HM01 2016

     Where the hell is this year going?! It's the 25th already? Good gravy. I should probably get some seeds going. Here's what's going in the dirt today:
 
1.) Bonda ma Jaques
2.) Fatalii orange
3.) Habanero Antillais Caribbean
4.) Habanero giant chocolate
5.) Mako akoksrade
6.) Peach Congo
7.) PI 281317
8.) Scotch bonnet elysium oxide
9.) Scotch bonnet Foodarama red
10.) Scotch bonnet MOA
11.) Scotch bonnet P. Dreadie
12.) Scotch bonnet TFM
13.) Scotch bonnet x Brain
14.) 7pot burgundy
15.) 7pot Primo orange
16.) Bhut orange Copenhagen
17.) Burmese Naga
 
 
     I decided to go easy on the OWs this year, so I only kept four from previous seasons. I have a wild Brazil (5 gal), a Bahamian goat (7.5 gal) and a fatalii x Red Savina  (7.5 gal) all from last year and one TS CARDI (7.5 gal) from two years ago. The CARDI buried me in pods last season - even in its small pot, it produced enough fruit to fill about 6 MFRBs. Deciding whether to pot it up (~20 gal) or stick it in a raised bed is going to be tough this spring! 
     I'm gonna go plant some stuff. I'll be back here in a minute. I know the drill - no pics, blah blah blah...
     Wohoo! The 2016 season starts here!

 

[Hybrid Mode 01]

Great results ya got there Mo! Looks like the bird that topped your Goat's Weed did ya a favor awhile back. It's been such a hot, dry summer that I think we're all gonna see more capsaicin production this year. Keep up the good work!

 
 
     Thank you, Rick! I had a look back at previous glog entries this morning and found the post where I mentioned that some bird "topped" my goatsweed this spring. I totally forgot about that! I guess it didn't turn out that bad after all. hahaha Not something I'd ever do to a plant, but I guess that starling has a greener thumb than I. 
     Not so dry in this neck of the woods, but you're right about the heat. It seems like it rains over 3" every three days around here. The plants seem to like the heat, but I'm not so sure about the rain. If it was just water, it would be OK. But every time the clouds open up, they seem to drop a bunch of BLS and broken plants, too.   

 

[stickman]

 
 
     Thank you, Rick! I had a look back at previous glog entries this morning and found the post where I mentioned that some bird "topped" my goatsweed this spring. I totally forgot about that! I guess it didn't turn out that bad after all. hahaha Not something I'd ever do to a plant, but I guess that starling has a greener thumb than I. 
     Not so dry in this neck of the woods, but you're right about the heat. It seems like it rains over 3" every three days around here. The plants seem to like the heat, but I'm not so sure about the rain. If it was just water, it would be OK. But every time the clouds open up, they seem to drop a bunch of BLS and broken plants, too.   

 
Y'know... BLS is spread by the rain splashing the bacteria up onto the leaves when it rains, and you've been getting plenty of rain. Staking your plants will help with the wind damage, but you should keep your growing area free of dead leaves and rake that mulch out of there and put in fresh stuff since the old stuff harbors the bacteria. That's one of the reasons I use plastic mulch... in addition to warming the soil it acts as a barrier between the soil and the plant, retaining moisture in a way that doesn't harbor disease. Cheers!

 

[jcw10tc]

 
 
 
     I have two EO plants. Besides the big red one, I also have one that's all green and about half as tall. I'm really curious to compare the two once they have ripe pods. If one or the other throw correct pheno pods, I'd be more than willing to send you a sampling so you can get your fix. 
     And by the way, the plants I took pics of look good, for sure, but there are a lot of plants that are more horizontal than upright and more BLS than green. I tend to not take pics of those.     
     A way she goes, tho. If it's not drought around here, it's branch snapping, BLS inducing storms! I can't complain, though. I have a feeling I'm going to have too many pods again this season!

I understand, no need to document the problems too much, too depressing.  Looks like more rain on the way for me in a bit, looks south of you for now.  I probably can live without the EOB this year, have hundreds of new varieties to try and get sampled.  Probably won't even be able to get to them all since they are just starting to ripen.  

 

[twilliams386]

Y'know... BLS is spread by the rain splashing the bacteria up onto the leaves when it rains, and you've been getting plenty of rain. Staking your plants will help with the wind damage, but you should keep your growing area free of dead leaves and rake that mulch out of there and put in fresh stuff since the old stuff harbors the bacteria. That's one of the reasons I use plastic mulch... in addition to warming the soil it acts as a barrier between the soil and the plant, retaining moisture in a way that doesn't harbor disease. Cheers!

Hey Rick, I've always read that you should keep dead leaves out due to bugs and bacteria. But what about raking them into the soil in a raised bed? Are they just better off going to the compost for breakdown?

 

[stickman]

Hey Rick, I've always read that you should keep dead leaves out due to bugs and bacteria. But what about raking them into the soil in a raised bed? Are they just better off going to the compost for breakdown?

 
Not if they're diseased... burn them or dispose of them someplace where they won't cause a problem for somebody else.

 

[twilliams386]

Not if they're diseased... burn them or dispose of them someplace where they won't cause a problem for somebody else.

Well I think it's just normal leaf drop from heat, water, etc... But think I'll play it safe. Don't wanna sacrifice fall production

 

[Hybrid Mode 01]

 
Y'know... BLS is spread by the rain splashing the bacteria up onto the leaves when it rains, and you've been getting plenty of rain. Staking your plants will help with the wind damage, but you should keep your growing area free of dead leaves and rake that mulch out of there and put in fresh stuff since the old stuff harbors the bacteria. That's one of the reasons I use plastic mulch... in addition to warming the soil it acts as a barrier between the soil and the plant, retaining moisture in a way that doesn't harbor disease. Cheers!

 
     The species of bacteria that lead to BLS are everywhere in nature. On leaves, in soil, on your hands. It's just not practical or necessary to eliminate all sources. The important thing to remember when dealing with plant disease is the disease triangle, which consists of pathogen, host and environment. Since the pathogen is omnipresent (as is the host, in our gardens  ), the most fruitful angle of attack will almost certainly be the environment that brings the two together. 
     Plastic mulch is definitely an effective way of preventing rain splash contamination, but the leaf mold I apply to my soil surface also does a great job of mitigating this. It also feeds my soil and allows gas and water permeation. 
     I've found plant pruning and occasional foliar application of ECW tea to be good enough to keep BLS of my plants most of the time. Both of these help create a hostile environment for Xanthomonas spp. and others that lead to BLS. Once in a while (this season) things get out of control for a while, but that's gardening! 
 
 

I understand, no need to document the problems too much, too depressing.  Looks like more rain on the way for me in a bit, looks south of you for now.  I probably can live without the EOB this year, have hundreds of new varieties to try and get sampled.  Probably won't even be able to get to them all since they are just starting to ripen.  

 
     Well this dry weather sure has stopped my BLS problems in their tracks for the most part. But now I'm watering my containers every day. If it's not one extreme, it's the other!
 
 
 
 

Hey Rick, I've always read that you should keep dead leaves out due to bugs and bacteria. But what about raking them into the soil in a raised bed? Are they just better off going to the compost for breakdown?

 
     Composting is fine for dealing with infected leaves. Especially if you get your compost hot. BLS bacteria are not thermophiles and will be killed and outcompeted in good, hot compost. But as long as you rake them under where rainsplash is unlikely to transmit any pathogens back up onto the plant, you'll be fine. 
     BLS bacteria are everywhere. It only becomes a problem when foliage stays wet because of rain, dew or poor air circulation. 
 
 
 
 
 
     On to the update!
 
I finally figured out what this plant is, hogleg. It's a peach Congo. Close guess with the BOC. The pods look very similar, ripe and unripe.

 
 
 
 
Orange fatalii leaning hard under the weight of its pods.

 
 
 
 
Malih-Helow 

 
 
 
 
Fatalii x Red Savina

 
 
 
 
Here's my dark foliage Elysium oxide. It looks like the pods are going to mature to red on this pheno. I can't get enough of this plant. The pods start out purple, then green, then yellow, orange and finally red.

 
 
 
 
Cloesup of EO fruit.

 
 
 
 
Aji Peruvian

 
 
 
 
Rocopica finally setting pods! 

 
 
 
 
     It looks like it's time to bust out the dehydrator and make the house smell awesome! All these ^ pics are of container plants. My in-ground plants are full of pods and should be ripening any day now. I'll post some pics of them as soon as I find the piece of paper where I kept track of what kinds they are. 

 

[Hybrid Mode 01]

     Before I forget. Again. As usual... Here's a pic of my OW wild Brazil. 

 
 
 
 
     When I brought it inside to pick pods, I noticed a bunch of the leaves had big clusters of aphids on them.
 
 
 
 
Oh no!   

 
 
 
 
Looking a little closer I saw about a dozen lacewing eggs.

 
 
 
 
     Is it wrong that I almost feel sorry for aphids that stumble into my garden and try to set up shop? It's not even really fair anymore...

 

[Bhuter]

Holy cow! Your OW Wild Brazil is absolutely peppered with...well...peppers. Lol. Actually, all of your plants are loaded! Great color on the peach Congo. My black Congo just ripened red. Not too happy about that. But your plants look phenomenal! Great job!

-Adam

 

[Hybrid Mode 01]

     Then I found this dude hanging out on the wild Brazil right after I flushed out a green lacewing. He made his way up to the top of the plant as I was rummaging around on the inside picking the last of the pods. 

 
 
 
 
     I didn't want to disturb him further so I left the last few ripe pods on the plant and put it back outside.

Holy cow! Your OW Wild Brazil is absolutely peppered with...well...peppers. Lol. Actually, all of your plants are loaded! Great color on the peach Congo. My black Congo just ripened red. Not too happy about that. But your plants look phenomenal! Great job!

-Adam

 
     Thank you, Adam! Yeah, that one was pretty loaded. I ended up with about a half pound of ripe pods. 
 
 
 
 
     8oz. on the nuts! 

 

[jcw10tc]

     Then I found this dude hanging out on the wild Brazil right after I flushed out a green lacewing. He made his way up to the top of the plant as I was rummaging around on the inside picking the last of the pods. 

 
 
 
 
     I didn't want to disturb him further so I left the last few ripe pods on the plant and put it back outside.

 
     Thank you, Adam! Yeah, that one was pretty loaded. I ended up with about a half pound of ripe pods. 
 
 
 
 
     8oz. on the nuts! 
 

Bring your friend there and all is friends over.  I think I would rather have some holes drilled in my teeth that pick all those tiny pods.  I have an aji charipita plant thats about 1/4 the size of your brazil there, but has a ton of tiny pods.  Every time I walk by it I think, maybe I should douse with roundup so I won't have to pick   
 
I must have a lot of predators around to keep the aphids at bay.  I do see some lady bugs from time to time, no mantis, some other bugs that look predatory so I let them be.  I know when I bag for branches ususally if its a big bag and I leave on for a few weeks it gets loaded up with aphids.  I usually just smash as many as I can and let nature do the rest.  I got some neem oil, but havn't used yet and hope not too.
 
I think my diseases are in check also as much as possible.  Somehow managed to keep it isolated to 2 sections of each of the 2 gardens.  I did loose most of my annuums and half my baccatums.  Lost about 10 chinense and have another 10 that are probably too sick to save seeds from but definitely on the mend.  I am spraying twice a week, hopefully done with the harder stuff.  Went through a bottle of copper which I don't like as its pretty bad for the stuff in the ground even though I believe considered organic.  What I have now are 2 pretty high dollar deals that are both organic and have high hopes for to keep the uninfected disease free.
 
I did have one bhutlah plant that I seemed to have brought back from the brink of death, it may not produce but its super healthy looking now.  Ended up stripping almost all the leaves, sprayed with peroxide, bleach, copper, and about everything else and now its about a foot tall and wide and looks great, but probably a bit too late to produce, but was more of an experiment in case I see this happen again next year to see how drastic of action I can take.  Next year if I see anything bad looking will strip nearly bare imediately an nuke it and bring it back.  Also will have better separation in plants.
 
Keep up the good work, everythings looking good.  Those orange fataliis looking nice and that EOB cross does look very interesting.

 

[Hybrid Mode 01]

     I decided my plants were due for a harvest yesterday. So here's the first haul of the 2016 season! 
 
 
 
Back row:
Malih-Helow,  Aji Peruvian,  fatalii x Red Savina,  Bahamian goat,  Chimayo
Front row:
Peru bitdumi,  Elysium oxide (dark pheno),  orange fatalii,  peach Congo,  P. Dreadie standard,  Foodarama SB,  TS CARDI

     Free assorted SFRB to the first person to tell me what kind of seed that is on the back right corner of the table!

 

[Hybrid Mode 01]

Bring your friend there and all is friends over.  I think I would rather have some holes drilled in my teeth that pick all those tiny pods.  I have an aji charipita plant thats about 1/4 the size of your brazil there, but has a ton of tiny pods.  Every time I walk by it I think, maybe I should douse with roundup so I won't have to pick   
 
I must have a lot of predators around to keep the aphids at bay.  I do see some lady bugs from time to time, no mantis, some other bugs that look predatory so I let them be.  I know when I bag for branches ususally if its a big bag and I leave on for a few weeks it gets loaded up with aphids.  I usually just smash as many as I can and let nature do the rest.  I got some neem oil, but havn't used yet and hope not too.
 
I think my diseases are in check also as much as possible.  Somehow managed to keep it isolated to 2 sections of each of the 2 gardens.  I did loose most of my annuums and half my baccatums.  Lost about 10 chinense and have another 10 that are probably too sick to save seeds from but definitely on the mend.  I am spraying twice a week, hopefully done with the harder stuff.  Went through a bottle of copper which I don't like as its pretty bad for the stuff in the ground even though I believe considered organic.  What I have now are 2 pretty high dollar deals that are both organic and have high hopes for to keep the uninfected disease free.
 
I did have one bhutlah plant that I seemed to have brought back from the brink of death, it may not produce but its super healthy looking now.  Ended up stripping almost all the leaves, sprayed with peroxide, bleach, copper, and about everything else and now its about a foot tall and wide and looks great, but probably a bit too late to produce, but was more of an experiment in case I see this happen again next year to see how drastic of action I can take.  Next year if I see anything bad looking will strip nearly bare imediately an nuke it and bring it back.  Also will have better separation in plants.
 
Keep up the good work, everythings looking good.  Those orange fataliis looking nice and that EOB cross does look very interesting.

 
 
 
     Thanks for the kind words! Sorry to hear the wet weather this summer got the better of so many of your plants. Sometimes all you can do is chalk up a shitty experience like that to a lesson learned. Your plan for next season sounds like the way to go. Adequate plant spacing should go a long way toward keeping foliar disease at bay. Also, if it looks like you'll be in for a long wet spell, removing a lot of the leaves off the bottom and inside of the plant can do wonders for increasing air flow and helping your plants dry out. 
     I hear you about picking lots of tiny pods. If that plant was in-ground, I would probably keep "forgetting" to harvest it. My back would thank me. Having it in a container helps a lot. I just bring it inside and pick as I watch an episode of the A-Team sitting in a chair.
     It sounds like, despite your foliar disease, you'll be swimming in pods soon. But if you want seeds from any of my plants, they're yours for next season. Just let me know. 
     I hope your plants stay green for the rest of the season! 

 

[stickman]

     I decided my plants were due for a harvest yesterday. So here's the first haul of the 2016 season! 
 
 
 
Back row:
Malih-Helow,  Aji Peruvian,  fatalii x Red Savina,  Bahamian goat,  Chimayo
Front row:
Peru bitdumi,  Elysium oxide (dark pheno),  orange fatalii,  peach Congo,  P. Dreadie standard,  Foodarama SB,  TS CARDI

     Free assorted SFRB to the first person to tell me what kind of seed that is on the back right corner of the table!

Cool money shot! Are those Chimayos in the back right corner?
 
Thanks for the info on BLS... I'm definitely taking notes here. You've definitely got your inner perimeter thoroughly guarded between Lacewings, Preying Mantids, and I've no doubt Ladybugs too. Fantastic job!

 

[Hybrid Mode 01]

Cool money shot! Are those Chimayos in the back right corner?
 
Thanks for the info on BLS... I'm definitely taking notes here. You've definitely got your inner perimeter thoroughly guarded between Lacewings, Preying Mantids, and I've no doubt Ladybugs too. Fantastic job!

 
 
 
     Yup, those are Chimayos. I'm really psyched to try them! I was introduced to (and fell in love with) them years ago when my dad ordered some Chimayo powder from NMSU. This is my first attempt at growing them so I'm interested to see if they bring back any memories. 
     Ha! You taking notes from me! Believe it or not, your glog is one of the reasons I joined THP years ago. Let's put it this way, self immolation was my goal and I came to the right website for help! 
     As far as my arthropod minions go, I treat my garden like an ecosystem. The closer I can get to filling in all the puzzle pieces that make up a healthy habitat for my garden plants, the better. Flowers are pretty, but the main reason I grow them is to keep my workers happy. They have strong union representation and they drive a hard bargain, but the work they do is invaluable. Every time I go take a look at my garden, I find it abuzz with hoverflies, lacewings, ladybugs and bees. Closer inspection reveals lacewing eggs, mantises and spiders. I get by with their help. Gardening is a lot less stressful when I put effort into growing flowers instead of maintaining a spraying schedule!

 

[tctenten]

Nice Harvest.  You are going to be a busy man with all those pods.  

 

[stickman]

 
 
 
     Yup, those are Chimayos. I'm really psyched to try them! I was introduced to (and fell in love with) them years ago when my dad ordered some Chimayo powder from NMSU. This is my first attempt at growing them so I'm interested to see if they bring back any memories. 
     Ha! You taking notes from me! Believe it or not, your glog is one of the reasons I joined THP years ago. Let's put it this way, self immolation was my goal and I came to the right website for help! 
     As far as my arthropod minions go, I treat my garden like an ecosystem. The closer I can get to filling in all the puzzle pieces that make up a healthy habitat for my garden plants, the better. Flowers are pretty, but the main reason I grow them is to keep my workers happy. They have strong union representation and they drive a hard bargain, but the work they do is invaluable. Every time I go take a look at my garden, I find it abuzz with hoverflies, lacewings, ladybugs and bees. Closer inspection reveals lacewing eggs, mantises and spiders. I get by with their help. Gardening is a lot less stressful when I put effort into growing flowers instead of maintaining a spraying schedule!

 
How cool is that... I'm glad you stuck around so we could show the folks down south we can grow supers here too.
 
Spicegeist is growing Chimayos this year too...some of the seed he got from Sandia and the rest from Native Seeds SEARCH. I don't know if he's ever tried Chimayo molido before, so you'd be the one to say if the flavor of the powder from yours tastes the same as the one you tried from New Mexico. The terroir here is different enough that I thought the ones I grew a few years ago tasted different... still plenty hot but not quite as sweet.
 
+1 on companion planting reducing the amount of involvement I need to have with my plants. Keep on truckin'!

 

[Bicycle808]

I just got me a SFRB from one of Hybrid Mode 01's recent harvests; really nice pods.  Look better in person than they do in the pics.  I just munched a PDreadie SB; absolutely delicious.  Keep on keepin' on with your badazz pepper patch, HM1....

 

[Hybrid Mode 01]

Nice Harvest.  You are going to be a busy man with all those pods.  

 
 
     Or rich! Bwahahahahhahahha! But yeah, I've realized I really only need to keep a fraction of what I grow. If I can manage to sell some of the surplus, the garden pays for itself! 
 

 
How cool is that... I'm glad you stuck around so we could show the folks down south we can grow supers here too.
 
Spicegeist is growing Chimayos this year too...some of the seed he got from Sandia and the rest from Native Seeds SEARCH. I don't know if he's ever tried Chimayo molido before, so you'd be the one to say if the flavor of the powder from your tastes the same as the one you tried from New Mexico. The terroir here is different enough that I thought the ones I grew a few years ago tasted different... still plenty hot but not quite as sweet.
 
+1 on companion planting reducing the amount of involvement I need to have with my plants. Keep on truckin'!

 
     Ha! Those southern folk got nothing on what we can do up here! There's something to be said for 14' deep, jet black silt loam soil. The area where I live has the most productive, valuable cropland on the planet. I'm so lucky to have a landlord who lets me use some of the yard to put it to work!
     I threw a heap of red, ripe Chimayos in the dehydrator yesterday. The ones I cut open were blood red inside and out, very pleasantly aromatic and very sweet. That plant (my one Chimayo) has put up with a lot so far this year, but it seems to be really hitting its stride. Once I get a handle on how many dried pods I'll be putting up, I'll send you some to compare.
 
 

I just got me a SFRB from one of Hybrid Mode 01's recent harvests; really nice pods.  Look better in person than they do in the pics.  I just munched a PDreadie SB; absolutely delicious.  Keep on keepin' on with your badazz pepper patch, HM1....

 
 
 
     I'm glad you appreciated them! I definitely agree about the Dreadie. Pure sunshine in a pod. Thanks for stopping by!
 
 
 
 
TFM scotch bonnet. Really good, uniform shaped pods on this plant.

 
 
 
Chimayo. Don't let looks fool you. This plant is bigger and healthier than it looks. This pic just concentrates on the ripe pods.

 
 
 
 
The Peru bitdumi jungle that is eating my porch.

 
 
 
 
Goatsweed pic for hogleg. 

 
 
 
My bigass TS CARDI. My gnome is taking a siesta.

 
 
 
 
Seeds were labeled Scotch brain. Looks like and orange fatalii to me. Oh well. They're good too!

 
 
 
 
Dark phone Elysium oxide. Fucking storms. 

 
 
 
 
Malih helow getting ready to ripen another flush.

 
 
 
 
Bahamian goat OW.

 
 
 
 
Peach Congo. 

 
 
 
 
Sweet, hybrid cubanelle type. I can't remember the name.

 
 
 
 
BUMP, PLEASE?!

 

[Hybrid Mode 01]

Top-down view of wild Brazil it its native habitat.

 
 
 
 
Closeup for awesome.

 
 
 
 
And finally my green (true pheno) Elysium oxide. 

 
 
 
 
     Have a great weekend everybody! Thanks for stopping by el jardin del dash-o dos. I've got some picking to do!