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Next steps for growing my peppers, some questions.

Maxsack331

Maxsack331

This warm weather the last few days has got me all excited for the spring (although it is cold again, but the weather has had it's effect on me lol) I have mapped out the garden where I will be expanding it to allow all the new peppers and my mom's tomatoes this year, I will essentially be doubling it from 16'x20' to.. a shape like a tapered off square kind of, but the overall space will be a little larger than a 40'x44' area.

I plan on getting a bunch of worms and worm casings from a local area that is absolutely loaded with them, and a few truckloads of manure, so that is all set, but we have a wood stove to keep the house warm, and we usually dump the ashes and rest of the coals into the woods/wet swamp edge area, but I was wondering if there would be any benefits to putting it into the garden, I will be tilling the garden between now and planting time probably a half a dozen times so it would all be mixed it.. but would it have any negative effects? I would think it would if anything filter water.. but I don't think it would mater too much either way other than adding a small amount of volume to the dirt...?

Also I have my grow tent setup in the basement which is usually 65 degrees ambient temp (outside the tent) and I am trying my best to keep the electricity bill down as low as possible and I have an electric heater to pop on to keep a steady temp.. I set it to 73 now, so it doesn't have to go on as much.. when the lights are on at night, then temp under the lights is about 80 degrees or so (at the base of the plants where the soil is) and during their dark cycle.. it is 73.. I noticed that when the lights are off, the plants wilt which is actually why I had over watered them last time because I had checked them when the lights were off and went to go water them when the lights had just turned on, so they didn't perk up yet..

so my question is, is 73 for the dark phase ok? I'm not worried about them getting crazy growth, they are growing fast enough now lol, the larger ones are flowering now like crazy, but I would think 73 is ok since it definitely gets colder than that at night during the summer.. so is everything fine with that? I would think a little wilting is normal while the "sun" is down. correct? I figure when it gets closer to putting them outside I will just take the heater off and let it drop down to 65-70 during the dark cycle and go from there.

There might have been a few other questions that I had thought of before, but these will do for now.

thanks
-max
 
Putting wood ash into the garden can be beneficial. Phosphate and other nutrients are present which would help bad soil to a point. Ash can also adjust your pH so it would be wise to be careful. Have your soil tested before you get started so you have a better idea of how much to use before you get out of balance.

In regards to your plants wilting at night, I. Can't think of a reason so I am no help there.
 
yeah it seems that people are just not too interested in helping me with this one.. or the more likely reason is they just don't want to read all the crap I wrote, which I don't blame them haha..

but thanks for the info.. I tested one section of it a little while ago and it was at 6.5, but like I said I will be adding a lot of cow manure and other stuff this spring before planting.. and I will be adjusting it before I plant with some.. I think it's sulfide or whatever you buy in the nursery to make the ph go down.. but that is good to know.. I figured it would blend in to the garden soil better than just dumping it off to the side where it won't be tilled, it eventually soaks into the soil where we use to dump it.. but not for a while. should be pretty interesting putting it in the soil in the garden because the right side of the garden has soil that is more sandy or.. well not as dark I guess as the really dark soil on the left side which is closer to the swamp/wetlands area.. so that and the manure should help a lot this year.. along with the worms..

also I am guessing that the ash will make it more basic.. or..acidic.. can't really think of which it would be.

thanks
 
Leaves naturally will droop a bit when it gets dark, but they shouldn't be drooping too much. Significant drooping could be a watering problem. Does the texture of the leaves change? 73F is completely normal for night, plants are used to much colder than that. I suppose it really depends on how much the leaves are drooping, you might just be over analyzing things. I have nothing to say about ash, I would have to look that up somewhere so I'll just take mike's word for it. Consider peat and mulch in your garden, I've been hearing that unburned wood can decompose to very nice things for your soil over a year or two. There are some nice resources on here for how to amend your soil so I suggest taking a peek at those. Until then, don't overthink everything too much or you might do something you'll regret.
 
Heck yes, wood ashes are good for the garden! They help the roots grow strong. If you have sandy soil, have it tested for phosphate too... just don't overdo it. They used to get lye for soapmaking by leaching it out of wood ashes. Too much nitrogen and phosphate and you get a leafy crown and few fruit. Is your woodstove your only source of heat? They tend to make the air inside the house dry during the winter. I get nosebleeds if I don't keep a kettle full of water on the woodstove when I'm using it. Check the soil with your finger... it should be noticeably damp but not saturated.
 
thanks guys, and yeah Matt I just was wondering about the leaf drooping, it looks normal and makes sense that it would do it, but I just wanted to double check.. they perk right up once the light is on.. (which btw I just got my 600w light in today.. they actually have a 660w option for the 600w dimmable light lol.. I'm going to call Virtual Sun monday and ask what that is all about.. don't want to try it out and have my new Digilux MH bulb get burned out.. .but I'm just setting it to 450w for now, with the different hood it will shoot the light around a little more and the new bulb should give it more light with only 50w more than the 400w HID I have in there now, gonna go switch them out now..

and I also have been trying to look for those threads about soil because I know they were out there.. but I couldn't find them.. but then again I was looking for potting soil mixes, I haven't actually done a garden soil search yet.

and Stickman, thanks for the input.. right now the soil is really rich and dark, I guess the soil on the right side might be a little.. well I don't really know, it's not sandy, it's just not really dark and rich like potting soil, I don't know, it doesn't really mater too much, I'm going to mix it all in anyways, and the pepper plants are doing much better, I haven't watered them in a week or so (I watered the little guys because the party cups dry out easier, and the soil is much lighter) but the big guys with the edema are doing much better, the soil is slightly moist and should be finally drying out in the next few days.. so I will give it another water next week and see how that goes.. but they look really good now, a few of them have flowers out, while all the other ones have crazy amounts of buds..

and yes the wood stove is the main heat source, we have oil heating but we keep it at 60 so when the stove is on.. we don't need it, and its strange because the house usually does get really dry and we keep a kettle on there with water, but I think the warm weather this year has kept the moisture up in the house..

and I will have to get a soil testing kit for NPK also when I am done with everything, because last year I figured.. "oh more ferts=more peppers/bigger plants" but I ended up with really leafy plants and not a lot of peppers until the end of the summer when I had run out of fertilizer a few weeks then the pods started popping up.. but that was also when it got cold, but oh well, lesson learned

oh which brings me to another question.. what kind of levels of each fertilizer am I looking for in the soil.. I have bone and blood meal and I think I have feeding the potted plants all set, but the garden soil I am not sure how much more I need after all the cow manure will be in there and everything else.. (will try to do a search on here more tomorrow, but tonight I won't have time, so if anyone feels like chiming in that would be great, thanks!)
 
Regarding using wood ash, it is' basic' can raise pH. From Purdue Univ Horticulture website:

"Specific recommendations for the use of wood ash in the garden are difficult to make because soil composition and reaction varies from garden to garden. Acidic soils (pH less than 5.5) will likely be improved by wood ash addition. Soils that are slightly acidic (pH 6.0 to 6.5) should not be harmed by the application of 20 pounds per 100 square feet annually, if the ash is worked into the soil about 6 inches or so. However, if your soil is neutral or alkaline (pH 7.0 or greater), find another way to dispose of wood ash. If you don't know your soil's acidity or alkalinity level, have it tested for pH."

The reason you're not getting a lot of responses, you're asking some tough questions! For example, when you mention tilling 6 times, that goes against what I do. I ditched the roto-tiller a few years ago when I realized I could keep more worms happy with just spading the raised beds areas to mix ingredients and not till them up. I created walkways between raised rows (framed or not, doesn't matter) and never walk on the growing surface again.

I always hate to try to advise on the aspects of a grow area that has many individual factors (Re-read first sentence from the Purdue guy above...) Sometimes it doesn't stop me, though, when I'm feeling genius I guess LOL... :cool:
 
cool, thanks for the info, I should definitely be doing some searching but I've just been really busy lately, but thanks for the info! I definitely won't be putting anywhere close to 20lbs.. so that is good,

and for the tilling, I do all the tilling before I actually make the rows, I am doubling the space so I have to till up a bunch of grassy area, and there are soo many rocks it is ridiculous, I could build a stone wall will all the rocks lol.. but I just plan on doing the first tilling to get all the grass up and some of the big rocks out.. then again when we get the manure, and then maybe 2 more times to mix everything else in and right before I make the rows..and get even more rocks out that will pop up.. it's crazy how many come up every year despite taking as many as I can out every year. the dirt didn't have many worms in them the last year or the year before that due to either really really dry weather, and then last year really really wet weather, and the fact that we haven't had manure to help the soil the last 4-5 years, but once the plants go in the ground I will maybe till it once for the rest of the year in between the rows.

I don't know about being able to make walkways between the rows, but I will be getting a lot of worms and some good soil bonuses to help get them all back and keep them there so this year should be pretty good, can't wait.. but thanks again!
 
I think sticking with the formula you use for Tomatoes should be safe, I've been growing them side by side for awhile, we also burn stuff off here and mix the ashes in with the soil all the time. They burn off the sugar cane fields as needed, ashes are good in moderation.
 
thanks, I've been using 10% wood ashes in the potting mixes too and it seems to be working well.. this winter was really slow and by the time I thought of adding stuff to the garden, it was already getting warm, so there were not many ashes added, but next winter I will be sure to add some around, and even then it won't add up to much.. just trying to give the soil a good "organic matter boost" and will be adding some aged cow manure again, haven't added that for the last few years since we have been unable to find an older truck (use to borrow the neighbors but he got a new one, and didn't want to fill it with poo)
 
I burn 3-4 cords of wood during the winter and I mix all the wood ash and even small charred chunks into the garden. I don't know my PH level but all my vegetables do well every year.
 
vermont said:
I burn 3-4 cords of wood during the winter and I mix all the wood ash and even small charred chunks into the garden. I don't know my PH level but all my vegetables do well every year.
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(shortened it up a little from what I had before lol) I filtered out the ash part the first time I used it in the mix, but I like adding the charred chunks into the potting mix too, I just smash them up into smaller pieces, it's kind of like perlite. but breaks down..to see what the soil test shows for everything

and the last 3-4 years we haven't added any manure or any organic matter to the soil and it really shows, even with ferts the plants have not been doing as well, so this year the soil is getting a huge boost in stuff, and at the end of the season I will get some more manure and shred a bunch of leaves and give that a good thin layer in there and till it all up to sit for the winter.. and add the ashes throughout the winter, because even a lot of the worms have gone since we stopped doing that, pretty noticeable

meinchoh said:
Have you begun hardening them off?
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me? no, I'm way off for that, well, kind of, with 80 plants or so in 1 gallon buckets I have no intention to carry them in and out of the house for a month, I have about 30 of my mom's tomato plants that I truck in and out every day into a little mini greenhouse, and those fill that up for the most part, there is shelf room but not for the size of the plants i have..

but luckily it is going to be in the high 50s and maybe 60 or so this week, but the lows still really really suck.. at about low 30s every night.. with the way the weather has been, I think in about 2 weeks it should be around 45 on average.. as a low, if we are lucky, since it has been so warm and stayed warm.. but I am not going to take any chances with my peppers and going to wait to see how the first week in May is, if it's warm and continuously warm, then I will put them out and harden them off for the first week in may, and get them in the ground by the 2nd week or so



EDIT: Wow, I really write too much, but also guys I have been meaning to ask a question but kept forgetting about it, but what do you guys add to the garden soil that is cheap/or free that helps loosen heavy/rich soil, I would like to add a whole lot of pine bark chips and actually it's almost inexpensive enough, that I am pretty sure I am going to add that on top of the rows, since it is dark it will help keep the soil warm for the beginning of the summer, and then I can just till it in at the end of the year

but should adding manure and I have a leaf pile that has turned into soil/compost over the last 20 years that I have started digging up, there isn't a lot, but there is enough to put a top dressing on each hole where the plants will go.. should that help?
 
yeah that's also what I was thinking, the bails of it is a little expensive, well not really that much, but for a 1,800 sq ft garden, it could get expensive to get a thin layer on there lol.. although my mom was saying I could get a truck load of it for pretty cheap, so I might check that out, it seems a little strange to get peat moss in a truckload, so maybe she was thinking of just compost, just wasn't sure if that would go in the right direction, but that would be pretty nice to get.

and might also just try to find a place that I can get some cheap/light compost so I don't have to go digging in that leave pile forever, just need to find a place around here, time to do some searching, and need to start finding a lot of 5 gallon buckets too from some local restaurants/stores ect.. need about 40+ :P
 
Have you had your soil tested? If not I would a get a professional test your your county extension service. They will tell you more than you ever wanted to know about your soil. In FL it is $7 for a U-FL test that tells Phosphorus Potassium Calcium Magenseium and a few other things in PPM (parts per million). They will tell you what to add and how much. But adding anything organic that is composted can almost never hurt. If your looking for cheap compost try a mushroom farm if you have any close They usually sell their used compost real cheap. I add wood ash to my garden but my ph is is 6.0 or less and my potassium is 21 pmm and should be close to 250 pmm for optimum growth of plants. PH is very high for my area. Usually runs about 4.5-5.5. It would be benefical to know both numbers before adding any wood ash in my opinion.
 
hmm, thanks for the info, I'm sure if I do some searching I can find some cheaper, I actually went to a place in town asking for some since the actual town didn't have any compost, they just give all of their "scraps" to a company to process, but the company wants $35 a yard for a peat/pine mulch mix.. which he said there was organic ferts in there.. and it looked like there might be a little bit of cow manure or something in there.. who knows.. but at $35 a yard, it would be about $250 to get 1" for the garden, so I think I may just stick with the cow manure unless I can find some cheap compost from a farm somewhere.

.. and I haven't gotten the soil test yet, I picked up a pamphlet the other day, I am actually going to give them a call now and ask them about their turn over time, and what exactly I can give them, since I would like to test 2 different areas, maybe 3 in the garden, and if I need to pay for each test separately which is about $8 each for the standard test.. 1 for the far left side which I just tilled up and is pretty dark soil.. the middleish where my pepper plants have been the last 2 years, and I have added way to much ferts without knowing it the last 2 years.. and the 3rd area is to the far right which as light colored/brownish rather than dark soil.. I should get those soil samples to them by the end of this weekend though
 
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