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Fun and Cheap Hot Sauce Garden
- Thread starter ZanderSpice
- Start date
this is a show stopper ZS.
Thanks Guys,
That basil will be 6 feet tall by the end of the season. I'm moving it to a 1/2 barrel soon. Too bad it's not great for cooking, smells fantastic though.
Things are really taking off in the garden. I'm going through more water than I've ever used before, even in peak heat. For a while the pro-mix seedlings were the biggest, but now coco coir has taken the lead. I'm probably going to do 1/2 my plants each way. I'm thinking 3 gallons of coco coir and 5 gallons of pro-mix for my container plants. I'm building a couple more beds w/ organic soil and I'll still have trouble finding the room. Next year I'll try to keep things a little smaller.
Here are some of my plants outside unprotected. Some are still stunted from the cactus mix, but they're coming around:
The two sides of the greenhouse w/ my coco coir seedlings:
This weekend will be a busy one. I need to level and cover an area for containers, build a bed or two, pull up some more sod and figure out a much bigger irrigation set up. Oh yeah, plenty of transplanting too. I've got some tomato and C. annuum starts ready for the next stage.
That basil will be 6 feet tall by the end of the season. I'm moving it to a 1/2 barrel soon. Too bad it's not great for cooking, smells fantastic though.
Things are really taking off in the garden. I'm going through more water than I've ever used before, even in peak heat. For a while the pro-mix seedlings were the biggest, but now coco coir has taken the lead. I'm probably going to do 1/2 my plants each way. I'm thinking 3 gallons of coco coir and 5 gallons of pro-mix for my container plants. I'm building a couple more beds w/ organic soil and I'll still have trouble finding the room. Next year I'll try to keep things a little smaller.
Here are some of my plants outside unprotected. Some are still stunted from the cactus mix, but they're coming around:
The two sides of the greenhouse w/ my coco coir seedlings:
This weekend will be a busy one. I need to level and cover an area for containers, build a bed or two, pull up some more sod and figure out a much bigger irrigation set up. Oh yeah, plenty of transplanting too. I've got some tomato and C. annuum starts ready for the next stage.
ZanderSpice - are those cuttings (large stemmed in image) from last years plants?
Can you explain the over wintering process? I've never had luck keeping "sticks" over winter.
Can you explain the over wintering process? I've never had luck keeping "sticks" over winter.
Yup, they're from last year. I've got some more about them earlier and back in my 2010 thread. Pretty simple really, cut the top, cut the roots, small container w/ coco coir protected from the elements. I think coco coir is a big help because the plants are growing so slowly and need something that stays nice and airy. I covered it before too, but the earlier you take the plant down the better. If you wait until the plant has completely stopped growing it won't recover as quickly if at all. Take a final harvest and then trim everything way back within two weeks.
Looking goot, I too started too many, but i'll be building a few more raised beds next week. then off to the mushroom farm, 6x12 trailer of mushroom compost 10 bucks, can't beat it and the worms love it...
Thanks megamoo. I cut it back every year, and I dug it out in the winter when I moved. It always comes back with a vengeance in the spring. The gate section is to keep the trays elevated. They're only there until they move to their final homes. Then the gate comes off and I'll plant in the bed.
S.S.Tupperware, that is a good deal, I hope it grows great plants for you. We've got some affordable horse manure/ wood chip compost sources around here. I may do a truck load or two, but time is running out. Whatever doesn't get into an organic bed soon will end up in a container mix fed w/ mineral salt fertilizer.
S.S.Tupperware, that is a good deal, I hope it grows great plants for you. We've got some affordable horse manure/ wood chip compost sources around here. I may do a truck load or two, but time is running out. Whatever doesn't get into an organic bed soon will end up in a container mix fed w/ mineral salt fertilizer.
Thanks Friends,
Dot Com, it's my tap water. It's very hard with a high pH, tastes bad, and the quality fluctuates a lot. I have to use filtered water at least some of the time or my plants turn yellow. Some soil blends are OK with the water but it's always a struggle.
Hey there Patrick, yeah things are looking good, but man, am I ever tired of watering these plants. Best of luck to you too, if the weather cooperates, a lot of us are on track for an awesome season.
I finally got my last plants outside. I started these later than everything else and I stalled up out a bit by allowing them to sit in water. They were nearly dead and dropping leaves until I propped the cells up and let the air circulate. That will be my new technique from now on; a 72 cell pack w/ coco coir and an air gap underneath once they're all sprouted.
Peppers and Tomatoes:
My keepers getting a bath:
Gave these ones away:
Dang it. I didn't take any pictures of my new raised bed. Same as the old one, just a little deeper. I made a run to the nursery supply and have enough stuff to keep me busy for many more weekends to come. As soon as I can I'm laying down ground cover and putting out rows of #5 containers w/ a drip system.
Dot Com, it's my tap water. It's very hard with a high pH, tastes bad, and the quality fluctuates a lot. I have to use filtered water at least some of the time or my plants turn yellow. Some soil blends are OK with the water but it's always a struggle.
Hey there Patrick, yeah things are looking good, but man, am I ever tired of watering these plants. Best of luck to you too, if the weather cooperates, a lot of us are on track for an awesome season.
I finally got my last plants outside. I started these later than everything else and I stalled up out a bit by allowing them to sit in water. They were nearly dead and dropping leaves until I propped the cells up and let the air circulate. That will be my new technique from now on; a 72 cell pack w/ coco coir and an air gap underneath once they're all sprouted.
Peppers and Tomatoes:
My keepers getting a bath:
Gave these ones away:
Dang it. I didn't take any pictures of my new raised bed. Same as the old one, just a little deeper. I made a run to the nursery supply and have enough stuff to keep me busy for many more weekends to come. As soon as I can I'm laying down ground cover and putting out rows of #5 containers w/ a drip system.
Yup, I've got all the stuff I need to get started. I'll be using that brown 1/2" tubing in the above pic. It has 1GPH drippers every 18". To get started I'll do 4 x ~20' rows 2-3 feet apart. I saw AJs post and I will probably pick up a injector before the summer is over. In the meantime I'll mix in dry ferts and hand feed the liquids. I should have it up and running Saturday w/ pics by Monday.
I've finally got a bunch more plants in their homes for the season. I also have a drip irrigation set up going. I've still got a bunch of work left to go, but I'm starting to see things settle in.
I'll just do this in order:
Friday and Saturday I covered up a good area with heavy duty woven ground cover. I picked up a big roll of this and a box of galvanized ground staples. The ground had grass, weeks, rocks, sand, etc... and it's not even. There was no way I could get it all cleaned up for this season so I just covered everything up. Next season it should be quite a bit softer and I'll see if I can level things up and start working in the ground.
Once the cover was down I moved my plants over. I sorted them into those bigger than 7 gallons and a group of 3-7 gallons. Pulled the hose out and connected to a 2-way valve:
One side goes to my large established plants. I used little adjustable bubblers. Five minutes every couple days should do it for a while.
Continued...
I'll just do this in order:
Friday and Saturday I covered up a good area with heavy duty woven ground cover. I picked up a big roll of this and a box of galvanized ground staples. The ground had grass, weeks, rocks, sand, etc... and it's not even. There was no way I could get it all cleaned up for this season so I just covered everything up. Next season it should be quite a bit softer and I'll see if I can level things up and start working in the ground.
Once the cover was down I moved my plants over. I sorted them into those bigger than 7 gallons and a group of 3-7 gallons. Pulled the hose out and connected to a 2-way valve:
One side goes to my large established plants. I used little adjustable bubblers. Five minutes every couple days should do it for a while.
Continued...
For my smaller containers (using pro-mix) I've got these lines with 1GPH drippers every 18". The hills and valleys cause a little bit of trouble so I may need to put in some stakes and secure the lines. I also worry a bit about the lowest drippers getting extra water. The plants can still be moved around so I may just put the largest ones in the lowest spots.
I have two lines up and running and enough tubing for 4 more. I'll give these 15 minutes a day or so. I'll probably try to run some nutrients through the lines too.
Here's one of the cheap #5 blow mold containers I'm using. I picked up 44 of these. They'll be fine for a season or three. Some various 7 gallon and 5 gallon containers will be mixed in, maybe with some extra drippers for the large ones.
And here are some of the little ones in flood and drain. I'll connect a timer to these soon and then I'll have just a few simple things to check each morning.
Finally, I started filling my second bed and I planted the rest of the first one. The soil had a good month to rest up and stabilize so I think they'll do well.
Well, that's it. A pretty busy weekend, and I've got much further to go, but it feels so good to relax a bit w/o having to worry about my little ones drying up.
I have two lines up and running and enough tubing for 4 more. I'll give these 15 minutes a day or so. I'll probably try to run some nutrients through the lines too.
Here's one of the cheap #5 blow mold containers I'm using. I picked up 44 of these. They'll be fine for a season or three. Some various 7 gallon and 5 gallon containers will be mixed in, maybe with some extra drippers for the large ones.
And here are some of the little ones in flood and drain. I'll connect a timer to these soon and then I'll have just a few simple things to check each morning.
Finally, I started filling my second bed and I planted the rest of the first one. The soil had a good month to rest up and stabilize so I think they'll do well.
Well, that's it. A pretty busy weekend, and I've got much further to go, but it feels so good to relax a bit w/o having to worry about my little ones drying up.
Thanks SRBII,
No time for words. Just pics today. Have a great weekend everyone!
No time for words. Just pics today. Have a great weekend everyone!
Things are growing slowly. It's not that warm here. I had a bit of a issue with magnesium deficiency and many are ready for a transplants. Worse than that I've now got thrips. I broke my own rule and brought in a couple plants from outside. Aphids were no biggie this year because they get eaten by the earwigs, but thrips are a new problem.
Anyway, some plants are doing great and I've got plenty to keep me busy. I had a little plant sale last weekend. I ended up selling 3 cuttings from last year and some new starts. Here's what was available (next 3 shots):
The last few TSJ, Bhut, YSC are my original peppers started in Jiffys. They've gotten some very rough treatment, and I know have some nice woody compact plants. I'm taking at least one of each and giving them a nice comfortable new home in 5 gallons of organic soil mix.
Last up are some of my rows out back. I'm putting in more lines this weekend. I may also toss out some of my plants with the worst thrip problems. I've got plenty more waiting to go.
One last one, my raised beds are growing up:
Anyway, some plants are doing great and I've got plenty to keep me busy. I had a little plant sale last weekend. I ended up selling 3 cuttings from last year and some new starts. Here's what was available (next 3 shots):
The last few TSJ, Bhut, YSC are my original peppers started in Jiffys. They've gotten some very rough treatment, and I know have some nice woody compact plants. I'm taking at least one of each and giving them a nice comfortable new home in 5 gallons of organic soil mix.
Last up are some of my rows out back. I'm putting in more lines this weekend. I may also toss out some of my plants with the worst thrip problems. I've got plenty more waiting to go.
One last one, my raised beds are growing up:
So... things are growing a little slow for this time of year, but it's warming up. AJ's Scorpion Project took a little wind out of my sails, but hey, it's nice to be mildly cool and comfy most of the year so I can't complain too much.
Besides the weather some other problems have set me back a bit. My yard used to be overgrown with huge trees and it is still recovering after their removal. I've had issues with earwigs, ants, aphids, mites and more. At least I don't have scorpions or stinkbugs. I've stayed away from the poison and things are starting to stabilize. Just when I though there was no hope left, the ladybug larvae showed up and I've identified more ways to battle the ants.
I've also had the same issues with water quality, and it's been tough to balance the water needs among my different types and their relative sizes. Still, I have a feeling that later on this season, I'll have enough hot and tasty pods to make gallons of sauce and other types of hot stuff.
I shot a few photos:
Aji Crystal gave me a good harvest. It's one of my earliest to ripen. With daily watering, these tiny containers can produce full sized tasty pods.
I had delayed potting up for a while because I was looking for a new type of label. I grabbed some scrap from "vertical louvers" and it works out well. If you need two lines for the name, go ahead and cut it extra wide.
Some Holy Mole pods for roasting. This plant gave me too many pest troubles and has been moved to a corner of the yard next to to compost pile.
I finally got the rest of my plants into these 5 inch containers and have two tables going. Half are in Sunshine Mix #4 and half in coco coir. I need to change the tanks and transplant some of these to the community garden.
Besides the weather some other problems have set me back a bit. My yard used to be overgrown with huge trees and it is still recovering after their removal. I've had issues with earwigs, ants, aphids, mites and more. At least I don't have scorpions or stinkbugs. I've stayed away from the poison and things are starting to stabilize. Just when I though there was no hope left, the ladybug larvae showed up and I've identified more ways to battle the ants.
I've also had the same issues with water quality, and it's been tough to balance the water needs among my different types and their relative sizes. Still, I have a feeling that later on this season, I'll have enough hot and tasty pods to make gallons of sauce and other types of hot stuff.
I shot a few photos:
Aji Crystal gave me a good harvest. It's one of my earliest to ripen. With daily watering, these tiny containers can produce full sized tasty pods.
I had delayed potting up for a while because I was looking for a new type of label. I grabbed some scrap from "vertical louvers" and it works out well. If you need two lines for the name, go ahead and cut it extra wide.
Some Holy Mole pods for roasting. This plant gave me too many pest troubles and has been moved to a corner of the yard next to to compost pile.
I finally got the rest of my plants into these 5 inch containers and have two tables going. Half are in Sunshine Mix #4 and half in coco coir. I need to change the tanks and transplant some of these to the community garden.