Devv-2018-Loving life in the dirt

Devv · Mar 21, 2018

PeriPeri said:
That is awesome Scott. Hell, you keep yourself busy! But job well done. It never really ends with irrigation - you think you're done and there is always something else going wrong or needing adjustments lol - in my experience at least. I have a float valve in my tank and I just couldn't get the bleeding thing to stop dripping at the collar. So now I have a Mint plant under it and the drip has a purpose lol

Going away is the worst I won't lie. But having an automated watering system sure takes a load off the mind (worrying). My biggest concern is the irrigation coming on automatically when it rains. Also getting the right intervals between waterings and the right amount of watering is important. So next year I will be looking at drip irrigation and a rain sensor to override the irrigation should there be rain or the soil be wet enough already. I have micro mist nozzles and while they do work out cheaper here than using drip nozzles, they do come with their own set of issues.

Hi Lourens,

I'm pretty handy, the only thing I pay for is HVAC work that requires a major component. But I hate any kind of plumbing, leaks come easy

However I did learn ANY threaded connection that involves PVC, or any type of metal, teflon tape is your friend. The rain sensor should help! What would really be cool is if somehow your equipment had an Internet connection, so you could have a small cheapo weather station and then turn off the irrigation remotely when needed.

Years ago, like 15, I ventured into drip irrigation. A total fail here with the extremely high mineral content in our well water. They clogged year one. But with rain water, if it ever rains again here

I can see a second attempt.

So here's a few bad pics of the container plants. Bad because I have then under the mega Live Oak while we're away, and they are quite shaded.

OW Pubes from last season. They need some TLC! The Aji Largo has a few pods left on it, we already pulled a few.

Note the leaves and the Live Oak flowers on the ground. This area was raked 3 days ago. This is the time of year they drop their leaves, flower, and put the new leaves on. The pollen is so heavy this time of year that our vehicles turn green. Nice allergy time of the year!

Aji Oro, this years plant. It's happy!

Container grown Gochu with poddage

Scotchbrain: A bit beat up from the wind, but ready to produce.

Under the shade until I can keep an eye on them, leaving them in full sun for 4 days unattended would not be a good thing.

All I need is rain. I still have to run the pipe to the garden....Oh Joy!

A bunch of the Annuum's have pods in the dirt grow...film at 11 :shh:

stickman · Mar 22, 2018

Devv said:
Hi Lourens,

I'm pretty handy, the only thing I pay for is HVAC work that requires a major component. But I hate any kind of plumbing, leaks come easy However I did learn ANY threaded connection that involves PVC, or any type of metal, teflon tape is your friend. The rain sensor should help! What would really be cool is if somehow your equipment had an Internet connection, so you could have a small cheapo weather station and then turn off the irrigation remotely when needed.

Years ago, like 15, I ventured into drip irrigation. A total fail here with the extremely high mineral content in our well water. They clogged year one. But with rain water, if it ever rains again here I can see a second attempt.

So here's a few bad pics of the container plants. Bad because I have then under the mega Live Oak while we're away, and they are quite shaded.

OW Pubes from last season. They need some TLC! The Aji Largo has a few pods left on it, we already pulled a few.

Note the leaves and the Live Oak flowers on the ground. This area was raked 3 days ago. This is the time of year they drop their leaves, flower, and put the new leaves on. The pollen is so heavy this time of year that our vehicles turn green. Nice allergy time of the year!

Aji Oro, this years plant. It's happy!

Container grown Gochu with poddage

Scotchbrain: A bit beat up from the wind, but ready to produce.

Under the shade until I can keep an eye on them, leaving them in full sun for 4 days unattended would not be a good thing.

All I need is rain. I still have to run the pipe to the garden....Oh Joy!

A bunch of the Annuum's have pods in the dirt grow...film at 11

Nice! Plants are looking stellar Scott. ☺ I'm glad the Gochu is performing so well for you.

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jedisushi06 · Mar 25, 2018

looking good

Devv · Mar 26, 2018

stickman said:
Nice! Plants are looking stellar Scott. ☺ I'm glad the Gochu is performing so well for you.

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Thanks Rick!

So far all is doing well, fingers are crossed

Devv · Mar 26, 2018

jedisushi06 said:
looking good

Thanks Mikey!

I pray the temps hold for another 45 days (fat chance)

Devv · Mar 26, 2018

Got the NY trip under our belt. Hit the sack at 2:30AM, and skipped work. I get up at 4:15AM, which would have been a moot point..LOL

Big Black Mama wins the first Chinense to pod-up award. I'm expecting some really nasty pods from this plant.

The south side peppers...

Aji Dulce setting a few. Only 2 Chinense set at the moment.

Anaheim plants are podding up

First time growing these. I think I need to cage them...

A few Ancho's. Same as Poblano peppers?

All the Zapotec Jalapeno peppers have set pods. I hope these grow large enough to stuff

Container Zaps for seed stock. Quite breezy today.

Dirt grown Gochu doing really well!

So far the dirt plants seem to be doing better than the container plants. I applied methods based upon Rick's (Stickman) soil amendment routine this spring. Kudos go to Rick! Although I have a long road in front of me to get the soil Ph down to where it should be. Anything has to be better than the last 2 years..LOL

Unless things go South, this will be my growdown plant. I still have 4-5 spares, just cuz :rolleyes:

stickman · Mar 27, 2018

Devv said:
Got the NY trip under our belt. Hit the sack at 2:30AM, and skipped work. I get up at 4:15AM, which would have been a moot point..LOL

Big Black Mama wins the first Chinense to pod-up award. I'm expecting some really nasty pods from this plant.

The south side peppers...

Aji Dulce setting a few. Only 2 Chinense set at the moment.

Anaheim plants are podding up First time growing these. I think I need to cage them...

A few Ancho's. Same as Poblano peppers?

All the Zapotec Jalapeno peppers have set pods. I hope these grow large enough to stuff [emoji14]

Container Zaps for seed stock. Quite breezy today.

Dirt grown Gochu doing really well!

So far the dirt plants seem to be doing better than the container plants. I applied methods based upon Rick's (Stickman) soil amendment routine this spring. Kudos go to Rick! Although I have a long road in front of me to get the soil Ph down to where it should be. Anything has to be better than the last 2 years..LOL

Unless things go South, this will be my growdown plant. I still have 4-5 spares, just cuz

Nice plants Scott! That Gochu you have in the dirt looks as good as any I've grown, so it looks as if you're making headway with your garden soil. It might not take as long to turn it around as you fear. [emoji3]

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Devv · Mar 27, 2018

stickman said:
Nice plants Scott! That Gochu you have in the dirt looks as good as any I've grown, so it looks as if you're making headway with your garden soil. It might not take as long to turn it around as you fear. [emoji3]

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Thanks Rick!

I'm so glad you decided to post your soil adventure. I've learned a lot from it and encourage all to read the book.

https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=SC6YjYyC8gEC&rdid=book-SC6YjYyC8gEC&rdot=1&source=gbs_vpt_read&pcampaignid=books_booksearch_viewport

I haven't given it much airtime as I feel it's your storyline

I will say, amending as per the guidelines seems to have really helped! I can't wait to see how much better things get as the Ph gets down to realistic conditions for optimal growing.

Mainly I added per specs:
Fish bone meal...better for a high Ph garden, added this at the full recommendation.
Blood meal..also better for high Ph gardens, added a 3/4 dose spread out over 2 applications, added this based upon standard blood meal application rates.
Kelp meal/Azomite.. added 50% of each as per recommendation.
Elemental sulfur...added at 50% of the products recommendations, well above the books recommendations. Note: I added this before reading the book. If I don't see an issue, the same rate will be added after garden tear down.

Also when I'm not on a vacation I make sure the water I use is @ a Ph of 6.5 or slightly lower.

When I planted, I put 2 teaspoons of tomato tone per hole, with 1 large garden trowel of worm castings and 3 of potting soil in as well. I added 4 more of the potting soil around the plant then covered in the garden soil. We'll see how things go as the season chugs along

stickman · Mar 27, 2018

Devv said:
Thanks Rick!

I'm so glad you decided to post your soil adventure. I've learned a lot from it and encourage all to read the book.

https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=SC6YjYyC8gEC&rdid=book-SC6YjYyC8gEC&rdot=1&source=gbs_vpt_read&pcampaignid=books_booksearch_viewport

I haven't given it much airtime as I feel it's your storyline

I will say, amending as per the guidelines seems to have really helped! I can't wait to see how much better things get as the Ph gets down to realistic conditions for optimal growing.

Mainly I added per specs:
Fish bone meal...better for a high Ph garden, added this at the full recommendation.
Blood meal..also better for high Ph gardens, added a 3/4 dose spread out over 2 applications, added this based upon standard blood meal application rates.
Kelp meal/Azomite.. added 50% of each as per recommendation.
Elemental sulfur...added at 50% of the products recommendations, well above the books recommendations. Note: I added this before reading the book. If I don't see an issue, the same rate will be added after garden tear down.

Also when I'm not on a vacation I make sure the water I use is @ a Ph of 6.5 or slightly lower.

When I planted, I put 2 teaspoons of tomato tone per hole, with 1 large garden trowel of worm castings and 3 of potting soil in as well. I added 4 more of the potting soil around the plant then covered in the garden soil. We'll see how things go as the season chugs along

You've got a great story there Scott, and I don't see any reason to hold yourself back from sharing the details. I think it's important knowledge that should be disseminated as widely as possible, and from as many soil and climate types as there are as well.

Watch that pH closely! Elemental sulfur isn't acidic in itself, but in the presence of warmth, moisture and certain soil-dwelling bacteria it becomes sulfuric acid. Too much is never a good thing.
.

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karoo · Mar 28, 2018

Nice pods and plants there.
Really beautiful pod on that BBM.
How does it compare to the previous year's grow , always this early?

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Essegi · Mar 28, 2018

Cool early poddage. Big Black Mama pods look dangerous indeed!

Devv · Mar 28, 2018

stickman said:
You've got a great story there Scott, and I don't see any reason to hold yourself back from sharing the details. I think it's important knowledge that should be disseminated as widely as possible, and from as many soil and climate types as there are as well.

Watch that pH closely! Elemental sulfur isn't acidic in itself, but in the presence of warmth, moisture and certain soil-dwelling bacteria it becomes sulfuric acid. Too much is never a good thing.
.

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Oh yeah, will be watching the Ph for sure

I'm always afraid to add a full dose of anything in the garden; as you can't take it back.

Devv · Mar 28, 2018

karoo said:
Nice pods and plants there.
Really beautiful pod on that BBM.
How does it compare to the previous year's grow , always this early?

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Thanks Jacques!

First year growing the BBM, I'm interested to see how it does and how it tastes

I have 2 Aji Amarillo's going and they're flowering, I'm hoping the early start helps production.

In 2014 I started things on the same schedule and had my best year growing peppers. But growing in the sand in this heat (like yours) was a chore to keep them properly watered. Things grew really well but the water, so much work. So smart guy I am, I added 16 yards of heavy top soil from a local vendor to the fenced area (40x40 feet). I tilled that in to a depth of 8"s and expected a great year the next season.

Well I wound up with a ton of problems. 2015 season was lost due to illness. 2016 and 2017 were quite dismal. I'm guessing the top soil was from an old farm, and they added way too much lime so I had terrible nute lock out. That and smart guy me, added WAY too much RCW to the soil.

So the soil is on the rebound, lessons learned, and so far looking good

I will always plant using this schedule to allow the plants to set fruit before the killer heat comes to visit. Which is about 6 weeks from now. The planting guide I usually stick to is get the tomatoes in the dirt on March 1st, if the 10 day forecast is good. Been doing that since 1982. I only had an issue one year where we had a frost on March 21st or 24th? I made it through that by running a sprinkler on the garden from 4AM to 9AM. The plants were ice covered at one point!

Peppers go in 2 to 4 weeks later depending on the soil temps and the forecast.

Devv · Mar 28, 2018

Essegi said:
Cool early poddage. Big Black Mama pods look dangerous indeed!

Thanks Giancarlo!

My gut feeling is a good season is ahead!

OCDchilehead sent me those seeds. I looked them up, they should really turn into cool looking supers

Devv · Mar 28, 2018

It rained 3.5"s last night, and I expected a full tank in the morning.

But that's not what happened. The debris around the bottom of the tank was heavy on the roof from the Live Oaks. I went up and broomed it off before the rain. All of it. And still it clogged the downspout. There was still more flowers on the trees that overhang the roof, and the particles are a little bit larger than the largest grains of sand, so they passed through the gutter leaf screens.

Not happy, just 300 gallons in the tank this morning. I should have ventured out in the pouring rain @ 1AM and checked things. Yet another lesson learned :rolleyes:

After freeing the clog, we got another .6" and that added 200 more gallons. So that's a good rate; and the next good rain should fill the tank. Now that the trash is gone...

stickman · Mar 29, 2018

Devv said:
It rained 3.5"s last night, and I expected a full tank in the morning.

But that's not what happened. The debris around the bottom of the tank was heavy on the roof from the Live Oaks. I went up and broomed it off before the rain. All of it. And still it clogged the downspout. There was still more flowers on the trees that overhang the roof, and the particles are a little bit larger than the largest grains of sand, so they passed through the gutter leaf screens.

Not happy, just 300 gallons in the tank this morning. I should have ventured out in the pouring rain @ 1AM and checked things. Yet another lesson learned After freeing the clog, we got another .6" and that added 200 more gallons. So that's a good rate; and the next good rain should fill the tank. Now that the trash is gone...

Glad to see your rain cistern works as well as advertised Scott. [emoji106] That reminds me, I've gotta tighten up my own rain barrel. The threaded rubber plug that the tap screws into leaks. I bought a proper bulkhead fitting and inside screen a while back, and I have to install them before setting it up outside. Just waiting for the threat of snow and ice to pass first.
Since you've got your tank above ground, are you planning on painting it white to keep the water inside cooler? I'll bet that Texas summer sun will heat it right up!

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Trident chilli · Mar 29, 2018

I am sure you will get another shower soon Scott ..... your garden looks really neat and your plants are loving the dirt ... as stated before that Big Black Mama looks mean. Have a good Easter break

Devv · Mar 30, 2018

Trident chilli said:
I am sure you will get another shower soon Scott ..... your garden looks really neat and your plants are loving the dirt ... as stated before that Big Black Mama looks mean. Have a good Easter break

Thanks John!

The garden is really happy, and I have Rick to thank for convincing me to get a soil sample and pointing me to the book. So far amazing results. I'm hoping that continues.
We got another .7"s of rain overnight Wednesday and that put the tank @ just under 900 gallons. Needless to say I'm stoked!

Today I had off and got half the pipe buried and the rest run to the garden, leak tested and all. I had to go under 2 concrete walkways; I had the stuff to connect a hose the to the 1.5" pipe and used it to drill under them. Good to have sandy soil in this case. I ran 1.5" pipe for about 70 feet and then necked it down to 3/4" pipe. The tank is at least 10 feet above the garden and with the necking down the pipe size I have really good water pressure. The upright pipe is 3 feet tall and without the faucet I had an 18 inch high fountain when we opened the gate valve at the tank. So good pressure we have! I was thinking I would have good flow to fill a watering can, but now I can use a hose. Yeah!

karoo · Mar 31, 2018

Sounds great , nothing like rainwater to keep those plants happy.

TrentL · Apr 1, 2018

Looks really good man! It is nice to see plants in the ground... we've got snow in the forecast tomorrow for Easter here, so .. still a loooong ways to go up north. Heck I still have tomatoes to put down in to starter trays!

By the time I get all my plants in the ground your season will be about over lol. Mid may to early June is when everything is going in the dirt here.