2019 Hay Bale Pepper Patch

I've been a member for a while but never posted a grow log. My usual garden is too boring for that. I use 20-30 pots and overwinter my mama plants in a hillbilly winter shelter. Our ground here isn't good for in soil gardening and I've not been enthused enough to undertake the work and expense to build raised beds.
 
Now I have my peppers working the way I want and have the need for a much larger grow to supply a project. The main peppers I'll grow will be reaper, douglah and fatalii. For a couple of years I'll do hay bale gardens and heap tons of organic trash into the area. I have monumental amounts of pine straw, oak leaves and bonfire ash every year to dump in the walkways. I think this will do a world of good to make this new garden area mo'betta for eventual in ground growing.
 
I closed off a 38x38 patch in the NE field that gets full sun. This is the area I chose. The big painted guy is my fertilizer supplier.
 
The little painted guy is my running buddy and load inspector.
 
 

 

[DWB]

This week's lesson in crisis management was calcium deficiency/blossom end rot. It probably has a lot to do with why many of my plants have been so floppity. Fortunately, I've been saving eggshells to give them back to the neighbor to feed them to his chickens who are having shell problems. I had about 200 grams of them in a bag for him when I found the latest problem. I powdered them in a grain mill and made me a batch of water soluble calcium acetate to foliar feed all the plants. This made about 40 oz of what should be a high potency calcium supplement. Last night I used 100 ml of this with 60 grams epsom salts and 15 grams of k-mag to make 15 gallons of finished spray and hosed everything down really well. We got a tad bit of rain today so tomorrow I think I'll root feed another dose of the calcium. A really screwed up thing about growing in the hay bale compost is I don't have the foggiest idea about all the minor nutrient levels.
 
The bean ditch is wild country and really getting cranked up. With some added infrastructure, bean wall is quickly turning into bean gazebo. We started picking about 5 pounds every other day this week and the north half isn't even producing yet. Just growing like kudzu.
 

 

[CaneDog]

Good reminder I have a Tupperware full of winter egg shells just waiting for some vinegar.
 
Are you planning to have your soil tested at some point?  Would be interesting to see the results.
 
And your bean gazebo is absolutely killing it.

 

[DWB]

Good reminder I have a Tupperware full of winter egg shells just waiting for some vinegar.
 
Are you planning to have your soil tested at some point?  Would be interesting to see the results.
 
And your bean gazebo is absolutely killing it.

 

Yep, I'll have to do the real soil tests. My original rabid-assed fantasy was to go no-till and let it all melt in together while continuing to pile on the organic material. Now I think that's a bad idea because I have no base points. Now I'm thinking the thick layer of decomposing material on top needs to be mixed in to the substrate if I'm ever gonna know what I have to work with. Probably around December I'll give it up and rototill to stir it all up. I'll have Auburn tell me what it's all about and what it needs. I'll have some good help there. The director of the new, local plant diagnostic lab likes hot peppers and I've already started supplying her with things she never tasted before.  She's impressed with my Carolina Reaper and Yellow Naga Brainstrain pepper powders.
 
The N-P-K and pH tests I did on the bale compost a few months really didn't tell me anything. Once I get it all stirred up and get some baselines, I'll resume laying on the organic land trash.
 
What are your thoughts on treatment of calcium deficient plants with calcium acetate?
 
This whole in-ground garden is going nuts. I have pepper plants over 5' tall and tomato plants almost 7' tall. If I can keep this rotating disaster happy and healthy until winter, it should produce a huge harvest before I dismantle it for the tilling.

 

[CaneDog]

 
Yep, I'll have to do the real soil tests. My original rabid-assed fantasy was to go no-till and let it all melt in together while continuing to pile on the organic material. Now I think that's a bad idea because I have no base points. Now I'm thinking the thick layer of decomposing material on top needs to be mixed in to the substrate if I'm ever gonna know what I have to work with. Probably around December I'll give it up and rototill to stir it all up. I'll have Auburn tell me what it's all about and what it needs. I'll have some good help there. The director of the new, local plant diagnostic lab likes hot peppers and I've already started supplying her with things she never tasted before.  She's impressed with my Carolina Reaper and Yellow Naga Brainstrain pepper powders.
 
The N-P-K and pH tests I did on the bale compost a few months really didn't tell me anything. Once I get it all stirred up and get some baselines, I'll resume laying on the organic land trash.
 
What are your thoughts on treatment of calcium deficient plants with calcium acetate?
 
This whole in-ground garden is going nuts. I have pepper plants over 5' tall and tomato plants almost 7' tall. If I can keep this rotating disaster happy and healthy until winter, it should produce a huge harvest before I dismantle it for the tilling.

 
Man DWB I figured this would be a wild ride when you started hauling bales by the truckload last Fall, but I had no idea.  Some challenges along the way, but I think you'll end up with a great crop and an insane base for future seasons.  I also think the idea of mixing it in well after this first year is a good one. Whatever you end up doing it's definitely going to be worth following.
 
I like calcium acetate and the things I've read support it for an immediate effect that isn't provided by many other forms of calcium that aren't water soluble.  It also read it avoids some side-effects versus others in foliar application, like potential burning from calcium chloride.  I plan to grind down some of my eggshells to make calcium acetate for a light foliar feed and water some in fairly lightly, and also mix plain ground shells into the beds for future availability.
 
This is a long document, but Paragraphs 10 & 13 summarize some brief info into a page or so.
 
 https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/PetitionCalciumAcetate.pdf

 

[DWB]

 
Man DWB I figured this would be a wild ride when you started hauling bales by the truckload last Fall, but I had no idea.  Some challenges along the way, but I think you'll end up with a great crop and an insane base for future seasons.  I also think the idea of mixing it in well after this first year is a good one. Whatever you end up doing it's definitely going to be worth following.
 
I like calcium acetate and the things I've read support it for an immediate effect that isn't provided by many other forms of calcium that aren't water soluble.  It also read it avoids some side-effects versus others in foliar application, like potential burning from calcium chloride.  I plan to grind down some of my eggshells to make calcium acetate for a light foliar feed and water some in fairly lightly, and also mix plain ground shells into the beds for future availability.
 
This is a long document, but Paragraphs 10 & 13 summarize some brief info into a page or so.
 
 https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/PetitionCalciumAcetate.pdf

 

Thanks for the link CD. Fascinating things in there.  The anti heat stress and sunscald benefits are very exciting for me down here in this microwave oven we fondly refer to as sunshine. I'm liking this part a lot and will definitely be reading up on it..
 
I did a root feeding on the peppers today with 200 ml calcium acetate, 100 grams of the epsom and 30 grams of k-mag in 20 gallons. I have another batch ready to feed the tomatoes in the morning.
 
I may blow off the epsom salts (9.8% Mg and 12.9% S) in the future and just use higher amounts of k-mag. As well as being 22.2% potassium oxide, it's also 11.5% magnesium and 22.6% sulfur. I'm thinking the tomatoes and peppers will benefit greatly from increased potassium. Your thoughts please.

 

[stc3248]

Loving them beans DWB! Great setup!

 

[CaneDog]

I did a root feeding on the peppers today with 200 ml calcium acetate, 100 grams of the epsom and 30 grams of k-mag in 20 gallons. I have another batch ready to feed the tomatoes in the morning.
 
I may blow off the epsom salts (9.8% Mg and 12.9% S) in the future and just use higher amounts of k-mag. As well as being 22.2% potassium oxide, it's also 11.5% magnesium and 22.6% sulfur. I'm thinking the tomatoes and peppers will benefit greatly from increased potassium. Your thoughts please.

 
I think those root feedings will be very effective and I'm expecting to get most of my benefit from those. Not knowing your current soil baseline puts you in a tougher spot than usual. I think as long as the K isn't over-applied it won't hurt to be sure it's there adequately.  I'm not sure I have much useful to add.  I think too much K can ultimately interfere with Mg take-up - which might partly explain pairing the two in K-mag. Also with K being so highly mobile you can catch a deficiency early and adjust accordingly.
 
I may need to go back and read through some of the key posts in your glog again. There's been so much happening it's easy to forget some of the details.  Man, this THP place can be hard to keep up with when the season gets going!
 
And hey, not sure this interests you, but on the subject of the foliar feedings, this is one of the better articles I've read - 
https://extension.udel.edu/weeklycropupdate/?p=8837

 

[DWB]

Edit: The form goofed up the CaneDog quote
 
 
I think those root feedings will be very effective and I'm expecting to get most of my benefit from those. Not knowing your current soil baseline puts you in a tougher spot than usual. I think as long as the K isn't over-applied it won't hurt to be sure it's there adequately.  I'm not sure I have much useful to add.  I think too much K can ultimately interfere with Mg take-up - which might partly explain pairing the two in K-mag. Also with K being so highly mobile you can catch a deficiency early and adjust accordingly.
 
I may need to go back and read through some of the key posts in your glog again. There's been so much happening it's easy to forget some of the details.  Man, this THP place can be hard to keep up with when the season gets going!
 
And hey, not sure this interests you, but on the subject of the foliar feedings, this is one of the better articles I've read - 
https://extension.udel.edu/weeklycropupdate/?p=8837

 
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The "soil tests" I was able to do on this hay bale media when I dehydrated, sifted and soaked some of it showed sufficient N-P-K and 6.1 pH. That was back in mid-March. Everything else is still a mystery.
 
I'm a little conflicted about how much potassium is needed after using and learning about the Masterblend hydro stuff which is a commercial tomato and vegetable fertilizer. The base is 4-18-38 and you add an equal portion of calcium nitrate and a half portion of magnesium sulfate to complete the feed at 19.5-18-38. Very high potassium but they say flowering and fruiting tomatoes and peppers need a lot because they contain a lot. Tomatoes (237mg/100g) contain about 67% of the potassium in a banana (358mg/100g) and chile plants may need more than tomatoes. They say a serrano requires 129% of what a tomato needs. I'm not growing hydroponic at all but this info seems to indicate a lot of potassium is a good thing.
 
The last time I fed anything was three weeks ago when I top dressed each plant with one Tbsp of quick, water soluble 10.25-10.43-12.57 so I suppose all this is why I'm not really shy about giving extra potassium with the rehab feeding I'm doing now.
 
Thanks for the link. With all different treatments I've been doing, it seems like I'm always doing some sort of a foliar spray.

 

 

[DWB]

I guess this must be my challenge for the week. Looks like an armadillo plow job to me. Hopefully it the critter won't remember how to get back to the garden. Armadillos aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer.
 
No real damage yet but it did some tilling on two different rows.
 

 

[BigCedar]

Hey DW! Man...    Issues aside your garden is absolutely insane! I cannot believe the transformation and the speed of it for the that matter, I guess that Alabama heat is nothing to joke about! That kinda growth rate takes all season here! That is super cool you use to be a AG pilot.. My Dad and Granddad all had their licences (not for ag) and fun fact of the day my great Grandpa was the biggest wheat farmer in the US back in early 1900s (pilot as well) and John Deere used him with all their ads and gave him free equipment back then, found that out recently because I asked why I was the only one in the family that was obsessed with gardening and got some history on the matter, it all makes sense now lol. I'll have to ask my Dad for some news paper clippings and post em one of these days.. Anyway, hope the worm tomato problem has been fixed, those worms tore those things up, glad we don't have pests like that! The full garden shot picture was beautiful, no weeds, very organized, looks great man. Armadillo?   Are they looking for worms and grubs? Our chickens kinda do the same thing accept they get way too close to the plants and roots... They have an extended over sized run these days and don't get to free range around my plants without supervision lol. Their own fault! Glad things are good, and the things that aren't, sounds like your figuring out in a quick hurry    

 

[DWB]

Hey DW! Man...    Issues aside your garden is absolutely insane! I cannot believe the transformation and the speed of it for the that matter, I guess that Alabama heat is nothing to joke about! That kinda growth rate takes all season here! That is super cool you use to be a AG pilot.. My Dad and Granddad all had their licences (not for ag) and fun fact of the day my great Grandpa was the biggest wheat farmer in the US back in early 1900s (pilot as well) and John Deere used him with all their ads and gave him free equipment back then, found that out recently because I asked why I was the only one in the family that was obsessed with gardening and got some history on the matter, it all makes sense now lol. I'll have to ask my Dad for some news paper clippings and post em one of these days.. Anyway, hope the worm tomato problem has been fixed, those worms tore those things up, glad we don't have pests like that! The full garden shot picture was beautiful, no weeds, very organized, looks great man. Armadillo?   Are they looking for worms and grubs? Our chickens kinda do the same thing accept they get way too close to the plants and roots... They have an extended over sized run these days and don't get to free range around my plants without supervision lol. Their own fault! Glad things are good, and the things that aren't, sounds like your figuring out in a quick hurry    

 
Hi Brandon, you have some interesting family history. No wonder you're able to grow the way you do. You have farming in your blood. I'd love to see some of those old clippings. My grandfather was a wheat farmer in Michigan and some of my best childhood memories are riding the tractor with him and learning all sorts of proper farm behavior like peeing out behind the barn.
 
Thanks for the inspiring words and the confidence. I'm getting ahead of the worm game now and have plenty of tomatoes to eat but after the few days of rain we have coming in now, (5-10" forecast) I'll do another good spinosad treatment.
 
This garden is wild. I planted my first garden on my own in 1965 and have had a few since then and many that were much larger and more ambitious than this. But I've never had one as crazy as this one. I did a quarter acre of habanero less than 20 miles from here and it was a piece of cake compared to this one. It's outta control but hopefully I'll be able to keep up with it.
 
Yes, the armadillo simply follows his nose and digs for bugs and worms. Maybe I'm the dumb one here. Since I didn't find any temporary burrows in the area of the garden, I thought it may have been a one-off drive-by hit. Hahaha, no such luck. He did a lot more plowing last night and is getting closer to goofing up some plants. It tore up one of my winter squash vines.
 
If he comes back tonight and starts working one primo row he hit lightly last night, his ass is mine. I built him a very nice 30' funnel leading to a box trap that is his one way ticket to the wildlife management area across the road.
 

 

[DWB]

This week's growth picture isn't very impressive. It looks like everything has slowed down a bit with the heat wave we've had going for a couple of weeks now. Mid to high 90's and heat indexes way over a hundred every day. Thankfully the weather pattern has changed and is bringing us cooler weather and a whole bunch of rain.
 

 

[PaulG]

Impressive growing there, DW! We all knew this
would be epic, and it has come through in spades!  
Good work, brother!

 

[DWB]

Impressive growing there, DW! We all knew this
would be epic, and it has come through in spades!  
Good work, brother!

 

Thanks Paul. I appreciate the good words. This project definitely keeps me entertained.

No armadillo in the trap this morning and no evidence of another visit but he probably doesn't work in the rain. We got 2.5" last night.

The good news is my plants seem to be stronger now.The last time we had significant rain was May 12 and I had all sorts of broken branches. That was a different kind of storm though. 2.4" in an hour.

 

[BDASPNY]

very impressive plant growth. 
 
hope your buddy doesn't come back.

 

[DWB]

very impressive plant growth. 
 
hope your buddy doesn't come back.

 

Thank you and maybe the hope came to pass. Three nights and no more armadillo visits. Maybe he moved on to happier hunting grounds but I can't imagine a more target rich environment than this.
 
I found a few stink bugs on a row ender tomato yesterday. Since we're still in a very rainy pattern, I just mixed me up a 4 gallon batch with one Tbsp of Dr Bronner's peppermint castile and sprayed around the area this morning. Maybe that's strong enough but I didn't want to get too sporty with it until I see what it actually does.

 

[nmlarson]

 
I found a few stink bugs on a row ender tomato yesterday. Since we're still in a very rainy pattern, I just mixed me up a 4 gallon batch with one Tbsp of Dr Bronner's peppermint castile and sprayed around the area this morning. Maybe that's strong enough but I didn't want to get too sporty with it until I see what it actually does.

 
I'll be watching and waiting to see what affect it has on the stinkers.  Five years, or so, ago, we were inundated with them.  They ruined so many tomatoes and peppers.  I haven't [knock on wood] seen too many so far this year.  It's my believe taking down the trees in the front yard is the reason.  I used to see them fly from the trees to the tomatoes, and back.  Or, maybe, they've just moved on.

 

[DWB]

I haven't seen too many beneficial insects in the garden. Only one ladybug but there are a lot of these guys. I'm hoping some of the tree frogs that hang out on the house and vehicles find their way out there. They're bug eating machines too.
 

 
 

 

[CaneDog]

Maybe if you put out more hammocks for them more would come. Seems to have worked with that guy.

 

[DWB]

Maybe if you put out more hammocks for them more would come. Seems to have worked with that guy.

 

Naw man, I have 1000 ft² of hammock space for them. What they need is more shade over the accommodations. Build it and they will come.