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

blorvak · Jul 27, 2014

PaulG said:
Your grow is looking great, John. That Yellow 7 has some mean-arse pods on it!
And pods on the Yellow Rocoto, way to go, bro! I'll swap ya some Orange Manzano
seeds for some Yellow Rocoto this Fall!

Hooray for the return to summer weather! At least the break was only a few days long.

Thanks for the kind words, and... deal! As long as I get some Yellow Rocoto that ripen up. I hear they can take forever and a day.

LowDrag said:
Things are looking good John. I am glad to see you are starting to get a good run on your plants. Mine are starting to kick into gear too. I went out last night and counted 18 pods on one Serrano and 13 on the other. One of my "Jalapeno's" that isn't a Jalapeno looks like your Aji Limon but more yellow than green at this point but IIRC they started out looking just like yours.

Great job on your peppers and garden in general!!!

Dave

P.S.: I posted some pic's in the PNW Glog RogueJim started.

Thanks! I did see your pics over in the NW Glog. Looking good! It seems like there's a mystery plant every season. Mine is a Yellow Rocoto that is most certainly some type of Bonnet.

blorvak · Jul 30, 2014

So, no peppers today. But these will go with peppers soon enough:

First tomatillos of the year.

z_malloc · Jul 30, 2014

Looking good!

blorvak · Jul 31, 2014

z_malloc said:
Looking good!

Hey, thanks!

I know this pic isn't nearly as impressive as most of the glogs as of late, but I'm also recording this for my own notes. First ripe Cracked Jalapeno!:

Not so cracked, I'm afraid :shh:

Might end up in some salsa verde, it might!

blorvak · Aug 2, 2014

One of my goals this year was to measure plant growth in raised bed vs. plants in pots. Today I will indulge in some completely non-scientific observational conjecture!

I don't have any duplicate plants in pots vs ground, and the sample size is too small to even contemplate real data. But, it appears that the plants in the root pouches are doing better than the in-ground plants.

Exhibit A: Root Pouches

Exhibit B: Raised Bed

This is the first year for this raised bed, and it's filled with soil I ordered from a local landscape place. I simply added some fert mix into the transplant holes. I think it's more compact than the potting soil blend I made up with that recipe that's been floating around the forum.

Planning to well amend the raised beds next year with compost, and maybe some peat moss. Another lesson learned is that I can space the plants in the raised bed much closer together. So I can plant out more next year!

Pods are still slowly developing. Some of the purple cayenne have taken on a greenish tinge. I think this may mean they're starting to ripen:

Trinidad Cola Bean juuust starting to get some color:

The Black Hungarian is beginning to get downright leggy. Might need a taller stake:

Another observation... the Chinense in the ground are doing much worse than the pots. The only plants without pods are the Orange Hab, and this Red Scotch Bonnet:

In salsa related news, the beefsteak tomatoes are starting to turn:

The Datil is a pretty plant, that's much thirstier than most:

Has a few pods on it. Hoping it sets a bunch more:

And finally: a mystery! The "yellow rocoto" that didn't turn out very rocoto-like, has some pods on it. Any guesses as to what this could be?

Pretty funky looking, eh? Anyway, that's the week in peppers. Hope everyone's gardens are rocking!

blorvak · Aug 6, 2014

Today's theme: ripening!

Poking in the garden today, and I see just a flash of yellow:

Looks like the Yellow 7 Pot is turning Yellow. An encouraging sign! A ripe superhot would be one in the W column for this season.

My only Tunesian Baklouti pod is turning almost fluorescent red:

Really a shame that this plant is struggling. Even without tasting it, I'm a fan of the dramatic red.

And the tomato flood begins:

A very modest pepper haul: Alma Paprika, two Goat's Weed, and a nice Cracked Jalapeno with some mild cracking on it. I figure they'll be good in some salsa!

blorvak · Aug 8, 2014

7 Pot yellow update! More orange-ish:

Roguejim · Aug 8, 2014

Keep in mind that if you space your plants closer together, and you ever have a bad aphid problem, spraying becomes very difficult. I'm not sure I'll use the square foot method ever again, just for this reason.

blorvak · Aug 8, 2014

Roguejim said:
Keep in mind that if you space your plants closer together, and you ever have a bad aphid problem, spraying becomes very difficult. I'm not sure I'll use the square foot method ever again, just for this reason.

Totally fair point. As it is currently with the plants in the raised bed, I bet I could fit in several more without them touching. It's always so tempting to cram as many as you can into a spot, but I think I'll be better informed for my next year planting. And hopefully, restrained!

What are you thinking of replacing the square foot method with? Rows?

Roguejim · Aug 8, 2014

I was just out spraying for the second time in 5 days. I didn't see many aphids this time. 5 days ago, you could see them covering the branches on some plants. Anyway, last season, I planted in rows. It was my first season, and I had some isuues, but, aphids/insects was not one of them. They just never showed up. I think I will return to row planting, as well as adding plants that attract ladybugs. I also think I will plant less varieties. I have a better handle on what I like, now, so no desire to keep planting new, untested stuff. I'm not saying I will never plant new stuff, but next season will be more focused on what I like for making hot sauce, pepper cheese, and other things. I may only plant 1 superhot variety. I think it is important to know how big any particular pepper plant will get before using the square foot method. Last season, many of my plants were stunted. This season, I solved the problem, but created a new problem planting the wrong type of peppers 12" apart. I didn't know. Imagine planting aji varieties/annuums 12' apart. It's a joke. The same with some of the bigger chinenses. Know your plants before messing with square foot gardening. Lesson learned. If you can add more plants without them touching, go for it. No big deal.

LowDrag · Aug 9, 2014

I wondered about the square foot gardening method. I watched a YouTube video on it and it seemed too close. My pots are pretty close together and it is hard to move through them without breaking things.

blorvak · Aug 10, 2014

Roguejim said:
I was just out spraying for the second time in 5 days. I didn't see many aphids this time. 5 days ago, you could see them covering the branches on some plants. Anyway, last season, I planted in rows. It was my first season, and I had some isuues, but, aphids/insects was not one of them. They just never showed up. I think I will return to row planting, as well as adding plants that attract ladybugs. I also think I will plant less varieties. I have a better handle on what I like, now, so no desire to keep planting new, untested stuff. I'm not saying I will never plant new stuff, but next season will be more focused on what I like for making hot sauce, pepper cheese, and other things. I may only plant 1 superhot variety. I think it is important to know how big any particular pepper plant will get before using the square foot method. Last season, many of my plants were stunted. This season, I solved the problem, but created a new problem planting the wrong type of peppers 12" apart. I didn't know. Imagine planting aji varieties/annuums 12' apart. It's a joke. The same with some of the bigger chinenses. Know your plants before messing with square foot gardening. Lesson learned. If you can add more plants without them touching, go for it. No big deal.

That was one of my goals for this year was to learn the vital stats on the plants... how big they got, how many pods, etc. Hopefully I can optimize for next year. I haven't had aphid problems on the peppers (knock on wood!!), but I have been stomping some stink bugs. They seem to like to lay clusters of eggs on pepper leaves.

LowDrag said:
I wondered about the square foot gardening method. I watched a YouTube video on it and it seemed too close. My pots are pretty close together and it is hard to move through them without breaking things.

In my experience, if you have a mono-culture and stuff is planted too close, you might run into disease/pest problems. I have a feeling that the square foot method works best if you can mix it up, planting peppers with a bunch of other stuff. But I fully admit that I'm not an expert. Some folks on this forum have great success with the square foot method.

LowDrag · Aug 10, 2014

I am going to post some more pic's sometime today. I have some nice pods on my Habanero's right now and many of my other peppers are showing some nice pods as well. I am even getting some flowers starting to bloom on my Ghost Pepper and Trinidad Scorpion.

Roguejim · Aug 10, 2014

LowDrag said:
I am going to post some more pic's sometime today. I have some nice pods on my Habanero's right now and many of my other peppers are showing some nice pods as well. I am even getting some flowers starting to bloom on my Ghost Pepper and Trinidad Scorpion.

Good. Tell those plants to hurry the heck up!

LowDrag · Aug 10, 2014

I just went out and got some pic's to show to everyone:

Here are some Habanero's on my first Habanero plant. One of these plants has something like 8 pods on it and the other has about 5.

And from my second Habanero plant:

Anaheim Chili's, I am not what I am going to do with these.

Banana Peppers, I have 12 or 14 of these plants and I do know what I am going to do with them. I am going pickle them...

Hungarian Wax Peppers. These guys have some zing to them. I grilled one last week and put it on a burger, that made for an interesting taste.

Red Bells. Funny thing is, all the peppers are growing down low on the plant where I topped it originally nothing up higher on the stems.

Serrano Peppers:

Mystery Pepper - plant 1. These peppers looks like Serrano's but are much lighter in color than the picture of the Serrano's above.

Mystery Pepper - plant 2. It is hard to see but this is plant that has the little white fuzzy hair growing on the stems. The color matches the Serrano's but the Serrano's don't have the white fuzzy stuff on the stems.

Mystery Pepper - plant 3. This one??? Who the hell knows??? I have posted this pic on The Hot Pepper Growing Society on Facebook and no one there seems to know what it is either. This came in the package that had all different sorts of pepper seeds that's why I have dubbed them the Mystery Peppers.

Things are starting come along pretty nicely I think. Considering this is the first crop of peppers I have ever grown. Have a great weekend everyone!!!

I just realized I am In blorvaks GLOG. If this is considered bad form let me know and I will move this post. I was thinking I was in the PNW thread.

blorvak · Aug 10, 2014

No worries posting here. It's all good! Pics look great! You probably won't get as much traffic as the PNW glog, however

My recommendation for the Anaheims is to fire up the grill, char them, let them sit in a bag, scrape off the skins, and use in any number of awesome recipes. I do that every year when the Hatch chilies hit the stores. Real easy to freeze them for later too.

blorvak · Aug 11, 2014

Yikes, it's hot out! Might hit triple digits tomorrow. Gave the garden a good watering tonight. Been a hot summer for PDX, that's for sure.

Peppers continue their slow march toward production. The Yellow 7 Pot isn't completely ripe, but it's looking mean:

Is that a hint of yellow on the Rocoto? Please say yes...

The Mako Akokosrade is drooping a bit in the heat. Giving a peek a the pods. Baby stink bugs on the plant today... I got some of them, but more squishing is in the future:

Hey, a White Bullet Hab is ripening!:

A few Aji Limon pods are turning a bit purple... hopefully a sign of ripeness to come:

Tomatoes are early this year.

Patiently waiting for the Aji Habanero to turn orange. I think they're getting ready to:

A cluster of Goat's Weed are turning red:

And my Trinidad Cola Bean is looking pretty orange:

That's the excitement for this week! Thanks for visiting!

PaulG · Aug 11, 2014

Right on, John. You have a real grow going there, my friend!

Some nice pods and lots of promise on the bushes. Should be a great Fall for you.

You are right about the heat. We hit 100 today in our back yard, and it will probably
be a little warmer tomorrow. Plants on the drip system are doing great. The plants
I hand water in trays need a hit two or even three times a day; they just suck it up
very quickly. On the other hand, things are growing like crazy, even with leaves
dropping left and right! Some plants have slowed the flowering, but they will come
back as the weatther cools a bit. Looks like the weather after tomorrow will be much
better, like 15 degrees cooler!

Good luck going forward, my friend. Going to NWCF? Should be a blast! Had a great
time the last time I went.

blorvak · Aug 13, 2014

PaulG said:
Right on, John. You have a real grow going there, my friend!

Some nice pods and lots of promise on the bushes. Should be a great Fall for you.

You are right about the heat. We hit 100 today in our back yard, and it will probably
be a little warmer tomorrow. Plants on the drip system are doing great. The plants
I hand water in trays need a hit two or even three times a day; they just suck it up
very quickly. On the other hand, things are growing like crazy, even with leaves
dropping left and right! Some plants have slowed the flowering, but they will come
back as the weatther cools a bit. Looks like the weather after tomorrow will be much
better, like 15 degrees cooler!

Good luck going forward, my friend. Going to NWCF? Should be a blast! Had a great
time the last time I went.

Hey thanks! I'm hoping I get a pod or two. Don't think I'll have massive production, but it's a learning year.

Not going to NWCF. My summer got insanely busy out of nowhere! :cry:

So it goes.

So, the heat finally broke, but I'm hoping the thunderstorms missed you Paul. Had a severe thunderstorm warning, with the possibility of 60mph gusts, and 1 inch diameter hail :shocked:

Nothing so far out on the East side, and here's to hoping the storms are done! That kind of hail is just not seen around here, and I'm sure would have destroyed my whole garden.

Damn stink bug babies on my Mako Akokosrade. I've plucked off most of them, but they're wily. I pick off a few each day. Can't be many left.

Tiny pull!

From L to R: White Bullet Hab, Black Hungarian, Cracked Jalapeno, Goat's Weed. And a baby Purple Cayenne underneath.

Used the Hungarian and Jalapeno in my fav part of tomato season - Garden fresh pico de gallo:

This stuff is so good, you can eat it plain with a spoon.

And some reviews!

Black Hungarian
Sweet, but not cloying, with a delightful raisin-y undertone. Really liked the flavor of this one. No heat at all - a true sweet pepper.

White Bullet Habanero
The tinier the pod, the hotter, right? Was going to put this in the salsa, but after tasting a sliver, I decided to save my wife the pain. Added directly to my fajita. Very respectable heat with the classic Hab "floral" flavor that some think is soapy. Also had a sweet, citrus/lemon aftertaste. Impressed with this tiny pod.

PaulG · Aug 13, 2014

The little white habaneros are one of my favorites.

The pico de gallo looks great!