• Blog your pepper progress. The first image in your first post will be used to represent your Glog.

JJJ 2013 Glog- C'est fini. -awmost.

So,I may as well grow them, eh?

I started back gardening last year, but I left it to my co-gardener mostly to come up with pepper plants. We had some Bells, and Cayenne, a Carrot pepper, a black Jap, Hungarian sweet, maybe a Bullnose, Then I bought a 4 pack each of Anaheims and Jimmy Nardellos. I set out a little Shoshito start in July and it had a lot of fruit considering. Nothing here to write home about. The Jimmy's did ok. 2 of the Anaheims weren't true (and a cow at half of one of them), one did ok. The last one I planted in a new asparagus bed and the first week some sucky bug drilled it right in forehead and wilted the top. I started to pull it out, but thought, "no harm to leave it to see what would happen". I pinched the wilt off. That pepper forked an by frost it had held its own with the asparagus which hit about 6 foot. I pulled the whole plant day before frost, and it had about 50 nice peppers on it. I blistered and smoked them all.
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But this year I'm gonna be pepper pro-active. Thanks to Durham Bull, I have a treasure house of Capscium genes -Bhuts, Scorpions, and the likes -none of which I'd ever heard of a year ago. The generosity of this community seems to only be matched by it passion for peppers. I dig it. Plus I was in at another site with an online seed blind swap and ended up with some mildly hot goodies.

Well I've never grown a pepper from seed. Never. So yet another new door. Bought a heat mat, I've got onions about to come off it now. After Spicy Chicken's glog, I liked his grow station and thought I'd buy some shelves and put overhead fluorescent on them. I had a domestic conversation about where to put the shelves and lost amicably. So I guess I'll have to finally clean out my toolshed after only 4 years to make room.

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It has a skylight about, 30" x 96", but no heat, no electricity. But I think I can get by with an extension cord, and will have to pick up a little propane heater to knock the chill off. Peppers aren't safe outside here until mid-May.

Yesterday, I got my shelves assembled with one light installed - a 4x4' T8 fixture w/ 6500ks.

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Plan is to wire them on to a gang of light switches, maybe a timer, cover it with Reflectrix movable curtains, some small fans.

I'd appreciate any advice, especially since I'm in the early build phase.

I'm shooting for about 100-150 plants if there's room -some to wind up in rows, some in beds, some into containers, some to share

A friend is sending me some more seeds today I believe, so I'll be closer to a final grow list when I see what that brings.

Thanks for reading and for any words of wisdom you can share.
 
Click to expand...
Thank's Sicman
I think we're finally on the summer side of spring.
Kinda been in a hold pattern with wet ground  and low temps in this part of the country.
But finally, I'm getting some plants in the ground.
 
Remember this little lady?

 
 
Been in the ground almost a month. She survived a few near frost, but hasn't grown an inch -but her color has improved 100%. Bad mix of ground on my part in topping off the hot bed. I'll do better if I get round to it next spring.
 
It was instrumental in getting some Choc Bhuts to germinate by direct sow. We'll see how that plays out.
 

 
 
Early Monday saw us with a low of 34, and yesterday morning was probably 40, so that wraps up Dogwood Winter, and I think Blackberry Winter will be a no-show or hic-cup, at best this year.
 
Yesterday, it was still just a bit wet to put the tiller in the row garden, but I went through my raised beds sticking plants here and there -reclaiming failed onion seedlings mostly.
 

 
My scallions from last winter are coming to an end, so I put in some beets in behind them last week and they've sprouted. I took out a few more and put in some peppers and a pair of basil sprouts. I'll save the last few for seed. :)
 

 
 
And tomatoes in part of a new bed under development.
 

 
I pre-drilled a hole for the bamboo stakes with a piece of #8 rebar, but I don't think it will hold them after all. I may go get some cages or just weave 'em. I've got a little time.
 
Today!
Tilled a row for my Piennolo Del Vesuvio toms and put in 17.
They were really getting lanky (and budding :rolleyes:  )
I had to trench them.
 

 
On the end of that, 5-Bonnie Best, 2 Kosovo, 2-San Marzano (bush type) and  I'll finish the row with Thessaloniki. 
I found a bare spot in my raspberry row for a pair of Cherry Roma.
 
Finally, Peppers!
 
gave the row another stir.

 
Mixed up another pile of super soil right on the ground.

 
Very Old Dressage Poop, age pine bark mini-nuggets, a little mountain sand, a few hand fulls of dolomite and organic 5-3-4, and a sprinkle of azomite.
 
If memory severs, 13 -King of the North( a sweet bell that's supposedly reds-up quickly), 5 -Alma Paprika, 2-Serrano,  and one each of: Fatalli, Waialua, Jimmy Nardello, Cowhorn Cayenne, Black Naga, Tobasco, Aji Dulce, Brain Strain, Anaheim, Marisol...(well I think I forgot one), a real hodge-podge, but I've got 'em well marked. My nightshades and days are all running together.
 

 
I got the upper side of my taters tilled -getting ready for the second hilling. Gonna have to weed-eat the cover crop on the lower side before it's tillable.
And I did the final tilling on a new raised bed, 4 x 30, so I'll have somewhere to plant tomorrow. I may fill it with super-hots  :dance:  2 rows at 34" apart with a stagger row down the center. Think that would work?
 
 
Thanks for reading,
JJJ
 
 
Oh yeah, two, Goat's Weed and Sandia.
 
Great to read that you are in the summer side of spring & getting some of your plants in the ground sounds awesome! Another good great update mon! Can’t wait to see how they look in another month or two, monsters ^_^
 
Thanks, WG. 
Had big plans running through my dreams until I woke up and realized I had a dental appt smackdab mid-morning. So, I didn't even get to the field until after lunch, had to pick up some more pine mini-nuggets soil conditioner which entailed 2 stops because the first place was out. But I may have scored some BIG and little nursery containers, the  friend  who was out of mini-nuggets said she thought she could round me up a few if she looked around.
 
So I got exactly two peppers in the ground  today, an Aji Colorado and a Padron. 
But I got almost thirty-some more tomatoes in which gets me close to the end of mater planting. 
 

 
 
I spaced them tight and vow to keep them pruned and tied. It's basically a collection of twenty+ types a friend gave me to sample and save seeds on the ones I liked.
 
And I  plowed and did the final hilling of the taters.

 
Tomorrow is peppers-or-else because I'll be out of town 3-4 days.
 
Thanks for reading
jjj
 
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 I know I am reviving an old post, but I am just catching up on a few glogs.
 
LOVE the bamboo name tags, and the handwriting is so neat and precise!  Well done!
 
Thanks, Bonnie does the Chinci look familiar :)
I like to use a chop saw to cut the bamboo to length and a machete to split, sharpen and scrape a bare spot to mark on with a black Sharpie. I think colors are worse to fade.
 
Holy wow...beautiful plant out. Those hills look like vineyard material! Great stuff so far, can't wait to watch it fill in! You have any wide shots of the whole area? 
 
Shane, they are working on the vineyard angle around here. Jefferson couldn't find the grape, but maybe these moderns will. I think the right grape is an apple or a pear. I just racked a couple of kegs of cider, one was even from store bought apples, and both are highly, highly drinmfkable. Raspberry Meade is next. I'll work on a wide shot.
 
Iris, the the Greek goddess of the rainbow, earned her keep today.

 
I made a l quick foray through the trays looking for chinensis and took what else I might get in the ground today including some Thai basil -just barely toddlers.
My plant out is on a hill half hour away at my business site, but I've been spending most of my time on the garden part of the hill.
I examined the row garden and found 3 more toms missing a head -or most of it. Groundhog, deer, or bird(crow) the usually suspects.
Sowed a few handfuls of left over grass seed in a locust grove I started cleaning out last year.
On the tree another tree was growing. Poison ivy. I notched it last year and the top died. The locust is good but a leaner.
Poison ivy branches 6-8', even dead, I do not want to tangle with for a while.
At least we don[t have brown snakes.

 
 
I still needed a back-side board for my pepper bed.
 
This is the top bed of my array which will be 13 by fall I hope.
 

 
I sowed it in rye last fall and it's been tilled in a while.
I've thrown in a little sand and compost but it will need a season or two to mellow -and some more ammending.
I got my salvaged 1x4 yellow pine screwed into place leaving generous space for vertical expansion.
It's 4'x30', slightly bigger than my other beds.

 
I did a quick count and thought I had 42 ≥ SCO(habanero) peppers. And that would about fill the bed.
I wanted three rows with the middle row shorter by two.
How many in a row?
The cipher being 2x +(x-2) = 42
or 3x=40.
or x=13.33
mod(13.33) since you can't plant a third of a pepper.
 
Something wasn't working out -my math, DOH!
3x=44
x= 14.33
better.
 
How far apart?
30' x 12" / 14 plants
about 24" -close enough, sounds good. 
Make 12"x 8"  corner plants for (48 - 2*8)/2 = 16" between rows
but the offset center row lies at the mid point of the 24" x 32" triangle's hypot.
which happens to factor as a 3-4-5 triangle by 8 or, 5/2 * 8 = 20"
So each plants nearest neighbors are 24" and 20" respectively. Groovie.
But something wasn't looking right by the time I'd put in 10 plants, so I stretched a couple of  spaces from 24"  to 30"
That didn't look right either after a couple spaces so I switched back to 24" and ended up with space on the end of the middle row for an extra pepper. 

 
So, instead of ending up with 42 peppers, I ended up with 3 rows, 14 each, or 42.
Oh, 42, cool.
 

 
And I stuck 2 Thai basils in the big corners,  :dance: ,
watered everything and came home.
 
thanks for reading
jjj
 
 
Hope the flooding of the weekend missed you, Carl. So, how danged far apart are the 42 peppers in that bed? :P I just go 20" in all directions usually but can see your math muscles flexing there ;) Pretty soil, smart moves with cover crops! Purdy plants too!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Annie, the outer rows are 32" apart with the plants spaced 24" the center row is shifted 12", so they are then 20" to 4 other plants.
Flooding hit the northeast part of the county and we got several inches of rain but no flooding close by.
 
 
I planted a few peppers
 

 
- Aji Dulce, Dorset Naga, Tobasco, Brigit's Locato, Chapeau de Frade, Chiltepin, and 2 Ecuador Lemon.
Plus 4 eggplants (which I jugged a couple hoping to dissuade a flea beetle or two while the sun toughens them up.) , and seeded a hill each of Muncher cukes and Black zukes in a different bed, 
 
Looks like my first pod, an Early Jalapeno, is gonna survive the transplant.

 
I did a quick video of the bed of habeneros and super-hots I planted last week.
Typically when I transplant I strip the lower leaves and try to leave 3-4 leaves and choke up on the stem with soil.
I plan on side dressing these with some good compost and maybe top it off with some straw.
 
 
click image for video

 
Thanks for reading
jjj
 
Carl, nice great video … man you have some beautiful space there and lotta plants, they should all turn out great. Only bad part of the video was near the end, I could tell you were getting anxious to finish as my eyes were focusing on a plant you’d already be jumpin to the next, hehe. Well better than I would do, I gave up shooting video a few years back cause it would take me a 3 days to edit a 15 minute multi-track video, hehe …
 
Triple J things are looking absolutely fantastic. Wowwww!!!! Your plants are going to love their new homes. I see a pepper forest in your future. Or a forest in general with all the plants and others that you have. I am looking forward to watching your grow this season.
 
Thanks, guys. I have noticed some of them losing some yellow tint as they've been in the ground longer.
Low Prediction for the night is 36 for my house, but the garden site is more like 43. Even here I'm under trees some I not as worried about frost as a lot of folks around here.
Blackberry Winter. Hope it doesn't kill fruit.
 
Now we're in pepper season proper now. We can pretty much count on 90 days of mostly 80°+ temps with a few 70s but we're getting more and more 90°+ over the past few years.
I got the  Super Hot Bed top dressed with compost/mulch
Here it is 5 days ago
 

 
The yellowish plants are starting to suck a very nice green from the ground
Scotch Bonnet

 

 
Especially the new growth, but even the old leaves are starting to look good
 
 
Here is the little Chocolate Bhut I direct-sowed  in the hot-bed over a month ago.
 

If I can get it to seed it would be great, cause it has seen/survived some wicked weather for a pepper.
 
Also in the hot-bed is a Kosovo tomato -a big, early ox-heart variety from the Near East.

I thought the bloom was an anomaly being it's so big, but I saw another on a different plant.
 
 
And my leeks are finally starting to hit pulling size. These are for supper.

Maybe braise them in some butter, thyme, and a splash of homemade hard cider.
 
Thanks for reading
JJJ
 
 
 
 
 
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