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Kaity's 2020 Growing Effort :)

I have moved the Ghost Pepper outdoors permanently as it is really enjoying the sunshine.  The Jalapeno is still doing well enough after a roughish wintering.  Not sure what the Piquin hybrid will do...but I feel it will make it.
 

 
So what else to germ...I set up my germination mat and will have several moisture bags in it.
 
5x Pablano (VERY mellow heat)
5x Jalapeno
5x Piquin
3x Carolina Reaper
 
Not sure what all will sprout.  The Jalapeno and Pablano peppers are a staple in a lot of my cooking.  The Piquin and Ghost will make great chili powders, so looking forward to them growing out.  The Carolina Reaper is just something I am going to grow to say I did it really.  There were little flakes in the seed bag and I put a few pieces on my tongue and...HOT.  I guess I could add a little to a hot blend chili powder for flavor.
 
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Edmick said:
Good luck on your grow. I live close to you but my nights are still a little cold to be leaving stuff out
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If we have any cold snaps they can move into the garage under the light.  For now, just want to get them sprouted and started for spring proper :)
 
Been a while since posting any updates.  The garden has been plagued with gophers and I have been trying to stave off ants as they invade my beehives.  Lots of work!
 
I had planted the Jalapeno and Ghost pepper plants into the ground and everything was going great...this morning I noticed that the Ghost appeared to have shifted a little, odd.  Walk out and look at it, nothing exists below the soil!  I am usually the rational one around the home but not this AM.  I am like Kaity Murphy (Bill Murray reference except I am not a guy) and I am ready to nuke the yard!!!  I cannot believe it, I cried a bit and then began planting traps in any hole I could find.  Nature is cruel...
 
kaitylynn said:
Been a while since posting any updates.  The garden has been plagued with gophers and I have been trying to stave off ants as they invade my beehives.  Lots of work!
 
I had planted the Jalapeno and Ghost pepper plants into the ground and everything was going great...this morning I noticed that the Ghost appeared to have shifted a little, odd.  Walk out and look at it, nothing exists below the soil!  I am usually the rational one around the home but not this AM.  I am like Kaity Murphy (Bill Murray reference except I am not a guy) and I am ready to nuke the yard!!!  I cannot believe it, I cried a bit and then began planting traps in any hole I could find.  Nature is cruel...
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I can certainly relate to your gopher problem as we had them bad in Minnesota. After trying to fight them a good portion of my life I found they will usually wise up to most traps and things. The best you can do is create an environment that they do not want to be in. (AKA: chase them to your neighbors). After years of trying MANY products I found Gopher Scram to be the most effective.
http://www.gopherscram.com/
Hunt around for the best price as it is not the cheapest one.
For long term help repelling you may or may not want to plant a few castor plants around your garden, I believe the roots give the soil a bit of castor oil smell which helps to keep them at bay.
https://www.gurneys.com/product/castor_bean
 
Anyway, happy gardening and I hope you win the gopher battle. I have personally watched them pull a 5 foot tall corn stalk down into their tunnel and one year they ate every bit of my horseradish(8 medium sized plants), they ate all the root and them pulled the tops underground too!
 
Hi Kaity. Didn't't really like post #6! Sorry to hear
the news. 
 
Good on SkullBiker for some timely advice.
 
Good luck getting those guys to leave you alone!
Makes container planting sound more attractive!
 
After digging out the hole it left where the roots used to be, I set a trap and it stuck its cute fur covered face in it!  One down and it took less than 20 minutes.  Hope it was worth it you evil spawn from hell!
 
Thank you skullbiker, ordered a bag of Gopher Scram through Amazon.  Need to treat the area before I plant anything more in the ground.  Likely will get some of the wired basket gopher barriers as well.  They really are voracious wicked things!
 
Trapped another sometime at the end of yesterday.  That is two.
 
The destruction of the Ghost was fresh when I found it so I am attempting to root a few cuttings.  They are available at our local big box DYI store anyway, will purchase another.  They did not seem to like the roots of the Jalapeno though.
 
Still going after raising my spirits from the depths of gopher hell...
 
Finally trapped them out I think and put down enough repellent (this stuff stinks and make my dog pee all over the lower yard) that the gophers might be at bay...
 
My current garden consists of my Jalapeno, a sprig of the Ghost plant that seems to be rooting, a few Habaneros and a fresh Carolina reaper sprout.  This is my flip off garden!!!! :D

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Will be keeping these ones potted as my heart cannot take another catastrophe!
 
Good to see you were able to keep a few plants going. I can tell you with certainty that the gophers will do a number on a persons sanity. I battled them for 20 years in MN until I moved last fall. The last 5 years I went toward container gardening and am continuing that here in Florida.

The gopher repelent needs to be watered/rained into the soil. After a while after some rain or watering it will not smell so bad and will start doing its job.
 
The new growth on those looks good Kaity.
I bet they will turn out to be nice plants.
 
Good luck!
 
Thank you for the kind words.  I never thought that I could get so emotionally compromised by the loss of some plants, but my family almost staged an intervention!
 
I think that I will stick with potted gardening for a bit now that I am healing. :)  The Jalapeno is still in the ground and appears to be enjoying it.
 
The growing is going well.  Both of my Habanero plants, the Cayenne and Serrano are now producing peppers.  The Pablanos and Piquins are growing big, but still has yet to flower.  They will be giant plants if they keep going this way!  None of the Carolina Reaper seeds survived past their second set of leaves.
 
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Also have tomatoes on all of my plants are starting to produce.  Spring weather is making happy times for the plants in the garden :)
 
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