today.
 

 
 
My pickling setup outside on the deck...Happy wife, Happy life!!!
 
 

 
 
Here are some of the Banana Peppers I pickled today.
 

 
I don't see why you feel the need to cut your plants right now. We have a few weeks until the first frost.

 

[turbo]

I don't see why you feel the need to cut your plants right now. We have a few weeks until the first frost.

I agree. We have nights in the low 50s, days in the upper 60s, rain every other day my pants are still growing and pods are still ripening. I'm going to ride this until the pants die back

 

[Roguejim]

The weather here in southern Oregon has been screwy, i.e., warmer than usual. The last week has been in the mid-70s, but Friday's forecast is 91F. Any plants with pods, mostly non-chinenses, will stay in the ground until the pods ripen, or a frost hits. I'm figuring by the end of October, all plants will be pulled. Actually, I'm anxious to get the raised bed prepped for next season. Lots of ways to go about it.

 

[Devv]

Take that warmer weather and run with it, unless it will interfere with the garden soil rehab. We have a cool front coming in tomorrow, which for us is good here. It brings a chance of rain

 

[turbo]

The weather here in southern Oregon has been screwy, i.e., warmer than usual. The last week has been in the mid-70s, but Friday's forecast is 91F. Any plants with pods, mostly non-chinenses, will stay in the ground until the pods ripen, or a frost hits. I'm figuring by the end of October, all plants will be pulled. Actually, I'm anxious to get the raised bed prepped for next season. Lots of ways to go about it.

 
What do you do with your raised bed in the winter to prep for next year?  I built one this year and am not sure what to do with it over the winter.  Seems odd to just leave exposed soil for the rain to wash nutrients away

 

[ColdSmoke]

 
What do you do with your raised bed in the winter to prep for next year?  I built one this year and am not sure what to do with it over the winter.  Seems odd to just leave exposed soil for the rain to wash nutrients away

 
Cover that puppy with a layer dead leafs over a layer of shredded leafs; the earthworms will to the rest...

 

[LowDrag]

 
I don't see why you feel the need to cut your plants right now. We have a few weeks until the first frost.

 
50°F nights are why I am looking to cut and hang my plants.  It's not like the flowers on the plants are going to form into pods.  Plus I don't want to chance losing the pods I do have.  Call it rookie jitters.

 

[Roguejim]

 
What do you do with your raised bed in the winter to prep for next year?  I built one this year and am not sure what to do with it over the winter.  Seems odd to just leave exposed soil for the rain to wash nutrients away

CAVEAT:  There's more than one way to prep a garden.  Lots of info can be quite confusing.  Here's my 2-cents worth. 
 
Last season, in October, I dumped some fresh cow manure on top of my raised bed, and tilled it in.  Then, I covered/mulched it all with about 4" of this: http://biomassone.com/landscaping_materials/green_waste.php

There are many mulches that you can use.  I'm just telling you what I used this past season.  About a month before plant out, I gently raked back the mulch and threw down some composted chicken manure and alfalfa meal.  I then covered it all back up again.  That's what I did.  My garden/raised bed already had plenty of organic matter in the soil from the previous season.  Compost tilled in might be in order if this is your first season, and your soil is very compacted, or has a lot of clay.
 
Now, you should absolutely check out two Glogs here on THP: Devv's, and windchicken's.  You will see two completely different, yet very successful garden areas, with two completely different philosophies and methods. 
 
And while you're at it, sit back and watch this movie which explains why your soil should never be "exposed".
 
http://www.backtoedenfilm.com/
 
There's lots more to say, but, this is a start.  I plan on posting my October 2015 garden prep photos later this month.
EDIT: The link to my particular mulch didn't copy/paste above. I'll copy/paste it again, later. It's just green plant matter that has been run through a chipper, and has turned dark brown with age. I may use something new this upcoming 2015. More later...

 

[Roguejim]

Today I made my final harvest, and prepped almost 1/3 of my raised bed areas.  I have 2 raised beds, one that measures 26'x6', and is strictly used for pepper plants, the other 22'x6' bed which is used for other vegetables.  Here is my prep method that I'm using now for next season.  It is similar to last year's method with a couple of changes.
 
Here is the raised bed stripped of all plants.  It looks tired to me.

 
First, I spread a combination of composted chicken manure and alfalfa meal on the surface, and then scratched it in with a long handled hand tool.  The manure runs $3 for a 25lb bag, the alfalfa meal, $22 for an 80lb bag.  This is a switch from last year when I rototilled in fresh cow manure, instead.  We'll see how it pans out.

 
Alfalfa meal.

 
Chicken manure/alfalfa meal ready to be hand tilled in.

 
The final prep (the key!) is to apply 4" of green waste matter (shredded plant matter) as a mulch.  It only runs $10 per yard.
 
Green waste matter.


 
Prepped.  A month before plantout, as I did last year, I will gently rake back the mulch, and apply more manure/alfalfa meal, but in lesser amounts.  I will also apply some dolomitic lime in an effort to eliminate using cal-mag.

 
If next year's plants respond well to this somewhat new system of amendment, I will likely stick with it, since it's inexpensive without a lot of labor involved.

 

[Devv]

Nice work Jim! That sure is a good way to put the garden away for the winter.
 
And you will be rewarded next spring

 

[Roguejim]

Nice work Jim! That sure is a good way to put the garden away for the winter.
 
And you will be rewarded next spring

Man, I hope I haven't messed things up. In the back of my mind, I'm thinking I should be rototilling every October, but, I'm going to give this "no till" business a fair shot now that my ground is built up sufficiently....gulp...at least, I hope it is. I'm really looking forward to your RCW bed. It might actually take more than one season to be prime, don't you think, Scott? Gary down in Louisiana has that method down cold. Makes me very envious.

 

[Devv]

I think you'll be fine
 
I'm on my 3rd application of RCW and also added leaves, and that's on the upper 2/3+ of the garden where I grow. I put an 1-1.5"s  down at a time. Gary does his differently, but both methods should have the same end result. When it cools down I'll start hitting the county site and regrind the mulch. The chipper grinds it so fine that it goes right in. I tilled the middle section this morning (too many weeds), had the tiller set at just 2"s to kill the weeds and the material was gone (consumed). My plan is to use the material for weed suppression in the spring, till it in September and plant another cover crop.
 
They say the RCW will show results season 2, I'm betting on it. One reason I like the cover crop, besides the green manure factor,is once it gets around 6"s high it creates its own weather, catching the morning dew, and keeping the soil moist, so the materials break down, releasing their goodness...If I wasn't growing 2,500sf of the 3,200 I would not till. I'm ambitious, but not crazy...

 

[FGpepperguy]

Evening all. Well I didnt do a great job with the updates, but I have made these. Cheers!

 

[Roguejim]

Evening all. Well I didnt do a great job with the updates, but I have made these. Cheers!

20141013_031546288_iOS.jpg

Wow!  I'm still learning this fermenting business having ruined my first 2 batches.  Care to share your method?