Devv's Dirt Grow-Almost done..

Weekend March 2-3:
I’ve been working on the garden for years; it was dormant for a few years (like 10) while I changed careers. The base soil if you want to call it that is sand. I added heavy black dirt to the upper 2/3 years ago; I’ve since added heavy red dirt (clay ) to half of the lower 1/3. For two years straight I’ve added 4”s of compost to the upper 2/3 and this year 4”s to the bottom 1/3. I clean horse pens for the free manure; kitchen waste is added to the compost. Our property is on a slope and heavy rains cause erosion problems. Above the garden the land is heavily terraced to divert water runoff.
Finished concreting the base of the fence, used 22 80lb bags, the Waskily Wabbits should be done, until they find another way in. They have been a real menace! I tried a hot wire system, it was not too effective and killed birds and squirrels; I didn’t like that.

Planted the Onions January 15th, Garlic was planted September 15th. They took a beating with the 30mph winds, 55 mph gusts last Monday.

Tilled and my wife planted corn, cukes, watermelons, bush beans and cantelope.

Bush Beans above

Cukes, and Melons behind the Rosemary above.

Corn below.

I started these the first week of January; I think I got carried away.

The Potatoes, planted February 15th are coming up. I planted then 8”s deep and I keep covering them up, and will do so until the ground is level where planted.

Never ending mulch pile.

Hmmm.. too many images...

 

[stc3248]

Damn Scott...your pics are missing again. I will come back later and see if they're back up...

 

[Jamison]

Holy smokes Devv! Your wood working is amazing! Its so precise and tedious I wouldn't be able to do it. Trim work is about as far as I will go. I love painters caulk by the way, lol! But on the other hand, that rifle stock is something gorgeous man! Your garden is monsterous, and lush. You got the touch man, you sure do. Some very cool looking pods for sure! You da man!

 

[Devv]

Sweet shots Scott!

 Thanks Jay!
 

 
Looks like this one has an appetite for pollinators...

 LOL, that's one funky looking spidy! Hopefully it will eat a grasshopper...
 

Holy frequing beautiful pods Tarzan of da jungle, you da mon!
 
Scott your plants get taller ever time I see them and dem just keep on growing, looking great and I see you have the beneficials protecting them too. The reapers look gnarly but beautiful, so does your red Bhut … great looking shape and color on all da pods.
 
I hear ya about not seeing many ladybugs, for a long time it was far and few between for me too. But now there’s one on almost every plant and if not there’s eggs waiting to hatch. I’d still like more but if this up coming batch of eggs plus others I’ve seen around all hatch I’ll have an army of larva, lol.
 
I think the JA Hab’s will do you right in the heat, mine have set in those high temps but they do need some filtered light or shade. I can’t wait to see you posting some big bad red pods from dem mon
 
Dat pic of your JA flower is great \o/ … keep up da awesome gardening brethren and have a great week ^_^

Thanks Ramon!
 
The plants are getting so huge I have a hard time looking for ripe pods and picking.
 
I'm really surprised about pod set in this heat!
 

Amazing pictures, and plants! I am curious to see what is the difference between the Reaper and the Bhut!

Thanks!
 
I wanted to taste that baby today but am going to hold off until tomorrow, got a bit of a stomach bug today and don't want to push my luck...
 

Damn impressive wood work buddy. That rifle stock is gorgeous. Drool. Oh yeah, you have a garden too! Hahahaha what a garden it is. Just beasting. Nice work. I'll have to try and keep up with your (and everyone else's) glog.

Thanks King!

Damn Scott...your pics are missing again. I will come back later and see if they're back up...

I have that happen every once in a while (not just my pics), a refresh usually brings them back.
 

Holy smokes Devv! Your wood working is amazing! Its so precise and tedious I wouldn't be able to do it. Trim work is about as far as I will go. I love painters caulk by the way, lol! But on the other hand, that rifle stock is something gorgeous man! Your garden is monsterous, and lush. You got the touch man, you sure do. Some very cool looking pods for sure! You da man!

Thanks Jamison!
If you're so inclined to do woodwork, just start small, that's how I learned. Also one needs the special tools as well. I got into it because of the cost of "good stuff" I wanted it, but didn't want to mortgage the house...
The garden is doing well but pod production in this heat is rather slow, can't wait until it cools some
 
 
Before I went on vacation, I spent most of my time picking and putting up pods, and learning how to auto irrigate so I would have plants when I got back. I slacked off on feeding, which I usually do once a week, I don't feed heavily but like to keep a low dose going.
 
I think it's paying off. This week and last was really hot, came home and it's 100 degrees, plants need water, one just wants to get it done.
Today I looked around, more than I normally do...and was pleased to see a lot of flowers and new pods setting, even with this unrelenting heat.
 
Reapers flowering

 
Red Caribbeans setting again.

 
Red Bhut baby...

 
Another

 
Funky Reaper's setting again too.

 
I have been letting the Poblano's ripen, I'm loosing a few due to birds going after the red.

 
Now this blew me away, where did all of these come from? Well they were not in plain site, getting hard to crawl around in the jungle...

 
Funky Reaper next to a Red Bhut.

 
Another busy helper...

 
I forget what this is...LOL

 
Thanks for stopping by!

 

[stc3248]

Great pics!!! Pia might be less than pleased when she visits though! Great looking pull for south TX in August too...your jungle shot is really impressive in that heat as well...most gardens down there are more brown than green this time of year. Nice Job Scott!

 

[meatfreak]

Great harvest shot there, Devv. I'm growing Poblano's also but is it worth in flavor to ripe these of to red? I've only tasted them unripe so far.

 

[Devv]

Great pics!!! Pia might be less than pleased when she visits though! Great looking pull for south TX in August too...your jungle shot is really impressive in that heat as well...most gardens down there are more brown than green this time of year. Nice Job Scott!

Thanks Shane!
The shade cloth and me babying the heck out of them keeps 'em hanging! Ahh that wasn't for Pia, just some cool bugs...LOL
 

Great harvest shot there, Devv. I'm growing Poblano's also but is it worth in flavor to ripe these of to red? I've only tasted them unripe so far.

Thanks!
I'm ripening them so I can dry them for use when we make Tamales. Most of them get used in a pepper steak of stuffed pepper recipe, they're great with Fajita's too!

 

[meatfreak]

Thanks!
I'm ripening them so I can dry them for use when we make Tamales. Most of them get used in a pepper steak of stuffed pepper recipe, they're great with Fajita's too!

 
Thanks for the feedback, hopefully my plants start producing some more pods because it's not the best producer so far and I lost a couple of pods due to sun scald this week.

 

[wahlee76]

Nice to see the baby pods and harvest in one post.
Also, I'm amazed by the creatures I see on THP
 
Great harvest, will help you through the winter

 

[Devv]

 
Thanks for the feedback, hopefully my plants start producing some more pods because it's not the best producer so far and I lost a couple of pods due to sun scald this week.

That's why I use that sunshade, the sun tears up tomatoes, Bells and the Pobs. With the heat we get I couldn't have this grow, I had 2 rows of Annuum's in the full sun I had to give up on them...
 

Nice to see the baby pods and harvest in one post.
Also, I'm amazed by the creatures I see on THP
 
Great harvest, will help you through the winter

Thanks!
 
I appreciate the comments!
 
Thanks for stopping by.

 

[WalkGood]

Tarzan Scott you keep complaining about the heat and bam you pull a table full of beautiful pods great job mon! Keep dem jungle pics coming, I love dat look \o/

 

[Devv]

Ramon Thanks!
 
Yeah I whine about the hot weather, need some cheese to go with it! I just hate the sweating, the temps don't bother me...just that sweating! And it's all from my head, goes into my eyes...fouls my glasses too....LOL
 
I was very surprised to see all the pods, most were smaller than normal, but that's expected this time of year. They were incognito, hidden low and behind leaves. Definitely will space them further apart next year!
 
And the new pods setting has tripped me out, really surprised!
 
Have a good one!

 

[MGOLD86]

WOW!  Nice harvest shot and pod photos!  Really looks like you are in full swing, jungle was definitley the right word. 

 

[PIC 1]

Scott it's great to see your factory..plants still rolling out the pods even during the heat waves...
I remember Alabama Jack having a lull in production during the Texas summers. His plants would pick back up and produce all the way through December.
I like the idea of using ripe poblanos in a pepper steak dish. That's one meal I'll use Filets in for the tenderness.
That's one crazy looking spider. I've walked (not seeing) right through some early morning webs...............where did it go?........
 
Have an enjoyable week !

 

[Devv]

WOW!  Nice harvest shot and pod photos!  Really looks like you are in full swing, jungle was definitley the right word. 

 Thanks Matt!
 
This is my first year, so I'm learning, especially about spacing..LOL. Next year will be different, dang I could spend a grand on gardening this winter in a heartbeat!
 
 

Scott it's great to see your factory..plants still rolling out the pods even during the heat waves...
I remember Alabama Jack having a lull in production during the Texas summers. His plants would pick back up and produce all the way through December.
I like the idea of using ripe poblanos in a pepper steak dish. That's one meal I'll use Filets in for the tenderness.
That's one crazy looking spider. I've walked (not seeing) right through some early morning webs...............where did it go?........
 
Have an enjoyable week !

Thanks Greg!
I was really surprised to see any production, we're in our 3rd week of 100 or more everyday, not normal temps, usually they fluctuate between 93 to 98 and hit 100 for a few days and go back down. Really weird after a cool spring...payback?
Pepper steak is definitely on the agenda, as well as tamales, and more Wop stile stuffed peppers. I'm gonna see if LB will make Chili Relleno, just love that dish.
 
Those little green spiders don't make webs, I think they just lay and wait. We have a type of spider you never see but use the wind to travel while leaving a single stand of their web for stability while flying (I guess). Anyways they seem to like to leave the web right at face height, constantly walking into the strand, drives me nuts! Never have seen a spider though?
 
'Yall have a great week!

 

[KiNGDeNNiZ]

Scott.. nice jungle and little helpers.. wish there were more like those to have helped mine.. your JA habs looks like mine when it was healthy.. tons of buds and flowers!!.. good work and nice harvest

 

[Pr0digal_son]

Thanks for the feedback, hopefully my plants start producing some more pods because it's not the best producer so far and I lost a couple of pods due to sun scald this week.

Ancho Mulato is a prolific one. Smaller pods and thin walled on very large plant for and annuum. Some large podded annuums take almost as long to ripen up as supers do for me.


Plants and harvests are looking great Scott. That tight grouping is keeping the roots nice and cool.Your plants will love you for that.

 

[BrooklynXpat]

Very nice harvest scott!
 
I wouldn't know what to do with the jungle you got growing there, as asian tiger mosquitos plague my neighborhood and anything that dense is breeding grounds. Hopefully all those nice spiders eat all your pests . The end of the season (whenever that is in tx) , you should have some shots of yourself going through the jungle with a machete to all plants you wont OW.

 

[MGOLD86]

You dont need to tell me about dropping serious coin on gardening supplies!  I already have the grow tent and TWO freaking lights, but this next season I am considering rearranging my setup and will probably get another light or two.....the wife is gonna kill me.....

 

[windchicken]

I'm digging your garden, Scott...Beautiful pods, and very nice production to be getting during this heat wave!   I'm jealous you've got Poblanos...None of my seeds popped this year...
 
Excellent photography, too!

 

[Devv]

Scott.. nice jungle and little helpers.. wish there were more like those to have helped mine.. your JA habs looks like mine when it was healthy.. tons of buds and flowers!!.. good work and nice harvest

Thanks Denniz!
It's certainly dense in there! I'm seeing more and more predators, especially wasps, spiders, and lizards. Those Ja Habs seem to love the heat, they were started way late, like in May and just grow!
 

Ancho Mulato is a prolific one. Smaller pods and thin walled on very large plant for and annuum. Some large podded annuums take almost as long to ripen up as supers do for me.


Plants and harvests are looking great Scott. That tight grouping is keeping the roots nice and cool.Your plants will love you for that.

Thanks John!
 
This is the first year I've left the sun shade on past July, what a difference its made! Also the first year growing any Chinense. The Pob's are really happy in that 30% shade. The root are is really shaded and had to be helping in this heat, 102 today. Having to water daily, as we also have a decent breeze that has to making drying out happen faster.
 

Very nice harvest scott!
 
I wouldn't know what to do with the jungle you got growing there, as asian tiger mosquitos plague my neighborhood and anything that dense is breeding grounds. Hopefully all those nice spiders eat all your pests . The end of the season (whenever that is in tx) , you should have some shots of yourself going through the jungle with a machete to all plants you wont OW.

Thanks Matt!
No Mosquito's here and glad for that! I remember growing up in NY and they sprayed for Mosquito's, us dumb kids rode our bikes behind the truck...I'm sure that did us all a lot of good! End of season could be as late as December, or not at all, some years we don't get any weather cold enough to kill the peppers.We didn't last year...
 

You dont need to tell me about dropping serious coin on gardening supplies!  I already have the grow tent and TWO freaking lights, but this next season I am considering rearranging my setup and will probably get another light or two.....the wife is gonna kill me.....

Too true Matt!
I want to add to the sun shade, about $500, including the frame, then I want to add black gumbo dirt (heavy black dirt), as well as manure, and mulch, guessing $300. I don't have grow lights, but need want them. Then I have to make a grow station, I should have those materials in the wood shop..It's all part of fun!
 

I'm digging your garden, Scott...Beautiful pods, and very nice production to be getting during this heat wave!   I'm jealous you've got Poblanos...None of my seeds popped this year...
 
Excellent photography, too!

Thanks Gary!
 
I'm going to put some of your techniques (and others) to use next year, hoping to raise production and lower the maintenance....auto pilot would be cool!
None of my Pob's popped this year either, I was lucky to find some at Lowes, I bought them right off the truck....talk about timing! I later found out they were infested with mites, but was able to knock them back. We use the heck out of them around here, come on Tamale season!
 
So in the mail came some pod's from Florida today.
 
Ramon offered to send me some because things were in a lull here, I didn't know it at the time but that last harvest was buried deep in the jungle.
 
But I welcome the send because he sent me pod's I don't have, and am anxious to try them!

There's the infamous JA Hab's, a Beautiful Scotch Bonnet, Choc Scorp, a Red Scorp?, not sure about that one. Chili Piquin's? and some JA powder...just look at the color!
 
Thanks for sharing the pepper love Ramon!
 
One last thing:
Today I brought the Red Bhut to work, conned three others into tasting it...I say share the pain!
 
I cut the bottom off, a little more than 3/4" long, split into 4 equal pieces.
 
The aroma was a bit sharper than the true Reaper, and a lot sharper than the Funky Reaper. We all popped the pieces in our mouth and chewed them completely. The taste was not near as pleasant as either of the Reapers, it was just more of a hot pepper taste, no fruity or citrus over tones. The heat hit sooner, I hadn't even swallowed and it hit. I heard one guy kinda gag, cough as he swallowed (he can eat hot stuff!), and I did the same. Immediate throat burn as it went down, had to clear my throat. The heat was pretty good, now I'm not a whole pepper eater, and I cheat, usually have a beer or a rum and coke handy...couldn't do this at work and expect to stay employed long..LOL. But anyway the heat lasted about 10 minutes, mainly a mouth, tongue burn. Later when I get more I'll try some in hot sauce, definitely should be great for powders...
 
Thanks for stopping by!