Highalt's 2012 Grow Log

highalt · May 11, 2012

Left all the overwintering peppers outside on the porch the past two nights. The first night the official low was 38, but last night it was a balmy 46 degrees. Then yesterday, I potted up the 3 largest plants. On top of that, they were subjected to a lot of wind this past week. They are not happy with me today. Lots of leaf curl going on. Is there anything I need to do to help them adjust, or just leave them be for now?

Georgia Flame

Chilhuacle Rojo

Pasilla Bajio

Okay, what's up with the goofy branch sticking straight out to the side like a light post or something?

Okay, these aren't peppers, but I potted up my wintersown tomatoes yesterday. They look tiny now, but should be decent sized by the time it's safe to put them in the ground. Besides, they take off a lot faster than the peppers after plant out.

On to another non-pepper topic. You guys will probably get a laugh out of this, but I can't keep mint alive. I've bought plants and started them from seed several years in a row. They'll grow fine all summer, but they never come back the next year. Part of the problem is they say to grow in a pot to keep it from taking over, but that exposes the roots to colder temperatures over the winter. I've even tried bringing them indoors in the fall without success, mainly due to fungus gnats I think.

Anyway, so here's this years victims:

Sweet Mint

Stevia, Mint Julep, and Pineapple Mint

Thanks for stopping by. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

stc3248 · May 11, 2012

The ones I put out too early got really peeved with me as well...took them a while, but they eventually climbed out of their funk. If you can, I would cover and heat them somehow at night to prevent them from stalling too much on you if the temps are going to be below 42. A string or two of Christmas lights and a sheet of plastic will work wonders for them at night. You can use something simple like a couple tables/sawhorses to drape the plastic over to form a makeshift tent. Just make sure it is well anchored with no gaps to let air in or it will turn into a parachute and take flight. Just keep in mind that large (C9) Christmas lights will burn holes in plastic and can damage leaves if they are too close.

stickman · May 11, 2012

Hi Bonnie
Nice looking pics! I can't keep mint through the winter either. I live on top of a big flat-topped hill and have really sandy soil and strong wind that blows incessantly through the winter and into spring. I wonder if that could be our problem? I found a way to plant mint in the ground without it spreading... I take a piece of flue tile at least a foot long and bury it upright in the herb bed, then plant the mint inside. The runners can't penetrate the tile and it keeps it contained. Your peppers look as if they got too much sun and wind together too.

highalt · May 11, 2012

stc3248 said:
The ones I put out too early got really peeved with me as well...took them a while, but they eventually climbed out of their funk. If you can, I would cover and heat them somehow at night to prevent them from stalling too much on you if the temps are going to be below 42. A string or two of Christmas lights and a sheet of plastic will work wonders for them at night. You can use something simple like a couple tables/sawhorses to drape the plastic over to form a makeshift tent. Just make sure it is well anchored with no gaps to let air in or it will turn into a parachute and take flight. Just keep in mind that large (C9) Christmas lights will burn holes in plastic and can damage leaves if they are too close.

Well, if I'm going to add sawhorses and plastic or row covers, I'll have to relocate them. They are currently on the front porch, and I'm pretty sure the HOA would have something to say about that kind of ghetto growing, LOL! I already had the "water police" point out my infractions the other day. I thought the peppers would be okay at those temperatures because at night I tuck them against the house. Here's a picture of where they are. The really large bronze pot, yeah, the one with nothing in it yet :oops:

, is just past the end of the porch wall.

When you're looking out my front door, you're are looking south/southwest. So the wind runs diagonally across the porch. If you look at the walkway bed you can kind of see which way the plants are blowing. Since the house extends out a few feet, that corner is where I move everything when it gets windy. If I move them to the back patio I could rig up something, but that side of the house gets less sun as it faces east/southeast.

stickman said:
Hi Bonnie
Nice looking pics! I can't keep mint through the winter either. I live on top of a big flat-topped hill and have really sandy soil and strong wind that blows incessantly through the winter and into spring. I wonder if that could be our problem? I found a way to plant mint in the ground without it spreading... I take a piece of flue tile at least a foot long and bury it upright in the herb bed, then plant the mint inside. The runners can't penetrate the tile and it keeps it contained. Your peppers look as if they got too much sun and wind together too.

Thanks! Hey, are you sure you're not my neighbor, Ken? That pretty much describes where i live - on top of a mesa, lots of wind. Okay, well, till you get to the sandy soil part. Nothing but rock hard clay here... and rocks. I had to look up what a flue tile was, and that's a pretty clever idea! You're talking about the tube shape liners made out of clay, right? Couldn't seem to find a price on them. Do you know how much you paid for them? Maybe I'll check around at Lowe's when I go there. My husband asked what I wanted for Mother's Day, and I said a soaker hose set up for the community garden. He might have gotten off cheaper if he'd of just picked up a bouquet of flowers, or some candy!!! :rofl:

stc3248 · May 11, 2012

Yeah...my suggestion definitely is a backyard/privacy fence setup. The wind is probably also robbing you of almost all the heat provided by being so close to the house. Only other good option is to move them in and out every day...or just wait it out. Mine took a while to climb out of their funk like I said, and the ones I kept in the greenhouse longer passed them up and took off when I put them out once it was warmer. They are now all good though and finally gaining some ground on the ones I pampered longer. They're tough plants...so they'll figure it out.

romy6 · May 11, 2012

Easier solution. Move to Florida :rofl:

highalt · May 11, 2012

stc3248 said:
Yeah...my suggestion definitely is a backyard/privacy fence setup. The wind is probably also robbing you of almost all the heat provided by being so close to the house. Only other good option is to move them in and out every day...or just wait it out. Mine took a while to climb out of their funk like I said, and the ones I kept in the greenhouse longer passed them up and took off when I put them out once it was warmer. They are now all good though and finally gaining some ground on the ones I pampered longer. They're tough plants...so they'll figure it out.

Grrrrr ... you're right, Shane! I know you're right, I'm just having a bit of zone denial. Last year about this time, we had company for a month, and my plants, which are located in the only guest room in the house, got kicked out too early. Their growth slowed to a crawl, and it took them a long time to bounce back. I checked the forecast, a low of 41, so I just drug them all back inside ... reluctantly.

I passed a house just this afternoon and noticed they had their peppers already in the ground. Now maybe they're a total newbie, but it had me fooled for a minute into thinking I wasn't rushing things, even though I should know better. You can be sure I'll be keeping an eye on that bed of theirs when I pass by now.

romy6 said:
Easier solution. Move to Florida

Actually, I have in-laws in the Pensacola area, but I'm not sure moving near them would be a good thing or not ...

stc3248 · May 12, 2012

Lol...are you kidding! If I get promoted I may be forced to move to Guam. First thing I looked up was annual temps. Highs 80-90 lows 70-80 YEAR ROUND! Maybe my first thought should have been more about having to rip the kids out of their current high school/junior high and moving them half way around the world to a 30x5 mile island prison...but nope I thought about the pepper potential!

highalt · May 12, 2012

Haha! Well, at least you have your priorities in order.

Without sharing too much information on a public forum, let's just say that his side of the family has a lot more drama in it than mine.

stc3248 · May 12, 2012

I hear ya! We're lucky...all our siblings on both sides are freakin' looney! So we're both good with living far FAR away from their drama.

jsschrstrcks · May 12, 2012

There is a nice AFB here in central florida...

You could probably get sent here haha! Property is abundant and cheap (outside of the tampa/clearwater/st pete area any way).

Our schools are not the worst either (though thats the best I can say about primary school), our colleges are fantastic, and we have lots of sports...

Best of all, you have like 364 growing days in a year

.

stickman · May 12, 2012

highalt said:
Thanks! Hey, are you sure you're not my neighbor, Ken? That pretty much describes where i live - on top of a mesa, lots of wind. Okay, well, till you get to the sandy soil part. Nothing but rock hard clay here... and rocks. I had to look up what a flue tile was, and that's a pretty clever idea! You're talking about the tube shape liners made out of clay, right?

Yeah, that's them. They come in two foot lengths and a variety of widths and shapes. I used to work as a Mason's tender shortly after I mustered out of the army, and it was easy for me to pick them up. Ask around your area and see if any of the Masons there can get you a cut-off end after finishing a chimney job. Much cheaper than buying one. Now that I think of it... you could probably just knock the bottom off a terra cotta flowerpot and bury that flush with the ground instead. Here in New England, the ground freezes every winter and it's usually saturated with water at the time. If I were to use something as flimsy as a flower pot for this the frozen ground would expand to the point that it would break the flowerpot. Flue tile are an inch and a half thick high fired clay, and they stand up to conditions here better.

Couldn't seem to find a price on them. Do you know how much you paid for them? Maybe I'll check around at Lowe's when I go there. My husband asked what I wanted for Mother's Day, and I said a soaker hose set up for the community garden. He might have gotten off cheaper if he'd of just picked up a bouquet of flowers, or some candy!!!

highalt · May 14, 2012

Oh shoot! The hubby took me to Lowe's yesterday (my request) for Mother's Day, and I forgot to look for those. I did get two 75' soaker hoses, one 50' regular hose, a couple bags of composted cow manure, a few 6 packs of annuals, and some other odds and ends. Spent the afternoon today at the community garden getting all the hoses laid out where I want them. I'll try and get a picture to post.

Hey, I just noticed that I went from Heating Up, to Hot. Woohoo!!! :dance:

highalt · May 19, 2012

The predicted low is 39 degrees tonight, so I'm holding off putting any peppers in the ground for a few more days. The lows are supposed to be in the 40's after tonight. I decided to go ahead and plant all of the container plants though, and just leave them on the covered porch. Hope I don't regret that decision ...

Anyway, here are some pictures of what I did today. Can't fit them all on one post, so I'll be back after someone else comments to post a few more.

Destined for the Earthboxes

Pretty pleased with the root systems I uncovered. Can't remember which one this is, but it's healthy!

Here's Alma Paprika root system.

... and now happily tucked in the Earthbox.

All the plants that went into the first Earthbox were sweets including, Pusztagold.

Patio Red Marconi. Loved this one's flavor last time I grew it!

... and Melrose.

Group shot of Earthbox #1

I was out there all day. Planted some non-pepper stuff too. Wishing I had remembered the sunscreen today! :banghead:

I'll check back later, and post the rest of the pictures.

stickman · May 19, 2012

highalt said:
The predicted low is 39 degrees tonight, so I'm holding off putting any peppers in the ground for a few more days. The lows are supposed to be in the 40's after tonight. I decided to go ahead and plant all of the container plants though, and just leave them on the covered porch. Hope I don't regret that decision ...

I was out there all day. Planted some non-pepper stuff too. Wishing I had remembered the sunscreen today!

I'll check back later, and post the rest of the pictures.

Hi Bonnie, Looks excellent! I remember what it was like working outside in the spring sunshine above 5500 feet... Hope you have an Aloe plant or two around the house!

highalt · May 19, 2012

Thanks, Stickman! Yeah, that sun ain't playing at this altitude!!! Plus, there was a nice gentle breeze, and occasional cloud cover, so I didn't feel it until it was way too late! Sure hope I don't end up looking like that "tanorexia" lady, hahaha!

So here's what went in Earthbox #2. Fresno.

Guajillo

Biker Billy Hyb. jalapeno

and Jaloro

Group shot

Also planted out in containers today, Jimmy Nardello. (sorry this picture's kind of blurry, must have been the wind ...)

Sucette de Provence

Cosa Arrugada. Hope this container is big enough. Had it in the ground last year, and it got very wide, and totally loaded with peppers. Made a great sweet, no heat, paprika.

Fish

Hope you enjoyed the tour!

jsschrstrcks · May 19, 2012

nice looking roots Bonnie

plants too. Looking forward to my cosa arrugada growing out this year so that I can make my own paprika!

Jamison · May 19, 2012

Great glog! Glad I stopped by.

stc3248 · May 19, 2012

It's on now Bonnie! Good luck! I'll be praying to the weather gods for you. Really looking forward to how your new layout and the addition of the weave is gonna look mid season when everything is booming for you. Jealous of all your crazy varieties. Gonna have to expand my grow next year!

highalt · May 20, 2012

jsschrstrcks said:
nice looking roots Bonnie plants too. Looking forward to my cosa arrugada growing out this year so that I can make my own paprika!

It's nice to have at least one powder without heat, for when I'm cooking for the kids, or when I'm cooking for someone that can't handle any spice.

Jamison said:
Great glog! Glad I stopped by.

Thanks, Jamison! Appreciate you stopping by!

stc3248 said:
It's on now Bonnie! Good luck! I'll be praying to the weather gods for you. Really looking forward to how your new layout and the addition of the weave is gonna look mid season when everything is booming for you. Jealous of all your crazy varieties. Gonna have to expand my grow next year!

I've got a good feeling about the weather. This spring has been a lot warmer and drier than last year, so I think the peppers are going to go crazy. The only damage I'm really worried about is from the winds, and I'm kind of hoping that clustering them together with that Florida weave technique, might help protect them a bit. Of course, that's just a guess, and may not help at all. As far as my grow list, there's at least a half a dozen things I wish I had added to it, so I'm kind of scared to think what next year's list is going to look like, LOL!