DesertChris' High Desert Extreme Gardening Glog

DesertChris · Mar 8, 2013

Yep, Defimately had my share of helmetheads this go around....
most I let grow out of it, a few I did surgery, some success, some not....
Lately I have been just getting the helmet wet a couple times a day.

I also had one that grew the cots through the helmet too! Freaky....I did do surgery last night, but still managed to lose the tips of the cots.

Then there are the Orange Manzanos.....i think they need to be buried deeper than other seeds, because all of them so far have popped up with helmets....

Shoot..... I even had helmethead tomato seedlings....lol

Devv · Mar 8, 2013

When you get to the point of setting up irrigation, I would love to see some pics.

Thanks,

Scott

DesertChris · Mar 8, 2013

No problem.
It is super simple...
In the main garden I just unscrewed a "hose bib" and screwed on a pvc adapter...then glued on a hand turned valve.
Ran the pipe back underground and along one side of the garden. every 10 feet I put in a "T" and ran pipes from one side of the garden to the other.
Then every 10 feet on those pipes I put in a threaded "T" and put in risers with a bubbler or sprinkeler on top.
For the bubblers I just make channels to the "wells" around each group of plants....

Then just turn it on, and let the water fill everything up.

For the new spaces, I am just going to do the same thing.
A hand valve, and run a pipe along the length of the garden. But this time, just the one pipe along the highest edge of the garden, with risers and bubbler heads.
Then i'll make channels to all the plants and let the water flow....

highalt · Mar 8, 2013

Gotrox said:
Yup.
West of you in the high desert.
But 5600' high desert.
Windy.
Erratic freezes late spring.
Blistering Augusts.
It's a challenge.

Did I say windy?
Good luck!

DesertChris said:
Exactly!!

We are at 2,400 feet elevation, so not nearly as high in the sky as you.
Wind, wind wind, almost always from the west....

Last year the crazy wind, one day in the summer, actually stripped every single leaf of of 2 serranos and several jalapenos, that were on the windward side of the garden! They all recovered and grew new leaves, but dang.....
Lesson learned, and we put tightly woven shade cloth on the fence to cut down on wind...

Then there is the cold....frost until may, and in January temps dropped to 7° and overwhelmed my temporary greenhouse I rigged together with a small heat source to overwinter peppers....they all lost their leaves instantly...i put them in the garden shed with the heat source, and look like they are just now coming back to life......

Oh and lets not forget the triple sun we get in the summer...
1 regular sun
2 extra sun because it is clear skies and thinner atmosphere
3 reflected sun from the light colored sand

Yep, we need a bit of luck, and lots and lots of strategic planning!

On a lighter note, I sowed 200 hot pepper seeds and 300 tomato seeds today
With the ones already growing, and already sowed, and still to be sowed, I should have significant #'s to start with. So if loss from wind and heat occurs, we should have plenty to survive...at least that worked in the past...lol

Nice growlist Chris!!!

Even though I don't live in Cali., I too am in the high desert, intermountain west at 5,650' elevation, so I feel your pain on the winds, blistering sun, and late frosts/cool summer nights.

Wishing you the best on your 2013 grow!

DesertChris · Mar 8, 2013

Thank you!!

The kind folks I have met here doubled my growlist for me...lol (thanks guys)

You are twice as high in the sky as us! I bet that brings an added set of challenges to your growing season too.

It's funny how high desert conditions make you get creative to deal with it all

Someday we are going to move somewhere more temperate, and I figure gardening will be a cinch after growing stuff here

DesertChris · Mar 9, 2013

Whew! Just got done prepping and sowing 218 more hot pepper seeds into the germ trays

108 of which are Red Bhuts (if those all germinate, I might have a small field of them...lol)

Tomorrow, I have seriously got to sow the 10 sweet pepper varieties!!

StupidJerk · Mar 9, 2013

Thank you for the crochet hooks. Every few days my girlfriend picks them up and we admire the craftsmanship, then she puts them back because she is afraid to use them.

Also, I jjust potted the San Marzanos up, great germ rates.

I'm glad everything is germing well. I don't remember if I planted the mystery reds, if I did they didn't pop. The yellow congo did for sure.

DesertChris · Mar 9, 2013

Tell her to use them!! If she breaks the tip, I can fix it super easy!!

Those San Marzanos are crazy huh....All the tomatoes I sowed germed at near 100% and within a week!
I think I have around 400-450 tomato seedlings lurking in the garden shed that I get to bring in and out during the day for some sun...

Yep, not sure if the mystery habs will pop or not, but i'll give them a good long time to find out

With all the varieties you shared with me, i'm already swimming in seedlings...lol
Thanks again

Devv · Mar 9, 2013

Chris,

Thanks for the input, I'm gonna try and get some material in SA Monday and give it a whirl. Our place is on a pretty good slope, we'll see.

I showed the wife your glog and grow list she was in awe. This year looks like it's going to be a full time job!

When is your stick em in the dirt time?

Good luck!

Scott

Pulpiteer · Mar 9, 2013

DesertChris said:
Whew! Just got done prepping and sowing 218 more hot pepper seeds into the germ trays
108 of which are Red Bhuts (if those all germinate, I might have a small field of them...lol)

Tomorrow, I have seriously got to sow the 10 sweet pepper varieties!!

Wow! You're going to have a pepper field! That's a ton of plants. How is your pest problem coming?

PjPEPPERS · Mar 9, 2013

Be interested to see some pics of your watering system too when it's set up chris.

Hope you've managed to get rid of them pesties now

DesertChris · Mar 9, 2013

Pulpiteer said:
Wow! You're going to have a pepper field! That's a ton of plants. How is your pest problem coming?

I hope it ends up being a pepper field....fingers crossed....if all goes well, it will be!!

I think I knocked the heck out of those pests....I'll have to do a more thourough check tomorrow to be sure...but they have definately been decimated

Devv said:
Chris,

Thanks for the input, I'm gonna try and get some material in SA Monday and give it a whirl. Our place is on a pretty good slope, we'll see.

I showed the wife your glog and grow list she was in awe. This year looks like it's going to be a full time job!

When is your stick em in the dirt time?

Good luck!

Scott

Definately a lot of work! I hope I didn't bite off more than I can chew...hahaha
Plant out time won't be until early May.....so I get to run em in and out of the house and garden shed everyday until then

I hope I don't run out of room too quickly!!

For your place, I think I would start with an antisiphon valve, then a hand operated on off valve, then run a pipe up the hill....
Every so often have a bubbler head on a riser, and make terraces of trenches perpindicular to the pipe....then plant in the trenches

Would be pretty inexpensive and low tech.

PjPEPPERS said:
Be interested to see some pics of your watering system too when it's set up chris.

Hope you've managed to get rid of them pesties now

I think I kicked those pests right off the planet

Hopefully

Anyway here are some terrible photos of the irrigation setup in the established garden. (haven't done the other 2 gardens yet!)

Here is our local terrain, for reference

Here is the simple pvc hand operated on/off valve...maybe $8

Here is a small patch of garlic in a well, but maybe can see the row of bubblers....

Here is a flood irrigated area I attempted snow peas in as a winter crop, but birds and crazy cold wheather thwarted the whole idea....but you can see what I had in mind with the bubblers and ditches...we did corn, squash and beans in that area last year....the "3 sisters" technique....

Here is the best way to see it....a simple sketch of the water lines... The black is the pipes...orange the bubbler heads, pink would be wells and ditches...just link the wells with ditches and flood em real good

Here is what I am going to do in the goat pen and the other garden spot, when I get to it.
Black is walls/fence, and also the pipes...one pipe running down the middle....orange is the bubblers on risers, and yellow the irrigation ditches which I will plant the plants right into, in rows...

DocNrock · Mar 10, 2013

Sure, man! I'll let you know when I head up that way. Not sure when at this time, though.

That helmet twin is crazy. Good luck on it.

Irrigation system looks impressive.

DesertChris · Mar 10, 2013

DocNrock said:
Sure, man! I'll let you know when I head up that way. Not sure when at this time, though.

That helmet twin is crazy. Good luck on it.

Irrigation system looks impressive.

Cool! We are actually sort of on the way to the racetrack. about 6 miles due south of it. It would be pretty easy to swing by here before or after

The twins are still in the helmet, but I'm hoping they grow out of it...
Lately I've had some weird germination events including roots popping out instead of the cotyledons...(I dug them out and flipped em over)
I guess if you sow enough seeds, you get to see all kinds of strange stuff...lol

The irrigation system was effective last year, and very cheap. (already had the pipe, and some of the sprinkler heads and bubblers)
I just wish I had a timer on it, but finding a cheap timer that can handle the flow rate needed, is virtually impossible....

I do think I can use those cheap hose timers at Home depot ($20) on the other 2 gardens, since they will be set up a little differently, with one pipe and one row of bubblers using perpindicular trench rows....

DesertChris · Mar 10, 2013

OK, just sowed 20 "Mexican" Japapeno seeds (not sure if that is a variety, but that is what the label says)
And 20 Black Jalapeno seeds.
And 10 varieties of Sweet Peppers, 221 seeds

And all while watching NASCAR

3/5King · Mar 10, 2013

Monstrous plots....extreme conditions...growing on a budget and an over the top seed list..yup, sound like my kind of glog.

Nice job Chris.

....and yes, kill those bugs!

DesertChris · Mar 10, 2013

3/5King said:
Monstrous plots....extreme conditions...growing on a budget and an over the top seed list..yup, sound like my kind of glog.

Nice job Chris.

....and yes, kill those bugs!

Thank you

Yep, I think I must be crazy!

And I haven't even started or listed the non pepper or tomato food crops yet.... I think this years list for those plants is just as crazy.

It's definately a challenge, that's why I am starting with so dang many seeds.
Plus this year with that insane pepper list, I can see what grows here, and what refuses to.

Pulpiteer · Mar 10, 2013

This is a fascinating grow to watch. how did the three sisters planting work out? could you tell any difference? also - t a landscape shot. wow.

DesertChris · Mar 10, 2013

Thanks Andy

The desert landscape is pretty neat. Plus we get the most fantastic sunsets, and sunrises, ever.

The three sisters worked ok, Not sure how much difference it made, but was fun to do.....next time we will plant more corn for better fertilization of the ears. The squash was super productive, and the beans did ok, but this time I will start the beans way before the sqash....after the harvest season was over, I fed the cornstalks and squash plants to the Goats...They loved it, and it saved 2 weeks worth of alfala on the goat food bill

AMG4heat · Mar 10, 2013

Very cool grow. Can't wait to see the bare patch of desert turn into a lush forest. Good luck!