Hi Everyone! I'm Mark, from Yukon, OK (OKC Metro). I am 28, and just planted my first garden last May. It was too hot already, and I got a late start, but I still managed to get several freezer gallon bags of Peruvian White habaneros from my first small raised bed garden. I learned a lot of lessons last year:
-Start earlier.
-Give plants more breathing room (I had a LOT packed into a single 4x8 bed.)
-Grow more superhots. I had never tried anything hotter than a Jalapeno, although I've always loved spicy foods. Those white Habs were just wonderful in EVERYTHING! I made some kickass salsas, but mostly froze them and used them in cooking. My white hab alfredo sauce...oh man. Made my knees weak. Over the winter, I did a lot of reading and researching on what I wanted to grow this year. I have three 4x4 raised beds and about 30-40 5 gallon buckets with holes drilled in them...also about ten 5-7 gallon Smart Pots.
-Use better growing medium. I bought bagged Miracle Gro Organic soil last year, and that is why I only had one plant produce. That stuff is pure garbage. Came with a FREE GIFT of fungas gnat larvae. Little bastards. I'm experimenting with a few different mediums:
-Starting seeds in Coir.
-Buckets/pots/containers are getting one of a few different experimental mediums: 5-1-1 mix (pine bark fines-peat moss-perlite). A variation of that substitues Coir for peat, which I'm also doing in some containers. Also trying out Nickel City "Just Right" potting soil from the local organics shop. They swear by it, but I'm concerned about water retention. We'll see. I'm skeptical of this 5-1-1 mix, but water retention is a real concern for me with growing in buckets. It's supposed to drain really, really well.
Last year, I didn't start anything from seed. This year, I started 72 cells with 2-3 seeds in each...lots of peppers, tomatoes, etc. Got two shelfs, some lights (T5s and LEDs), and went to town. I had almost 100% germination (peppermania seeds mostly.) I made a rookie mistake and left the dome on too long, and killed about half those. The survivors got transplanted to 5" pots, and I started another round of seeds in Feb. The ones started in January are all getting pretty big. In fact, I got so overgrown that I had to move from the guest bedroom to the garage early this month. My wife decided it was time for the new flooring we've been saving for, so they had to move out either way. I keep having to add lights to my messy, make-shift grow setup! a week ago, I started harding off the larger plants. Yesterday evening, about 10 peppers got transplanted into buckets and moved to an area outside that is shady for the first half of the day. I think any threat of frost is gone, but we'll likely have a few more nights in the low-mid 40s. Gonna have to take my chances. I want my parking spot back!
So far, I'm growing:
Tomatoes:
-Black Cherry
-Black Sea Man (my wife snickers every time I say this.)
-Roma
-Arkansas Traveler
Peppers (all from peppermania):
-Bhut Jolokia
-Chocolate Bhut
-Mucho Nacho Jalapeno
-Serrano
-Corno Di Toro
-Mini Bell
-Fresno
-White Hab
-Caribbean Red
-Golden Habanero
Pepper plants coming next week from Cross Country (chileplants.com):
(two of each...)
-7 Pot
-Bhut
-Yellow Bhut
-Habanero Peach
-Red Savina
-Scotch Bonnet Yellow
Hopefully I don't kill these things. I should see a pretty kickass harvest if all goes well!
Anyway, glad to be here. Been lurking a few weeks, and just thought I'd say HI!
Mark
-Start earlier.
-Give plants more breathing room (I had a LOT packed into a single 4x8 bed.)
-Grow more superhots. I had never tried anything hotter than a Jalapeno, although I've always loved spicy foods. Those white Habs were just wonderful in EVERYTHING! I made some kickass salsas, but mostly froze them and used them in cooking. My white hab alfredo sauce...oh man. Made my knees weak. Over the winter, I did a lot of reading and researching on what I wanted to grow this year. I have three 4x4 raised beds and about 30-40 5 gallon buckets with holes drilled in them...also about ten 5-7 gallon Smart Pots.
-Use better growing medium. I bought bagged Miracle Gro Organic soil last year, and that is why I only had one plant produce. That stuff is pure garbage. Came with a FREE GIFT of fungas gnat larvae. Little bastards. I'm experimenting with a few different mediums:
-Starting seeds in Coir.
-Buckets/pots/containers are getting one of a few different experimental mediums: 5-1-1 mix (pine bark fines-peat moss-perlite). A variation of that substitues Coir for peat, which I'm also doing in some containers. Also trying out Nickel City "Just Right" potting soil from the local organics shop. They swear by it, but I'm concerned about water retention. We'll see. I'm skeptical of this 5-1-1 mix, but water retention is a real concern for me with growing in buckets. It's supposed to drain really, really well.
Last year, I didn't start anything from seed. This year, I started 72 cells with 2-3 seeds in each...lots of peppers, tomatoes, etc. Got two shelfs, some lights (T5s and LEDs), and went to town. I had almost 100% germination (peppermania seeds mostly.) I made a rookie mistake and left the dome on too long, and killed about half those. The survivors got transplanted to 5" pots, and I started another round of seeds in Feb. The ones started in January are all getting pretty big. In fact, I got so overgrown that I had to move from the guest bedroom to the garage early this month. My wife decided it was time for the new flooring we've been saving for, so they had to move out either way. I keep having to add lights to my messy, make-shift grow setup! a week ago, I started harding off the larger plants. Yesterday evening, about 10 peppers got transplanted into buckets and moved to an area outside that is shady for the first half of the day. I think any threat of frost is gone, but we'll likely have a few more nights in the low-mid 40s. Gonna have to take my chances. I want my parking spot back!
So far, I'm growing:
Tomatoes:
-Black Cherry
-Black Sea Man (my wife snickers every time I say this.)
-Roma
-Arkansas Traveler
Peppers (all from peppermania):
-Bhut Jolokia
-Chocolate Bhut
-Mucho Nacho Jalapeno
-Serrano
-Corno Di Toro
-Mini Bell
-Fresno
-White Hab
-Caribbean Red
-Golden Habanero
Pepper plants coming next week from Cross Country (chileplants.com):
(two of each...)
-7 Pot
-Bhut
-Yellow Bhut
-Habanero Peach
-Red Savina
-Scotch Bonnet Yellow
Hopefully I don't kill these things. I should see a pretty kickass harvest if all goes well!
Anyway, glad to be here. Been lurking a few weeks, and just thought I'd say HI!
Mark
to THP!
