JJJ Glog 2014.....in summary

filmost · May 1, 2014

Looking good!

PIC 1 · May 2, 2014

Informative reading material here, I had to page back a few to see what I've missed....my stomach's growling after looking at that quiche....nice !

I have to say Jessie you take great pride in getting the garden amended any ready for action.
I only wish to someday have that enjoable challange......if I can only move out of the city.

All your vege appears primo and without a doubt......your back will be breaking due to all the bushel filling come harvest(s) time.

JJJessee · May 2, 2014

Thanks, guys!

The chinense peppers are so ready to go in the ground, but next week we'll get 80°s with the typical early May breezes and no rain until the weekend -not good transplanting parameters.
I may risk putting a few things in the ground, but my irrigation is still being tweaked and it looks like I'm going to need some pressure regulation at the bottom of the the hill also because their is about 100' of drop from tank to gardens

Or at least several more hose clamps.

I only caught 1200gal of rain from the stormy weather -it mostly missed us.

Mostly what I'm trying to keep wet now is onions.

These are the Flat of Italy; the cippolinis I raised from seed.

I had to replace a tomato in that cloche because something nearly bit the head off one of them.

These are a mix of hybrids that I got from Dixondale as starts.

The sweet pepper bed has Red Torpedos from Dixondale too.

Here's my peas, lettuce, cilantro, chinese celery, and borage bed. May crowd some gourds in there too when the time comes.

Not quiet getting lettuce yet but it won't be long

Thanks for reading.

Devv · May 2, 2014

Very nice JJJ!

Onions are looking stellar, I wish I had a cooler place to store them, I would double my grow.

Have a great weekend!

HillBilly Jeff · May 2, 2014

Your onions look super nice. I gotta figure out what I need to do for next year on them.

JJJessee · May 4, 2014

Thanks, guys.

Onions can be persnickety for certain.
Scott, I'd think in Texas you'd be able to direct sow a fall scallion crop and pull all winter. First year I hit it about right, but last year they didn't come on good until this spring.

I planted a pepper today.

But first I smoked some meat and peppers -frozen peppers from last harvest.
I popped a bag of mixed hots and used a few of the bonnets in my BBQ sauce and smoked the rest and put them in the dehydrator.

MrsJ whirled up some horseradish in her homemade mayonaisse for the chuck roast and we had a hearty lunch.

Compliments of Chis via the seed trail, I topped it in the smoker with his Pecan Smoked Chocolate Blend rub.
Delicious and HOT! Thanks, man!

The chick halves got frequent turns and mopping of the bonnet sauce(pint and a half of white vinegar, a little peanut oil, a few green onions with extra greens, molasses, allspice, cinnamon, cloves cumin, salt, black pepper and about 4 bonnets)

Finished off the chicken in the oven and we did a 4 mile hike up in the mountains to a waterfall and had some of the chicken for supper when we got home.

Oh yeah the pepper.

Manzano #69 1/28 goes in the east front deck planter 5/4/14
I re-amended that soil and adjusted its texture about a month ago and sprinkled a little May Queen lettuce seed and stuck a few scallions in keep it from looking so gloomy.

The manz was raised in coco coir with hydro nutes until recently I just started giving everything not in Ocean Forest seagull poop tea.

If you look close you can see a little pod hiding in the shadows I let slip

.
I also pulled off some more leaves after this pic.

After we finish eating the top off the west planter, I'll plant another.

I hope this spot is good enough -it only gets a few hours of direct sun after the trees leaf out.
In years past, I have had a few tomatoes get ripe in those planters.
So maybe.

I'm trying a couple of tomatoes in SIPs there too.

With high hopes.

Thanks for reading.

maximumcapsicum · May 6, 2014

Love the smoked pods and spicy chicken JJJ. Can't wait to start throwing some chicken halves on the grill this season. I liked to do a chicken once a week toward the end of last summer. Tasty.

Plants are looking phenomenal. Looks like the onions are going to make a nice barrier for the sweet peppers. Should help with the bugs.

Keep on growing bud!

stickman · May 6, 2014

JJJessee said:
Thanks, guys!

The chinense peppers are so ready to go in the ground, but next week we'll get 80°s with the typical early May breezes and no rain until the weekend -not good transplanting parameters.
I may risk putting a few things in the ground, but my irrigation is still being tweaked and it looks like I'm going to need some pressure regulation at the bottom of the the hill also because their is about 100' of drop from tank to gardens

Or at least several more hose clamps.

I only caught 1200gal of rain from the stormy weather -it mostly missed us.

Mostly what I'm trying to keep wet now is onions.

These are the Flat of Italy; the cippolinis I raised from seed.

I had to replace a tomato in that cloche because something nearly bit the head off one of them.

Ah yes, getting the drip irrigation system is such a pain in the rear, but so worth it in the long run. Excellent looking Cippolini JJJ!

Sounds like you might have a Cutworm in the cloche... they seem to especially love the Nightshades. I've found I can sandbag them without using chemicals by placing a bamboo skewer in contact with the plant stems in the ground. They can't chew through the bamboo, and not being very smart, they leave those plants alone. If I turn any up when digging near my plants, I still smash every one I see.

Beautiful flowers on the Pubes, and ditto on the foodies... I definitely like the way you roll guy! :drooling:

JJJessee · May 7, 2014

Thanks, Adam.

MrsJ is usually in charge of the chicken which she does on Sundays in a dutch oven. This was delicious and we can usually stretch a chicken into 8 servings.
The chicken salad from this was very tasty and then tonight, I sauteed some green onions, added some cooked dried beans(some purple kouronis we grew last year), rice, and plopped it on a wrap with some fresh lettuce and a splash of a simple habanero sauce (sour cream optional).

Wave 2 before I start breaking it down.

Put a few more peppers in the ground today.
10- King of the North sweet bells

I covered most things today on account of wind and heat. Again.

and 4 Red Marconis

This was the best one, less than a month old. Yeap, seabird poop tea in coir.
I stripped most lower leaves below the top 4-5 at transplant,
and gave them a handful of Tomato Tone.

Only one Poblano in the row garden today, but 5 more to follow.
They are about 6 weeks old.

and made a little shade and windbreak for it.

Put in a few more tomatoes,

Sowed a bed of Dill for MrsJ

(got my date wrong)

The Mater of Mystery is going to come out of it's cloche before too long.

Here is an old shot of it.

I thought it was a Fidalgo Roxa when it sprouted last January. :confused:

Mowed the fallow strip of oats and peas

Maybe by Friday I'll have it resown in buckwheat

I'd like to do a big push Friday if rain predictions keep looking good,
and the 10th of May cold spell seems to be absent this year.

Thanks for reading
Hey, Thanks Rick.
Coulda been a cutworm, the damaged area was a few inches above soil.
I always thought they worked below grade, but on researching, it was cutworm MO all the way.

I need to find that booger.

Peter S · May 7, 2014

Your plants look awesome JJJ. I especially liked your recent food post, making me drool.

Devv · May 7, 2014

Most excellent post JJJ!

Glad to see some crops hitting the ground!

The BBQ looks great! You probably figured out I live for BBQ and Italian food. You do the same as LB and I, we cook and put it up for future meals. Makes things so much easier, now that it's just us two we had make adjustments.

Keep it green!

JJJessee · May 7, 2014

The queen has arrived.
A Bolivian Rainbow.
Ritually tonsured and enthroned in a 30 gallon vat of newly cycled, re-amended container soil from last year.
The two ladies in waiting proceeding her by 2 days haven't some much as whimpered in our 80° winds.

In less royal plant-out news,

4 Padrons. a great little blister-pepper

the first of a dozen Jimmy Nardellos to follow

5 more Pobalanos

a stealth tomato in the herb corner of an onion bed

and 20 more pairs of tomatoes to complete the row.

A hot day on the hill.

Thanks, Peter!

Yeah, Scott, just 2 here now too. Weekend cooking sprees often feed us for a week

Thanks for reading

MeatHead1313 · May 7, 2014

Looking great all round JJJ! Glad you liked the powder too!

OCD Chilehead · May 7, 2014

My O My. I really enjoyed reading this Glog. Turning page after page was a relaxing experience after a stressful and tiresome day. I'm excited to see someone using the SIP. Half my grow will be in them. Was curious if you put fertilizer in mix or if you are adding ferts to reservoir? Plants are looking fantastic. Well done and good luck.

Durham Bull · May 8, 2014

JJJ,
you've been very busy... looking great.

HillBilly Jeff · May 8, 2014

Nice looking plants and plots going on. Looks like things are taking shape.

Jeff H · May 8, 2014

Fantastic JJJ. You have a bunch of space there.

JJJessee · May 10, 2014

MeatHead1313 said:
Looking great all round JJJ! Glad you liked the powder too!

Thanks. Yes that powder was tasty. We just finished up that slab of meat last night.
Good to the last drop.

OCD Chilehead said:
My O My. I really enjoyed reading this Glog. Turning page after page was a relaxing experience after a stressful and tiresome day. I'm excited to see someone using the SIP. Half my grow will be in them. Was curious if you put fertilizer in mix or if you are adding ferts to reservoir? Plants are looking fantastic. Well done and good luck.

Thanks, OCD. Glad you are enjoying it. On the SIP I have a couple that I've done by the book and no fert mixed in the soil, just a ring on top, and I've done a few with GangGal easy organic soil plus a ring of ferts on top. I haven't attempted to add any fert to the reservoir. So far I've put tomatoes in 2 and they are starting to take off. And just recently a couple of eggplants. Flea beetle are so harsh on eggplants around here, they say containers help get them up out of thier comfort zone. Evidently they are afraid of heights.

Durham Bull said:
JJJ,
you've been very busy... looking great.

Thanks, Sy. Yes, in a four-letter word, BUSY.

HillBilly Jeff said:
Nice looking plants and plots going on. Looks like things are taking shape.

Thanks, Jeff. The plots are starting to take shape and look much more garden-y.

Jeff H said:
Fantastic JJJ. You have a bunch of space there.

Thanks, Jeff. I do have a bunch of extra space.
The only draw back is, just like the rest of SW VA, it's all on the side of a hill.
Wouldn't want any run-away melons going through neighbor's bedroom window in the middle of the night.

I'm miles ahead of where I'd planned to be in plant-out on May 10, but last week's 10-day convinced my I had nothing to fear. And the Ground seems warm enough already.
It wasn't ideal transplant weather - at 80, dry, and windy, but this weekend and next week we are forecast for rain.

Maybe they will forgive me, or the survivors anyways.

My worst ones didn't look worse than this, and most every thing looked as good as this pair of Arledge after a day.

Younger, fewer leaves my have some bearing and the Arledge have fewer hours in-ground.

Here is the overall of the East Pepper Row.

I'm short 8 Jalapeno/Biker Billys on the far end and one Bonda Ma Jaques.
And label sticks and mulch and staking... goes on an on doesn't it .

I replaced the front 2 Manzanos with better stock that I had overlooked and sent the originals to the cull garden. (a wood chip pile)

So the East Row stands at:
4 Manzano
2 Nagabon
1-Bonda Ma Jaques
4-Ecuador Lemon NOTs (probably yellow bhuts)
4-Carolina Reapers
2-Fidalgo Roxa
4-Fatalli
2-7 Pot Barrackpore
2-7 Pot Yellow
2-Gourmet Jigsaw
2-Bhut Orange Copenhagen
4- Red Bhuts
6-NuMex Heritage 6-4
2- Sweet Hungarian Paprika (blazac/rick)
2-King of the North
6-Poblano
2-Inca Red Drops
2-Aci Sirvi Cayenne
2-Arledge
1- Aji Colorado
1- Rooster Spur
4- 5-Star(?) Indonesian pepper
2- Cabe Merah Basar
2-Cabe Mereh PanJang Ikal
2-Small Bird(? Indonesian)
1-Cabe Mereh Kriting
1-Cabe Mereh Pendek
2-Sri Lanka Short Red(?)
1- Cabe Mereh Hijau
1- Wenk's Hot Yellow
2- Cabe Rawit
2- Regular Thai(?)
That makes 77 with 9 to go

In the West Row:
I put the
8-MoA Scotch Bonnets

and 7 JA Habaneros (plus a fatalli between the groups)

so 16 here.

In the Beds I now have
10- King of the North
4- Red Marconi
1-Aji Dulce
2- Bolivian Rainbows
4-Padrons
3-Jimmy Nardellos
2- Bhut Orange Copenhagen

that's 26 and the beds will take about 24-30 more.

plus One Container Bolivian Rainbow and a pear treeeeeee.

(actually the pear tree was planted February 2012, but things start to run together when you get my age

)

56 tomatoes are in-ground and 2 more in SIPs (Plus I gave a tomato/SIP to our buddies down the road)
Still to go....
a dozen or so maters and tray of eggplants.
to direct sow mostly...
a bunch of gourds, some melons, a few cukes and squash.

Then I can start getting ready for the fall/winter garden

sheeesh, I need an editor.
Thanks for reading.

PS I tilled in the oats and peas and sowed a coupla little srtipes of buckwheat while I was thinking about what else I need to do.

Jamison · May 10, 2014

You are on a gorgeous piece of land TripleJ! Just astonishing. Hopefully one day I can own something like that. Any "seng" out in them hills?

JJJessee · May 10, 2014

shhhh!