glog Guru's Garden - Traveling the World in Search of Peppers

Just starting this glog now so it's one less thing to do in a few months when I'm knee deep in compost and getting things in the ground.
 
Not much to report at the moment. Strains yet to be determined, but I'll probably end up growing too many like always...lol
 
 
Only thing that's going on right now is a clean back patio and the chickens doing their part turning over my compost pile on the daily. Intersted in seeing how the soil microbes appreciate the added chicken poop!
 

 

 
Hope everyone has had a decent winter so far and here's to happy germination!
 

 
 
 
EDIT UPDATE: This glog has turned into an ongoing overwintering, greenhouse and soil building how-to!

 

[JoeFish]

Love this GLOG

 

[Pulpiteer]

I love seeing the chickens at work - I hope to have some someday.  They must speed up the processing of your compost a ton. 
I've continued my permaculture study through the winter, so I'm looking forward to following your glog again this year.  One of the things I read was "Paradise Lot" - wondered if you heard of it. 
Good luck this season!

 

[Roguejim]

Rich,
Is the compost used as a mulch?  How do you add compost to an existing garden if you're using a no till method?

 

[Weed]

I add mine to the top. Worms and weather work it in.

 

[JoeFish]

Rich,
Is the compost used as a mulch?  How do you add compost to an existing garden if you're using a no till method?

 
I will be looking forward to the answer to this.  I will be using this no till method this (and my first) year.

 

[wrathsu]

This is my first year growing super hots and I am planning on growing them in 5 gallon buckets. I'm in North Georgia, any suggestions on what type of soil I should be using?

 

[FireEater101]

This is my first year growing super hots and I am planning on growing them in 5 gallon buckets. I'm in North Georgia, any suggestions on what type of soil I should be using?

 
When I have transferred the seedlings from my seed tray to Solo Cups and put under my lights I have used ProMix BX with Myco.  Used it last year and again this year...good soil in my opinion.  

 

[Weed]

I love Pro-Mix BX. No nutes so you always know where you're starting.

 

[Pepper-Guru]

I love seeing the chickens at work - I hope to have some someday.  They must speed up the processing of your compost a ton. 
I've continued my permaculture study through the winter, so I'm looking forward to following your glog again this year.  One of the things I read was "Paradise Lot" - wondered if you heard of it. 
Good luck this season!

 
Great book! Checking it out right now. http://www.amazon.com/Paradise-Lot-One-Tenth-Making-Edible/dp/1603583998
 
Also love some of the youtube channels on permaculture. This guy is funny as hell and an excellent grower...

He throws some good philosophy in there as well.
 
 

Rich,
Is the compost used as a mulch?  How do you add compost to an existing garden if you're using a no till method?

 
Ok, generally with a no till garden, a new plot is initially broken up (which is what mine will be, a new plot) and you prepare it in a way that will produce a soil food web environment that begins to take care of itself over time. Any time you break land for a garden where a monoculture has been (grass) this is how its done. As monocultures tend to leave soil a "one trick pony" So... with my new plots, I do initially till it, then work on all my compost, then cover with WOOD MULCH. The wood is the final icing on the cake in terms of the soil food web. The decaying material brings with it all the microbes, bacteria and fungi a grower could ever want In the following years, the soil structure will change and the only disturbance that will be needed will be the planting hole when you transplant seedlings.

 
I will be looking forward to the answer to this.  I will be using this no till method this (and my first) year.

Look up ^
 

I add mine to the top. Worms and weather work it in.

 
Pretty much

This is my first year growing super hots and I am planning on growing them in 5 gallon buckets. I'm in North Georgia, any suggestions on what type of soil I should be using?

 
 

 
When I have transferred the seedlings from my seed tray to Solo Cups and put under my lights I have used ProMix BX with Myco.  Used it last year and again this year...good soil in my opinion.  

 
 

I love Pro-Mix BX. No nutes so you always know where you're starting.

 
Pro Mix works. A lot of people use it. I used to as well. Over the years, I've learned that its MUCH cheaper to build your own container soils and seed starting mix. For what it costs a grower to buy a bundle of ProMix, I can make over three times the amount of medium. Not only that, but when you create and build your own, the understading of the soil food web, comes along with the process. Enabling you to branch out and learn how different materials affect your microscopic soil life.

 

[Jeff H]

I add mine to the top. Worms and weather work it in.

 
I would have thought that you would pull the mulch back and add it to the top of your soil. Not just adding it to the top of the bed.
 
 
 
 
Guru, I'll be starting a couple new beds this year as well so any information and photos you want to share would be appreciated. Don't know if I can convince the wife of the benefits of a dank tank though. That might be pushing it a bit.

 

[Pepper-Guru]

 
I would have thought that you would pull the mulch back and add it to the top of your soil. Not just adding it to the top of the bed.
 
 
 
 
Guru, I'll be starting a couple new beds this year as well so any information and photos you want to share would be appreciated. Don't know if I can convince the wife of the benefits of a dank tank though. That might be pushing it a bit.

I think he meant, ontop of the soil in his bed. Not sure if he uses mulch. Mulch always goes on top
 
When I get to prepping the plots, I'll be sure and post a bunch of pics.

 

[JoeFish]

I think he meant, ontop of the soil in his bed. Not sure if he uses mulch. Mulch always goes on top
 
When I get to prepping the plots, I'll be sure and post a bunch of pics.

 
Yeah post them up Im waiting to get mine ready when you do LOL!

 

[Weed]

I think he meant, ontop of the soil in his bed. Not sure if he uses mulch. Mulch always goes on top
 
When I get to prepping the plots, I'll be sure and post a bunch of pics.

 
It depends on how lazy I am being actually.
 
Here's my garden 2 years ago. I think I skipped a lot of pictures last year because I had a new little girl drawing camera attention. The main differences are I had tomato cages made of CRW the next year.
 

 
This was underneath the tomato plants.

 
And the other main difference was I grew these instead of a couple jalapenos
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
I hope I didnt break any rules by posting these  few pics here and that PG doesnt mind. I tend not to be here in the summer.   But yes I do mulch heavily and if Im being lazy the rain can wash the compost in or I rake the mulch back and add it.

 

[Roguejim]

Rich, thanks for your patience and advice!  As is obvious by now, I'm not the only newbie chomping at the bit for a living soil tutorial!
 
So, it sounds like once you get the soil web established, and have your RWC in place, future amending becomes unnecessary, except for the reapplication of the RWC.  I think this is all that windchicken is doing.

 

[JoeFish]

PG hope you don't mind I just wanted to show you some goodies I got to try my hand at some hugelkultur

 

 

[Portuge]

Amend your soil several months prior to plant out and your soil web will be thriving come plant out... The spot that is only disturbed is where you put your plants... Been doing this method for some time now and it works for me...

 

[Pulpiteer]

Great book! Checking it out right now. http://www.amazon.com/Paradise-Lot-One-Tenth-Making-Edible/dp/1603583998
 
Also love some of the youtube channels on permaculture. This guy is funny as hell and an excellent grower...

He throws some good philosophy in there as well.

I just started watching that video - what a garden space! You can tell right away it's permaculture when it looks like everything imaginable is just thrown together and growing like crazy, then you hear the design part and realize how intentional it is. Very cool.

Have you checked out any of Geoff Lawton's stuff? He did the 'greening the desert' work in the middle east. He's got free videos on his website, just submit your address - no spam, I've only gotten notifications of new videos from him. Amazing stuff. http://www.geofflawton.com

Oh, and I finished "Paradise Lot" very cool story, plus it's got some great plant information in it, so it's a decent reference book. I wanted to buy a jostaberry from those guys, but the shipping is too much. If I lived in the area though, I'd be on it.
 

PG hope you don't mind I just wanted to show you some goodies I got to try my hand at some hugelkultur

that's awesome! Sepp Holtzer is the man on this, but have you checked out permies.com? Paul Wheaton has a ton of awesome hugelkultur stuff.

 

[Pepper-Guru]

Shot my first night sky exposures last night. Thought I'd share
 
 
Shot on my Yashica Electro 35 GSN, developed in my sink an hour later and scanned with an EpsonV330
 
 
The North Star

 
 
 
 
 
Orion's Belt

 

[OCD Chilehead]

Those pictures look great. I love the night time sky. Looking at all those stars puts things into perspective for me. Thanks for sharing.

 

[jlacosta]

Rice hulls

 

Hi Guru, I got a couple of sacks of rice hulls from a miller and was supposedly going to be converted to biochar. Unfortunately, my first attempt got me in trouble with the neighbors so charring them is no go. I'm afraid to use them in my mix as I think they might be carrying pests, excess foliar fertilizer, weeds seeds and whatnot. Any advice on the best way to clean or sterilize them? Do you get yours ready for use? TIA -JL