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...

 

[capsidadburn]

Glad to hear your puree was tolerable!  Something about the cooking changes the intensity from initial scorching to,you know you ate a hot meal afterwards, but it was great!
 
Just wait till the coworkers start telling you that it's not all that hot!  Always somebody needs reminding occaisionally.
 
Have a great warm week!
 
Mike

 

[PaulG]

That Reaper puree looks/sounds great, Scott!
 
Stay warm and full of comfort food!

 

[Jamison]

Quite the list Devv! Gonna be a good year for you. Can't wait to see how it goes!

 

[Devv]

Glad to hear your puree was tolerable!  Something about the cooking changes the intensity from initial scorching to,you know you ate a hot meal afterwards, but it was great!
 
Just wait till the coworkers start telling you that it's not all that hot!  Always somebody needs reminding occaisionally.
 
Have a great warm week!
 
Mike

Thanks Mike,
 
I actually had a request for a bottle today, was surprised as he always thought the taste testing was too brutal. Goes to show you that your statement is true.
 
You stay warm as well!
 

That Reaper puree looks/sounds great, Scott!
 
Stay warm and full of comfort food!

Thanks Paul,
 
LB cooked up a storm this weekend to help ward off the cold.
Today hit 50°, and it's beginning to lean towards warming, but not normal temps yet. I'm so ready!
 

Quite the list Devv! Gonna be a good year for you. Can't wait to see how it goes!

Thanks Jamison,
 
I'm 2/2 with the Yellow Brainstrain you sent, they germed really well.
 
Thanks again!
 
"Yall stay warm!

 

[gnslngr]

Oh hell, I finally get here, and its time to go play with the subs again!
 
1) Aren't we always learning....now there's an understatement! It may not always feel like it , but we are , and that is as it should be.
 
2) Beetles are highly overrated, if I didn't have so many natural guardians, I  would get chemical with em.Usually if I am vigilant enough, neem oil keeps the buggers at bay....aside from treating the foliage , I'll water with it a few cycles every month....when I'm home that is......
 
3) Aside from neem oil, I have been known to pour a few fingers of whiskey into a glass, or grab a cold Shiner , put on a rubber glove , and stalk the patch.....
 
4) I kept that pot shot to add to my "my pictures " slide show screen saver!

5)....damn it ,  time to go tend to the work at hand, but as a final note , that same freeze got my patch I'm told, and I'm already behind on next years grow!
 
Have a good one-
DJ

 

[Devv]

Thanks for stopping by DJ!
 
Ah, the Shiners, having a conversation with one right now
 
I never have a problem with the larvae in the garden, they could have been in the mulch I used.
 
Don't work to hard!

 

[Sawyer]

Wow sorry I missed this John, been running around getting ready for the hammer down cold front...which is here.
 
It's easy to make the Rosemary oil. I used a crock pot, roughly 10"s in diameter. Took some cuttings and stripped the leaves off them stems, wound up with about 3-4"s in the pot. Added enough veg oil (any you like will do) to just barely cover them when I pressed them down. Cooked 4 hours and used a potato masher to kind of grind them up. Let cool and strain the oil out.
 
Annie posted a link for processed Rosemary oil way early in the season and they wanted like 60 bucks for a small bottle. I mixed it with water, would have to hunt back through this glog for the amount. It killed the mites dead.
 
 Works best when the plant is in a container and you can remove it from the direct sunlight.

Now it's my turn to be sorry.  You'd think being snowbound for a week, I'd be more up to speed with everyone's glogs, but it hasn't worked out that way.  Even though the ground is covered, the roads have been passable (w/ 4WD), so I've been out gallivanting.   Thanks for the info on rosemary oil.  I'd bet the $60 is for a bottle of essential oil, whereas yours is an infusion.  But what works, works.  I've had trouble with oil infusions causing leaf drop, but I may have mixed the spray too strong.  Or maybe it was that direct sunlight thing.

 

[Devv]

Now it's my turn to be sorry.  You'd think being snowbound for a week, I'd be more up to speed with everyone's glogs, but it hasn't worked out that way.  Even though the ground is covered, the roads have been passable (w/ 4WD), so I've been out gallivanting.   Thanks for the info on rosemary oil.  I'd bet the $60 is for a bottle of essential oil, whereas yours is an infusion.  But what works, works.  I've had trouble with oil infusions causing leaf drop, but I may have mixed the spray too strong.  Or maybe it was that direct sunlight thing.

Ramon and I both used this, it worked well. And yes oils and hot sun don't work together. I use Bonide wettable sulfur for the ladies that are sunbathing, works just as well.

 

[Sawyer]

I used a sulfur/pyrethrin mix for aphids last winter and it worked well.  I haven't had to deal with mites, yet.  (Knock on wood.)

 

[Devv]

This was the first year I ever had mites or aphids. The aphids came very late in the season as things cooled down, I saw and sprayed and poof. They never got a foothold; I also tracked down the ants that were managing the aphids.

 

[Sawyer]

Yeah, some ants are good to have, but not so much the aphid herders.

 

[Pinoy83]

does ants eats pests? because im seeing some ants in my peppers

 

[Devv]

does ants eats pests? because im seeing some ants in my peppers

They most likely are herding aphids. They bring the aphids up to the plants and the aphids suck on the plants. The ants steal their work...

 

[Pinoy83]

They most likely are herding aphids. They bring the aphids up to the plants and the aphids suck on the plants. The ants steal their work...

so its no good to have ants then?

 

[Sawyer]

The non-aphid-herding ants can help with pollination.  Just watch the ants and see what they do.  If they go to aphids, you've got a problem.  If they go to flowers, not so much.

 

[annie57]

Really like look of that sauce, Scotty!! Was that from one of the ferments?
 
I let two wimps from English dept taste one of mine and they were at the half'n half in office refrigerators. Huffin' n puffin' until they blew diplomas off walls. Then, Spanish department chair from Bolivia swings by and "Anneee, es deliciosa! No demasiado picante y el sabor!I'll buy a bottle, okay?" She cracks me up as she's a genius and sounds like (and looks like) Sofia Vergara. We have lots of Spanish majors and male proffs who act stupid around her, smh.
 
Nice score from Jason! And just no comment on the surf and turf but hell yeah! In truth, I'll stick a steak on cast iron on a grill in heart-beat. Beautiful job!
 
Glad seeds popping for you. I'm holding off but hope I'm ready to rock. Have checked everything and might begin around Jan. 1 as I think we're going to have a dry early spring and hot summer. (Hopes and wishes!)
 
Also, was thinking, did the cold you had, unseasonable, maybe kill off some nasty bastiges? Look forward to your 2014 Scott! Happy holidays to you and LB and all of yours!

 

[PaulG]

All this talk about aphids and mites is making me sick  
 
Git those suckers!

 

[Devv]

so its no good to have ants then?

 

The non-aphid-herding ants can help with pollination.  Just watch the ants and see what they do.  If they go to aphids, you've got a problem.  If they go to flowers, not so much.

I would roll with Sawyers answer. Evidently he's seeing another type of ant on his place...and I did watch mine here..In my experience, we have two kinds of ants on my place, but probably more I don't have experience with. Harvester ants, more commonly called cut ants. They strip the leaves off our fruit trees and bring them under ground to grow a fungus they use as food. Very destructive, you wake up and all the leaves are gone off a tree. The second kind just showed up in the garden this year, and they were bringing the aphids up the plant.
 
 

Really like look of that sauce, Scotty!! Was that from one of the ferments?
 
I let two wimps from English dept taste one of mine and they were at the half'n half in office refrigerators. Huffin' n puffin' until they blew diplomas off walls. Then, Spanish department chair from Bolivia swings by and "Anneee, es deliciosa! No demasiado picante y el sabor!I'll buy a bottle, okay?" She cracks me up as she's a genius and sounds like (and looks like) Sofia Vergara. We have lots of Spanish majors and male proffs who act stupid around her, smh.
 
Nice score from Jason! And just no comment on the surf and turf but hell yeah! In truth, I'll stick a steak on cast iron on a grill in heart-beat. Beautiful job!
 
Glad seeds popping for you. I'm holding off but hope I'm ready to rock. Have checked everything and might begin around Jan. 1 as I think we're going to have a dry early spring and hot summer. (Hopes and wishes!)
 
Also, was thinking, did the cold you had, unseasonable, maybe kill off some nasty bastiges? Look forward to your 2014 Scott! Happy holidays to you and LB and all of yours!

Hi Annie!
 
That was from fresh peppers, I have the ferment cooked and blended, run through the sieve and marinating in the fridge. Gonna bottle it up tomorrow (hopefully).
 
One of my favorite things is turning peeps on to hot stuff, I always warn them...hahaha.
 
Jason and many others have done me right this year, I have tons of varieties for 2014 and more on the way. So if all goes well next season I can send out tons of pods, seeds, and powders
 
BTW I got two surprises in the mail today, one from you, and one from Jeff (Bodine), and Paul sent me some powder too! All of it looks wonderful and I can't wait to try it! Thanks all! Pics tomorrow, I have to catch up some, been a busy week!
 
My plants are looking well, germ rates are good but not perfect. But I only planted 2 or 3 of each kind because I have so many. A few types I went to 5 or 6 like the JA habs, MoA'S and Yellow Fatalii's. Tomorrow I'm going to start the 2014 glog and catch up with my progress. I started early because my plant out should be March 15th. Some are getting big already; I ordered 70 1 gal pots and they came in today. I'm just hoping for normal Tejas weather.
 
Speaking of weather, I've yet to see a cold enough winter here that it takes out the bad guys.
 

All this talk about aphids and mites is making me sick  
 
Git those suckers!

LOL Paul!
 
I see em they're handled! They certainly are a downside to growing..
 
So tomorrow I'm going to shut this glog down and git with the 2014. I've had a blast here this year, met a lot of really nice people, and learned a ton. Hopefully I shared some useful information someone can use
 
The generosity, upbeat attitude, and friendship can't be beat. Thanks for all of those!
 
And as always thanks for stopping by!

 

[Pinoy83]

The non-aphid-herding ants can help with pollination.  Just watch the ants and see what they do.  If they go to aphids, you've got a problem.  If they go to flowers, not so much.

im seeing some ants in some of the flowers, so its that good?

 

[Devv]

Hi Jericson,
 
I guess if there are no aphids you're OK, in my garden they were herding aphids.
 
Just watch and see, you'll know soon enough..