2019 Hay Bale Pepper Patch

lespaulde · Apr 19, 2019

DWB said:
After average April high of 75 and average low of 57, it's back on with the row covers. No realistic danger of a frost but lows in the low and mid 40's for a few days.

Dang cold again. Early this morning it wasn't bad at all. 70-something. Since then I had to give up my usual shorts and tank top for jeans, a hoodie and a coat. It feels like the wind is coming straight down from Matty's frozen wonderland in Canada with nothing but a barbed wire fence to block it.

How annoying! Hopefully a week or 2 tops and it will be back to normal - plants are looking awesome and are clearly enjoying the great care you're taking of them. Impressive grow and all that prep work on those hay bales should give you lots of benefits for years to come! How many maters are you expecting to harvest from such a huge amount of plants? Guessing you'll be canning quite a bit at the end of season?

Great work Dee!

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DWB · Apr 19, 2019

lespaulde said:
How annoying! Hopefully a week or 2 tops and it will be back to normal - plants are looking awesome and are clearly enjoying the great care you're taking of them. Impressive grow and all that prep work on those hay bales should give you lots of benefits for years to come! How many maters are you expecting to harvest from such a huge amount of plants? Guessing you'll be canning quite a bit at the end of season?

Great work Dee!

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Thanks.

I think the weather should be back to normal by the first of the week. We just had a superstrong cold front/squall line come through and drag a bunch of Matty's igloo air down here. Pretty soon we'll be wishing for more of the same but it can't happen too many more times this year. After another month a cold front will be simply be more heat with a tad bit less humidity for a day or two.

I have 48 mater plants and I'm just hoping for a few good meals became they're very difficult to grow successfully around here.

In the event they do well, I'll dry, can and otherwise preserve as many of the Amish Paste and A Grappoli D'Inverno as possible.
The A Grappoli D'Inverno are actually designed to be hung on the vine in a shed and stay fresh into the winter We'll see about that.

As for the grape and cherry snack varieties, I have no problem at all eating a kilo a day, every day. I hope they do well enough to make me sick of eating tomatoes. Yeah, like that's gonna happen. I love those suckers. My candy.

Any overflow of the sauce tomatoes I don't want to deal with will go to the restaurant of a friend who will make kickass pizza sauce with them.

Devv · Apr 19, 2019

DWB said:
Thanks.

I think the weather should be back to normal by the first of the week. We just had a superstrong cold front/squall line come through and drag a bunch of Matty's igloo air down here. Pretty soon we'll be wishing for more of the same but it can't happen too many more times this year. After another month a cold front will be simply be more heat with a tad bit less humidity for a day or two.

I have 48 mater plants and I'm just hoping for a few good meals became they're very difficult to grow successfully around here.

In the event they do well, I'll dry, can and otherwise preserve as many of the Amish Paste and A Grappoli D'Inverno as possible.
The A Grappoli D'Inverno are actually designed to be hung on the vine in a shed and stay fresh into the winter We'll see about that.

As for the grape and cherry snack varieties, I have no problem at all eating a kilo a day, every day. I hope they do well enough to make me sick of eating tomatoes. Yeah, like that's gonna happen. I love those suckers. My candy.

Any overflow of the sauce tomatoes I don't want to deal with will go to the restaurant of a friend who will make kickass pizza sauce with them.

I've been growing the Early Girl variety here for years, after trying many other varieties. Very productive and tasty

I also grow the Amish Paste now. Eric (stetto) turned me on to them. I start them 7 weeks before typical dirt day (March 1st), this year I had to hold off 1 week due to cold weather. I bury the plants at a 45° angle (kinda) and just leave the crown and one leaf on top. Once they get 1 foot over the top of the cages I cut them back, as that growth never produces any viable maters. The heat kicks in and by mid June we're done here. I usually can get close to 2 quarts of canned maters per plant in a good year. I'm trying Pink German this season, just cuz

And always drop a couple of grape mater plants in the mix as well...

You mentioned drying them, can you enlighten me on the process?

The garden looks great and I feel this last blast is the last of the worry weather, 'cept for stormage....

DWB · Apr 19, 2019

I've grown the Early Girl before. Those put out a ton in Denver but not so much down here.

I'm hoping the heirloom tomatoes do better down here with better resistance to the zillion forms of deep south tomato death. You like the Amish Paste?

Drying produce is the quick and dirty way to save a lot of space and time. Just hack them up to preference and put them in the dehydrator. I'll do most of the green beans in there. Most stuff I do the quick soak in antibacterial produce wash before the dehydrator unless I'm gonna do it hot.

I figured you were around San Antonio when I saw your turkey picture. It may be dry enough there for you to sun dry maters.

I'll be glad when the nights start staying reliably above 60. The plants should take off then.

DWB · Apr 21, 2019

Making progress. Tomato road and a pepper row. For perspective, the yellow ropes are at 33"

I think I'm way behind on my tomato training.

dragonsfire · Apr 21, 2019

Nice!
Wish I could put mine out but we still get 0 at night at times, next weekend also 0 temps.

DWB · Apr 21, 2019

Thanks.

Sorry about the cold weather.

PaulG · Apr 21, 2019

CDNmatt said:
I can neither confirm nor deny that I had any part of that....The only thing I have found to combat said problem is to bitch aboot it till the warmer weather eventually comes.

Geez,Matty, that's a great strategy.
Maybe I'll give it a go!

Wait a minute, I already do that

DWB said:
I'll be glad when the nights start staying reliably above 60. The plants should take off then.
No s**t, Sherlock

Annual Climate Data for Zipcode 97006 - Beaverton, OR zone 8a, 9b
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Annual
Avg Min Temp (°F) 34 36 38 41 45 51 54 54 50 43 39 35 43
Avg Max Temp (°F) 46 51 56 61 68 73 80 81 76 64 52 46 63
Avg Precip (In.) 5.96 4.89 4.16 2.78 2.41 1.63 .63 .95 1.68 3.02 6.05 6.39 40.55

Feel better? If we had to wait for 60˚F nights,
we could never grow peppers here :rofl:

That's why plant-out here is literally like childbirth,
going from the warm, serene garage and greenhouse
wombs out into the realities of the insect, disease-laden,
and stormy world. The varieties I grow must be able to
perform well with some 45˚F nights, occasionally a cooler night
in the mix.

Of course, with all the climate weirdities going on, that
could well change.

dragonsfire said:
Nice!
Wish I could put mine out but we still get 0 at night at times, next weekend also 0 temps.

Your chart probably looks worse than mine!

DWB · Apr 21, 2019

PaulG said:
Feel better? If we had to wait for 60˚F nights,
we could never grow peppers here

If I had the stones for it, I could have planted out in February.

Maybe next year I'll plan a little better and do more starts so I can go ahead and clear out a bunch really early and have 100 extra to put in large pots to grow out for disaster recovery.

dragonsfire · Apr 21, 2019

not good.

PaulG · Apr 21, 2019

dragonsfire said:
not good.

That's just sick, Neil!
Here's hoping for better weather to come!

CDNmatt · Apr 21, 2019

dragonsfire said:
not good.

Tradsies?

PtMD989 · Apr 21, 2019

CDNmatt said:
Tradsies?

You forgot to call “ no trade back “[emoji16]

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Devv · Apr 21, 2019

DWB said:
I've grown the Early Girl before. Those put out a ton in Denver but not so much down here.

I'm hoping the heirloom tomatoes do better down here with better resistance to the zillion forms of deep south tomato death. You like the Amish Paste?

Drying produce is the quick and dirty way to save a lot of space and time. Just hack them up to preference and put them in the dehydrator. I'll do most of the green beans in there. Most stuff I do the quick soak in antibacterial produce wash before the dehydrator unless I'm gonna do it hot.

I figured you were around San Antonio when I saw your turkey picture. It may be dry enough there for you to sun dry maters.

I'll be glad when the nights start staying reliably above 60. The plants should take off then.

That's strange the Early Girl don't do well there. Here, it's rather desert like at times , so I hand water them from the rain collection system we have. I guess it's really wet there then? Because heat we got!

The Amish Paste are really good, they just don't produce as well as the EG's.

Devv · Apr 21, 2019

PaulG said:
Geez,Matty, that's a great strategy.
Maybe I'll give it a go!

Wait a minute, I already do that

Annual Climate Data for Zipcode 97006 - Beaverton, OR zone 8a, 9b
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Annual
Avg Min Temp (°F) 34 36 38 41 45 51 54 54 50 43 39 35 43
Avg Max Temp (°F) 46 51 56 61 68 73 80 81 76 64 52 46 63
Avg Precip (In.) 5.96 4.89 4.16 2.78 2.41 1.63 .63 .95 1.68 3.02 6.05 6.39 40.55

Feel better? If we had to wait for 60˚F nights,
we could never grow peppers here

That's why plant-out here is literally like childbirth,
going from the warm, serene garage and greenhouse
wombs out into the realities of the insect, disease-laden,
and stormy world. The varieties I grow must be able to
perform well with some 45˚F nights, occasionally a cooler night
in the mix.

Of course, with all the climate weirdities going on, that
could well change.

Your chart probably looks worse than mine!

Perhaps I wait too long before I set them out? That's crazy your average night time temps are never above 60°

Next year experiment time!

San Antonio temps, we're a bit warmer..and those highs get to 100+ from May on, and the lows could be in the 20's in late March. What's a mother to do?

Month Low High
Jan 38.6°F 62.1°F
Feb 42.4°F 67.1°F
Mar 49.9°F 74.3°F
Apr 56.9°F    80.4°F
May 65.5°F 91.4°F
Jul 74.0°F     94.6°F
Aug 73.6°F   94.7°F
Sept 68.8°F 90.0°F
Oct 59.4°F    82.0°F
Nov 48.6°F    71.4°F
Dec 40.8°F   64.0°F

Edit: format the temps a bit, very little bit

Downriver · Apr 21, 2019

Wow D, plants are lookin happy, happy.

What kinda beans you got growin?

DWB · Apr 22, 2019

Devv said:
That's strange the Early Girl don't do well there. Here, it's rather desert like at times , so I hand water them from the rain collection system we have. I guess it's really wet there then? Because heat we got!

The Amish Paste are really good, they just don't produce as well as the EG's.

The air gets really swampy in the summer with a lot of rain. Everybody has trouble growing maters around here. Seems like wilt is endemic. This year I have the best looking mater plants ever so I hope they do well early and survive the awful part of summer and live to make me some late tomatoes.

Devv said:
San Antonio temps, we're a bit warmer..and those highs get to 100+ from May on, and the lows could be in the 20's in late March. What's a mother to do?

The news said a new historical low for 4/21 in Mobile was set yesterday morning at 42°. The lowest I saw was 48°. Still not completely home free since we could theoretically still have a light frost.

DownRiver said:
Wow D, plants are lookin happy, happy.

What kinda beans you got growin?

Thanks DR. All but a Fatalii and a Douglah are looking happy. I think maybe Cody peed on them. I wasn't thinking far enough ahead when I taught him to fertilize the bales with urea nitrogen last year.

The beans are Old Homestead heirloom pole beans from Baker Creek.

DWB · Apr 23, 2019

Potting mix. Basically the same as I make every year. I'll put it here so I never lose my note.

5 parts last year's mix
5 parts Suwanee River pine fines
2 parts composted sheep manure/hay
2 parts composted horse manure
2 parts peat (from a bale)
2 parts perlite (smaller particle than the PVP perlite I like but it was $4 cheaper per 4 cf bag)
1 part high calcium (egg shell) compost
requisite handful of Osmocote

DWB · Apr 25, 2019

I wrapped my first tulle/field fence isolation cage today. I used hot glue for this one so we'll see how it holds up in the big storm that's allegedly coming tonight.

I learned something on this first one. Don't glue it all up and then try to slip in place over the wire. Methinks that's about like trying to put a condom on a cholla cactus. When I do another, I'll glue the top shut then glue the side seam shut while in place on the cage.

I found a bunch of baby maters on the A Grappoli D'Inverno plants.

Devv · Apr 25, 2019

DWB said:
I wrapped my first tulle/field fence isolation cage today. I used hot glue for this one so we'll see how it holds up in the big storm that's allegedly coming tonight.

I learned something on this first one. Don't glue it all up and then try to slip in place over the wire. Methinks that's about like trying to put a condom on a cholla cactus. When I do another, I'll glue the top shut then glue the side seam shut while in place on the cage.

I found a bunch of baby maters on the A Grappoli D'Inverno plants.

I like the isolation idea!

Speaking of the maters, mine usually run March 1st to mid June in the dirt, then off with their heads, because enough is enough... :shh:

2019 Hay Bale Pepper Patch

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