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

Devv-2017-Having a good time in the dirt

Another season has come and gone. Time to start a new one!
 
Although I did already a few weeks ago :shh: . After last years dismal (late) start I jumped in a bit early to insure I could have viable plants come dirt day. I can always cut them back, if I need to. I have to compile a list yet, but I'm growing the full spectrum. Sweets, to supers, based upon what we will actually use. Most of my list is to make LB happy; I'm really glad to see her infuse peppers in more and more dishes. Can't beat that when the wife takes interest ;)
 
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Not the best pic; but the shelf is being sketchy, and I don't need all the babies bouncing off the floor.
 
Good luck to all this season :party:
 
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Looking fantastic Scott. Got a lot of new things going on this year. The fence should do you well. The new bed looks fantastic. It should get better with time. I love the growth pattern on the Amarillo.

Nice pic of the bees doing there thing. Last year was the first time I saw bees around here in years. We always have the yellow jackets. They got mean on me last year. Built a nest in the wall of my house. Anytime I would go out and walk by, they would swarm. It must have been a big one because we were at war all Summer lots of spray. I don't usually worry about them, but that nest was aggressive.
I welcome the honey bees though.
 
Very cool pictures of the bees.  Good to see them thriving around you.
 
I may have missed it, but how did you make that much charcoal?  It has to be burned with low air intake, right?  Or am I off on that.  Between your glog and reading Rick's success with biochar that he picked up from you, I'm interested...
 
PaulG said:
Haven't even started tomato seeds, yet!  I need to get goin'   :oops:   it's just
that they get too big in the greenhouse if I start too early.  I think it's time.  
 
Your garden is so awesome.  I like all the experimental beds you are working
up, very informative, although I doubt I will ever have the chance to use any
of the awesome info you post in your grow log.  I just get a kick out of reading and experimenting, beats that 8 hours a day at the desk!
 
My vicarious thrills, though, so thanks   :rofl:
 
 
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Hi Paul!
 
I give the tomatoes 8 weeks to get up to speed. Now if I could get the peppers down....
 
 
OCD Chilehead said:
Looking fantastic Scott. Got a lot of new things going on this year. The fence should do you well. The new bed looks fantastic. It should get better with time. I love the growth pattern on the Amarillo.

Nice pic of the bees doing there thing. Last year was the first time I saw bees around here in years. We always have the yellow jackets. They got mean on me last year. Built a nest in the wall of my house. Anytime I would go out and walk by, they would swarm. It must have been a big one because we were at war all Summer lots of spray. I don't usually worry about them, but that nest was aggressive.
I welcome the honey bees though.
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Thanks Chuck!
 
I'm hoping all my playing/experimenting works out. It never hurts to try something new or different ;)
 
So now I have 3 hives of honey bees within 60 yards of the house, 2 within 30 yards. I'll leave them bee ;)  Wasps and hornets I remove on sight.
 
 
Pulpiteer said:
Very cool pictures of the bees.  Good to see them thriving around you.
 
I may have missed it, but how did you make that much charcoal?  It has to be burned with low air intake, right?  Or am I off on that.  Between your glog and reading Rick's success with biochar that he picked up from you, I'm interested...
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Hi Andy!
 
We now have 3 hives working around the house. I think they like the garden.
 
The easiest and fastest way to make charcoal is to make a pile like in the pic below:
 
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I'll light the pile on the right, which will be upwind and it will draft down to the other two. Above the pitch fork is a set of fireplace log clamps or grips. As I see pieces get close to the point where you can tap on them and they break apart, I use those to gain access to the wood that's ready to be throw in a bucket of water. I do have a kiln I made but it wastes so much wood cooking the wood inside the locked box. I know the scientists say Terra Preta was made form low temp char. (char happens at around 270° from what I read) It's supposed to be 1k+ years old; how can they tell?  They say that they lit the fires got them going and put them out, I'm doing the same here. Anyway, this method requires you to be around to watch it. That and I pull the pieces as soon as they reach the charcoal stage, so that's as low temp as this boy can get ;)
 
Why am I wasting firewood for this experiment?
 
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The pile on the left is 2 years old from one tree that died! It's about 20 feet long. The pile on the right is over 5-7 years old. I can't use it all as it will rot, so why not play? ;)
 
A few pics:
 
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Mini Red Rocoto, it has a few pods.
 
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Another Mini Red Rocoto.
 
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Aji Oro, it has a few small pods in there too.
 
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Aji Largo, all of these are from seeds GIP sent me.
 
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A PD Select, seeds from Gary.
 
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Mutant Reaper, I have to grow this out just to see what it's going to do.
 
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BOC, seeds from Gary. These last three are the last plants that need a final home.
 
Plants are doing you credit Scott, love the mini red rocoto, especially with pods.
Will they go in the shade Scott near the fence when the best really ramps up.
P. Dreadie plant showing nice big foliage as they usually do.

Loving your glog been a interesting read all the way, keep it up my friend.



Sent from my VFD 900 using Tapatalk
 
PaulG said:
Mutant Reaper?     :eek:
 
As if 'regular' Reapers weren't bad enough!    :twisted:  :flamethrower:
 
Everything looking good, Scott.
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Thanks Paul!
 
I don't know what's going on with that plant. It sure has a weird growth habit.
 
Superhot Sim said:
Plants are doing you credit Scott, love the mini red rocoto, especially with pods.
Will they go in the shade Scott near the fence when the best really ramps up.
P. Dreadie plant showing nice big foliage as they usually do.

Loving your glog been a interesting read all the way, keep it up my friend.



Sent from my VFD 900 using Tapatalk
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Thanks Sim!
 
I have those pubes in semi shade already under one of the Live Oak trees. I have a Red Manzano out in the garden that's going to join the others in the morning. It's showing signs of wanting a break from the sun. The P. Dreadie was a late start. I think it's late enough to just run from pots, that way when the real heat gets here I can move them where they just get the sun until around noon. Around here that's enough during mid July to Sept.
 
Trident chilli said:
Scott your Papa Dreadie looks a fine specimen... the mutant Reaper looks very much like the photographs from forum members in Australia who have leaf issues ... have a good weekend
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Thanks John!
 
I'm hoping to isolate it and get some true seeds. I'm anxious to compare it to the MoA as well.
 
So is there a diagnosis on the leaf issues? I'm quite curious to know why it went that way.
 
I hope you enjoy the weekend as well! We'll have a full house Both the kids are coming over with the 5 G-Kids; it's going to be a mad house!
 
 
Things are coming along very nicely it seems. That mutant reaper looks like a very interesting little guy, I'm curious to see what happens with it. Are mutant plants common? And do they still produce pods? If they produce, will the mutated gene be carried through to the "next of kin"??
 
Blitz527 said:
Things are coming along very nicely it seems. That mutant reaper looks like a very interesting little guy, I'm curious to see what happens with it. Are mutant plants common? And do they still produce pods? If they produce, will the mutated gene be carried through to the "next of kin"??
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Thanks Alex,
 
Those are all good questions! I wish I could accurately answer all of them.I'm not entirely sure it's a true mutant; it may just be having "issues". I will say it's the first one I've had look like that. I don't feel they're common, and any traits would have to be dominant to be carried on, or two recessive genes could result in a mutation. Remember BB was dom brown, Bb was still brown with therecessive blonde gene. bb was blonde?
 
 
Devv said:
 
Thanks Rick!
 
I now know that starting seeds mid summer is what it takes here for pods. I wonder if they OW well? I haven't tried it yet.
 
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I think they OW well, but they're Aphid magnets. The little bastiges seem to like them better than any other chile variety. The winter I tried to keep 3 varieties, they were all over the Manzano and ignored the others. This winter I tried to OW the Pube I got last season from Freeport Bum... I'd have sworn I cleaned it up enough after washing out the root ball, re-potting in fresh soil and spraying the leaves and stems with Pyrethrin, but the little bastiges still came back three times!  :banghead:  I think they must have migrated from one or more of my Wife's potted plants. Each time I spotted a new infestation and sprayed with the pyrethrin a portion of the leaves died. The third time killed the plant. If you do decide to try it, I hope you have much better luck than I did.
 
 
bpiela said:
Scott, It looks like this website stole your method of planting tomatos.  Check out item #4.
 
http://www.tomatodirt.com/tomato-transplanting-mistakes.html
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Well surely I stole it ;)
 
In 1982 the first year I ever planted a garden, I bought a book on growing tomatoes, and that advise was in that book. It's really done well for me. And burying those 15" plants versus a 7" tall plant results in a completely different grow. The shorter plants with the smaller root system are still 1/3 the height of the larger ones.
 
Twice in the last week we've had severe T-storm warnings with hail. This last one we had tornado warnings. We lucked out on both. The garden handled it well, the Chinense are a bit roughed up, so no close ups ;)
I cut off all the lower leaves that were dirt covered and weak looking (See I read Paul).
 
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This Gochu has several pods and is doing well, more flowers and some bark there too.
 
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Billy Biker is setting tiny pods, and flowers.
 
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Purple Jalapeno and a grubby finger ;)
 
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Jimmy Nardello with a few pods. LB loves cooking with them.
 
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Note the smaller tomato plants that I mentioned earlier.
 
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Most of the Chinense are now forking, and a few are budding. But they are a bit roughed up from the 2 storms.
 
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It won't be long before they get out of control. I just let them grow.
 
That's it for today!
 
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