Highalt's 2012 Grow Log

stc3248 · Jun 21, 2012

Looking great! I have a few in Happy Frog and a bunch in Miracle Grow. I started off with some cheap stuff and the plants hated it and stunted. Good call on going with the good stuff!

highalt · Jun 21, 2012

Pulpiteer said:
Working my way through your glog... and I stumbled into the jelly discussion. You put up the peach hab jelly recipe, right? I'm excited to try that, as well as a modified aji lemon jelly with aji pineapples and pineapple juice. Nothing like pepper jelly. I've amazed some folks at church with it and it's not too hard to do.

It was the Habanero Gold recipe, which uses dried apricots, but Peach Habs with peaches sounds like a pretty good combo to me! I've passed out quite a few jars to friends at church too, and nothing but good reviews so far. That pineapple variation sounds pretty tasty!

Pulpiteer said:
Ok - caught up! Well done growing through that wind and lack of water. In a community garden nonetheless! Although, it's nice you can have the same plot year after year with all the work you are doing on the soil. You've got a ton of interesting peppers - I hope we can look forward to reports on how each variety tastes? Or possibly what jelly is best for each?

Well done! Btw,is there a peppery currant jelly?

Can't wait to start reviewing all the new-to-me peppers! Seems like it's taking forever, especially when reading all the glogs for the folks in FL and CA, but really I'm actually ahead of last year.

That's a good question about the currant jelly. I've been doing some research since mine are ready to harvest, but haven't seen any recipes that include peppers. The problem I'm having is that it's only the second year for my plant, so I probably only have about 2 cups worth of berries, and most of the recipes call for at least twice that much. Not sure what to do with this year's harvest.

stickman said:
All looking good Bonnie! It's kind of amazing the strategies people come up with when they grow in marginal environments. I've got many ladybugs patrolling my pepper hedge and spotted a few larvae too... and boy, can they move fast.

+1 me for jelly recipes!

Rick, here are the links to my posts with the jelly/jam recipes:

http://thehotpepper....jalapeno-jelly/

http://thehotpepper....mon-drop-jelly/

Pulpiteer's jelly recipe is on there too. I'll be trying that one this year for sure!

stickman said:
I've got three of these covered in pods but I have no idea how big they get... the pods I mean... What's your experience? Thanks

The pods I got last year were fairly small, like pepperoncini size. Didn't look anything like the photos I'd seen, and didn't taste like the descriptions I'd read either. I used a different seed source this time, so I'm hoping they are the real deal. We should compare pics once we both have some ripe pods.

stc3248 said:
Looking great! I have a few in Happy Frog and a bunch in Miracle Grow. I started off with some cheap stuff and the plants hated it and stunted. Good call on going with the good stuff!

Learned the hard way not to go cheapskate on my peppers!

Today's project = Blueberry Lime Jam. Sorry no peppers in this recipe.

Can't grow blueberries here, but I got a good deal, so I bought 4 lbs. There's enough left to make another batch. Too bad I don't have any ripe peppers to experiment with.

stickman · Jun 21, 2012

OOOH!... Do you have a link to the blueberry/lime jam too... My Mom has a quarter of an acre planted in highbush blueberries and she presses them on us. Last year she gave us about 25 quarts and we almost completely filled our little 4 cu ft chest freezer. Jam that doesn't have to be refrigerated would be a godsend. I ended up making blueberry ice cream for the kids in the neighborhood, but one household doesn't use dairy, so I substituted coconut milk and they all loved it. This recipe for blueberry-balsamic viniagrette is excellent too.

http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/salads/blueberry-balsamic-vinaigrette/

highalt · Jun 21, 2012

Sure, Rick, here you go!

http://www.food.com/...-Lime-Jam-64235

This was my first time to use this recipe, and there wasn't any left in the pan, so I don't know how it tastes yet, but it sure smelled good while it was cooking!

stickman · Jun 21, 2012

highalt said:
Sure, Rick, here you go!

http://www.food.com/...-Lime-Jam-64235

This was my first time to use this recipe, and there wasn't any left in the pan, so I don't know how it tastes yet, but it sure smelled good while it was cooking!

Thanks Bonnie! We'll definitely put this one to good use. Cheers

highalt · Jun 22, 2012

You're welcome, Rick!

Well, no pictures today, as the winds are still in the 20 - 40 mph range. Current temperature 96 degrees with a 5% humidity level. It doesn't get much drier than that folks! Tomorrow's forecast = more of the same. Due to the extreme fire danger the Fourth of July fireworks here have been cancelled.

The peppers seem to be tolerating the wind, but are stressed enough with the high temps to continue to drop buds / new pods. The pods that were already set are continuing to grow though, and as soon as we get a break in the weather, I'm sure they'll start setting pods again.

I'm going to try and catch up on some gardening chores over the weekend. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Thanks for stopping by!

romy6 · Jun 22, 2012

I demand more jelly Bonnie. I mean what jelly

highalt · Jun 22, 2012

romy6 said:
I demand more jelly Bonnie. I mean what jelly

My sister and her kids are calling dibs on the blueberry, but I should have enough peppers to start making some pepper jelly in another month or two. I'm going to try a couple of new recipes this year, maybe I'll let you review them for me. :dance:

jsschrstrcks · Jun 25, 2012

Hey Bonnie! We've gotten as much rain in the past 24 hours, as you said you average in a year =/

with 10-15 more inches projected to fall in the next few days.

local flooding, my house is ok, the garden went submarine... But we'll see how it handles that... it was only for a few hours

highalt · Jun 25, 2012

Ken, I'm very sorry to hear about the flooding in your area! Hope that you are able to salvage the stuff that went underwater!

It seems like nothing but extremes in the weather this season. There are fires burning all over our state. Thankfully, nothing close to home! The temperature has hit 98 the past two days, and I'm thinking the red flag warnings will be around until the monsoon season starts in late July or August. Once that weather pattern is in place, we should start seeing occasional afternoon thundershowers. Till then, I'm not sure I'll see much in the way of pod setting ...

RocketMan · Jun 25, 2012

Bonnie, you are doing a great job of growing under some pretty arduous conditions and have some really good looking plants to show for it. Love the look of that Hungarian. Pods are really cool looking. With all the fires geting there you might just have smoked pods right off the plant J

Those are some tasty looking jellies too. Love Strawberry Ruebarb in any combination. When we lived in Tacoma and grew our own, my Grandmother came for a visit and made some that we put over Vanilla Ice Cream and everyone ate their fill and wanted more. Good stuff that is!

highalt · Jun 25, 2012

Thank you, RocketMan!

Okay, this only LOOKS like Pineapple Banana Bread. It's really just a vehicle to get the homemade jam to my mouth!

In other non pepper news ... will be harvesting more lettuce and the first radishes to make a salad for dinner tonight.

stc3248 · Jun 25, 2012

Geez Betty Crocker! Now I'm starving over here!

highalt · Jun 25, 2012

stc3248 said:
Geez Betty Crocker! Now I'm starving over here!

Haha! Well, I don't work full time like most of you guys do, so I have time for stuff like baking bread and making jam. Trust me, when I worked, I wasn't near as domesticated!

Grabbed the camera today on the way to the community garden, and carried it around in my pocket. Every time a cloud passed overhead, I'd pull it out and snap a picture or two. Managed to get a few decent shots.

First a couple of long shots. Rows of onions, and peppers.

The row on the left is doing the worst of the three. Lots of sun scald the first week or two. The damaged leaves have fallen off, and new growth is showing, but they are behind everything else now.

Next a comparison of Peach Habaneros. The first one was the frost victim. It's going to make it, but is way behind the others.

No sign of blooms on any of the Habaneros, so if I get any pods it will be pretty late in the season.

One of the Pequins. These things have the darkest green leaves of all my peppers, and are really bushy plants!

First Tobago Seasoning bloom. These things are tiny!

Aji Chinchi Amarillo. By far the most pods of any of my pepper plants!

Bulgarian Carrot

Jimmy Nardello. Sorry this one's a little blurry.

Aji Angelo

Got a few non pepper shots, but that's all I have room for on this post.

meatfreak · Jun 25, 2012

Looks great! Maybe a dumb question but what's the white stuff on the ground? Is it calcium?

stc3248 · Jun 25, 2012

Nice update...now you have more room!

highalt · Jun 25, 2012

meatfreak said:
Looks great! Maybe a dumb question but what's the white stuff on the ground? Is it calcium?

Not a dumb question at all! It's (food grade) diatomaceous earth. It's supposed to kill crawling bugs, such as ants and earwigs. I was having quite a bit of bug damage, and I suspect it is earwigs, so I'm put the DE down. Haven't noticed much new damage, so I guess it helped some.

stc3248 said:
Nice update...now you have more room!

Thanks, Shane!

Several of the tomatoes are starting to bloom, and pick up in size. This one's Tasmanian Chocolate.

A tomatillo bloom. Can you say salsa verde, and green chile sauce? Mmmmm!

This is a shot of the other side of the plot. It's zucchini, tomatoes, tomatillos, and ground cherries. Didn't take any shots of the beans and cucumber, as the bugs have pretty much mowed them down. :tear:

Still need to bury the soaker hoses down at this end of the garden. The irrigation ditch wasn't empty yet today, but I suspect it will be by tomorrow.

These last pictures were taken here at the house, but since I'm showing some non pepper stuff, I thought I'd throw them in too.

Black-Eyed Stella daylily with Butterfly Weed

A close up of the Butterfly Weed with a pollinator.

Lastly, one of my many daylilies. I forgot which one this is, and don't have time to look it up, but I think it's pretty.

Guess that's all for now. Thanks for stopping by!

highalt · Jun 26, 2012

Taking advantage of a little cloud cover to snap a few more pics. Hope I'm not overdoing it with the updates!

Here is a long shot of the veggie bed here at the house. The tomatoes are finally about to pass up the peppers in size.

Sandia

These next two managed to set pods in spite of temps in the upper 90's this past week.

Melrose

Fresno

Found Fresno peppers in the produce department at Walmart last night. That's a first! They were dark red, and maybe a little on the far side of ripe, but I was still glad to see something other than jalapenos, serranos, and bells there!

The rest are flower shots, so look away now if it offends you, LOL!

Here's the long view of the walkway beds leading to my front door.

I think I need more red in there, too much yellow and orange ...

Anyway, here some close ups. This one is Scarlet Pansy daylily.

My NOT 'Irish Eyes' Rudbeckia

Another of my many daylilies 'Mended Heart' with Achillea 'Walter Funke' in the background.

and finally Gaillardia 'Oranges & Lemons' with Asclepias tuberosa (Butterfly Weed). Would have been a perfect shot if it wasn't for all the grasshopper damage to the petals!

GaillardiaOrangesLemonswithAsclepiastuberosa6-26-12.jpg

Hope you enjoyed!

romy6 · Jun 26, 2012

Very purdy indeed Bonnie. And your peppers are looking nice too

highalt · Jun 27, 2012

Spending more time at the community garden than I would like this week, but the irrigation ditch was dry yesterday, so I had to fill and haul gallon jugs of water down there, then fill up a watering can, and hand water every plant. Yesterday, I only took 6 gallons, today I took 12. It's not enough to make all the plants happy, but at this point, with temps in the mid to upper 90's, I just want to keep everything alive until the irrigation is back on. I'll make sure everything gets a good soaking next week.

On a positive note, the plants down at the comm. garden, which were the last ones to go in, are finally starting to show some new growth taking place. Even though there is a lot of bud/blossom drop going on right now, the plants are really filling out, and I think the pods will really start setting like crazy as soon as we get a little break in this heat wave, or at least a reprieve from the winds.

Just heard from a neighbor that there is a new fire, a couple towns west of us. Not a threat to us, but the fact that it is only June, and we have a long summer to go, is a bit concerning. We used to live north of Colorado Springs, and it is sad to see all the damage from the Waldo Canyon fire over there! There's a lot of folks here praying for rain.

Here's a shot I just took. You can see the smoke from the De Beque fire.