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DesertChris' High Desert Extreme Gardening Glog

Hi everyone,
This is my grow log in the super windy, super hot, sometimes way too cold, rabbit and squirrel infested High Desert of Southern California.

In addition, My gardening has to be done on a super tight budget, so lots of stuff is recycled or repurposed for gardening use...LOL

I'll update my grow list as I add to it.

We have 3 garden areas that we will be using this year. (one last year, and 2 more I am preparing)


Most of the Peppers are already either Plants, Seedlings or in the germ trays :)
Tomatoes, Tomatillos and Eggplants are Seedlings or Germinating...

Special Thanks to "StupidJerk", "Pulpiteer", "Meinchoh", "AjiJoe" and "wayright" for kindly sharing so many wonderful seeds/varieties with me, and expanding my growlist!!
I will add details of where seeds came from when I get some more time :)

[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]In Parenthesis is the seed source (and I know some of these came from other kind folks who sent them to these kind folks)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]SJ = StupidJerk[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]PL = Pepperlover.com[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]PJ = PepperJoe[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]OW = Overwinter[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Canadian Express = GhostPowder.com[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Terroir = Underwoodgardens.com[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]American Seed = American Seed Pouches from wallyworld[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Fatalli.net[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Other Sources are usernames here [/background] :)

GROWLIST
HOTS:
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]AjiJoe Surprise (maybe maui purple or purple peru??) (SJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]AjiJoe Surprise Hot Mix (AjiJoe)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Anaheim (PJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Banana (OW)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Birgit's Locato (Wayright)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Black Cobra (SJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Black Pearl (SJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Black Prince (Wayright)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Bhut Jolokia India Carbon (PL)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Bih Jolokia (PL)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Brown Bhuts (PL)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Chocolate Bhut (SJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Giant Bhut (red) (PJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Yellow Bhuts (PL)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Orange Bhuts (PL)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Peach Bhuts (AjiJoe)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Purple Bhuts (PL)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Red Bhuts (meinchoh)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Red Bhuts (PL)[/background]
Red Bhuts (Canadian Express)
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]White Bhuts (PL)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Bolivian Rainbow (PJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Carolina Reaper (PJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Cayenne (1) (OW)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Cayenne (2) (PJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Charleston (PJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Chili de Arbol (Dried Store Pods)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Datil (1) (Wayright)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Datil (2) (SJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Fatalii (SJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Fatalii Gourmet Jigsaw (Fatalii.net)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Floral Gem (Home and Garden Show)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Fresno (1) (PJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Fresno (2) (SJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Chocolate Habanero (SJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Mustard Habanero (PJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Mystery Red Habanero (SJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Orange Habanero (OW)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Orange Habanero (From Pods Last Year)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Ramon's Jamaican Habanero (Walkgood)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Tazmanian Habanero (PJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]White Habanero (PJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Jalapeno (OW)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Black Jalapeno (PJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Purple Jalapeno (PJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Mexican Jalapeno (PJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]PepperJoe Jalapeno (PJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Jamaican Hot Chocolate (SJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Jamaican Pepper Red (PJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Kung Pao ( PJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Mystery Red Annum (came in a flat of bell peppers) (OW)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Naga Viper (PJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Naranga (Fatalii.net)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Orange Manzano (SJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Pasilla (PJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Pepperoncini (PJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Poblano (OW)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Pequin (Dried Store Pods)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Purple Maui (Wayright)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Red Savina (PJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Sapporo (PJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Sante Fe Grande (PJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Scotch Bonnet (SJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Scotch Bonnet (PJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Serrano (1) (OW)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Serrano (2) (PJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Serrano (3) (Terroir)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Serrano (4) (American Seed)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Serrano (5) (Home and Garden Show)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]7 Pot Douglah (SJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]7 Pot Jonah (SJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]7 Pot Primo (SJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]7 Pot Red Brainstrain (SJ)[/background]
7 Pot Red Brainstrain (Pulpiteer)
7 Pot Yellow (Pulpiteer)
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]7 Pot Yellow BrainStrain (PL)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]7 Pot Yellow BrainStrain (SJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Takanotsume (PJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Tepin (1) (Wayright)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Tepin (2) (PJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Thai (1) (Farmers Market)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Thai Sun (2) (PJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Thai (3) (SJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Tobago Seasoning (Wayright)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Trinidad Perfume (Fatalii.net)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]TS Butch T (1) (PJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]TS Butch T (2) (SJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]TS Moruga (red) (PJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Wild Brazil (AjiJoe)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Yatsufusa (PJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Yellow Trinidad Congo (SJ)[/background]

SWEETS:
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Chinese Giant (Terroir)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Chocolate Bell (PJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Corno di Toro Giallo (yellow) (Terroir)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Corno di Toro Rossa (red) (Terroir)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Golden Marconi (PJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Grand Bell Mix (American Seed)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Melrose (Terroir)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Orange Bell (From A Store Pod)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Keystone (PJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]King of the North (PJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Mini Bell Mix (PJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Sweet Crimson (PJ)[/background]

Tomatoes:
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Amish Paste (Terroir)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Black Brandywine (Terroir)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Black Plum (Terroir)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Black Zebra Cherry (PJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Cherry Roma (Terroir)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Cosmonot Volkov (Terroir)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Giant Syrian (PJ)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Honkin' Big Black Cherry(Terroir)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Mortgage Lifter (Terroir)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Oregon Spring (Terroir)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Principe Borghese (Terroir)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]San Marzano (Terroir)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Speckled Roman (Terroir)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Yellow Pear (Terroir)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Wild Galapagos (Terroir)[/background]

Tomatillos:
Tomatillo Verde

Eggplant:
Listada de Gandia (white)

Herbs:
Rosemary
English Broadleaf Thyme
Sweet Basil
Garden Sage
Mullein
Thai Basil
Marseilles Basil
Cilantro
True Greek Oregono
Parsley
Giant of Italy Parsley
Dukat Dill
East Indian Lemongrass
Mint
Pepppermint
Spearmint

Onions/Leeks/Kohlrabi:
Crystal White Wax Onion
Walla Walla Onion
Yellow Sweet Spanish Utah Onion
Evergreen Bunching Onion
Peking Green Kohlrabi
Giant Musselburg Leek

Lettuce/Greens:
Romaine Lettuce
Salad Bowl Mixed Lettuce
Terroir Seeds Blend Lettuce
Mesclun Medley Lettuce
Jericho Lettuce
Little Gem Lettuce
Sainte Anne's Slow Bolting Lettuce
Agretti
Vates Blue Curled Kale
Rainbow Swiss Chard
Spinach-Beet Greens Swiss Chard
Red Aztec Spinach
Garden Cess
Spicy Greens Mix

Carrots/Radishes:
Yellowstone Carrot
Cosmic Purple Carrot
Easter Egg Blend Radish
Japanese Minowase Winter Radish

Grains/Etc:
Mennonite Sorghum
Faro Quinoa
Teff
Golden Flax

Turnips/Beats:
Purple Top White Globe Turnip (Sown and Germinated already)
Detroit Dark Red Beet

Beans/Peas:
Black Valentine Bean
Rattlesnack Bean
Henderson Lima Bean
Kala Chana Garbanzo Bean
Lazy Housewife Bean
Lincoln Pea
Telephone Pea
Oregon Giant Sugar Pod Snow Pea
Mammoth Melting Snow Pea (tried a couple times starting back in November, so we'll see if any make it)

Melons/Squash/Pumpkin/Cucumber/Berry/Etc:
Wonderberry-Sunberry
Vine Peach-Mango Melon
Golden Beauty Casaba Melon
Prescott Fond Blanc Melon
Sugar Baby Watermelon
Golden Midget Watermelon
Jack Be Little Pumpkin
Gele Reuzen Pumpkin
Jarrahdale Pumpkin
Lumina Pumpkin
Connecticut Field Pumpkin
Spaghetti Squash
Table Queen Bush Acorn Squash
Waltham Butternut Squash
Bergess Buttercup Squash
Poona Kheera Cucumber
Everbearing SMR-58 Cucumber
Boston Pickling Cucumber


Thanks for looking,
Chris
 
Click to expand...
WalkGood said:
The one's I pictured were microscopic and they were slow to travel away from the egg sacks the first day of birth. But by the next day I lost track of them and they're somewhere on MoA #2 AFAIK.
Click to expand...
 
 
Dinner..... Zuchinni, Yellow Squash, Tomato (those 3 from a freind's garden) Our Garden Garlic, Garden Onion, Garden Cayenne Pepper Flakes, Garden Oregano, and Mexican Blend Cheese Saute everything but tomatoes and cheese, add tomato near the end and when everything is ready, add the cheese and mix it up :)
We love this recipe. Today I added some sliced avocado on the side for fun :)
 

 

 
Ladybug Larvae
 

 

HAHAHA.... I watched the video after posting it, and I could hear the neighbor's sheep bugging me to feed them Dinner....I feed them on the weekdays...lol.....baaa baaa (Give us food)
 
I couldn't take it, so I cut off all the turnip greens, and put them in trashcans which I then took out to the front yard... far away from any plants immediately!!
Then hosed the area with neem oil, and hosed all the surrounding areas and plants with neem oil also....
Hopefully that'll be the end of the aphid infestation... I will think positive and call today "Aphid Apocalypse Day" :)
Here is the aftermath.... I'll pull the turnips out, clean and prep them for freezing in a couple days....
Then if the aphids are gone, I'll plant chard and Kale in that area :)
 
 
GnomeGrown said:
I'm loving those ladybug shots, Chris.
 
:dance:
Click to expand...
Thank you!! I was super excited to see so many of them, but utterly dismayed at the sheer volume of aphids in there too....Luckily everything was confined in that turnip patch, and hadn't spread to the peppers 5 feet away... yet....
 
There were thousands of them in there.... Unfortunately lots of them got tossed out with the turnip tops and aphids, but tons of them are still lurking around. And tomorrow I am going to go buy 2 more tubs of 1200 adult ladybugs each, and release them all into that garden area.
The tomatoes are thick enough for them to stick around and reproduce like they did in the turnip patch :)
 
KiNGDeNNiZ said:
WoW.. i hate snakes.. id freak out if i saw .. YOU CAN HAVE THE EGGs.... nice bed of tomatoes...
Click to expand...
Thanks!! The Tomatoes are growing nicely now... I only wish peppers grew that quickly!
 
HAHAHHA, I wasn't gonna let him have my eggs!!
 
I grabbed it and put him into the main garden....maybe he found a snack in there :)
 
My friends and I, used to go searching for snakes all over southern california when we were younger, so I actually love seeing them. Plus those Gopher Snakes and the Red Racers around here, are a great help on the pesky rodent population ;)
Here you go...LOL....a few snake buddies so far this year....seen a lot more, but wasn't fast with the camera.
 

 

 

 
 
Wow super jealous of the ladybug larva! Not so jealous of whatever has been boring the holes next to them lol.

Looking good man! What kinda irrigation and amendments you using out in sandy land? (Probably mentioned early on but I'm a lazy sonuva, so forgive me)

I kinda have a soft spot for snakes for whatever reason, I guess not having many super venomous types around helps. So when the black rat snakes get in my coop they usually get a free pass to the other side of the road. After personally being bitten and losing to cats to copperheads, they get the business end of a shotgun or shovel. Not the most venomous, but they are mean and aggressive pieces of spit. What kind of snake is that? Some kinda diamondback? Sorry I'm completely ignorant of western snakes despite multiple visits to the Cali desert to see family.
 
Peptacular said:
Wow super jealous of the ladybug larva! Not so jealous of whatever has been boring the holes next to them lol.

Looking good man! What kinda irrigation and amendments you using out in sandy land? (Probably mentioned early on but I'm a lazy sonuva, so forgive me)

I kinda have a soft spot for snakes for whatever reason, I guess not having many super venomous types around helps. So when the black rat snakes get in my coop they usually get a free pass to the other side of the road. After personally being bitten and losing to cats to copperheads, they get the business end of a shotgun or shovel. Not the most venomous, but they are mean and aggressive pieces of spit. What kind of snake is that? Some kinda diamondback? Sorry I'm completely ignorant of western snakes despite multiple visits to the Cali desert to see family.
Click to expand...
Yeah, the larvae were awesome, but the billions of aphids and little inchworms they were feeding on were not!!
So I leveled the whole turnip patch, sprayed 4 gallons of neem oil/water mix all around, and pretty much wiped everything out.
 
Tomorrow They are getting more ladybugs in, at the local nursery, so I will release 2 tubs of 1200 each, into the tomato patch, and let them do their magic again.
 
I had released maybe 600 adults into that turnip patch a while ago, and all those larvae were the result :)
 
Snakes.... Those are Pacific Gopher Snakes...very similar to Rat Snakes :)
One of the photos was a Red Racer, but those are very faaaaaast and pretty shy, so I only got the photo of part of him...
Poisonous ones here are the Mojave Green Rattler (a smaller Diamondback relative, but very aggressive and spazzy. Dangerous too.)
Also we have the Southern Pacific Rattler....A smaller rattler but also very Spazzy and fairly Dangerous.
Those both get the Business end of a shovel....taken 2 out so far this year....
 
Irrigation.... Mostly flood irrigation, and plant in the ditches.... A few crops get spray irrigation...
 
Amendments... Not much... I just use old animal pens, and Goat ,Sheep, Pony and Cattle manure....
 
I was picking up sticks the other day before mowing my west side "meadow".  It was rather startling when one of the "sticks" slithered away when I reached for it.  Just a half-grown black rat snake.
 
Sawyer said:
I was picking up sticks the other day before mowing my west side "meadow".  It was rather startling when one of the "sticks" slithered away when I reached for it.  Just a half-grown black rat snake.
Click to expand...
Snake sticks will put the fright into a person.... 
 
Oh.... I forgot to mention that I had an MoA pop :)
Pretty excited about it.
 
 
Glad both Chris and John are up and moving around again!
 
Missed you guys, outa likes but will be back.
 
I let all the snakes slide except Rattlers, found one hiding under a tomato plant this year...it the wife wasn't with me I would probably gotten hit.. I couldn't see it from the angle..
 
Chris I worry about 'yall when you harvest Maties in that dense matie patch...be careful!
 
Devv said:
Glad both Chris and John are up and moving around again!
 
Missed you guys, outa likes but will be back.
 
I let all the snakes slide except Rattlers, found one hiding under a tomato plant this year...it the wife wasn't with me I would probably gotten hit.. I couldn't see it from the angle..
 
Chris I worry about 'yall when you harvest Maties in that dense matie patch...be careful!
Click to expand...
Yeah, we had a rattler in the maters last year....
 
I still need to get out there and put bamboo stakes and chords in the mater zone. A sort of trellis system... then later on,  I'll trim anything at ground level so I can be safer in the tomato patch.
Going to have cheddar jalapeno sausage dogs for dinner... I think I will grill these poblanos to top them with :)
 

 
Also... This evening when it cools down, I'm going to release the predators into the tomato patch. 100-400 Mantis Eggs, and 3000 Adult Ladybugs.
Death to the bad guys :)
 
 
All the foodies look great ^_^ Wow your ladybug larva’s are huge compared to the little ones I found, hope mine get that big. I don’t have time to watch the video tonight but I’ll stop in tomorrow to see it.
 
Congrats on the MoA seedling, can’t wait to see that bad girl grow big and produce pods for you ^_^
 
Poblano pods look great and I’m sure they were killer on the foodie!
 
Great assortment of beneficials, take some pics upon release. All mine here are wild but I see a few per day on various plants, I sure could use the infusion of more. BTW does the neem affect them or do they just pass on dead aphids? I’ve stopped spraying since I’ve seen so many beneficials around here other than some strategic spot spraying. Have a great one brethren!
 
 
 
 
StupidJerk said:
I could use some of those gopher snakes at my garden, although I don't think my neighbors would appreciate me releasing them
Click to expand...
Hahahaha....just do it at night when the other people aren't looking...lol

Drive a few desolate roads on warm summer nights, and you could likely find a snake buddy or several :)
WalkGood said:
All the foodies look great ^_^ Wow your ladybug larva’s are huge compared to the little ones I found, hope mine get that big. I don’t have time to watch the video tonight but I’ll stop in tomorrow to see it.
 
Congrats on the MoA seedling, can’t wait to see that bad girl grow big and produce pods for you ^_^
 
Poblano pods look great and I’m sure they were killer on the foodie!
 
Great assortment of beneficials, take some pics upon release. All mine here are wild but I see a few per day on various plants, I sure could use the infusion of more. BTW does the neem affect them or do they just pass on dead aphids? I’ve stopped spraying since I’ve seen so many beneficials around here other than some strategic spot spraying. Have a great one brethren!
 
 
 
Click to expand...
Me too!! There are a bunch of pepper varieties I am super excited about, and MoA is one of them.
 
I elected to chop the Poblanos up and put them on the sausage dogs fresh, without grilling them, and they had a bit of kick to them :) 
I swear all peppers get hotter than normal when grown here in the freaky wind and heat.
 
I'm not sure if neem kills them or not, I have read both opinions....However....since I clearcut their habitat, the birds came in and likely ate them....yikes
But that is why I got  some more to release....The first time, I put 1/2 a tub into the turnip patch, and all those larvae were the result....so I figure 2 tubs into the tomato patch will do quite nicely....lol
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZkkUNe_00U
 

 
 
StupidJerk said:
Spraying down all the leaves and releasing the ladybugs at night helps, they don't fly at night. From what I hear the neem is going to damage the ladybugs if you spray it directly on them, but otherwise they should be okay.
Click to expand...
Exactly!!
 
 
OK, here are more photos :)
 

 

 

 
And Mantis egg thingamajigs
 

 

 
The clearcut turnip patch
 

 
And all those holes in the ground are from birds....I believe they ate every ladybug larva and whatever various beetles/bugs there were that became exposed...
 
 
DesertChris said:
OK.... we are heading into a heat wave of sorts.... At midnight it is still 81 degrees right now..... Summer has arrived.
Click to expand...
This is the time of year that makes me want to move closer to the ocean, every single year. Damn these mountains blocking the cool air.
 
StupidJerk said:
This is the time of year that makes me want to move closer to the ocean, every single year. Damn these mountains blocking the cool air.
Click to expand...
Heck yeah.....I agree 100%.... I would like to move near the ocean in tropical Florida...LOL (especially after seeing all Ramone's pods constantly!!)
 
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