Meatfreak's 2017 Glog

meatfreak · Apr 9, 2017

Devv said:
Plants are looking very nice!

An interesting experiment grafting the tomato. You picked a good plant to test with they are super resilient growers.

I'm curious about the poly you use for the tunnel. I know you've been using it for quite awhile. Is it 6mil?

Hey Scott, they are indeed although I did mess up a couple of my grafts due to my impatience :rolleyes:

I had to convert the 6mil first, we work in micron here with poly sheet. The one I use is thicker then 6mil (152 micron), mine is 200 micron. So almost 8mil. It's quite sturdy, you really need a sunny day to apply it otherwise it's difficult to work with and you tear the sheet to easy. This is gonna be the fifth season.

stickman said:
I'll definitely be keeping an eye on your Tomato grafting experiment. Your observation on the time cost is similar to what I noticed when I topped and cropped my first-round C. Chinense varieties. They do have a lot more axillary growth, but they're no taller than the second and third-round seedlings I started later.

Good on ya for tilling in the winter greens crop when it went by. I've had my soil tested, and found that 5+ years of adding compost and manure to my garden plot has raised the levels of Sodium, Potassium, Calcium and Sulfur to the point that I don't dare add more... so I'm looking to growing nutrient-scavanging cover crops and green mulches to add organic matter to my soil rather than importing more compost and/or manure. I will be adding biochar though. It's got a neutral nutrient profile itself, but holds onto the dissolved nutes in the soil like compost would. Even better, one application lasts for at least 10 years, which is a bonus in my sandy soil that tends to break down humus quicker than soils with more clay in them.

I will try and post updates of the tomato grafts but I killed a couple so I now only got 1 left and 2 barely holding on

got some more graft tomatoes on the way so I can do some more grafts just for experimental purpose. Personally I'm skeptical and doubt there will be much different but time will tell. The graft tomato seeds are quite expensive, 4 bucks for 12 seeds. Anyway I also got like 60 professional hybrids tomato plants that I got today from my father in law that he got from a professional greenhouse grower nearby. Will give most away but keep a couple myself just to see any difference in my growing conditions compared to my Heirloom varieties... always interested in tests as you know

It's just your average store tomato so nothing fancy.

Mmm topping peppers, I don't really see the point of doing that. It all depends on your medium were you grow them in to. For me, I like to use the height of my tunnels so I prefer taller plants. When you top your plants you wanna create wide and busy plants that you don't wanna have to stake when you grow in containers.

Here's some pictures of the greenhouse I visited last weekend, they were growing bell peppers and you can see they keep 3 stems on each plant. About 7 feet tall, to me the leaves looked a bit overfed, bit to much nutrients.

Sounds like you did a great job on keeping your soil healthy! I have not added much manure but do add some compost each season. Mostly try to add green compost from healthy plants and like you I add biochar, collected from my BBQ. Been doing this for a couple of years but it's not much so I'm not sure if it will improve a lot. I also add used coffee, powdered chicken eggs that I save from eggs we've eaten. My soil is dense river clay.

Devv · Apr 9, 2017

Thanks for the information Stefan. I'm looking at building a greenhouse in the next 18 months off the back of the shop. The material you used is way cheaper than the panels. I would only use it for 90 days a year; but it will help with the pineapples and other tropical plants we juggle around here during the winter. I haven't looked all that much but 6mil is the thickest I've found so far.

stickman · Apr 10, 2017

That's interesting how they strung up the pepper plants in the hoophouse. I suppose being in a protected environment the plants can get much bigger without worrying about snapped branches.

meatfreak · Apr 10, 2017

Devv said:
Thanks for the information Stefan. I'm looking at building a greenhouse in the next 18 months off the back of the shop. The material you used is way cheaper than the panels. I would only use it for 90 days a year; but it will help with the pineapples and other tropical plants we juggle around here during the winter. I haven't looked all that much but 6mil is the thickest I've found so far.

Then I would just go for the 6mil, Scott. I highly doubt mine will be that much better, it's prone to damage anyway. I always have to be careful not to poke through it or something. Birds have made holes in it when trying to pry for insects so... I would suggest stick with the 6mil

I don't know the cost of it but over here it can be quite expensive, it's cheaper in Belgium were I got mine. Saved over 60% for the same thing over here but I had to pick it up myself. A small greenhouse sounds good, you will think why you hadn't it done before. It's so easy and makes things so much easier. I couldn't do without mind for sure. Good luck! What size are you thinking about?

stickman said:
That's interesting how they strung up the pepper plants in the hoophouse. I suppose being in a protected environment the plants can get much bigger without worrying about snapped branches.

It's how I trellis my plants (peppers/tomatoes) to, only I don't know how to make the knot hehe. The only problem with peppers, especially Chinense, that once they fork you don't have a main stem anymore. With Annuum it's easier, also because they grow more upwards then Chinense. Back in 2014 when I started with this I grew 7ft plants. I do think they trim all the plants for better ventilation and also to get more light on the fruits. If you look at the stem, it's not even that thick for a plant that tall.

Devv · Apr 10, 2017

I'm thinking 12'x12' off the back of the shop. So it will have no West exposure. Which will be better for me; I'm concerned with too much heat. We rarely get below freezing here.

meatfreak · Apr 12, 2017

Devv said:
I'm thinking 12'x12' off the back of the shop. So it will have no West exposure. Which will be better for me; I'm concerned with too much heat. We rarely get below freezing here.

That's a good size! My first one was only half of that so you will have enough room to play around

You can always put up shade cloths and I would recommend 2 entrances or at least a window at the back so you can ventilate. Especially with smaller poly's they heat up really fast.

Devv · Apr 12, 2017

My plan exactly, regarding the ventilation at both sides. It's for when I retire and can be home to open things up as the day warms. That would be the case under most circumstances; we have the rare 4 day really cold spells 2-3 times at most during a cold winter. And I'm making it a bit larger for LB, she'll be dragging in all the pineapples

meatfreak · Apr 16, 2017

Devv said:
My plan exactly, regarding the ventilation at both sides. It's for when I retire and can be home to open things up as the day warms. That would be the case under most circumstances; we have the rare 4 day really cold spells 2-3 times at most during a cold winter. And I'm making it a bit larger for LB, she'll be dragging in all the pineapples

Smart thinking

I would suggest using an transport trolley for bringing in those containers

I use them to when I bring some plants in for the winter.

Temps have dropped here and it's gotten colder then usual this time of year. Forecasts have even predicted a couple of nights with some mild frost

so I'm gonna have to bring in the peppers back home, can't risk it.

The peppers inside, shifted the trays a bit so the ones in the back are now in the front.

First year growing potatoes and used anti weed sheet. I've read a lot about it and I'm convinced it work just great. Soil heats up faster, doesn't get to wet, keeps moist, stays loose and the most important thing no weeding! Got a total of 90 plants, different varieties.

These tomatoes have been in the poly for 2 weeks now and grown a lot, very happy with the plants this year. I'm growing 28 different varieties this year, a lot more again then previous years.
Of course I've sowed way to many so I will give away plants to family and friends.

Already getting side growth(suckers)

Also got my tomato poly layout done so I can get started prepping this week

Yeah I measure everything out

Also growing snack cucumbers, Eggplant, Peanut, sweet potatoes and sugar melon in there.

Devv · Apr 16, 2017

Looking good there Stefan!

All the plants are simply perfect!

Glad to see the whole spectrum of what you're growing. I'm curious as to how you grow potatoes, technique wise.
What we do is plant them in the sandy part of the garden which has been improved with shredded mulch. We use a hand held post hole digger and dig down 8-10"s. We drop a 1" square with an eye in the hole and cover it with 3"s of shredded mulch, water and wait. We check it daily and cover any growth with more mulch until it's level with the current soil level. After that we just water when needed. One issue we have here is that we can't grow as much as we would like to; we have no way to store them with our high temps.

meatfreak · Apr 17, 2017

Devv said:
Looking good there Stefan!

All the plants are simply perfect!

Glad to see the whole spectrum of what you're growing. I'm curious as to how you grow potatoes, technique wise.
What we do is plant them in the sandy part of the garden which has been improved with shredded mulch. We use a hand held post hole digger and dig down 8-10"s. We drop a 1" square with an eye in the hole and cover it with 3"s of shredded mulch, water and wait. We check it daily and cover any growth with more mulch until it's level with the current soil level. After that we just water when needed. One issue we have here is that we can't grow as much as we would like to; we have no way to store them with our high temps.

I've loosen up the soil till almost 1ft deep, then I put over the anti weed sheet and made like 4" holes. First time try it like this, I've read a lot about it on the internet and all stories had in common that you don't have to burrow them that deep if you use this method so I just followed the instructions. We don't use/work with cut of squares from potatoes here but plant small potatoes called "seed potatoes". This year they were a bit more expensive as last year's harvest was bad due to weather conditions but it's still quite cheap considering the yield you will get from them. Maybe once I've grown more potatoes and have more experience I will got with the squares to. I know my grandpa did it like this to. My soil was amended with compost, but otherwise it's just clay soil. I will keep you informed on the progress

Trippa · Apr 17, 2017

I will be following ... Best of luck with your season ahead. Lots of planning and tinkering ... I hope you reap the rewards you deserve. Keep on growing!

PaulG · Apr 24, 2017

meatfreak said:
It's how I trellis my plants (peppers/tomatoes) to, only I don't know how to make the knot hehe. The only problem with peppers, especially Chinense, that once they fork you don't have a main stem anymore. With Annuum it's easier, also because they grow more upwards then Chinense. Back in 2014 when I started with this I grew 7ft plants. I do think they trim all the plants for better ventilation and also to get more light on the fruits. If you look at the stem, it's not even that thick for a plant that tall.

Yeah, they are treating them like vines. I notice that
with my Aji Amarillos and Rocotos, they love to run.
I'd like to have a decent indoor spaced to experiment
with an espalier technique using Aji Amarillos. I think
it would work great.

Your plants are beautiful, Stefan!

Have a great season :cheers:

OCD Chilehead · May 21, 2017

Hey Stefan!

How's life treating you? Haven't heard from you in awhile.

Hope all is well.

meatfreak · Jun 13, 2017

OCD Chilehead said:
Hey Stefan!

How's life treating you? Haven't heard from you in awhile.

Hope all is well.

Thanks Chuck, all is well, life was just a bit busy

Time for an update, as I said I have been very busy in the garden and still I'm not completely done planting out but getting there. We are having an serious drought over here, hardly any rain in 6 weeks. So I waste a lot of time on watering. Also temps have been very high. Made it very hard and impossible to plant inside the poly.

Plants in the pepper poly, I only use the first 2 rows as it otherwise gets impossible to reach the third one later in season.

More tomatoes again this year, we really missed our own made sauce. Over 60 plants and 28 different varieties. About 10 are dwarfs.

Dwarf forest

Michael Pollan

Damascus Steel

Eggplant Violette

Snack cucumbers

Sweet potato flower, growing these for the first time in the poly. They appear to be very happy.

The yield of the strawberries have been great this season, also very big ones.

Maybe some can remember the pics of the crossed broad bean flowers. This is the end result, purple beans. Will save and spread among friends for grow out next season.

Couple of night pictures during an late night watering session after work.
MFPJ36 F-2

Pimenta Lisa F-5 no green plants this season

MFPJ44 F-2 very excited about this cross as it has high potential to turn out great phenotypes, early on but already seeing lots of variation.

Devv · Jun 13, 2017

Thanks for the update Stefan!

Everything is looking great

Are you getting some of my weather there? Been very hot lately here...

OCD Chilehead · Jun 13, 2017

Garden looks fantastic. Nice and neat poly. Your poly was the inspiration for me to build one this year. I had to add ventilation. Temps just sky rocketed.

Amazing strawberries! Never seen them that big before.

Cucumbers look healthy. A very good plant to grow, in my opinion.

I love the purple flower tips and pod pheno's on the MFPJ44. Very cool!

Thank you for the update. Glad all is well with you and the garden.

meatfreak · Jun 15, 2017

Devv said:
Thanks for the update Stefan!

Everything is looking great

Are you getting some of my weather there? Been very hot lately here...

We do, Scott it has been very hot for this time of the year. Of course we shouldn't complain... but we also had no rain for 2 months now and it's becoming an serious issue for the farmers to now. Crops are wilting, dying. I can manage but I have to water daily now, skip a day and something's burned.

OCD Chilehead said:
Garden looks fantastic. Nice and neat poly. Your poly was the inspiration for me to build one this year. I had to add ventilation. Temps just sky rocketed.

Amazing strawberries! Never seen them that big before.

Cucumbers look healthy. A very good plant to grow, in my opinion.

I love the purple flower tips and pod pheno's on the MFPJ44. Very cool!

Thank you for the update. Glad all is well with you and the garden.

Thanks a lot! I wish I've seen your poly build sooner, would have recommended 2 doors instead of fans since a poly that size gets heated up so quickly. My first was about the same size and I only had 1 entrance. Anyway seems you got it under control now. You just have to learn how to grow and regulate temperature over the course of months. During winter you can use it to grow winter crops to and of course put plants that care for extra warmth at that time of the year.

Gonna be an exciting year for sure when it comes to the crosses, plants seem to have rooted all now and feels like they grow a lot daily now with these temps.

PaulG · Jun 16, 2017

Superb, as always, Stefan!

OCD Chilehead · Jun 16, 2017

meatfreak said:
We do, Scott it has been very hot for this time of the year. Of course we shouldn't complain... but we also had no rain for 2 months now and it's becoming an serious issue for the farmers to now. Crops are wilting, dying. I can manage but I have to water daily now, skip a day and something's burned.

Thanks a lot! I wish I've seen your poly build sooner, would have recommended 2 doors instead of fans since a poly that size gets heated up so quickly. My first was about the same size and I only had 1 entrance. Anyway seems you got it under control now. You just have to learn how to grow and regulate temperature over the course of months. During winter you can use it to grow winter crops to and of course put plants that care for extra warmth at that time of the year.

Gonna be an exciting year for sure when it comes to the crosses, plants seem to have rooted all now and feels like they grow a lot daily now with these temps.

I'll keep that in mind. I can still add a opening to the other side.

How cold does it get in the Winter? Do you use a heater?
Sorry about the questions. Don't know anyone but you, that has a hoophouse.

meatfreak · Jun 25, 2017

PaulG said:
Superb, as always, Stefan!

Thanks, Paul

OCD Chilehead said:
I'll keep that in mind. I can still add a opening to the other side.

How cold does it get in the Winter? Do you use a heater?
Sorry about the questions. Don't know anyone but you, that has a hoophouse.

It's only a few degrees warmer in the winter then it is outside, glass greenhouse is a bit warmer. I don't use a heater but put in buckets of water that heat up during the day and give warmth at night. This last winter was pretty cold compared to the year's before but that didn't kill any of the veggies I was growing inside. If you got more questions feel free to send an PM and I will try to help out

The heatwave has stopped and its back to more normal temperatures.

Been picking of these huge buds from one of my BBG white pheno's

Salad Blue potatoes

Sweet potato bed