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]

I still have a lot of babies in Level 1 nursery. Mostly tomatoes and a few special peppers. And then there's still nine in the sprouting place and three in the helmet head chamber.
 
The good part is my neighbor will get a lot of these tomatoes.
 
Bad part is I still need to sprout some of my more arcane but favorite pepper plants. But the end is in sight
 

 

[PaulG]

"I feel like they look small then the next morning
I'd swear they grew overnight in the dark"
 
That's right, Gipper. Being day neutral, peppers do
their growing at night after loading up on energy and
taking care of business during the day.

 

[DWB]

"I feel like they look small then the next morning
I'd swear they grew overnight in the dark"
 
That's right, Gipper. Being day neutral, peppers do
their growing at night after loading up on energy and
taking care of business during the day.

 

How many hours of light do y'all prefer?

 

[PaulG]

 
How many hours of light do y'all prefer?

Right now, my seedlings in cups and plants
in square pots get a 16/8 light schedule.
 
The 'full grown' F7 plants (going on 3 months)
get a 14/10 light schedule.
 
 

 

[DWB]

That's what all of mine have been on until I cut the larger ones back to 12 hours last week.

 

[CDNmatt]

I also run 16/8 as well

 

[DWB]

I'm installing the support system for the plants. A bunch of posts that will be all laced up with a 600' spool of rope I got for cheap from HF yesterday I'll use one plant per bale and stagger them left-right-left and hang them off the support stuff with an assist from a bag of ancient pantyhose my wife is collecting up for me.
 

 
 
I think a slight change in methodology is called for. The bales are basically standing compost with a hay fur coat. Rather than continually fill in with additional leaf/hay/compost material, I believe I will instead compress all the bales and seriously flatten it out before planting. This will give the plants something more substantial to sink their teeth into and may make it easier for them to get some serious stability roots into the ground. I hope they don't get the wilt because of it but if they do, they do.
 
Maybe the ground is becoming more plant friendly and fertile with all this stuff sitting on it for months and soaking in. The earth below the bales, she is nice and soft. I'm thinking I'll hit it all again with another small dose of ammonium nitrate and let that soak in too.
 

 
 

 

[PaulG]

That looks great, DW!  
 
Like taking your plants out to a fancy
restaurant!
 
Have you given any more thought to the
Florida/French Weave?

 

[DWB]

The florida weave is pretty much what I intend to do. I'll get some rebar next week when I go back to town and pick up my big trailer. I left it at the shop yesterday to have a new jack welded in.
 
HD can't dice up the cheap 20' sticks of ½" rebar and I sure can't cut it up with my little 24" bolt cutter out in the parking lot so I need haul it home intact.

 

[CDNmatt]

The florida weave is pretty much what I intend to do. I'll get some rebar next week when I go back to town and pick up my big trailer. I left it at the shop yesterday to have a new jack welded in.
 
HD can't dice up the cheap 20' sticks of ½" rebar and I sure can't cut it up with my little 24" bolt cutter out in the parking lot so I need haul it home intact.

 

You - "Mind if I use a plug in for a min?
Them - "sure what for? "
You - "Just gonna Sawzall this rebar up real quick"
Them -  
You -

 

[CDNmatt]

So do you put topsoil on that at all Dee or plant right in that bad boy?

 

[CDNmatt]

Whoops doubled down it seems
My bad

 

[DWB]

Whoops doubled down it seems
My bad

 
Not sure what that means Matty.
 
Methinks I'm gonna plant directly into the stuff but I should stir in some pine mulch fines if I can get a bunch more bags. I haven't even been able to round up enough for all of my pots yet this year. If not, no big deal. Down inside it already looks like some very nice potting soil.
 
It's just as easy and a whole lot less obnoxious to just haul the rebar home and cut it here. Much quicker load too. Besides that, Cody the co-pilot wouldn't enjoy being that close to all that noise.

 

[CDNmatt]

Must had hit the post button 2xs and had a double post
 
 
And aye for sure, I was jsut teasing
 
Crzy how fast that stuff transformed on ya

 

[DWB]

Everything grew and got a little greener since last Sunday.
 

 

[CDNmatt]

Oh man those maters are coming along very nicely for ya...nice thick fat stems on those bad boys....kinda one thing I am concerned aboot growing under the artificials, well the main sets anyways as I will have to rig something up when they start to pop on the bottom shelf.
 
Your growing them all in the same box eh?? no temperature changes for them or anything?

 

[DWB]

Oh man those maters are coming along very nicely for ya...nice thick fat stems on those bad boys....kinda one thing I am concerned aboot growing under the artificials, well the main sets anyways as I will have to rig something up when they start to pop on the bottom shelf.
 
Your growing them all in the same box eh?? no temperature changes for them or anything?

 
 
Am I doing the bad thang growing maters and peppers in the same tubs and the same temp/light conditions?
 
Those particular maters qare the ones that started popping after 48 hours in the dirt and shot out like silly string. I planted them deep and keep a 12" fan blowing on them most of the time. The way they're growing they'll probably be 18' tall by July.
 
I hope you and the family get to feeling better muy pronto bro.
 
PS: I have froot

 

[PaulG]

Looks like you have stuff ready for plant-out, DW!

 

[CaneDog]

Frooot!  Looking good DWB!
 
I commonly start my tomatoes and peppers side-by-side under the same conditions and, like yours sure seem to, they like it just fine.  I'm no tomato expert though.  They're definitely the faster growers though and move through the pepper ranks quickly.   Gotta say, your toms look great! 

 

[CDNmatt]