This is a really cool online community, one that usually manages to stay above the normal hostility of most of the web. That's one of the reasons I'm still here, that, and the incredible generosity of spirit, information, seeds, pods, tasty powders and awesome sauces sent to me by THP members, not to mention the close-knit feeling of brotherhood I share with so many guys here that I've never met in person. As far as I've seen, there's really no other place like it on the web.
I'm on both sides of this Miracle Grow argument—I still consider myself to be a newbie, and MG is one of those newbie crutches some of us get by with until we achieve the Chile Grower Greatness of AJ, wayright, or guru. Be forewarned, however, that everyone here will get sick of me harping on the wonders of chipped hardwood before it's all over with.
My little 12-plant "pilot garden" at my home place is now in its third year of decay, and the results are not to be ignored.
The plants you see here were started in Jiffy Cups, transplanted to 6-inch plastic pots with MG potting soil, then set out in the garden, with no soil amendments other than a fresh 3-inch-thick mulch layer of chipped hardwood. Any nitrogen in the soil, other than what was contained in the root ball of the transplants, is from 3 years of decaying hardwood. The soil is so "hot" with nitrogen that on days where the air temperature is above 95ºF or so, I have to flush the soil to cool the plants down.
The native soil is reddish-brown sandy clay, an alluvial sediment of the Red River.
Aji Umba:
View of the whole garden, Aji Amarillo in front, Aji Umba in back. The Aji Amarillo are so "hot" right now that they need flushing almost every day:
I believe this is how we, as gardeners, can best "give back to the earth."
I'm on both sides of this Miracle Grow argument—I still consider myself to be a newbie, and MG is one of those newbie crutches some of us get by with until we achieve the Chile Grower Greatness of AJ, wayright, or guru. Be forewarned, however, that everyone here will get sick of me harping on the wonders of chipped hardwood before it's all over with.
My little 12-plant "pilot garden" at my home place is now in its third year of decay, and the results are not to be ignored.The plants you see here were started in Jiffy Cups, transplanted to 6-inch plastic pots with MG potting soil, then set out in the garden, with no soil amendments other than a fresh 3-inch-thick mulch layer of chipped hardwood. Any nitrogen in the soil, other than what was contained in the root ball of the transplants, is from 3 years of decaying hardwood. The soil is so "hot" with nitrogen that on days where the air temperature is above 95ºF or so, I have to flush the soil to cool the plants down.
The native soil is reddish-brown sandy clay, an alluvial sediment of the Red River.
Aji Umba:
View of the whole garden, Aji Amarillo in front, Aji Umba in back. The Aji Amarillo are so "hot" right now that they need flushing almost every day:
I believe this is how we, as gardeners, can best "give back to the earth."
