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

Blorvak's Greenhorn 2014 - End of Season Wrap Up!

First off, Happy Holidays everyone! Now that I have a little time, I thought I'd start a glog.
 
The backstory:  My last season sucked. Straight up. 10 plants. Averaged 1 pod a plant.

Then I found this place.

THEN I had to wait months to put all the tips I found to work. Suffice to say, I'm rearing to get going!

Hope I don't mess it up!

Hey all! This is my rookie blog, and here is my growlist:

C. Chinense
  • Orange Habanero (Trade Wind Seeds)
  • Datil (Trade Wind Seeds)
  • Trinidad Cola Bean (cmpman1974)
  • Trinidad Gold Bean (cmpman1974)
  • Mako akokɔsrade (Pepper Lover)
  • Trinidad Scotch Bonnet, Brown (Pepper Lover)
  • Trinidad Scotch Bonnet, Red (Pepper Lover)
C. Baccatum
  • Aji Habanero (Trade Wind Seeds)
  • Aji Limon (Pepper Lover)
C. Pubescens

  • Yellow Rocoto (cmpman1974)
  • Manzana, yellow (Harvested from store bought pod)

 C. Annuum
  • Goat's Weed (Trade Wind Seeds)
  • Pequin (Pepper Lover)
  • Fish pepper (Trade Wind Seeds)
  • Joe E. Parker Pepper (Trade Wind Seeds)
  • Tunisian Baklouti Pepper (Trade Wind Seeds)
  • Hungarian Hot Cherry (Pepper Lover)
  • Cracked Jalapeno (Pepper Lover)
  • Sucette de Provence (Trade Wind Seeds)
I have only a handful of posts, and already people have been more than generous. THP is a friendly place!
 

 
 
I'm surprised at how large you let your plants get in Solo cups without potting up.  You go straight from Solo cups to the ground?  Good luck from Grants Pass!
 
Roguejim said:
I'm surprised at how large you let your plants get in Solo cups without potting up.  You go straight from Solo cups to the ground?  Good luck from Grants Pass!
Thanks! I'll take all the luck I can get!
 
Absolutely had no room to pot up, so I decided that I wasn't going to worry about it. They are going straight into the ground. Well, half in 7 gal pots. This is a learning year for me, so I'm going to see how it works out. I've seen some surprising pics of solo cup only grows. That said: I don't want to push it. :P Dirt day soon!
 
Dirt Day 2014!
 
So the weather cooled off, and now it's partly cloudy. Very comfortable temp to get to planting.
 
Started off with the plants going into the dirt. Each hole is amended with 1/4 cup of my special mix (1 part Tomato Tone, 1/2 part Kelp Meal, 1/2 part Crab Meal).
 
First one in the soil, the Tunisian Baklouti:
 
Ldb3IFwl.jpg

 
Here's a pic of the roots. Not completely root bound (I was able to break it up without too much trouble), but getting there:
 
5YDuSZjl.jpg

 
As I planted, I did a survey of the roots. I'd say that about 30% were more root bound than I would have liked. We'll see how they adjust to their new digs.
 
Here's more!:
 
m8G3itrl.jpg

 
KGFyXF7l.jpg

 
qTDj7gll.jpg

 
KpR0b03l.jpg

 
Wm9LN3Pl.jpg

 
8isd04Zl.jpg

 
Orange Hab was accidentally topped while hardening off. Already starting to branch out:
 
ae95cnBl.jpg

 
And here's Pepper Bed 2014!:
 
rMtrliyl.jpg

 
I've got a bunch more pics of the grow bags, if someone wants to give me a bump.
 
Seacowboy said:
Bump. Looking great on your dirt day.
 
Thank ya kindly! 
 
Gotta say that it was much easier to plant the 7 gal root pouches. Of course, I put in the work for 8 of them about a month ago. Bought a bag of Ocean Forest for the last two. Also easy, but $$$!
 
Dc2UItVl.jpg

 
2hk4s6Zl.jpg

 
ifO6nJ6l.jpg

 
nl2bDsAl.jpg

 
ecWoVP8l.jpg

 
V1I4xdml.jpg

 
69qvzHGl.jpg

 
68bgJ8bl.jpg

 
STVDwFjl.jpg

 
TXfFjbdl.jpg

 
All in all, planted 21 peppers, and 2 eggplants. Still have 15 peppers in cups. I'll give most of those away, and try to find space for the rest!
 
John, your plants look just great, buddy!  Looks like an awesome grow coming for you.
Love the yellow 7 Pot, yellow Rocoto, Pequin and the White Bullet Hab.  They should all
do very well for you here, but all the plants look superior.  And nice raised bed!
 
We had a .4 inches of rain in our yard last night.  How about you?  Your plants outs should
have liked that a lot.  Mine seem very perky this morning, except for the Chacoense which
droops in cooler night temps.  Always sumpin'  ;)
 
PaulG said:
John, your plants look just great, buddy!  Looks like an awesome grow coming for you.
Love the yellow 7 Pot, yellow Rocoto, Pequin and the White Bullet Hab.  They should all
do very well for you here, but all the plants look superior.  And nice raised bed!
 
We had a .4 inches of rain in our yard last night.  How about you?  Your plants outs should
have liked that a lot.  Mine seem very perky this morning, except for the Chacoense which
droops in cooler night temps.  Always sumpin'  ;)
 
Hey thanks! I slept the sleep of the dead last night after all that gardening, but I do know it's absolutely pouring right now. We had a bit of hail, but not enough to damage the plants. Oh, Portland spring...
 
Was a bit worried about night temps, as the long term forecast had a 39 in it, but then they revised it to 48-50s. Bought some PVC and clear plastic just in case I need to throw a hoop house together quickly. 
 
A few pics left over from plant out:
 
Put the Joe E. Parker pepper at the base of my hugelkultur:
 
erfn1khl.jpg

 
Here's a pic of everyone together:
 
CMYD9MJl.jpg

 
And that only leaves 15 plants to find homes for:
 
yoJZFKWl.jpg

 
Gave 5 away today to a good friend. Pretty sure I can find good homes for the rest. If not, All I need is more potting soil...
 
Hope everyone had a good weekend!
 
You're getting it together now, buddy!
 
hugelkultur?
 
blorvak said:
 
Thank ya kindly! 
 
Gotta say that it was much easier to plant the 7 gal root pouches. Of course, I put in the work for 8 of them about a month ago. Bought a bag of Ocean Forest for the last two. Also easy, but $$$!
 
Dc2UItVl.jpg

 
2hk4s6Zl.jpg

 
ifO6nJ6l.jpg

 
nl2bDsAl.jpg

 
ecWoVP8l.jpg

 
V1I4xdml.jpg

 
69qvzHGl.jpg

 
68bgJ8bl.jpg

 
STVDwFjl.jpg

 
TXfFjbdl.jpg

 
All in all, planted 21 peppers, and 2 eggplants. Still have 15 peppers in cups. I'll give most of those away, and try to find space for the rest!
 
Looks like you have some wind issues there in PTLD?  I've used more stakes this year than before. 
 
PaulG said:
You're getting it together now, buddy!
 
hugelkultur?
 
Long story short, hugelkultur is a Eastern European raised bed that consists of burying logs. I had one of my giant Oregon maples pruned last year, and my fireplace is out of commission. Needed to do something with the wood! Supposedly, the hugelkultur doesn't need to be watered, because the decaying logs act as water batteries, storing moisture for plant roots. Curious to see how well it works.
 
Roguejim said:
 
Looks like you have some wind issues there in PTLD?  I've used more stakes this year than before. 
 
Yep, I live right up the slope from the river. Get some strong winds that travel down the Gorge. I figure better safe than sorry. Last year, my peppers were bent down by a windstorm. Not that they were producing anyway...
 
blorvak said:
 
Long story short, hugelkultur is a Eastern European raised bed that consists of burying logs. I had one of my giant Oregon maples pruned last year, and my fireplace is out of commission. Needed to do something with the wood! Supposedly, the hugelkultur doesn't need to be watered, because the decaying logs act as water batteries, storing moisture for plant roots. Curious to see how well it works.
 
 
Yep, I live right up the slope from the river. Get some strong winds that travel down the Gorge. I figure better safe than sorry. Last year, my peppers were bent down by a windstorm. Not that t hey were producing anyway...
Okay - sort of like a 'nurse log' in the forest.  The decaying logs provide a home, water and
nutrients for other plants and little trees that take root in it as it decays.  A  large log may well
over a century or more to decay back into the forest soil.  I can see why that would work.  It is a slow process,
however.  Great experiment for ya.!  I have seen some awesome nurse log 'gardens' backpacking in the Cascades,
and other mountain areas.
 
I gather you are on the east side of town?
 
PaulG said:
Okay - sort of like a 'nurse log' in the forest.  The decaying logs provide a home, water and
nutrients for other plants and little trees that take root in it as it decays.  A  large log may well
over a century or more to decay back into the forest soil.  I can see why that would work.  It is a slow process,
however.  Great experiment for ya.!  I have seen some awesome nurse log 'gardens' backpacking in the Cascades,
and other mountain areas.
 
I gather you are on the east side of town?
 
Yep, same concept as the nurse log. I found the concept while browsing garden sites, and some people swear by it. So far, all I have is some baby bok choi on it, but it seems to like it!
 
I am out in Northeast these days. Lived for years on the West side, and then several years in inner SE, but pretty happy where i ended up.
 
blorvak said:
 
Yep, same concept as the nurse log. I found the concept while browsing garden sites, and some people swear by it. So far, all I have is some baby bok choi on it, but it seems to like it!
 
I am out in Northeast these days. Lived for years on the West side, and then several years in inner SE, but pretty happy where i ended up.
Northeast has some great neighborhoods. 
 
PaulG said:
Northeast has some great neighborhoods. 
 
Yep, I love it here. Not to disparage the rest of Portland. Some people like to get into the East vs West thing. This is just the place that fits me.  :)
 
PaulG said:
How old is your Hugekultur?
 
I built it last Fall, and the wood had been sitting outside in the elements for about a year. It was already on it's way to decomposing. Built it too tall, so it's a challenge to plant on the top, but I'm hoping it breaks down a bit soon.
 
So, haven't managed to kill any plants yet, but some did get a bit of sunburn. The Mako Akokosrade probably suffered the most:
 
hSCIyl6l.jpg

 
Same scald on some in pots, some in the ground. I think the wide leaves are tender from being pampered inside. At least I'm pretty sure it's sunburn. If it's something else completely awful, please let me know!
 
Have peppers forming on a few of the Anuums... The Alma Papika, Goat's Weed, Joe E. Parker, Black Hungarian and Cracked Jalapeno. Not a ton yet, obviously, as they're still tiny guys. Thought about pinching them, but I'm gonna let them do their own thing. 
 
I had some leaves like that, too.  I just cut them off.  That's usually what I do with weird leaves.  
That way, if there is a pest or a virus/fungus trying to get established, they are removed.  I think
that if one can get on these things early, they are easier to deal with.  Of, course, one has to be
able to check the plants over every day.
 
The Mako is a pretty little plant.
 
PaulG said:
I had some leaves like that, too.  I just cut them off.  That's usually what I do with weird leaves.  
That way, if there is a pest or a virus/fungus trying to get established, they are removed.  I think
that if one can get on these things early, they are easier to deal with.  Of, course, one has to be
able to check the plants over every day.
 
The Mako is a pretty little plant.
 
That's a good idea! Of course, I didn't have time to do it today  :)
 
So, just got back from a night seek and destroy mission. Slugs. I forgot to stake a tomatillo the other day, and the wind pushed it to the ground. The next day, it was half gone! Went out at dusk, and it was crawling with a tiny slug army. Must have smashed 30 of them. They're all over the bok choi as well. Tiny jerks! Easy enough to dab off and smash with a paper towel, but time consuming.
 
Even on the peppers! This will not stand. Killed two sizable ones on the Joe E. Parker, and a few on the Tunisian Baklouti. They seem to like the lower leaves that touch the ground. Need to trim those.
 
Also killed my first aphid on a Datil. The peppers are by the hops, which I'm hoping the aphids will like better. There's an army of ladybugs already massing on the hops.
 
I have seen more ladybugs around this 
spring than last, and lots of jumping spiders, too.
 
Guess the super cold spells this winter didn't really
faze them much!
 
I have to confess, I use slug pellets.  Problem solved.
 
Happy Memorial Day! A sincere thanks to all the service men and women out there. I hope this weekend finds you safe and sound!
 
So, the peppers have been a week in soil, and looking a bit rough. It's to be expected, but still a bit of a bummer. But here's to hoping they rebound. Temps have been 70's high, and 50's low. The anuums seem to be happiest with this arrangement.
 
Here's the Purple Cayenne. It's original leaves are rough, but lots of new growth:
 
PeqFPEDl.jpg

 
A few of the anuums have set some pods. The biggest belongs to the Black Hungarian:
 
SZsjFD2l.jpg

 
Goat's Weed setting several pods:
 
TcsvlABl.jpg

 
Joe E. Parker has one big pod. And some slug scars:
 
4ywkALml.jpg

 
And the Alma Paprika has some cute buttons pods forming as well:
 
8PpI4qJl.jpg

 
The topped Orange Hab is starting new growth nodes:
 
2wAlfm8l.jpg

 
Also was able to give away most of my remaining starts. Had a few left over, and some 3gal root pouches, so it was time to pot 'em up with some cheap Lowe's potting soil. Science!
 
RaF02okl.jpg

 
NNoccOtl.jpg

 
9bgfh0Pl.jpg

 
I'm thinking I need to mix up some cal mag to see if they'll get a bit greener. Weather has been hot and cold (just like a PDX spring), and I'm hoping the hotter peppers take off once we start getting some reliable warm weather. We shall see.
 
Thanks for stopping by!
 
Took a vacation day! Thought it was high time to upgrade my root pouch grow. Pouches are just sitting on grass, killing grass, promoting mold, and getting weedy in-between. I can fix that!
Dropped by the hardware store for some stones, and drip irrigation supplies.
 
t6AkfTpl.jpg

 
Put down some plastic mulch and stones for the pouches to sit on:
 
YsN1FTQl.jpg

 
Everybody back in place:
 
SfykaFOl.jpg

 
The drip irrigation kit came with 20 emitters, but of course only 5 actual connectors. So, looks like I need another trip to the hardware store! But I did get 5 pots set up:
 
F4rtc7ql.jpg

 
DPhqgMel.jpg

 
Attached the hose, fired it up, and it worked on the trial run! Guess that makes up for the lack of parts!
 
All the plants in the dirt are serviced by a soaker hose. Watering is going to be a much more pleasant experience this year!
 
Back
Top