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Devv-2018-Loving life in the dirt

Here we go again! ;)
 
This year will be a mix of in the dirt and container growing. Mostly in the dirt. I have some OW's going, 5 are cut back, 6 are pubes that still spend time outdoors as the weather allows. I have pH issues in the dirt, working on that, and hoping for some better results this season. One thing the wife and I decided is to NOT grow into the fall again. I was pulling plants the same weekend I started my seeds. I'm using 4 2 bulb T8's with 6,500K bulbs, and 1 4 bulb T5 with I believe 6,500K bulbs.
 
So here's the list:
 
Planted 12-3-17

~Aji Amarillo
~Aji Dulce
~Scotchbrain
~Scotchbrain-Morugawelder
~P. Dreadie's-Windchicken
~BOC-Windchicken
 JA Habs
~Aji Oro
~pdn-bonda w PaulG
~pdn-bonda p PaulG
~pumpkin bb6-Morugawelder
~pumpkin bubblegum Bhuter
~orangegum tigermamp Bhuter
~7-pot cinder Bhuter
~pimente-neyde Bhuter
~Big Black mama-OCD Chilihead
~Brainstrain-Reaper OCD Chilihead
 
Planted 12-30-2017
 
~Jalapeno-Zapotec, Orange, Farmers.
~Poblano
~Bell-Yellow, Red.
~padrons
Hot Hatch
~Ancho
~Antep Aci Dolma
~Big Jim
~Anaheim
~Large Orange Thai
~Gochu-Stickman
~Aji Limo Rojo
Jimmy Nardello
 
Planted 1-1-2018
 
~Yellow Brainstrain- Pepperguru
 
The ~ indicates we have lift off.
 
I planted extra early to beat the heat, hoping for pods before the temps go crazy. I may have to buy more lights...LOL
 
Pics sometime tomorrow ;)
 
 
 
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TrentL said:
Damn Scott, that's a lot of 'maters to can. 
 
Ok so what process do you use to skin them? Just blanch them, and peel? What do you use to bring pH down?
 
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We put up 56 quarts this season. 12 of the plants were kind of weak producers. The best production came from the old stand by, the Early Girl. I'm guessing the Amish Paste and the Box car willy do better up north.
 
When we can, we put them in boiling water for 3 minutes, then they go into the sink, water and ice. LB peels while I blanch. Then they go into a pot until they boil. We usually do 6 or 7 quarts at a time and when the pot is 1/3 full I put it to heat and move more maters from her peeling station and add them to the large pot. Then we put them in the jars and run them 20 minutes in the canner. No need to lower the Ph with the maters.
 
 
Devv said:
 
We put up 56 quarts this season. 12 of the plants were kind of weak producers. The best production came from the old stand by, the Early Girl. I'm guessing the Amish Paste and the Box car willy do better up north.
 
When we can, we put them in boiling water for 3 minutes, then they go into the sink, water and ice. LB peels while I blanch. Then they go into a pot until they boil. We usually do 6 or 7 quarts at a time and when the pot is 1/3 full I put it to heat and move more maters from her peeling station and add them to the large pot. Then we put them in the jars and run them 20 minutes in the canner. No need to lower the Ph with the maters.
 
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Best i found here in sw colorado are siberian strain or russian strains that are used for canning.  I like to blanch mine and move to ice water bath in the sink.  Then add a bit of lemon juice to each jar with fresh basil for whole canners.  I need to build some bigger beds at the house so i can grow the amount i need to can with.  Salsa i smoke mine in a pan till the skin peels off easily then heat to temp before canning.
 
I hear ya about needing a break! It's been 2 1/2 years of non stop growing here. No plants are left in the garden except the container plants.
 
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And I still have too many...LOL
 
 
 
Walchit said:
Do you re-grind your wood chips yourself? I've been thinking about getting a chipper. But the cheapest ones on Craigslist are like 250
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Yes sir, a few years ago I bought a DR chipper/shredder. Something like this one:
 
https://www.drpower.com/power-equipment/chippers/chipper-shredders/csr-shredder-14-50-fpt-b-s-ms-pro.axd
 
Of course the prices have gone down...
 
You have to remember, I'm old now, the house is paid off, the kids are in their mid 30's. We have 2 bills anymore other than electric, food, and taxes, that's our cars.
 
 
I had about the same experience with fabric pots. I used 5 gallon ones a few years ago, for 70+ "surplus" plants that I didn't have room in the garden for, and I had to water every morning and every afternoon. It got tedious standing there with a garden hose every damn day. Had I known that I could have got stake drip emitters set up for as cheap... lessons learned :)
 
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Makes life so much easier when you just turn one valve.
 
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From Berry Hill Irrigation;
 
[SIZE=11pt]PUNCH 250B, $14 (this punches holes in the poly tubing)[/SIZE]
 
5/3 micro tubing 1000' roll, $48
[SIZE=11pt]Straight Stake #01MODS-ST-BK-B, $0.17 each[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Flat 4-Way #01ADP4WPF-B modular emitter, $0.13 (1 per 4 plants/stakes)[/SIZE]
Jr Drippers with Nipple (MODs) 01WPCJL4N or 01WPCJL8N (1 or 2 gph, your choice), $0.25 ea (1 per 4 plants/stakes)
[SIZE=11pt]NET:32PRV.75-LF15V2 Netafim low flow 3/4" pressure regulator inline, $14.00[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]100' 3/4" poly tubing $22[/SIZE]
Your choice of ball valve (from local hardware store), $??
 
So the one shot costs:
 
$14 for punch, $14 for the pressure regulator, plus whatever the ball valve costs that you get locally (mine was about $15, but I got a brass one, you could use PVC if you wanted, they're like $2.50 or $3 most places)
$22 for poly tubing 100'
$48 for 5/3 micro tubing 1000'
 
total $98
 
Cost per plant works out this way:
 
cost per 4-way emitter $0.13 / 4 lines = 0.0325
cost per modular nipple $0.25 (4 way plugs in to this) = $0.0625
cost for 6' 5/3 tubing ($48/1000*6) = $0.29 (6' length per line, assumes you run the blue stripe poly tubing overhead and drop it down to plants)
hollow 6" stake $0.17
 
Base cost per drop: $0.55
 
You'd have enough materials there to do 150 plants (as far as 5/3 tubing, amount of poly tubing, etc). 
 
Assuming you do run drops to 100 plants, those one shot costs would be ($98 / 100)  = $0.98
 
So total for doing 100 plants, would be $1.53 each (per plant) or a whopping $153... 
 
Which is pretty damn cheap for "turn a valve irrigation", considering it is reusable year to year.
 
You can put those stakes in the dirt, or in pots, whatever. And you're not tripping over stuff or de-tangling it like if you were to run dripline.
 
I liked it so much I'm going to use those INDOORS. There's no leaks from those plugs that press in to the poly tubing, pressure causes them to seal up tight, so I'm going to run this overhead in my basement to water the seedlings, as well as run them in the garage loft to water all the tables this next growing season. I'll have over 4,000 of those stakes in the pots by next March. Cost to do both the basement and loft was $998 (for over 4,000 plants!), they give quantity discounts for larger orders. But the time savings? Good grief to bottom water 15 tables I was having to mix 30x 5 gallon buckets every few days and carry them around! No more of that crap!!!
 
I want to make life easier on myself next year, and as cheap as this stuff is, why the hell would I keep doing it by hand! :)
 
Anyway figured I'd pass it along as it eliminates one thing from your long, long list of things to tend, and is definitely cheap enough to do it even on small scale.
 
 
 
Thanks for the info Trent!
 
It already looks like we'll be adding another rain storage tank over the winter, so with that and the great pressure we already see from the first, this should work well for us. There certainly won't be the mineral clog issues with the rain water like I've had in the past using the well water. That and the Ph is so much better with the rain water.
 
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