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JJJ Glog 2014.....in summary

Whew!
2013 Swirling down the Drain of Time.
 
Washing the 10x20s for a New Year.
 

 
 
By last October I was so peppered out  -40 some superhot plants and over twice that many mild and sweets. Didn't think I'd ever see the end of it. But, an early surprise freeze caught me off guard and I lost several mild and sweeties. I did get almost the entire superhot crop, dried, smoked, fermented, frozen or pickled. so I should have no dearth of heat to see me through to 2014 harvest.
 
I owe most of my pepper success in 2013 to YOU.
All the folks here at THP helped me from seed, to advice, to encouragement, to inspiration.  Couldn't have done it without y'all.
 
Some changes for 2014:
 

 
I'm moving my Cappy 1000 Pepper Incubator into my  basement utility room. Last year I had it in a minimally heated out building and the night times often dipped into the 50s or lower. And come to find out, baby peppers don't much care for that. They survived, they were just slow growers.
 
 
Dirt:
 
Fox Farms Ocean Forest will be my potting mix. It's organic and hopefully will be as good as the Miracle Grow Moisture Control and it can't be any worse than my home-brew last year which wasn't horrible but coulda been better.
 
Timing:
 
Instead of putting most of my seed in the ground in early February, I'm going to hold off until later on the Annums. The Chinensis at least some in early - mid January and some Manzano seeds earlier than that if I can find them. :rolleyes:
 
How Many for Plant Out?:
 
Not 140.
I'm devoting 2 raised beds -a 4x30 and a 4x16 to Sweet Peppers -Jimmy Nardello, King of the North, Gaint Marconis, Aji Dulce. About 26 plants. 
100' in my row garden. Probably 40 plant's. Haven't decided on the balance, Bhuts, 7 pot, Habs, Bonnets, Jalas, the usual suspects and a few odd balls.
66 plants +/- total. I totally neglected my maters last year(which given the season didn't make much difference), but this year I vow to do better by tomatoes. I hope to do 50 or so -all heirlooms, mostly paste.
I'll start several more of both than needed for selling and give-aways.
 
 
 
In related news....
 
My buddy up in Richmond grew a lot of peppers last year. He has a geodesic dome greenhouse. At the end of season he just dug up several of his pepper plants and moved them in inside.
 

 
They're looking pretty good for late December.
 
My last "harvest" of 2013 was 12/22/13; some Thai Chilis that I'd pulled the whole plants in October and just laid up on a table outside. Most had dried leather-hard.
 
I pulled, cooked, seasoned, ground and strained them into a sauce for Pad Thai for this winter.
 

 
 
Everything subject to change without notice.
(But I'll keep you posted)
 
Thanks for reading,
JJJ
 
 
 
Click to expand...
A small amount of Epsom mixed in like you planned shouldn't cause a problem. If you don't want to add it to the nutrients give the plants a foliar feed with a tsp of Epsom to a litre of water. A missing on the top and bottom of the leaves once a week usually darkens things up in a hurry.
 
Must mean below the 7th leaf right? It looks kind of like he prunes beneath the first for on chinenses. Not sure if the technique would work at all on annuums.
 
7th leaf is what I'm guessing. 
My first pruning will probably happen with a Birgit and a Fatalli that are getting tallish and will be potted up soon.
I remove some leaves when transplanting anyway. Supposedly it puts less stress on the plant.
I had to move them onto my tallest light shelf today because the Birgit was brushing the light.
 

 
I've about finished my LED shelf which is about 19"x 41" with about 34" of vertical space. Hopefully that will hold almost couple of dozen gallon pots.
 
My largest Fatalli is about  to go into heat.
 

 
I guess I should be practicing my birds and bees talk.
Especially bees.
 
Love the new round of photos. 7th leaf is my guess too. 
 
Makes sense, I know that leaf tissue requires the most water for the plant, so if there are going to be root/water issues, cutting leaves can help regulate them. This is why when you ship ficus bonsais sometimes you cut individual leaves in half. 
 
Yeah, Jeff,  that little manzano may not be parked in prime real estate. 
 
It's the runt of the litter, but maybe I can find him a little better spot before he faces the final review board.
 
Today, I got my wire and plug to hook-up the LED on the new shelf to start the experiment.
 
So, I need a volunteer.
 
Yes, it will be blooming soon I'll bet. But, I'm going to remove it  and the next 10 or so if it makes that many before plant-out.
 
 
 
 
 
 
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OK, wiring complete. And two volunteers have stepped forward.
 

 
A Ms Birgit and the runt.
 
I put a velcro latch on the door.
Still need a top reflector though.
 

 
Looking for a chinense volunteer too and maybe move them up to about 15" below the lights.
 
........Shake yo bhuuu-tay...................Shake yo bhuuu-tay :dance:  :dance:  :dance:
:rofl:
 
I've got to shake my bhuty if my Bed o' Bhuts is gonna be ready by mid-May
 
 
 
 

 
 
 

Today was at least 60° and sunny.
Good day to swing a 10# hammer.

This bed will be  4'x11'. This is the spot I sowed oats and peas for cover.
Surely I can get 20 Bhuts in there, a mix of red, whites, and BOCs.
I don't know how deep I'll be able to get it ; 8"+ on the upper side I'm hoping.
If I can round up a few hundred feet of good extension cord, I could get my air stapler into the garden and Go To Town building out the sides.
 
Pulled out the old containers out of the way and resumed work on a 4x16 (or 18?) bed.
 
 

 
I already had the lower side built. I think this one is currently scheduled for some chinese mustards, maybe some spring kale, then follow with eggplant in early June. But if get behind, I'll put J Nardellos in here, and the others in the bed below it.
 
I'm salvaging skids and crates, using chunks that are already about the right size if I find them.
Most all the beds need reinforcing with 2x4 stakes driven into the ground. I started using 1x4, but they are too small, especially on the downhill side.
 
 
In other parts of the garden....
 
 
Sun has brought up my first garlic.  :dance: .......finally

 
Only 300 more to go.
I busted some ribs in early Nov followed by the crud in early Dec. So I was Dec 10 getting them in the ground. About 3 weeks past late.  Surely they will make though.
 
Mr. Rhubarb blushing his flush.

 
Didn't get much spinach last fall.
 

 
But it's still hangin' and still tastes good. I think it'll be good come April; maybe sooner.
 
 
thanks for reading
jjj
 
Beds are coming along nicely.  My plan on some of my stuff is to get the early crops done by June, then put in a row of green beans (contender) and those should be done in time for a fall crop.  You look to have a longer season though.
 
I believe garlic should be planted in the fall, but I have some bulbs here and never grew it before.  Can I get away with planting it in the spring?
 
Good luck on your projects!!!
 
Devv said:
Man the soil in those beds look prime!
 
Good on the Garlic to show it's head, it's still has plenty of grow time in front of it for sure.
 
Keep it green!
Click to expand...
Thanks, they are coming along. Soil seems to be improving in terms of texture for sure.
I'm thinking about a commercial prep of Mykos from Xtreme Gardening or something similar at plant-out for a jump start.
 
 
HillBilly Jeff said:
Beds are coming along nicely.  My plan on some of my stuff is to get the early crops done by June, then put in a row of green beans (contender) and those should be done in time for a fall crop.  You look to have a longer season though.
 
I believe garlic should be planted in the fall, but I have some bulbs here and never grew it before.  Can I get away with planting it in the spring?
 
Good luck on your projects!!!
Click to expand...
Jeff our falls and springs have been pretty short the past couple of years, last year especially. I'd sorta like to try fall broccoli and celery, mainly because I'm a glutton for punishment, but hitting the temperature window  will be tricky.
 
Garlic planted soon may make, but the heads may be small. At least you'd have cloves to set in the fall garlic from a supplier for planting ain't cheap . My guess, your best garlic planting window in your area is mid Oct to early Nov. I think the sun or day length sets the bulbing/cloving, or something, rather than how long it has been in the ground. I could be wrong on that though.
 
Nick08* said:
Beds are really looking good, I like how you're making use of the space you have and getting things done on a hillside! View from the garden looks really nice as well, must be an awesome little retreat!
Click to expand...
 
Thanks, Nick. Retreat is pretty accurate. 
*****************************************************************************************
A monthly update.
 
All these were potted up on 1/20/14
 
Two singletons.
A mysterious E. Lemon NOT and a 7P Barrackpore (romy I think)

 
Fidalgo Roxa (2 on right in coir)

 
And a tartan of MoA Scotch Bonnets from Walkgood (3 on right in coir, one with a little lamp burn)

I love the way these little dudes grow. Like a snake unhinging its jaw to swallow the pot whole, with fairly distinctive, round, heart leaves. I can usually call them without checking the label. Currently, except for two trays, these and others about this size, are spread 9 pots to an 18 socket tray to give them room. Even still, I'm bad to pinch leaves.  :shame:
I'll post this on the MoA thread for posterity. ;)
 
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