millworkman
eXtreme
Great write up and pictures Guru, and love the last tip.
Sent you a PM.
Sent you a PM.
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Guru's 1/8 Acre Fabriculture - 5 yr mothers
- Thread starter Pepper-Guru
- Start date
I know I can look elsewhere, but do cuttings get a 'jump' over plantings from seed, in your opinion? I've got several nice plants I'd like to try and dup for fall harvest, and I need to get started now to make that happen. As AJ pointed out in his thread, it's like 164 degrees here this week, which is way too early for this kind of weather. I'm afraid I've had all my harvest I'll get (which wasn't bad!) until fall. I have a ton of blossoms, but most will likely not make.
So anyway...I'm ready to get started on fall plantings and cuttings sound fun!
So anyway...I'm ready to get started on fall plantings and cuttings sound fun!
Pepper-Guru
eXtreme
I would say its a jump of at least a month's time. It takes around two weeks for roots to form and at least another week to start taking off after transplanting. 164F!? You're kidding right?
All good stuff, the overwintered plants are going to be giant trees when they take root in your garden. Your mix looks good but I wouldn't use the dirt from your garden when taking cuttings or for seedlings for the risk of not be sterile. Your clones look great and will be following your success with rooting and ultimate plant size when outside. Good luck with the plant out this afternoon, what we really need is some rain to soak the ground and cool things off a bit. How old are some of those mothers again? Nice pepper pics Rich. 
Pepper-Guru
eXtreme
Thanks for the words of encouragement PRF. Really, using a bit of garden soil is ok. So long as there hasn't been a history of fungus/bacterial disease or pests in the location you get your soil from. Im not a fan of completely sterile mediums anyway. The pro's certainly out weigh the cons when talking about the small risk there is with including "wild" soil in your medium. Beneficial micro organisms present in the garden soil serve to raise healthier, disease resistant seedlings. Think of it as a vaccination, if you will. Also, soil microbes serve to break down organic matter and form specific relationships with root systems of plants (how they uptake available nutrients). Most of these are close to 5 years old now.All good stuff, the overwintered plants are going to be giant trees when they take root in your garden. Your mix looks good but I wouldn't use the dirt from your garden when taking cuttings or for seedlings for the risk of not be sterile. Your clones look great and will be following your success with rooting and ultimate plant size when outside. Good luck with the plant out this afternoon, what we really need is some rain to soak the ground and cool things off a bit. How old are some of those mothers again? Nice pepper pics Rich.
Pepper-Guru
eXtreme
Depends on how much free time you have to loom over them while hardening. You can go the slow way and first put them in partial sun after they take root. Then gradually move them out into full, direct sunlight. OR you can go the fast way and put them out in the sun until they droop, then bring em back in, then put em out till they droop, then bring em back in. Keep doing this all day and you can harden them off within the week.
Holy Crap those are some big plants. or should i say trees?
Pepper-Guru
eXtreme
I dig her up, trim the roots, trim the branches, and pot-down! lolAwesome mix Guru! I also use Mychorrizae in my starter mix!
Instant pro mix!!
I wish I had inside room to over winter some of those monsters like you!
And BTW how tha hell do ya carry that 65 gallon bag inside?? Forklift?
Kevin
They ain't big yet fellas! Gimme a month or two
Pro-mix is a lot more than just Mychorrizae
Some studies actually show that Mychorrizae can take a year or more for any benefits, so it may not be helping in your starter mix as much as you think
Looking great Guru!
Pepper-Guru
eXtreme
Pro-mix is a lot more than just Mychorrizae
Some studies actually show that Mychorrizae can take a year or more for any benefits, so it may not be helping in your starter mix as much as you think
Looking great Guru!
I see this stuff colonize my soils within a month from inoculation. I use it when I pot up, transplant, and in my main "super soil" mix as well; its not just for starter mix. They tend to establish themselves even faster when you have a medium in high organic matter or feed with organics and teas, like I do. All those growers out there trying to utilize micro-organisms such as michorrizae and still using synthetic fertilizers can expect a big fat "nothing" though. You see all the nitrates and salts in them assure soil death and will wipe out your soils natural colonies of such micro-organisms. Another reason why natural gardening is the only way to go. The use of chemical fertilizers actually end the true symbiotic relationship between soil and plants. These types of micro-organisms occur and exist in very high numbers naturally around the base of every living tree, shrub, flower, weed etc so why not recreate that environment within our own pots, containers, beds and gardens? Here is a quick low-down
Pepper-Guru
eXtreme
I thought we had some humidity in the forecast, and we did have a T-storm yesterday, but it just hasn't been enough, so I have brought in the cuttings and threw em under some flouros near a window. Found a decent sized dry storage box to hold in some humidity. They are all perked up nicely and looking good. Also the mother transplant went very well. Had to shade the Aribibi and treat for aphids, but as of today she is looking ready too! Just wait fellas, things blow up from here 
The garden has lots in it already and I still have things other than pepper cuttings to plant like my Cabernet vine, random herbs, beans, tobacco, coy robby, onions, garlic, artichokes. But that will get done soon. Until then, its sit back and watch the mommies reach their roots down into those raised mounds and their branches up towards the universe.
Mommy Mound
Shaded Aribibi little momma
Cutting council..lol
Other stuff getting started
The garden has lots in it already and I still have things other than pepper cuttings to plant like my Cabernet vine, random herbs, beans, tobacco, coy robby, onions, garlic, artichokes. But that will get done soon. Until then, its sit back and watch the mommies reach their roots down into those raised mounds and their branches up towards the universe.
Mommy Mound
Shaded Aribibi little momma
Cutting council..lol
Other stuff getting started
millworkman
eXtreme
NICE!!!! Can't wait to see those things in a few weeks/months.
Pepper-Guru
eXtreme
Thanks man! Yeah she's a trooper! Um, main things to remember about propagating ANY plant: 1. without roots, plants aren't gonna be able to perspire the same through their leaves, so only leave a TINY amount on your clones. Too much foliage, and they will wilt because they just can't keep up and will fail. 2. keep your medium moist but not wet an don't let it dry. 3. reduce the amount of intense light they receive to almost nothing. 4. keep your oxygen exchange High! it will promote root development a lot faster and you wont be waiting forever on them.
I'm surprised more people aren't doing this. It is a sure fire way of keeping your genetics stable. No one can get 100% isolation unless they are growing their varieties MILES apart. Flying insects travel non-stop and have VAST territories. Unfortunately, it seems that a lot of growers are in the dark about propagation of peppers and I have to say "what a shame". With all the cloning/cutting/propagating being executed VERY successfully with MANY other types of plants out there, I'm not too certain why there is such a stigma associated with doing the very same thing with peppers. All I can say for sure is don't be afraid to experiment and NEVER just take anyone's word on why you shouldn't try something. Experimentation is how this community's knowledge base is going to grow, so I say step out of the box and never stop learning!
Pepper-Guru
eXtreme
Thanks neighbor! I had to pick some of my tomatoes with a 12 ft ladder a few years back. I staked them up with 14ft 1x2's!Your garden is looking excellent neighbor!
And your Okra and Squash are blasting off! I am growing 4 types of Okra this year !
Nothing like some fried Okra!!
I hope ya have a stepladder ready for that mommy mound!
Kevin
Update: Mrs. and I put 8 fatalli into the garden, some sweet bananas for the kids, some cayenne, 5 white bullets, 2 aribibis, a bunch more herbs and staked up the tomatillos because they are just going crazy and were falling over. I still need to get some cages for the tomato row because they are starting to take off now. I've got 8 Roma, 4 beefmaster, 2 better boy and a few cherry vines. Pepper-Dog laid down in the corn so it looks like I'll have to stand some of them back up and mound some soil around the base. One thing is for sure, I don't like this "silver queen and king" corn. The genetics are shit. 3-4 ft stalks at maturity isn't going to do it for me fellas. Last year, I grew out some Mayan, bloody butchers, earth tone and Silver Mayan that got almost 18 ft tall. It was nuts. Those corns stepped away from the sweet spectrum and were more of a wheat and protein substitute. We made grilled breads with most of it for many meals and needless to say it was great. After this round of corn is done, I'll be sowing some more rare corns in the mound. How is everyone else doing this morning?
millworkman
eXtreme
Man Guru, you guys are planting machines. I need more pictures though. Ha ha!
Pepper-Guru
eXtreme
I know, I know. A little history on this garden and how it came to look the way it does: Its partly my friend's fault. He wanted to use his tractor to till up a spot for me. So, after clearing the space I wanted him to till, I went inside to get him some sweet tea and a hab sandwich. After coming back out side, I was like "Whoa!" He had tilled about an 1/8th of an acre out of the back yard! I didn't want it this big, but it was too late. So I figured hell, if Im gonna go big, then do just that! So, for about a month I stretched a string from north to south and used it as a guide to hand dig with a shovel all of my furrow's and mounds. There are 13 main mound rows, each 2-3ft high, 4 ft wide and 50-60 ft long. Then there are 4 sectioned mounds to the west side of the plot. Everything grew great last year, but It served as WAY too much work to weed a garden this size by hand and due to the structure of my raised rows, you can't very well do it with a machine. So, this year I said "NO" to the weeds and covered the entire thing with woven ground cover (trampoline type material they use at nurseries). It blocks light but allows water and air to move freely throughout the soil. I simply cut a small X where ever I want to plug a seedling in. There is a full drip system line on top of each mounded row and I have an inline feeder that I can put any type of "food" in. With a garden this big, why not use it all ya know?