Pulpiteer 2014 Grow log - Prepping for next year!

beerbreath81 · Apr 4, 2014

just catching your glog, looks like youve had a rough winter with all the snow and now the move. Your plants are looking really good and your OW's are already producing pods...that great. Looks like your girls arent afraid to get elbow deep in helping dad with the planting process, if they are anything like my son they are always helping you out and have plenty of suggestions along the way. My son who is 5 always wants to help water, rotate, and transplant. Its good to have such good helpers. He is always wanting to save seeds from fruit we get at the store and put them in the soil. He saved a watermelon seed a while back and snuck downstairs and planted it in a cup of soil all by himself. It actually did come up so he has one to tend to now and is excited to get it in the garden.

The taped maple trees look like they are on life support, unfamiliar with the syrup making process but look really good in the end.

The bearberry is a new one to me...had to goole it, but looks like a sure winner. Hopefully they germinate for you

You didnt mention, where are you moving to?

Devv · Apr 4, 2014

Plants are looking super Andy!

Hopefully you'll have access to the new place by the time they're ready to hit dirt.

Cool making the syrup, can't beat homemade.

Keep it green!

Pulpiteer · Apr 4, 2014

romy6 said:
Plants look great Andy . Wow 200 plants . That is a bunch .

Sending prayers your way that the move goes smooth and they allow you to plant in ground. I have found that fresh soil that has not ever been grown on can sometimes perform well enough the first season. Hopefully that will be the case for you .

How many miles away is your move ?

Best of luck . We will be watching .

Thanks Jamie! They're coming along pretty decent. I'm actually growing a few less than I have in recent years, not by much though. Trying to cut back a bit to make plant out less crazy. As it turns out I had to cut back even more to accommodate the move. I think things will work themselves out - just the challenges and awkwardness of being someplace new. The parsonage system, which is how we have our housing, is good but has it's awkward spots. It's supposed to be "our house" to live in, and for the most part it is. But it is the church's house, and they care for it. So until there is a level of trust built I need to be measured in my choices. The soil should be good, I think. It's in the middle of some farmer's fields, basically, so the soil must be pretty good. I'll only be moving about 28 miles from where I am now, so that's a nice thing. We'll still be close to our families - my wife and I are from the same small town not too far from here, so that's a plus as well.

Once I get into developing a new space, that will be more fun. Now it's just the challenges and uncertainties of waiting and change.

beerbreath81 said:
just catching your glog, looks like youve had a rough winter with all the snow and now the move. Your plants are looking really good and your OW's are already producing pods...that great. Looks like your girls arent afraid to get elbow deep in helping dad with the planting process, if they are anything like my son they are always helping you out and have plenty of suggestions along the way. My son who is 5 always wants to help water, rotate, and transplant. Its good to have such good helpers. He is always wanting to save seeds from fruit we get at the store and put them in the soil. He saved a watermelon seed a while back and snuck downstairs and planted it in a cup of soil all by himself. It actually did come up so he has one to tend to now and is excited to get it in the garden.

The taped maple trees look like they are on life support, unfamiliar with the syrup making process but look really good in the end.

The bearberry is a new one to me...had to goole it, but looks like a sure winner. Hopefully they germinate for you

You didnt mention, where are you moving to?

Thanks for checking it out! This winter has been the roughest I remember. It's been hard on people's psyches as much as anything. Almost all the snow is gone off the ground now, for the first time since November, so that's a nice thing. This has been by far my most successful OW season. I'm excited to see how they do in the ground through their 2nd year. It's a great time to have the kids help out. My oldest boy loves collecting seeds as well. It's fascinating to him. Cool that yours started a watermelon! From seed to fruit really is a miracle, and it's fun to get caught up in the wonder with children.

As far as Maple Syrup - you collect sap during the beginning of the thaw. The temps in the daytime should be upper 30's to 40's and at night below freezing. That way the sap runs up in the day and back into the ground at night and picks up more sugar. You might get a week's worth of time or you might get a month - all depending on the weather. It takes about 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup. It takes a long time, but the taste is unbelievable.

The bearberry hasn't germinated yet, but it might take a few months, I guess? I don't know. Fun experiment though and the seeds were some I bought to put me at a high enough total to get free shipping from tradewinds, so I've got nothing to lose.

I'm moving to a city north of Lansing called St. Johns. It's a small city, rural, blue collar, agriculture all around it. It should be a good fit for me and I know some folks at the church already from some retreats I help out with so that's a good thing.

Glad you stopped in!

Devv said:
Plants are looking super Andy!

Hopefully you'll have access to the new place by the time they're ready to hit dirt.

Cool making the syrup, can't beat homemade.

Keep it green!

Thanks! I think I'll be able to work things out. The transition is awkward, but the folks involved are all really good about everything, so there is hope. One of my biggest fears is deer in the new area. It's more in the country, so we'll see how it goes.

That syrup is terrific. The pepper infused is wonderful.

RocketMan · Apr 10, 2014

Pulpiteer said:
Spring is coming, they say...

Thanks for stopping by!

Looking back through they glog and saw this picture again and remembered what I had thought the first time i saw it. The thought still holds, did you go out with a staff and like Moses open a path through the snow?

I could just see you out there, bandana flapping in the wind raising your Push broom and voice and the snow just jumping back from the drive way :rofl:

Man 2 peppers in there, that syrup must be flaming, like my pumpkin

Pulpiteer · Apr 12, 2014

RocketMan said:
Looking back through they glog and saw this picture again and remembered what I had thought the first time i saw it. The thought still holds, did you go out with a staff and like Moses open a path through the snow?

I could just see you out there, bandana flapping in the wind raising your Push broom and voice and the snow just jumping back from the drive way

Man 2 peppers in there, that syrup must be flaming, like my pumpkin

That's a cool visual :surprised:

. Unfortunately the reality was much less glamorous. Although there are plenty of times I'm outside with bandana flapping in the wind. I shoveled more snow this year than the rest of my life combined, I think.
The syrup did not turn out too hot. I kept it reasonable since I share it with people, but it does have a nice little kick. Those CARDI scorps (from seed from Jamie) were perfect for it.

I went through my plants last night in order to sort out mine from the ones I would give away with the pepper draft, which is coming in a few weeks. I'll post more about that whole event in the coming weeks, but this will be the third annual pepper draft, and the final one from this location.

I've discovered that the lack of heat in the basement really hinders my plants' growth, but the light I have down there is sufficient. The baccatums and the pubescens do well, but the chinense are really slow. They are not leggy, though, so they will make it and if the ground ever warms up here, they will do fine.

Here are some plants:

Trinidad Scorpion Chocolate:

Bahamian Goat

Jay's Peach Ghost Scorpion

Giant Mexican Rocoto

Scotch Bonnet MoA

HP22B Carolina Reaper(TM)

Red Rocoto

So there they all are. The growth is coming along fine, I think. I have just a few plants that are really lagging, but for the most part I'm good. It'll be a challenge to get them planted in a different spot.
If anyone has any hints on keeping deer out of a garden, let me know. That will be a problem in the next place.

Finally, some pictures of our fish.

These are our rain barrel fish. One is a cheap koi type, and the other is a firemouth cichlid.

Just as an aside: I keep them in this pickle jar over winter, and the other jar beside it is the fresh water I'll put in daily for a water change. I leave it out so that the chlorine evaporates off from it. This way you don't have to buy water treating stuff for most water. I remove a little old water each day to replace it, but put that in old plastic containers and use that to water my seedlings. That way I get free, nitrogen enriched water for my plants. This is cheap enough to do if you are looking for a natural and low cost fertilizer that is high in nitrogen. Let the fish make it for you.

And here is our 90 gallon tank with our Red Devil Cichlid "Charlie." We named her when we thought she was male, but turns out she lays eggs, and Charlie works for a girl too. Red Devils are great to keep, but you have to keep them alone because they are so aggressive. They are similar to Oscars, but even more aggressive. She will probably get to be 10-12 inches at maturity.

Alright - that's what I've got for now. Going to be a busy week coming up with Holy Week. Have a good weekend everyone!

thanks for stopping by!

Devv · Apr 12, 2014

Nice looking plants Andy! I can tell they're well cared for; it doesn't matter if they're growing a little slow, as long as they grow

Mine grew like crazy until I put them in the dirt, the weather went cooler than normal. But I'm still ahead of last years progress.

I like the fish water idea for use when watering the plants, makes good use of natural resources.

Charlie looks like she has a smile on her face, nice looking fish. So what happens if you introduce a male into the tank? And if they mate, will they harm their young?

Enjoy this up coming week!

Pulpiteer · Apr 12, 2014

Devv said:
Nice looking plants Andy! I can tell they're well cared for; it doesn't matter if they're growing a little slow, as long as they grow

Mine grew like crazy until I put them in the dirt, the weather went cooler than normal. But I'm still ahead of last years progress.

I like the fish water idea for use when watering the plants, makes good use of natural resources.

Charlie looks like she has a smile on her face, nice looking fish. So what happens if you introduce a male into the tank? And if they mate, will they harm their young?

Enjoy this up coming week!

Thanks Scott! Most of my plants are looking pretty decent. Like I wrote on your glog, I had trouble hitting the dirt last year too due to the cooler temps. Until that soil warms up, those peppers won't do so well, especially the Chinense varieties, I think. I hope we get some heat here when we are supposed to. Once they get going they seem to take off.

If we put a male into Charlie's tank, one would beat the other up until it died. 90 gallons just isn't big enough from what I've heard. If you go to the end of the tank and look in, she'll swim at you and ram into the glass. They are very territorial. It makes them pretty fun though

. I am not sure how big the tanks or ponds are that they need to mate them. I've bred some African Cichlids in the past, and they are mouth brooders, so they are a little different, but what usually happens is the mothers guard the fry until a certain age, then after awhile it's every fish for themselves and they absolutely will eat their own. In this tank, she would eat all her children, and then flash you that smile again. I had a male Red Devil several years ago that would come to the top of the water, stick his head out a bit, and let you pet him, but when I cleaned the tank he'd attack my hands and bite me. They have teeth similar to a bass, and they strike pretty hard, so he drew blood on me several times. I know that would turn some people off, but I thought it was a pretty awesome personality for a fish. Plus I'd dare people to stick their fingers in the tank sometimes and that was always fun to watch. No one else got bit, but they freaked out when the fish charged.

Pulpiteer · Apr 25, 2014

Ok, Holy Week is done, so I've got just a bit of time here, although it's 1:20 am as I type this, so I am burning the candle at both ends...

The Pepper Draft (3rd Annual) is coming this Saturday! New t-shirts this year. Should be awesome. 96 or so plants will be lovingly drafted.

Speaking of the plants...

You can see they are growing up pretty decent. Two years ago they were much larger, but I think it's because of the extra heat I had, but all in all, these look pretty good right now.

One surprise entrant to the draft is the Darwin Plant - the survival of the fittest pot. I put the plants in here that were extra, but I couldn't stand to cull, and the strongest will win. Here it is:

So I received an absolutely wonderful package in the mail from Coheed196. I mean, a really nice gift. Tons of seeds!

Great stuff! I'll have to do these next year because it's a little late up here already, but I did throw a couple Bhut Orange Copenhagen seeds in the soil.

Awesome selection, tons that I haven't heard of, wilds and pubescens, so much awesomeness.

I have been working on a hot sauce project. I've been picky this year with my homemade stuff. This is my third batch and I think the first keeper. It's got a bunch of browns (douglahs, 7 pot browns, chocolate habs), serranos, sweet potato, carrots, garlic - they were all fermented for about 4 months.

I also put to use my new food processor. It worked well. I had to buy a bigger one than the small one that was designated for hot stuff.

After heating up then grinding, it goes through the seed mill:

Then after it's smoothed out, I added some pepper infused vinegar, white vinegar, and some acai pomegranate juice.

I ended up bottling it. Pretty pleased. Good taste, garlic and a little sweetness hits you first, then a lot of heat.

Finally, I've been working on learning how to vermicompost. The worms are doing well. They are multiplying like crazy. Here is just the first handful of dirt I pulled up.

I now have to figure out how to get the worms out of the compost, so I can still use them and then dry out the compost to use that. If you have any ideas, I'm game.

Thanks for stopping by!

romy6 · Apr 25, 2014

Wowza Andy . Your plants are looking might fine sir. I could find the gumption to give such perfect specimens away . You are much stronger than I .

That fermented sauce look superlicious. As for removing the worms I would try getting as much out by hand then setting them in a strainer and wash the dirt off. I am sure someone will come up with a better idea than that . :rolleyes:

Best of luck with all you have going and remember to take a pic of that sauce when it is bottled :party:

compmodder26 · Apr 25, 2014

Plants looks wonderful Andy! Very healthy. Good job brother!

RocketMan · Apr 25, 2014

Andy, I'm going to have to declare you a Graduate of Fermenting 101 with that sauce!

Here's your Sign

JoeFish · Apr 25, 2014

I want to taste that sauce! Plants looking good mine look bad but they are growing since I put them in the dirt so all is well rookie mistakes got them sunburnt and stressed out. Good luck this year, here it comes!

Devv · Apr 25, 2014

Super good looking plants Andy!

Liking the hot sauce too! I have a batch fermenting since mid January that I need to get going with, but the garden and new raised beds and, and, you know

I'm sure the Pepper draft will be a huge success, looking forward to seeing the results!

Nice score on the seeds, a most generous gift!

@Rocketman: He deserves the award

Keep it green!

Pulpiteer · Apr 25, 2014

romy6 said:
Wowza Andy . Your plants are looking might fine sir. I could find the gumption to give such perfect specimens away . You are much stronger than I .

That fermented sauce look superlicious. As for removing the worms I would try getting as much out by hand then setting them in a strainer and wash the dirt off. I am sure someone will come up with a better idea than that .

Best of luck with all you have going and remember to take a pic of that sauce when it is bottled

Thanks Jamie! I do get quite a bit of joy over giving them away - and it's not all honorable either. I mean, I encourage fighting during the draft. I just stir the pot and watch, and they play into it, so I get some entertainment out of it!

Your picture as requested:

I still need to label them and put the shrink wrap top on them. They'll be ready tomorrow as gifts during the draft.

compmodder26 said:
Plants looks wonderful Andy! Very healthy. Good job brother!

Thank you very much!

RocketMan said:
Andy, I'm going to have to declare you a Graduate of Fermenting 101 with that sauce!

Here's your Sign

Golly, I'm blushing! Thanks - all your posts have helped so much. There is so much great information on this site, and wonderful people who share it!

JoeFish said:
I want to taste that sauce! Plants looking good mine look bad but they are growing since I put them in the dirt so all is well rookie mistakes got them sunburnt and stressed out. Good luck this year, here it comes!

Yeah, there will be a big change in mine once they get outside. I've yet to master hardening them off properly, and that leads to some ugliness for a few weeks, but once those roots take hold and the plants adjust - watch out! There is nothing like being in the soil for them. Mother nature takes over and does wonders.

Devv said:
Super good looking plants Andy!

Liking the hot sauce too! I have a batch fermenting since mid January that I need to get going with, but the garden and new raised beds and, and, you know

I'm sure the Pepper draft will be a huge success, looking forward to seeing the results!

Nice score on the seeds, a most generous gift!

@Rocketman: He deserves the award

Keep it green!

I hear ya. It took longer to get to that ferment than I thought because I was busy, but if it's fermenting ok, then there's no rush, which is a beautiful thing.

I'm excited about the draft! It's a lot of fun, food, and I've been molding and creating new pepperheads along the way. It's a beautiful thing!

Oh - I got a package in the mail today:

2 honeyberry plants. I put them in the ground and I'll move them to the new place at the end of May or beginning of June. Here's what they are:

http://www.starkbros.com/products/berry-plants/honeyberry-plants;jsessionid=E7F1583308F22342B5AE7372E43C9659

I'm really curious how they grow out and how they taste. They sound neat, and I wanted to give them a shot. I just can't stop buying plants...

Devv · Apr 27, 2014

Never heard about honeyberry's before. They sound tasty. They are right on the edge of my zone, it shows me as 8B, but 9 is soo close!

Please keep us informed how they do and taste.

Big Kahuna · Apr 28, 2014

Five minutes ago I'd never heard of a honeyberry plant, and now my life will be incomplete until I get one...

PaulG · Apr 28, 2014

Andy, your grow is really progressing, my friend. the plants look great - green, glossy and healthy!
The winner of your survivor contest looks like an awesome plant.
Sorry to hear about your move upcoming. I know it is hard to pull up stakes and move on. I'm sure
you will make the best of it, and who knows what cool things might come put of this transition?

Think of yourself as Andy Pepperseed, spreading heat and the methodist gospel throughout the midwest!

Good luck, buddy.

Pulpiteer · Apr 28, 2014

Devv said:
Never heard about honeyberry's before. They sound tasty. They are right on the edge of my zone, it shows me as 8B, but 9 is soo close!

Please keep us informed how they do and taste.

Some of these perennial fruits are some of the few gardening things we northerners can hold over you southerners heads. You may be able to grow peppers for most of the year, but if you need honeyberries, you have to come north!

I am excited to see how they do taste. I've read stuff that varies from a nice blueberry taste with an after taste of honey, to them being bitter. They look cool at least.

ChiliNoob said:
Five minutes ago I'd never heard of a honeyberry plant, and now my life will be incomplete until I get one...

I love it! Now is a good time to order some!

PaulG said:
Andy, your grow is really progressing, my friend. the plants look great - green, glossy and healthy!
The winner of your survivor contest looks like an awesome plant.
Sorry to hear about your move upcoming. I know it is hard to pull up stakes and move on. I'm sure
you will make the best of it, and who knows what cool things might come put of this transition?

Think of yourself as Andy Pepperseed, spreading heat and the methodist gospel throughout the midwest!

Good luck, buddy.

Thanks Paul! The move will have some set backs as well as some opportunities - and this is life, isn't it? I love the image of "Andy Pepperseed" - I'm going with it!

Just a quick report on the pepper draft - it was awesome!

I had 97 plants that were up for draft. They were chosen by 5 couples who will pick them up at a later date when they plant their gardens. The first year I did this, we had 3 couples, so the love of heat is growing! Prior to the draft we draw ping pong balls for the draft order. Then we draft following a 1,2,3,4,5,5,4,3,2,1 and so on, pattern. This means that the 1 and 5 positions have back to back picks, which adds some strategy.

Here are the draft candidates:

Each couple is given a pepper draft description sheet, along with link to a password protected webpage on my blogsite which contains descriptions of the plants, pictures of peppers I have grown out personally, and the number of available plants for each variety. They then assemble their draft boards accordingly. The beautiful thing is that they have totally bought into the whole thing and it gets serious:

I get things going and then watch the proceedings. The first pick in this year's pepper draft was an MoA Scotch Bonnet. This was a solid selection, but since there were several of those available, it was a questionable pick. The pick was made by a person drafting for the first time this year. Rookie mistake.

Real strategy comes when people wait for a bit, then with one of the back to back picks decide to select two of the same variety. Here is what that means: picture there is a popular variety, but there are 4 plants. So, you pick a different kind thinking you'll be safe to get that other variety later. Next thing you know, one of the other participants decides to select 2 of the same variety back to back, or nearly back to back, which then creates a run on that variety, and if you are far enough removed from your pick, you may totally miss out. Strategy is both applauded by other participants and people are given a hard time for blowing up someone else's draft board. It gets lively.

It's not all hard work. We eat a lot.

And people were sent home with prizes:

Finally, we had special shirts made up again. And yes, I do dress up my children in clothing with giant pictures of my head on them:

In other news, I repotted some plants today and the roots are looking pretty decent.

That's it - thanks for stopping by!

PaulG · Apr 30, 2014

That is so awesome, Andy. What a cool event. They are lucky to have you as their pastor!

RocketMan · Apr 30, 2014

Looks like a blast Andy, BTW, what does it say under your big head on the shirt? Next you need to get some Pepper Draft Bandanas made up.