DesertChris' High Desert Extreme Gardening Glog

koskorgul · May 21, 2013

Looks good Chris, cant wait to see everything in full bloom. A hot pepper oasis in the midle of the desert.

poypoyking · May 21, 2013

I get exhausted just looking at all the work you are putting in

I can't wait to see the massive quantity of pods you will have rolling in the next few months.

DesertChris · May 21, 2013

So, apparently a freaking rabbit has been sneakimg into garden #1 the last three nights

It is ignoring the giant amount of turnip greens, and decided to top virtually all the lettuce and radish sprouts.
That's not a big deal, I have more seeds, but what sucks is it seems to like to murder sweet pepper plants and mild pepper plants

I think tonight I will make some orange habanero juice, and use the 2 gallon sprayer to hose all the pepper plants down with it.
I hope the little jerk burns his face off...lol

On a lighter note, was doing my chores this morning, and while watering the garden, this guy {gopher snake) came in to have a drink

Not big enough to take down a rabbit, but mice and small ground squirrels would be fair game

koskorgul said:
Looks good Chris, cant wait to see everything in full bloom. A hot pepper oasis in the midle of the desert.

Me too!! It is a crucial time right now, getting stuff big enough to survive pests/rabbits etc....and when the plants get bigger they shade everything, and it retains moisture much better!

poypoyking said:
I get exhausted just looking at all the work you are putting in I can't wait to see the massive quantity of pods you will have rolling in the next few months.

Me Too!! I hope it all goes to plan and I am overwhelmed with pods....lol
I am so sore from the last couple days, that I may get very little done today...

WalkGood said:
Whoa I'm tired just reading about all the work you've been at, hahahaha ... Great job Chris!!! I agree, all this irrigation work will pay off in the long run, just think once everything is done you can enjoy a cold beer while watering the garden \o/

annie57 said:
Dear God, Chris: brilliant irrigation work!!! Hard work that'll pay off in major way!!! Thank you for your inspiration! Love the gopher snake and puppy shots too . I asked mine, after I came in, why they weren't earning keep digging holes. Again just excellent work. Like that manifold set up, the testing, just excellent, thoughtful, hard work! Me thinks I may consult you--when you're having that cold beer enjoying the fruits of your and your fam's labor.

Any time you have questions about my irrigation style, just ask!

I love the irrigation, it wouldn't be possible to water it all with a hose!!
The daughter said No at first, when I asked for help. I said "ummmm, so what time will you be ready to help tonight?" hahahaha

I wish I could train the Dogs to dig the trenches for me!! But they only dig where I don't need holes...hahaha

Thank goodness I work from home! Or I would never be able to get everything done. The kids have school, and my gal is busy with her work a lot, so it is mostly me doing it all, but they do help when they can

The neighbor family are our gardening partners too, so when they can they with the labor help too, but their main contributions are in the funding department. However their kids love the gardens, and come over all the time asking what they can do to help. One of them really loves reading books out in garden #1 at the picnic table!!

The best part will be just watering and letting it grow. Of course i'll have to turn on the water, weed, and hang around out there, but that is the fun part.
Gardens #1,#2,#4 are on manual water.valves like that photo (Still have to install irrigation for #4}
But #3 is on a cheapo hose mounted timer! Since it only has 7 bubblers, I got away with using a hose to supply it. Which enabled the cheapo timer to be used

PIC 1 · May 21, 2013

Very interesting seeing the plants in the trench rather than on the hill. But I can understand the reasoning. If you're located in a drought area, you'll need to get every bit of water to the plants during the dryest of spells, especially if the soil is fast draining.

Here I'd have to do the opposite since we get more than enough rain. The plants would be at the top of hilled soil so the roots can aerate and never sit in an extended period of saturated water. One of my sisters vege garden sits at the back of their property, the low end of the land. The soil has been to wet to til. The Asparagus is coming up and this weekend my bro-in-law will til around that area. Their garden would be lost without raised wide rows.......and some of my plants to boot!

DesertChris · May 21, 2013

PIC 1 said:
Very interesting seeing the plants in the trench rather than on the hill. But I can understand the reasoning. If you're located in a drought area, you'll need to get every bit of water to the plants during the dryest of spells, especially if the soil is fast draining.

Here I'd have to do the opposite since we get more than enough rain. The plants would be at the top of hilled soil so the roots can aerate and never sit in an extended period of saturated water. One of my sisters vege garden sits at the back of their property, the low end of the land. The soil has been to wet to til. The Asparagus is coming up and this weekend my bro-in-law will til around that area. Their garden would be lost without raised wide rows.......and some of my plants to boot!

Yep, I learned the hard way that desert gardening is opposite from everywhere else.
I pretty much have to water everyday when it's above 75° too. Until the peak of heat season, then it's twice a day!

Oh what I would give for regular rainfall!! Before this, I lived in the redwood forest on the coast in northern california. (considered a rainforest).
Loved the weather up there, but boy would it be terrible for growing hot peppers!
Up there it was all about greenhouses for peppers and tomatoes, so very few people even bothered with that type of gardening.
Lettuces grew like crazy though...lol

In a couple years the kids graduate from high school, and my gal, the dogs and I will be moving somewhere less harsh!
We are considering somewhere in the south, like rural parts of Georgia, but Ramon has me thinking about the tropical part of Florida!
Only time will tell, and of course the economy. Hopefully it recovers sufficiently to let us afford to even move.

Devv · May 21, 2013

Lot's of work going on there!

Looking good Chris!

I bet you have a sore muscle or two and slept like a baby!

DesertChris · May 21, 2013

Devv said:
Lot's of work going on there!

Looking good Chris!

I bet you have a sore muscle or two and slept like a baby!

Hahaha, yep, I slept like a rock!
I think I am as sore as can possibly be.

Going to have to rest a bit today, but I did a little trench adjusting in garden #3 while the water was running.
Gotta get the water flowing evenly, and the ground completely soaked before I can fill it with Red Bhuts

Still so much to do, but we told the kids they have to help with some digging this week (tomorrow).
So maybe I can get the irrigation into garden #4 in the next few days, and get it soaking too.

Expanding from 1 to 4 garden locations is way more work than I thought...lol
It was so much easier to get #1 planted since it was all ready to go!!

Oh, I still need to get the squash, melon, cucumber etc seeds into cups to germinate...dang, maybe tonight would be good for that.

WalkGood · May 21, 2013

Rest, heck and I thought you didn't need no stinking rest, hahahaha What are we supposed to do in the mean time

In all seriousness Chris great stuff you got going on and way too much work for non-profit garden, every ting looks great mon! Oh and I can't wait to see dem Bhuts in da ground, hell I've got only one growing, hehehe ... but she looks great and is flowering now \o/

stc3248 · May 21, 2013

Great pic of the gopher snake! Keep plugging on plant out brudda! I didn't start any freakin squash this year, but I may pic up a couple zukes to fill in a spot where a couple cukes didn't pop!

DesertChris · May 21, 2013

WalkGood said:
Rest, heck and I thought you didn't need no stinking rest, hahahaha What are we supposed to do in the mean time In all seriousness Chris great stuff you got going on and way too much work for non-profit garden, every ting looks great mon! Oh and I can't wait to see dem Bhuts in da ground, hell I've got only one growing, hehehe ... but she looks great and is flowering now \o/

Hahahaha, I need the rest, but there is so much to do!! So if I can manage it, later I'll have to get out there and do some more

My Red Bhuts are just little guys, Hopefully get em in the ground soon though, and they might get growing a bit faster!!
Not sure how many there are, but there must be between 100-200 of them if I had to guess...that's why they will get their own garden!

stc3248 said:
Great pic of the gopher snake! Keep plugging on plant out brudda! I didn't start any freakin squash this year, but I may pic up a couple zukes to fill in a spot where a couple cukes didn't pop!

I love those snakes! been seeing a few of them around lately! I think he is the same one I saw yesterday by the well pumphouse (same size)
I hope he eats plenty of vermin

I'm thinking I'll get the whole family to plant the squash etc seeds in cups tonight... gotta get em going or it'll be too late.
And then when their garden (#4) is ready, they might be ready to stick in the ground.
We have so much zuchinni in the freezer from last year...lol...Still eating our way through it. I'm going to plant plenty of those though. Fresh is way better than frozen!
I'll post a list of what we sow, after it's done, It is a decent list. Several varieties that should do well in the desert

Devv · May 21, 2013

The hardest part is definitely get ready and plant time, but then there's the maintenance. I'm in the garden 1.5 to 2 hours a day,more on the weekends. But its all good!

Hang in there Chris, somewhat of a break is near!

Edit: Chris before I wabbit proofed our garden I used tomato cages with brown shipping paper stapled around them to deter the critters. Worked real well.

DesertChris · May 21, 2013

Devv said:
The hardest part is definitely get ready and plant time, but then there's the maintenance. I'm in the garden 1.5 to 2 hours a day,more on the weekends. But its all good!

Hang in there Chris, somewhat of a break is near!

Edit: Chris before I wabbit proofed our garden I used tomato cages with brown shipping paper stapled around them to deter the critters. Worked real well.

Hahaha, you are right, even after plant out, I'll be out there at least an hour a day.... even if it is just checking everything

Stupid rabbits, I have rabbit proofed garden #1 for the most part, (chicken wire on the fences etc...) and haven't figured out where it is getting in at....I hope it hates Habanero Juice!!!
Because I am going that route tonight

I hope it feels like it's going to die, and tells all his buddies....LOL

wildseed57 · May 21, 2013

Hi Chris, great work when you say deasert your not kidding

hows the foot doing? I did the same thing on a constuction site where I way supervising a bunch of bottom dump trucks fill up with dirt and take it to another site stepped on a big nail it went all the way through my heavy boots and through my foot hurt like hell but hurt even more when they removed it and flushed the wound out. took a long time to heal right.
Love your dogs and the snake adds a nice touch although I was wondering if you have rattle snakes that might also find their way in, i lost a very loveable yorkie to a damn rattle snake, it bit him on the face and he died a horrible death. :tear:

It could have been me that got bit or one of my grand kids.
Nice work on the irrigation, bet you were tired after all that digging, I know you will find everything worth the trouble in the long run beats having to drag a hose around and spend time watering. now you can sit back and watch the garden grow except for when you have to remove a waywared weed.

DesertChris · May 21, 2013

This is for Annie

Nick the Springer in a muddy hole...lol

Sooo, Used about 30 habaneros from the freezer in the blender with some water. Blended it, strained it, put the pulp back into blender, added water etc... 3 times... Put a couple drops of dishsoap, Habanero "juice" and water into the sprayer, and then sprayed all the pepper plants in the garden!!
I hope the rabbit burns his face off if he chomps another pepper!!!!

wildseed57 said:
Hi Chris, great work when you say deasert your not kidding hows the foot doing? I did the same thing on a constuction site where I way supervising a bunch of bottom dump trucks fill up with dirt and take it to another site stepped on a big nail it went all the way through my heavy boots and through my foot hurt like hell but hurt even more when they removed it and flushed the wound out. took a long time to heal right.
Love your dogs and the snake adds a nice touch although I was wondering if you have rattle snakes that might also find their way in, i lost a very loveable yorkie to a damn rattle snake, it bit him on the face and he died a horrible death. It could have been me that got bit or one of my grand kids.
Nice work on the irrigation, bet you were tired after all that digging, I know you will find everything worth the trouble in the long run beats having to drag a hose around and spend time watering. now you can sit back and watch the garden grow except for when you have to remove a waywared weed.

Yep, dry, sandy, hot, tumbleweeds, and snakes...lol

Yeah there are rattlers here...killed 2 last year (1 in the garden) killed 2 so far this year, but not in garden.

Dang, sorry to hear about your yorkie buddy

That just sucks....

Yep, irrigation installing is literaly a pain!! But way worth it!!

I can't wait for the watching it grow, and weeding once in a while stage

The foot is healing nicely

Should be all better quite soon. I have always healed from stuff like that super fast, thank goodness!!
Dang, nail through boot, that had to be pulled out later....yikes!! I extracted my foot from the nail as fast as I stepped on it! So it all happened in about a second, or less.....

WalkGood · May 22, 2013

“30 Habaneros from the freezer in the blender” ... MMM!!!

koskorgul · May 22, 2013

Dug that stuff looks delicious, put some of that on a burger or chicken on the grill mmmmmmmmmm. Hope it works for you, all i can picture is it taking a bite and watching its face melt off like the nazi guy in raiders of the lost ark. LOL

Had a rabbit start a hole under my shed out back. I filled it with some stone, it dug it out. Had a small pile of horse manure left over, shoveled that into the hole stomped it down, Hasnt dug the hole out ........yet. Still see it in the yard so I think it moved to the neighbors. Or the hole was a temp residence in time of danger. I have fence around all of my gardens, staked down between each pole so it doesnt give any where that rabbits can get in. Worked so far, as I knock on wood.

DesertChris · May 22, 2013

koskorgul said:
Dug that stuff looks delicious, put some of that on a burger or chicken on the grill mmmmmmmmmm. Hope it works for you, all i can picture is it taking a bite and watching its face melt off like the nazi guy in raiders of the lost ark. LOL

Had a rabbit start a hole under my shed out back. I filled it with some stone, it dug it out. Had a small pile of horse manure left over, shoveled that into the hole stomped it down, Hasnt dug the hole out ........yet. Still see it in the yard so I think it moved to the neighbors. Or the hole was a temp residence in time of danger. I have fence around all of my gardens, staked down between each pole so it doesnt give any where that rabbits can get in. Worked so far, as I knock on wood.

Well, this morning I watered, and am not sure what it "sampled" other than eating 4 eggplant seedlings to the ground....I sprayed those too, so I hope the stupid rabbit got more than it bargained for!

If it keeps invading, I am going to have to use the bb gun, and sit out back waiting for it all dang night long.
Maybe a bb in the backside would deter it....

On a lighter note, I have been soaking and moving dirt around in garden #3 {Red Bhut Garden)
And it is just about ready for planting out!!

Maybe tomorrow.

It is super windy today (45 mph gusts) so my plan to work on garden #2 {chinense area / goat pen) is thwarted for now....
Maybe i'll brave the wind later though....

koskorgul · May 22, 2013

Hope you get it Chris. One way or the other.
I know if the ones in my yard start in on my peppers, I will be getting a wrist rocket and taking it out BDQ

DesertChris · May 22, 2013

koskorgul said:
Hope you get it Chris. One way or the other.
I know if the ones in my yard start in on my peppers, I will be getting a wrist rocket and taking it out BDQ

Unfortunately there are lots of stupid rabbits out here.... I could never get them all.
The main thing is to get the plants big enough to survive a little predation from the buggers.... And hopefully figure out where it is getting into the garden at!

Mr. Hill · May 22, 2013

DesertChris said:
OK, last night, got home from the funeral, and realized I was starving....
So I was going to make a grilled cheese sandwich.
Then thought "hmmmm.... I could add some cooked chicken... oh and some smoked douglah powder"
Man was that the tastiest thing I have eaten all week.
After eating it, I immediately made another one...hahahaha

Harvested the garlic today...16 of them that we planted about a year ago...lol
These guys are huge!!!

Even used some for garlic bread with our pasta tonight

Here is a store bought garlic, next to one we grew

Temps....swinging from 80-100-80 over the next week.... plus big fire to the west of here, so it was super smokey skies yesterday.
Weird weather this week.

Darn, want to give any tips on growing Garlic that Big???

Also WOW that's a lot of pepper strains, I like it!!