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

TrentL · Apr 13, 2014

Well I can tell one thing; you are going to have some monster tomato plants as big as they are.

I take it the wooden structures are for row covers in the hot texas sun?

Svetlana · Apr 13, 2014

Hi Devv,

I really like your garden! What a beautiful work!

Last year, spring was horribly cold here too.
This year, winter too soft with continuous rains and now, too much heat and wind !
The seasons have become strange .....

I hope you'll have a great crop this year !

Devv · Apr 13, 2014

TrentL said:
Well I can tell one thing; you are going to have some monster tomato plants as big as they are.

I take it the wooden structures are for row covers in the hot texas sun?

I started the Tom's in December, at plant out I buried them down to almost the crown.

The wood is for the 30% sun shade that goes up as soon as we hit 90's on a regular basis. It covers about half (1,200sf) of what's planted, and really helps with the sun scald I get on the peppers and Tom's

Svetlana said:
Hi Devv,

I really like your garden! What a beautiful work!

Last year, spring was horribly cold here too.
This year, winter too soft with continuous rains and now, too much heat and wind !
The seasons have become strange .....

I hope you'll have a great crop this year !

Thanks Svetlana!,

I just love working in the garden, a nice release from what I now do for a living.

And yes the seasons have changed, 25 years ago it rained here, and now it's a rare thing. And it's windy way more than before, cooler springs the last two years.

Devv · Apr 13, 2014

I couldn't come up with any 5 gal buckets at work, but I finally found one I hadn't drilled holes in and decided to brew some tea. I sent away for the free Extreme Gardening trial pack and am making that first.

I don't have a pump or a air stone but I have this.

I took a short scrap of air hose and clamped a plug in the end, I used a pic to poke tiny holes in the hose and barely cracked the ball valve.

It looks OK to me

Now using things I have on hand, fresh cow poop and molasses, would these work for a second batch?

Thanks for reading.

OCD Chilehead · Apr 13, 2014

Hey that's great. Use what you got.

Jeff H · Apr 13, 2014

Looking real nice Scott. Plants look great despite the cool temperature.

What is the road mesh for on top of the raised beds?

Devv · Apr 13, 2014

OCD Chilehead said:
Hey that's great. Use what you got.

Got to, I'm a pack rat, save all kinds of stuff that hopefully I can use at a later date.

Jeff H said:
Looking real nice Scott. Plants look great despite the cool temperature.

What is the road mesh for on top of the raised beds?

Thanks Jeff!

This weekend was the first real sign of improvement. Actually that's cattle panel material, it's because the first raised bed was dug out by the dogs. Otis was halfway down when the flying dirt caught my eye.

They love to follow me and dig up anything I've worked on..

GA Growhead · Apr 13, 2014

If that mystery stays that color, it's definitely a BOC!

Devv · Apr 13, 2014

GA Growhead said:
If that mystery stays that color, it's definitely a BOC!

I have a BOC planted, if that's the case,,I'm in deep poop regarding the labeling. Oh well, I guess we finger it out as I go..LOL.

Not liking this!

Special Weather Statement
A Strong Cold Front Will Arrive Monday Morning And Bring Breezy North Winds Through Monday Evening As Well As Much Colder Temperatures Through The Beginning Of The Week An Upper Level Trough Will Move Out Of The Northern Rockies And Into The Southern Plains Tonight. This System Will Push A Strong Cold Front Into The Hill Country And South Central Texas Monday Morning. Strong North Winds Of 25 To 30 Mph...With Higher Gusts...Will Spread Across The Region In The Wake Of The Front. The Strong Northerly Winds At The Surface And Aloft Will Allow A Much Drier And Cooler Airmass To Filter Into The Area During The Day On Monday. Temperatures Are Expected To Remain Steady Or Slowly Fall During The Afternoon. Winds Will Begin To Decrease And Become Less Gusty Monday Night. High Pressure At The Surface Will Allow Cool And Dry Air To Continue To Spill Into The Region Monday Night And Tuesday. Temperatures Tuesday Morning Will Be Much Cooler Than We Have Had The Past Several Days. Lows Are Expected To Fall To The Mid To Upper 30S Across Most Of The Area...With Portions Of The Hill Country Falling Into The Low 30S. There Is The Potential For Spotty Brief Freezing Temperatures Across The Hill Country Tuesday Morning. Any Areas Which Do Reach Freezing Will Warm Up Quickly After Sunrise Under Clear Skies. Tuesday Afternoon Will Be Sunny And Mild As Surface High Pressure And Light Northerly Winds Prevail. Clear Skies And Light Winds Are Expected Tuesday Night...Bringing Another Chilly Morning On Wednesday. Low Temperatures Will Fall Into The Mid 30S To Low 40S. Warm Southerly Winds On Wednesday Will Allow A Warming And Moistening Trend Through The Remainder Of The Week.

Cold and wind 25-30 mph with higher gusts? Them gals better have their big girl panties on!

stickman · Apr 13, 2014

Nice field expedient for making tea Scott... BOC pods are a big bonus! :dance:

You've got some time to set up low row covers if you need to, so I'm not gonna worry about your babies... I have faith that you'll pull it off. I was thinking of setting mine up next weekend, but now I think I'll wait until the cold front passes. It's supposed to get down into the 20s overnight here.

Devv · Apr 13, 2014

Thanks Rick!

So far the dew points are in the 20's here. If I see it's going to frost for any reason I'll stay home and run the wobblers, they cover 2,500 square feet when run. No way I can cover all the plants at this point.

It should be "outa here" by next weekend. Hopefully the 20's means 29°

meatfreak · Apr 13, 2014

Everything looks great, Scott. Looks like all of your hard work is starting to pay off, won't be long before all plants start to flower and pod up

Wish those logs you used for your raised would be affordable over here, looks really sturdy! Wood has gotten expensive over here. Keep it up!

Pulpiteer · Apr 13, 2014

The garden is looking great. Love the look of those manzanos! You can tell your pepper plants are setting in, that new green growth and overall healthier look. The roots have set, I think. That's good news for the coming cooler temps. My plants do well in the fall, even after temps get to 30 or so at night, but by that point they are well established. I think you'll do fine. If you've got some large dark rocks that can absorb sunlight, they might buy you a few degrees at night after they've been in the sun all day. Your mulch will protect the root zones as well. I bet your Manzanos are doing well because of the lower night temps. They'll just laugh at your Chinenses through this cold spell.

maximumcapsicum · Apr 13, 2014

Scott your grow gives me confidence! Your gals are much bigger than mine... Hit hard space constraints indoors that didn't slow ya down! I hope I loose that Limey palor over the next couple of weeks as yours seem to be doing. Hoping to follow in your footsteps minus a couple weeks.

That cold is scaring me. Annie did warn me. Looks like I'm heading to Home Depot after writing time tomorrow. Hopefully the 10 mo can help out.

PaulG · Apr 14, 2014

Hey, Scott. Just wanted to share these products of the seed you sent.

Here's the JA Red Hab and the MoA Scotch Bonnet. Those seeds must have been radioactive - these plants are
vigorous!

Thanks, buddy. Can't wait to see how they turn out!

capsidadburn · Apr 14, 2014

Hey Scott, I've been without internet for a few days and just saw the upcoming weather forecast. I might have to cover up with pots. I'll watch the dew point.

Cool tea time!

Enjoy your week!

Devv · Apr 14, 2014

meatfreak said:
Everything looks great, Scott. Looks like all of your hard work is starting to pay off, won't be long before all plants start to flower and pod up Wish those logs you used for your raised would be affordable over here, looks really sturdy! Wood has gotten expensive over here. Keep it up!

Thanks Stefan!

Sorry about the wood prices, here they're working hard on renewable forest products. But the wood is not near as good as 30-40 years ago.

I finally got those BB7's to come a round. I'm thinking the soil was the issue, a repot and they perked right back up.

Pulpiteer said:
The garden is looking great. Love the look of those manzanos! You can tell your pepper plants are setting in, that new green growth and overall healthier look. The roots have set, I think. That's good news for the coming cooler temps. My plants do well in the fall, even after temps get to 30 or so at night, but by that point they are well established. I think you'll do fine. If you've got some large dark rocks that can absorb sunlight, they might buy you a few degrees at night after they've been in the sun all day. Your mulch will protect the root zones as well. I bet your Manzanos are doing well because of the lower night temps. They'll just laugh at your Chinenses through this cold spell.

Thanks Andy!

This weekend was the first time I noticed they really were coming around. Nothing but white rocks here

I think they'll be fine, a little wind beat, but what can I do? I already have a windbreak setup.

maximumcapsicum said:
Scott your grow gives me confidence! Your gals are much bigger than mine... Hit hard space constraints indoors that didn't slow ya down! I hope I loose that Limey palor over the next couple of weeks as yours seem to be doing. Hoping to follow in your footsteps minus a couple weeks.

That cold is scaring me. Annie did warn me. Looks like I'm heading to Home Depot after writing time tomorrow. Hopefully the 10 mo can help out.

Thanks Adam!

This cold for us this in mid April is rare, in fact I can't remember 30's on the morning of the 15th. My dew points are good and I'll be watching the temps closely.

PaulG said:
Hey, Scott. Just wanted to share these products of the seed you sent.

Here's the JA Red Hab and the MoA Scotch Bonnet. Those seeds must have been radioactive - these plants are
vigorous!

Thanks, buddy. Can't wait to see how they turn out!

No wonder my house has this glow to it!

You're very welcome. Glad they're doing well for you Paul, they certainly look nice!

capsidadburn said:
Hey Scott, I've been without internet for a few days and just saw the upcoming weather forecast. I might have to cover up with pots. I'll watch the dew point.

Cool tea time!

Enjoy your week!

Hi Mike!

Can you believe my forecast is cooler? Just 1°. That has to be wrong, I would be careful tonight. We're forecast 39-38° by weather.com and weatherbug.com respectively. Dew points in the mid 20's down here.

Got home and the winds hooking out here:

This had me worried today! We're North and West of Devine 1/4 the way to Hondo from downtown Devine.

It hailed in Devine, we got .7" of well needed rain.

The tea is working, I think

I'll see what it does by tomorrow.

Thanks for reading!

Devv · Apr 15, 2014

Well the plants handled the wind rather nicely, even the newbies in the raise bed. I'm amazed, we had 40mph gusts and steady 20-25 winds for like 16 hours. I'm sure the windbreaks helped some but being we're on a slope and the wind came from the North where the ground is lower it still hit them pretty hard. A few Asparagus folded, but they'll just fork and come back. I wasn't really worried about the temps too much as the dew point was in the 20's and I knew we weren't going to freeze.

I mixed the tea at 33% to water and gave the gals a foliar feed. Left 3qts. in the bucket added some dried cow poop, dry molasses, and a dash of liquid molasses, and of course more water. Don't know what the heck I'm doing, but it can't hurt

I'm hoping this is the last of the crappy weather for all of us!

maximumcapsicum · Apr 15, 2014

We are getting that wind now. 20-25 mph. My brown moruga is bent over but the stem didn't snap so I think it's okay. Getting those plastic covers on was tons of fun.

Here's hoping this passes soon.

stickman · Apr 15, 2014

Keeping our fingers crossed for you here Scott... We've been getting some much-needed rain here too. Things are really starting to green up, but I'm sure they'll go into a holding pattern until it warms up again... hopefully by the weekend. I put down the IRT plastic mulch on the raised bed on the south side of the house this weekend. If we get back into the 40s at night then, I'll start by planting my Bhuts there and setting the hoops up over them. Cheers!