Devv's 2014- Stick a fork in me, I'm done....

Time for the 2014 start...
 
Many of these plants were made possible by the generous people of the THP sending me seeds and pods Thanks!
 
I'm looking forward to warmer weather and dirt day!
 
I have a bunch of seeds started, and plants at all the stages.
 
Here's the grow bench, a T8 x4 on top and T5 x4 on the bottom, as you can see it's loaded.
 

 
Top rack:

 
Bottom rack:

 
I like starting the seeds in Jiffy Pellets, as soon as they stand up I trim the mesh off and plant them 1/2" proud in a pot, or in this case a cup.
 
Red Rocotto the lonely Pube..

 
A few plants living under the T5, I'm super impressed with this light!
 
Choc Hab
 

 
Bhut x Y7 x Choc Bhut Douglah-Spicegeist
 

 
 
Bhut x Y7 F2-Spicegeist

 
 
Yellow Cardi- Jamie

 
 
Choc Scorp-Ramon

 
Peach Bhut- Annie

 
 
 
Going to do some tilling will post more later

 

[PaulS]

Thats a really impressive growing area. I'm jealous

 

[Jeff H]

Love the cover crops. Makes me a little jealous. Our first killing freeze was over the weekend so anything left outside is definitely done here in southern Ohio.

 

[Devv]

Dang 4 to 7 inches!!! Not sure how much is forcast for us but I hope its a lot I love the rain! Pods are looking good buddy!

 
Thanks Daniel!
 
Well this was one of the rare correct rain forecasts. We're past the 3" mark and it's still raining, don't know if we'll get to 4 or not. No matter, I'm happy I hope this has a nice impact on the lakes and aquifers around here.
 

Looking good Scott. Garden is nice and green. Glad to see some pods still coming in. Have a great week.

 
Thanks Chuck!
 
Hopefully the birds won't eat the seeds I threw yesterday
 

Devv,  the garden  cover crop is looking pretty good and I bet it looks a whole lot better once you get the rain.  Wish I could send some of ours down there, as we have had more than enough lately.  Been pulling all my peppers that have any color so I can wrap this season up.
 
Looking forward to what everyone's does for 2015.

 
Thanks Bill!
 
I used to work with an old man in the early 80's. Every time he came in after a good shower the night before he would say "I can just hear the grass a growin". That's what the cover crop will do the next few days. When it hits around 8 to 9"s tall I won't have to water it anymore, as it catches the morning dew. I'm hoping mine run another 45 days, the Jimmy Nardello's are loading up.

Thats a really impressive growing area. I'm jealous

 
Thanks Paul!
 
My wife found this place 25 years ago when land was still affordable. We certainly couldn't afford to buy it now at today's prices. I'm grateful she found it!
 

Love the cover crops. Makes me a little jealous. Our first killing freeze was over the weekend so anything left outside is definitely done here in southern Ohio.

 
Thanks Jeff!
 
That's one benefit of our warmer weather here. I guess the only way you could do it is if you plant just half the garden in the spring. But adding compost as you do will do just fine.

 

[stickman]

I hear ya when it comes to bucking firewood Scott. Back during the Arab oil embargo my dad decided to heat with wood... we lived in an old farmhouse and it took about 6 cords to heat the place for the winter. We prowled the roads when the town tree crews felled trees in the fall that threatened the power lines so we could get the wood. He also made a deal with the owner of a pallet mill so we could get the wood rejected for the bits of metal in it really cheap. We cut it to length with chainsaws, but did all our splitting by hand with a maul and wedges. Great exercise for a young and vigorous lad...

 

[East Texas Heat]

Finally got a good shower up this way too devv Cover crops lookin awesome. Carry on.

 

[Devv]

I hear ya when it comes to bucking firewood Scott. Back during the Arab oil embargo my dad decided to heat with wood... we lived in an old farmhouse and it took about 6 cords to heat the place for the winter. We prowled the roads when the town tree crews felled trees in the fall that threatened the power lines so we could get the wood. He also made a deal with the owner of a pallet mill so we could get the wood rejected for the bits of metal in it really cheap. We cut it to length with chainsaws, but did all our splitting by hand with a maul and wedges. Great exercise for a young and vigorous lad...

 
We keep our heat at 68° and when it's cold enough for a fire the fireplace keeps the North side of the house nice and toasty. I stoke it before retiring for the night and it keeps the heat from coming on for quite a while. Our bedroom stays colder until the heat kicks in and everything equalizes by wake up time. When LB get up she sets it at 70° and by the time we're ready for showers it's just right.
 
I get the wood off our place; I've never cut down a Live Oak. I used to just trim them but the drought and storms have given me tons of wood; so I haven't trimmed in 5 years or so. The rack I made to keep dry wood on the front porch holds about 3/4 a cord...2 rows 5' high, 18" long pieces, 6' long. I have a pile that's 4 rows wide, 20' long (at least) and 6' high. And then there's the new wood I haven't cut up or split.
 
3 to 5 years ago I bought a 30 ton splitter; Live Oak grain is like a puzzle. You can't split it by hand unless you're 22 and 6'4" weighing 240lbs...LOL. The splitter struggles with the larger pieces, which I cut shorter.
 

Finally got a good shower up this way too devv Cover crops lookin awesome. Carry on.

 
Thanks!
 
All together so far we've gotten 4"s! My place just soaked it up like a sponge; very little runoff this round.

 

[stickman]

 
.3 to 5 years ago I bought a 30 ton splitter; Live Oak grain is like a puzzle. You can't split it by hand unless you're 22 and 6'4" weighing 240lbs...LOL. The splitter struggles with the larger pieces, which I cut shorter.

 
I can believe that! Did you know the hull planks on the USS Constitution are made of Live Oak? That's why it got the knickname of "Old Ironsides". When it got into some fights with British Navy ships in the war of 1812, her crew saw British cannonballs bouncing off her sides during the fight.

 

[East Texas Heat]

Same for us with the runoff, ground just took a big ole swig and that's all she wrote, almost completely dry today.

 

[Devv]

 
I can believe that! Did you know the hull planks on the USS Constitution are made of Live Oak? That's why it got the knickname of "Old Ironsides". When it got into some fights with British Navy ships in the war of 1812, her crew saw British cannonballs bouncing off her sides during the fight.

 Wow! good info, and I can believe that for sure. Once completely dry Live Oak will quickly dull a sharp chainsaw chain, you WILL see sparks. We've been here almost 26 years and there's a portion of a tree that was long dead when we moved in. It was about 3' around and a piece about 9' high and 3"s thick equaling about 1/6th (?) of the trunk is still standing. So it's about 14-16"s wide. I tried to push it over with the tractor about 2 years ago (it has a bucket and is a 50 HP JD) tires just spinned. I tried a bit of a running start, well it's still there
 
 

Same for us with the runoff, ground just took a big ole swig and that's all she wrote, almost completely dry today.

 
Yes, this rain produced the inches, but was too slow overall to give us the runoff we need. But anyways, if the ground soaked it up like that, then it did us some good. It will certainly help us here, as we won't have to water the orchard for a few weeks. And the ranchers that plant Oats and winter Rye will have a nice green pasture. It's all good

 

[randyp]

   Looking good Scott.Your wood talk reminded me of my grumpy great Uncle,who work for the railroad and burned nothing but RR ties.Not smart,those things were full of kreasoke or some ungodly substance.We had to help him cut those heavy SOB"s on a band saw ran off the back of a tractor.(no wonder there are so many farming accidents. Wonder why my Great uncle died from emphazema. (don't mind some of my misspelled words,I ain't no Rocket Science Guy.)

 

[Devv]

   Looking good Scott.Your wood talk reminded me of my grumpy great Uncle,who work for the railroad and burned nothing but RR ties.Not smart,those things were full of kreasoke or some ungodly substance.We had to help him cut those heavy SOB"s on a band saw ran off the back of a tractor.(no wonder there are so many farming accidents. Wonder why my Great uncle died from emphazema. (don't mind some of my misspelled words,I ain't no Rocket Science Guy.)

 
Yeah that's kind of crazy. I imagine the chimney was loaded with resin. Ever see one of those old time PTO log splitters? Now those were dangerous!
 
This is what I did this morning:
 

 
Cut and drag to a place where I can cut them up. I thought this tree blew over, now I'm thinking lightning. Whatever the case it failed at ground level. It's wider than the cut on my 20" Husky. Fired up the log splitter after freeing it up; I was surprised it had seized. I keep it in the shop. Apparently it was rained on (but I don't recall), and water must have entered the engine through the muffler. I pulled the plug and the valve cover to make sure the valves returned to their seats; put some WD-40 in the cylinder and got it to spin. Then added a little ATF to lube things up a bit. It started after a few pulls
 

 
Some BB7's no bleeding..they sure are ripening slow in the cooler weather.
 

 
Gonna pick a few NagaBrains tomorrow!

 

[Pulpiteer]

All this stuff on the Live Oaks is amazing. Very interesting stuff.
And those plants are looking nice - large and full of pods. 

 

[Devv]

Thanks for stopping by Andy.
 
Been pretty busy working on cutting and splitting firewood; I have a guy coming either Friday or Saturday to drop the big tree. I need to get a pic of it before they cut it down.
 
Things sure are slowing down on the THP; and I'm in danger of losing the peppers in the raised bed due to a 33° forecast in the morning. And then 28° forecast for Friday...not looking good. This is way early for us this year. This morning was 41° with a high of 48°. This global warming has me worried...LOL
 
I did pick all the ripe and close to ripe pods today.
 
Not many but I got some!
 

 
A few Bahamian Goat's, rather small, but it's late season.
 

 
A few BB7's, can anyone tell me about the cross?
 

 
A few NagaBrains and Funky Reapers.
 
We have like 30 plants (or more) in the back room (dining room) to protect against a frost. A mix of house plants, Pineapples, peppers, and tomatoes.
 

 
Sorry for the blurry pic, but this late bloomer Brown Bhut (seeds from Sawyer) has pods! Didn't set any until now.

 

[PaulG]

Incredible, Scott - your grow is just chugging along!
Everything looks really good, buddy!

 

[Roguejim]

OFF TOPIC...
 
Hey Scott, have you ever been to Lockhart, where all those bbq joints are, like Kreuz Market?  I'm gearing up to buy a real wood burner smoker.

 

[slade122]

OFF TOPIC...
 
Hey Scott, have you ever been to Lockhart, where all those bbq joints are, like Kreuz Market?  I'm gearing up to buy a real wood burner smoker.

 
I've been to lockhart several times, mainly for the grub.
 
Let me tell you, I'm drooling just thinking about all that succulent, juicy meat.... If you've never been there - It's like church, but for BBQ.
 
Probably the most religious eating experience one can have.
 
*moaning ensues*

 

[Devv]

Incredible, Scott - your grow is just chugging along!
Everything looks really good, buddy!

 Thanks Paul!
 
The back room, AKA the dining room, is currently filled to the brim with plants! We made it through the coldest of the predictions; today was 36° in the morning, not getting much warmer than 44°. I was out there at first light (skipped work) putting my warm hunting clothes to use and hauling and splitting wood until 2PM. At which time I said beer 30! The weather is iffy for the next few days, we should be in the 70's if things were being normal....
 

OFF TOPIC...
 
Hey Scott, have you ever been to Lockhart, where all those bbq joints are, like Kreuz Market?  I'm gearing up to buy a real wood burner smoker.

 
Hi Jim,
 
Thanks for stopping by. I've never been to Lockhart, it's around 2 hours away. LB saw your post and mentioned we need to go there some day
 
You will like the wood burning pit! I use mine to slow cook briskets, ribs, whole chickens (beer can chickens) and roasts. I usually cook at 225°
 

 
I've been to lockhart several times, mainly for the grub.
 
Let me tell you, I'm drooling just thinking about all that succulent, juicy meat.... If you've never been there - It's like church, but for BBQ.
 
Probably the most religious eating experience one can have.
 
*moaning ensues*

 
You two have me convinced, any special place I should visit?

 

[Roguejim]

Thanks Paul!
 
The back room, AKA the dining room, is currently filled to the brim with plants! We made it through the coldest of the predictions; today was 36° in the morning, not getting much warmer than 44°. I was out there at first light (skipped work) putting my warm hunting clothes to use and hauling and splitting wood until 2PM. At which time I said beer 30! The weather is iffy for the next few days, we should be in the 70's if things were being normal....
 

 
Hi Jim,
 
Thanks for stopping by. I've never been to Lockhart, it's around 2 hours away. LB saw your post and mentioned we need to go there some day
 
You will like the wood burning pit! I use mine to slow cook briskets, ribs, whole chickens (beer can chickens) and roasts. I usually cook at 225°
 
I once saw the owner, or pitmaster at Kreuz Market remarking how he just couldn't understand why anyone would smoke meat "low and slow". At Kreuz Market, it's hot and fast. Ain't nobody complaining either. Champion BBQer Myron Mixon is also a proponent of the hot and fast method (350F). At the comps when everyone's getting up at midnight to start their fires, Myron is still sleeping 4-5 more hours. I like that. When does your Winter officially start?

 
You two have me convinced, any special place I should visit?

 

[Devv]

 

Thanks Paul!
 
The back room, AKA the dining room, is currently filled to the brim with plants! We made it through the coldest of the predictions; today was 36° in the morning, not getting much warmer than 44°. I was out there at first light (skipped work) putting my warm hunting clothes to use and hauling and splitting wood until 2PM. At which time I said beer 30! The weather is iffy for the next few days, we should be in the 70's if things were being normal....
 

 
Hi Jim,
 
Thanks for stopping by. I've never been to Lockhart, it's around 2 hours away. LB saw your post and mentioned we need to go there some day
 
You will like the wood burning pit! I use mine to slow cook briskets, ribs, whole chickens (beer can chickens) and roasts. I usually cook at 225°
 
I once saw the owner, or pitmaster at Kreuz Market remarking how he just couldn't understand why anyone would smoke meat "low and slow". At Kreuz Market, it's hot and fast. Ain't nobody complaining either. Champion BBQer Myron Mixon is also a proponent of the hot and fast method (350F). At the comps when everyone's getting up at midnight to start their fires, Myron is still sleeping 4-5 more hours. I like that. When does your Winter officially start?

 
You two have me convinced, any special place I should visit?

 

 
I did the hot and fast for 30 years; cooking at 325-350°, I still cook chicken at the higher temps BTW.
 
I say try both and see which you like the best. Now, ribs I like slow cooked. Is this pit going to have a firebox?
 
Normally we see the first cold on or around Thanksgiving, not this year, it's been 45° or lower since Tuesday. It should be 70°. Typically we see a freeze around Christmas; but I've seen 85° on Christmas day. So we never know. Our winters are different than those north of us. It only gets cold when a Northern front blows in. Once the wind is out of the South it heats up again....

 

[Roguejim]

 
I did the hot and fast for 30 years; cooking at 325-350°, I still cook chicken at the higher temps BTW.
 
I say try both and see which you like the best. Now, ribs I like slow cooked. Is this pit going to have a firebox?
 
Normally we see the first cold on or around Thanksgiving, not this year, it's been 45° or lower since Tuesday. It should be 70°. Typically we see a freeze around Christmas; but I've seen 85° on Christmas day. So we never know. Our winters are different than those north of us. It only gets cold when a Northern front blows in. Once the wind is out of the South it heats up again....

 
So, how did the hot and fast work out on a whole brisket?  Presently, I have a Traeger pellet pooper.  My mistake buying it without doing more research.  It delivers a poor smoke profile to the meat.  It runs so efficiently that it just doesn't produce enough smoke.  That's my story.  My intention at this point is to buy an offset, this one here: http://www.yodersmokers.com/cheyenne.html
Do you think I could fit 2 ~15lb packer brisket in this smoker, Scott?  That's my basic requirement for any smoker I go with.  It's about the most affordable one I've seen with that particular construction.  What are your thoughts on this?
 
 
Kreuz Market, Black's, and Smitty's are the ones I always hear mentioned.  I've never eaten at any of them!  The bbq here in southern Oregon isn't worth eating.
 
http://www.lockhart-tx.org/web98/visitors/bbqcapitaloftexas.asp