• Blog your pepper progress. The first image in your first post will be used to represent your Glog.

xdosequisx - 3rd Garden, 1st Glog

Hi THP, this is the start of my third garden.  I've learned a lot over the past two growing seasons, hopefully this year will continue improving.  I'll be growing mostly in containers, as I've found that my hugelcultur-ish bed isn't very good for peppers, amongst other things.  
 
2015 Pepper Grow List:
Large Hot Cherry
Kaliedoscope
Large Cracked Jalapeno
Quadrato d'Asti Giallo Bell
King of the North Bell
C. galapogonese
Peach Ghost Scorpion
Carolina Reaper
Red, White, and Brown Bhuts
Piquin
Tepin
Datil
Aji Limon
Rocoto
Bulls Heart
Arbol
Trinidad Perfume
Long Thin Cayenne
Tobasco
 
Heres my ghetto-ass germination station
E4VI5ca.jpg

 
Tray #1 with mostly hots:
 
crfIURG.jpg

 
And tray #2 with not-so-hots and some other stuff like watermelons, hibiscus, and cardoons.  Started everything about 3 weeks ago.
 
3pra6eA.jpg

 
Overwinters didn't fare so well.
 
gqVMrDy.jpg
418yd8S.jpg

 
I hate you so much, overwinters.   :banghead:
 
Here are some bonus plant pics.  My Verte (Green Ischia) Fig, which I haven't really figured out how to care for yet:
 
YcAU2oS.jpg

 
It's about 6 years old now.  I've been bringing it inside every winter until I can figure out a way to keep it warm and protected outside.  Serves me right for not researching more hardy varieties.
 
Heres my Catha Edulis, I started it from seed about 7 years ago.  Its seen better days...
 
qk4tXYp.jpg

 
One more pic, last years garden around July-ish.  Usually the pots are spread around the edge of the garden, Had to move them out of the way for the neighbor's kid's birthday party.
 
sOf5Ppg.jpg

 
Hope you enjoy watching my garden progress over the season, I'll try to be diligent about updating.  Sorry in advance for my potato-pics, I'll post some better ones later taken by my girlfriend.  Cheers from Boston!
 
QmoNXs9.jpg
 
lol dat free snow... anyone else wondering what they used to write that w/? blood? gatorade?
 
Are you growin any tomatoes this year? Looks like you had some monsters last year...
 
moruga welder said:
one thing to remember , do not over water ! i see looks to be green algae on the soil .   must stay on the dry side .    :onfire:
 
Noted.  I was sort of hoping to increase humidity and slightly cool the trays, the heat pad is a bit on the toasty side.
 
Runescape said:
lol dat free snow... anyone else wondering what they used to write that w/? blood? gatorade?
 
Are you growin any tomatoes this year? Looks like you had some monsters last year...
 
Written in the blood of innocents sacrificed to the snow gods, of course.
 
Definitely growing lots of tomatoes this year.  Last year I did Fox Cherry, Opalka, Moskvich, Amish Paste, Cherokee Purple, Black Krim, and Caspian Pink, all grafted to Maxifort rootstock.  This year I'll be trying out Estamino rootstock, and adding San Marzanos and Brandywine.  I'll probably get those started around the beginning of April, depending on how procrastinatey I am this year.
 
xdosequisx said:
Written in the blood of innocents sacrificed to the snow gods, of course.
 
This year I'll be trying out Estamino rootstock
Lol.
 
Did you notice any differences in grafted and ungrafted plants from previous years?
 
Love tyne G-A germination station!
 
Love the G-A germination station!
 
I love it so much I had to post twice   :rofl:
 
Good luck this season!
 
Runescape said:
Lol.
 
Did you notice any differences in grafted and ungrafted plants from previous years?
No doubt about it, I got at least twice as many tomatoes out of half as many plants. The only downside is that the plants are so vigorous and heavy with fruit that they can't support their own weight. I also had to prune off the sidesuckers at least twice a week to keep the plants managable.
 
xdosequisx said:
The only downside is that the plants are so vigorous and heavy with fruit that they can't support their own weight.
Sounds like a problem we'd all like to have...
 
Will have to look into grafting toms in the future...
 
Not much of an update but I've got nothing better to do, so here's some pics for your enjoyment.
 
Tray of mostly hots, not much progress since last post:
 
lIR7clD.jpg

 
(Ziptie is stuck into upper righthand corner)
 
Legend, which I was too lazy to type out:
 
bN6oOkt.jpg

 
Looks like the Reapers, Peach Ghost Scorps, Red Bhuts, and Tobascos are doing nicely.  Everything else is sorta... eh
 
Not hots, and other stuff:
 
kiki7DG.jpg

 
...OH SHIT! Ran to the kitchen for water immediately after taking a pic to document my failure.
 
Like i said... not much progress.  Here's some more pics.
 
Garden bed build in progress, circa April 2013:
 
cAIPAOw.jpg

 
Weeds and accumulated yard waste burnt off, bed lightly aerated with a pitchfork.  Cardboard over the rows, rotting wood on top, then compost from the town composting site (free if you pay your trash pickup fee early), raw horse manure and wood chips (also free from a local equestrian club), another layer of compost, another layer of manure, then a hearty layer of hay on top.  All in all, I added about a half-ton of deadwood, 1.5 tons of compost, 1 ton of horse manure/wood chips, and like ~3 bales of hay.  Not that I measured... just guessing by the assumption that 1 slightly to moderately overloaded F-150 worth of stuff is ~1000lbs. Unfortunately, I was unaware that seed-free straw was a thing when I built the bed, and now everything is covered in grass and morning glory.  In November 2013 after the close of garden #1 I amended with 80lbs of composted chicken manure, and covered everything with seed-free salt marsh hay.
 
Summer 2013 garden went well, could have gone better.  Lost every pepper that was planted in the bed as well as some of the tomatoes to verticillium wilt.  Lost all of my cabbage to slugs.  No carrots, lettuce, or beets germinated.  Nasturtiums, tomatoes, and kale thrived.  I'll skip the pics from that season.
 
Fast forward: first signs of life, ~late March 2014
 
Pfr0Lbj.jpg

 
Peak green-ness, ~early July 2014
 
EgJOiQS.jpg

 
Starting to taper back, early August 2014:
 
dnd0OTd.jpg

 
Post-Snowpocalypse, February 2015:
 
fmulOMr.jpg

 
Aaaaaannnnnd, garden state as of today, March 19 2015:
 
2QtAUtG.jpg

 
I can see patches of dirt! Yaaay!
 
One more bonus pic:
 
WnUDnrD.jpg

 
Wild pitcher plants along the Ponkapoag bog boardwalk in the Blue Hills Reservation, Milton MA.
 
Thanks for following, more updates to follow as soon as something interesting happens.
 
Back
Top