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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...
So how is the bee yard going to be laid out?
 
So far we just keep water on hand for them near the garden. I tried feeding them last year with sugar water, but in the heat it got nasty and they went after fresh water.
 
Thanks guys,
I haven't kept bees in 30+ years. But I've got a few fruit trees plus the garden that would benefit. If there's any honey to spare I'd be tickled.  They are a fascinating and perfectly beneficial critter. This bee disease thing has me most concerned. I'm going to join up with the local beekeeping group and pick their brain on matters.  I'd start with just 2 hives unless a good deal came along. 
 
I'm hoping  to situate the hives amongst those locusts. Locust doesn't make too much shade. My ideas are a wind break fence on the west(left side) would be helpful. And one on the north side  (up the hill behind them) to decrease cold air drainage on them. and trap a little solar warm rising up the hill. It's still all preliminary.
 
100% agree. Extremely fascinating, and SO incredibly important. Most people really have no idea, they just lump them into the "it flies, and stings... I hate it lets kill them all" category. When in reality bee's are generally very docile unless you're pestering them. Not to mention how much of our agriculture is dependent on them. CCD is creating a real scare in the industry, and rightfully so. Too bad nobody can really nail down a culprit between all the competing theories, with the leading probably being between neo-nic's and varroa (among many others). That being said, I always get excited to find another bee person... they are relatively few and far between. I really hope I can get a colony up and running soon. If and when you do... Pics or it didnt happen! ;)
 
JJJessee said:
Everyday I give them a full shot from a 1.75oz turkey baster, unless the top still looks damp, then they may only get half that.
Yes, the spring is a godsend. I have to drive to it, but it's a good excuse to go to mountains :)
I'm not going to tinker with the water just yet, because the color is improving it seems, but the epsom is where I'd start with a couple to see what happened. I have extras of everything that has popped.
 
Thai, yes, my second son turned me on to it a few years ago.
Click to expand...

If you have enough warmth, air circulation and light in your grow room you'll be able to water the coco every day without problem. Twice a day when your roots get going. Also make sure to have a bit of nutrient run out the bottom when you water. It helps remove the old nutes and salt build up. It also helps bring in fresh oxygen. You don't have to water every day, but I noticed that the growth and pods really started growing after I upped my watering frequency.

Other than ID'ing my water issue, I'd say my biggest problem with coco was to stop treating it like soil. It has similar properties, but it's closer to hydroponics than it is to anything else. I am looking forward to seeing a head to head with the OF soil. Thanks for running them side by side and posting it to your glog.

Neil
 
Plants all look real healthy and happy JJJ. The coir ones are paler, but still pretty healthy.
 
Love the Thai noodle pics. I never have any luck with frying up the rice noodles in the stir fry, I usually add them later, They always stick to the wok for me.
 
Very cool JJJ... Nick is right, beekeepers are hard to find. My Dad and I kept about 6 hives, but I moved away and he got too ill to take care of them himself. I'd love to have a couple of hives but don't think I could sell my wife on the idea. She's deathly afraid of them...
 
Cool Thai food, and the Onions and Peppers look killer... heck, it's all good! :onfire:  Continued success brother!
 
Thanks guys,
 
I was at the garden, but only breifly, on a nice day.
Things are still pretty muddy or frozen. But the sun is starting to stand up for itself at least.
It made it to the 40°s I think.
 
The garden is located at my business property
Here are the current raised beds.
 

 
 
 
This one will hold mostly the just  sweet peppers
 

 
I built it two autumns ago for garlic, then followed with carrots
 
The container peppers just did not produce that well for me last year. I don't think my mix was rich enough.

 
Maybe I can fix that. I did plant cover crops on them.  :)
Instead of peppers I may use them for herbs and eggplant.
But I'm moving them from this spot to build a 4x16 bed for J Nardellos, a couple of Padrons and Billy Bikers
 
I used a tarp to scald the grass off a new bed spot last summer, then planted winter oats and peas on it.
 

When the soil dries up, I'll build a 4x10 bed here just for Bhuts, as the plan stands now.
 
The Agribon row covers had thawed enough to peek inside.
Some Spinach

and Cilantro

 
Have made it thus far.
 
But they weren't in a particularly good mood about it though.
 
The last of the early wave is coming up.
 
 
These Bhuts are made for walkin'.....
 

 
Or leaning at least. :) There can't be more than a seed or two left to pop. These will get potted tomorrow or Monday.
 
A Jay's Peach showed up yesterday
 

 
I'd like to get a few more of these.
 
 
The BOCs still have a straggler.
 

 
When she's strong I'll pot these
 
And last but not least...
 

 
The lonely Jigsaw.  Wouldn't mind having a couple more of these on standby before I transplant.
 
That leaves.
Orange Manzano
Trinidad Scorpion Yellow
and Yellow Brainstain that are no shows,but who knows.
 
I'm testing some Pablano seeds for viability right now, otherwise Wave 2 starts mid to late March; vernal equinox should be fine.
I have a few seeds to round up if practical, though I'm not suffering from a lack of seeds :D
 
Trays are doing fine. Much, much better than last year.
 



 
Plus I have a tray of smaller and the Manzanos in a tray with some tall Birgits to provide shade. :)
I've gotten all of them sorted by size into trays. When these last poppers get potted I need to do another head count.
 
And some culling  :shh:
 
We'll have a little more winter, but I think we're on the down hill side.
thanks for reading.
 
 
 
 
 
Looking good JJ! I wish we were getting to the point of bare ground. Right now we're sitting at -30c and about 2.5' of snow. Only a few more months of it though I guess...

Neil
 
Thanks, guys.
MaxCap, that's a new one for me, a Fidalgo Roxa. I usually take a little hot sauce or plants or something to the guys at the hydro shop in Asheville where I get most of my organic supplies, brewing gear, and what not. One guy grows peppers and he had an F. Roxa and a C Reaper in the store with pods on them a few months ago. So he gave me a few pods of each.  I wasn't sure if they were ripe, but the roxa popped, no sweat. Small, fleshy, moderately hot,- thought it would be good fresh for cooking or a sauce base.  Nigel did a review of it and 2 similar peppers.
 
Nick08* said:
Plants are looking very happy!!
 
Awesome garden area too... looks like plenty of room, and even more space if you need it.
 
 
I am blessed with outdoor space, Nick 
There is a lot of hillside involved, but I like raised bed gardening, so it turns into little terraces. It's good for air flow, and faces south so that also a plus. I started building the beds about this time two years ago.
Click to expand...
 
 
Blister said:
Looking good JJ! I wish we were getting to the point of bare ground. Right now we're sitting at -30c and about 2.5' of snow. Only a few more months of it though I guess...

Neil
 
We've had just a bit of snow this winter, and I like a good  2-footer every now and than.
Not much fun to work in though :)
Click to expand...
 
 
HillBilly Jeff said:
Looking really good.  I do think the web site needs to put c%ll on the banned word list  :party:  :party:  :party:
 
Hope the rest of your seeds pop for you!!!
 
Yeah, the "C" word ought to be banned ;).
Me too, but no new pops today.
Click to expand...
 
 
Devv said:
I see happy plants, and a great place to put them. The soil looks amazing, they should do really well there.
 
Keep it green!
 
The soil is not a bad clay but not  a great one either. Needs sand IMO. I've put 15-20 yds of compost in there easily -one since last fall.
I'll need 3 or 4 more to get it. where I want it this season.
Click to expand...
 
 
Play in the dirt day.
The Bhut cotys looked strong enough to transplant so I did.
 
BOCs

Red Bhuts



tada!
7 pairs of Red Bhuts
 
My counts stands at 91 potted -up of which 48 are technically extras  :rolleyes:
 
Not counting ever how many Jay's Peach and Jigsaws pop.
And I've got a care pack of Reaper seeds on the way.  :onfire:
I'm backslidin' I know.
 
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