Pulpiteer 2014 Grow log - Prepping for next year!

Pulpiteer · Jun 15, 2014

Ok, a quick update...

We have been in the midst of packing

Today was my last day preaching at our current church, and tomorrow the moving truck pulls in. It's been a rough few weeks with saying goodbye and everything. This is part of the United Methodist system though, and one that we are wrestling with right now. Currently we have more retirements than additions, so people get shuffled around to fill churches.

The hometown paper did a very nice article on my departure.

The garden is on the East side of the new house. It's part of a field that is farmed. I've got a spot that's about 130 x 30, so it's nice and roomy.

Here is a shot of the length of it. This picture is from the north end looking south. And oh yeah, peppers are in...

Here's a shot from the east side, looking back towards our house and new yard.

And here are the peppers

Section 1 - with overwintered manzanos and rocotos:

Section 2 - in the middle

Section 3 - with some unidentified chinense overwinters, including one fatalii, I think

Finally, a butterfly

Gotta go. Internet will be sketchy for a few days. I'm so far behind on glogs...

Thanks for stopping by!

Devv · Jun 15, 2014

A super nice write up about you!

You will be missed! So do they bring in a newbie? I don't think I understand the moving, unless it's a "new blood" type thing. But I'm sure they have a good reason.

Got a kick out of the don't eat his chilli...LOL

New place looks saaaweeet! Soil looks nice, I hope it's fertile, if not you can always add nutes. Glad you have everything set out and hope you get to spend some time there to get established.

Happy Fathers day Dad!

Sawyer · Jun 15, 2014

+1 on #62

That's a great looking garden space. House looks very nice, too.

Pulpiteer · Jul 1, 2014

Things continue to be insane, but I wanted to drop in and post some pics. I do not know how this season will go. I keep telling myself that I still have 3 months left. Ugh... I hope I get some decent harvests.

I am facing a few problems:
1. Moving in mid-June means putting plants in the ground late and into a new area late into the start of the season.
2. My soil appears to be incredibly sandy on top, and full of clay about 2 feet underneath. This is the edge of a farmer's field. Not sure what is going on, but not much topsoil. I really need to work to build up organic matter, bring back worms, things like that. My source of wood mulch is at my other church, so I'm stuck until I make new friends.
3. The farmer is growing round up ready soybeans next to the garden. Those things are amazing (not really in a good way). They grow alongside everything else for a bit, then the farmer nukes them with poison that demolishes everything else, but the beans live. The farmer kept the spray away from the garden, and I am thankful. I do not know how bad the drift was.
4. We have received a few large rains. I am learning the runoff patterns of my new property. A small creek formed on the north end of the plot, which seems to be sandier.

Anyway, I have been hard at work, not only planting vegetables, but also perennials.

Here is a before and after pic of the front yard:

I labeled where the new fruit trees are. This will fill in and make an awesome micro-environment in our front yard. Besides the trees there are blueberries (3), Currants (3), Honeyberries (2), gooseberries (2), autumn olive (1), and comfrey, yarrow, 2 hardy kiwis, and some other stuff.

The back yard before and after:

In the back is an area the church uses for youth and VBS and the like. I planted 3 nanking cherry bushes for food and a screen, as well as 2 gogi berries and a jostaberry. I also put my strawberry patch back there.

Over on the East side, toward the garden, by the grapevines, I've put some more currants. I'm trying some companion planting. In this picture, you'll see borage, lavendar, and a currant.

Here is a wide shot of the vegetable garden:

I'm adding things to make it more interesting. Poles and trellises for beans and peas. Pallets for squash and melons to climb. Structures in back for morning glories to climb. This will provide some shade and screening from pesticides and animals (maybe). On the south side I've started a Jerusalem artichoke patch. That would be to the right on this picture. To the left, off camera, will be horseradish, asparagus, and a raspberry patch. I've got both short and long term goals here. We'll see what works out. In a couple of years, I may have some cool stuff.

A look at my pepper plots:

The good news is that they have taken root and are in there. The bad news is they are tiny and need better soil. I'm trying not to be too bummed.

Some close ups:

An overwinter

A scotch bonnet in isolation

And a plant with a pod forming (I have several pods, by the way. I just want bigger plants)

Alright, first official day on the job tomorrow. I need to go to bed.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sawyer · Jul 1, 2014

Looks like you're getting settled in. Are you growing regular comfrey or one of the Bocking varieties? I recently planted 6 plants of Bocking #14 (already up and growing) and 12 root cuttings of Bocking #4 (nothing showing yet). I hope to get lots of mulch from them.

Devv · Jul 1, 2014

Andy,

Your description of the soil sounds just like mine. 2 feet of sand then clay. I can say this after living here 25 years, start with an application of heavy topsoil. The sandy soils just eat all the amendments. Sand particles are larger than what the compost etc., so these just go down, and the sand is always on top. Finally after all these years and 2 applications of heavy topsoil I have nice soil down to the last 2 or 3"s of sand, then there's the clay

Under mine is caliche, but I finally have a medium that will prosper as I want it to from the amendments. Where you are is much cooler, and did most of what I did to help the watering issues. And of course build the soil into a fertile soil. This year (for you) a liquid nute like the one I have been using 6-12-6 should really help. Last season before I added 16 yds of topsoil, 1.5 inches of manure, and 1.5"s of RCW to 2,500sq feet, I did OK just adding the nutes in half doses twice a week. Of course close attention needs to be paid so one doesn't over fertilize. The other option is to get into RCW, look at Windchicken's glog. I have a 15 to 18' x 48' area of sandy soil at the bottom that I'm going to experiment with the RCW to see how it does.

Here's hoping your garden does really well this season!

Pulpiteer · Jul 3, 2014

Sawyer said:
Looks like you're getting settled in. Are you growing regular comfrey or one of the Bocking varieties? I recently planted 6 plants of Bocking #14 (already up and growing) and 12 root cuttings of Bocking #4 (nothing showing yet). I hope to get lots of mulch from them.

Most of it was labeled "True Comfrey" from the seeds I bought from "All Good Things Organic" - which was a good purchase experience, btw. The others I got from the Growers Exchange, and... as I look it up, it was labeled common as well. So I guess I didn't get any Bocking varieties. Do you notice much of a difference with the Bocking strains? I just was getting them established and then we were moved, so I have not made any compost tea from them yet. The ones I've moved seem to be making it though, so I'll probably get some cuttings before the season is done.

Devv said:
Andy,

Your description of the soil sounds just like mine. 2 feet of sand then clay. I can say this after living here 25 years, start with an application of heavy topsoil. The sandy soils just eat all the amendments. Sand particles are larger than what the compost etc., so these just go down, and the sand is always on top. Finally after all these years and 2 applications of heavy topsoil I have nice soil down to the last 2 or 3"s of sand, then there's the clay Under mine is caliche, but I finally have a medium that will prosper as I want it to from the amendments. Where you are is much cooler, and did most of what I did to help the watering issues. And of course build the soil into a fertile soil. This year (for you) a liquid nute like the one I have been using 6-12-6 should really help. Last season before I added 16 yds of topsoil, 1.5 inches of manure, and 1.5"s of RCW to 2,500sq feet, I did OK just adding the nutes in half doses twice a week. Of course close attention needs to be paid so one doesn't over fertilize. The other option is to get into RCW, look at Windchicken's glog. I have a 15 to 18' x 48' area of sandy soil at the bottom that I'm going to experiment with the RCW to see how it does.

Here's hoping your garden does really well this season!

I'm trying to figure out if it just looks as sandy as it does, or what. It is the edge of a farmer's field, which is crazy to think much grows there, but it does. It is very sandy, but not the worst I've seen. I've seen sandy soil so bad weeds don't even grow there. I think I'm leaning towards lots of organic material to build that topsoil - wood chips and manure. I am currently working on sources. Interesting that the sand rises to the top. I'll keep an eye on that for sure. I do think I'm going to have to do some tea and maybe liquid nutrients. We'll see. I have a bucked of good vermicompost I've been making for some time and that should make awesome tea. I think comfrey tea at some point will be good too. RCW sounds interesting for sure, but it's not different enough from what I already plan on doing to change course on that. Wood chips are the answer I'm looking for one way or the other. I'll have to check out your RCW experiment though.

Thanks for the info!

chsy83 · Jul 3, 2014

It has been a while since I checked out your glog. Looks like you are getting set up nicely. I hope you get a good harvest and I hope your farmer neighbor keeps his round up on his side . . .

beerbreath81 · Jul 3, 2014

Andy,

The new place looks awesome..with plenty of room to strech you legs, you have been very busy. Its good to see you putting your personal touches in so soon, you will definatly be rewarded in a few years. Starting over is definatly a drag and what seems like a forever to get things set up just as you want them, I'm finding this out as well. Looks like your off to a great start though, and I love the pallet idea. What type of grapes you got? Will you be building a trellis for them?

Wishing you a great growing season.

Sawyer · Jul 3, 2014

Pulpiteer said:
Most of it was labeled "True Comfrey" from the seeds I bought from "All Good Things Organic" - which was a good purchase experience, btw. The others I got from the Growers Exchange, and... as I look it up, it was labeled common as well. So I guess I didn't get any Bocking varieties. Do you notice much of a difference with the Bocking strains? I just was getting them established and then we were moved, so I have not made any compost tea from them yet. The ones I've moved seem to be making it though, so I'll probably get some cuttings before the season is done.

Yeah, the Bockings are all sterile hybrids, so if you're growing it from seed, it's not a Bocking. This is my first experience growing comfrey and the #4 hasn't come up yet, so I can't say anything about they how they compare. I know the rabbit likes the #14... time to pepper spray the plants, I guess.

One thing I've read about the true variety is that it can become invasive. As long as you're harvesting it before it goes to seed, that shouldn't be a problem, though.

Thanks for posting about "All Good Things Organic". I hadn't heard of them before and have added them to my list of sources. (Already had GE.)

Pulpiteer · Jul 9, 2014

chsy83 said:
It has been a while since I checked out your glog. Looks like you are getting set up nicely. I hope you get a good harvest and I hope your farmer neighbor keeps his round up on his side . . .

Thanks - it's coming along. And the farmer was very good about keeping the herbicide away from the garden, so that was a plus!

beerbreath81 said:
Andy,

The new place looks awesome..with plenty of room to strech you legs, you have been very busy. Its good to see you putting your personal touches in so soon, you will definatly be rewarded in a few years. Starting over is definatly a drag and what seems like a forever to get things set up just as you want them, I'm finding this out as well. Looks like your off to a great start though, and I love the pallet idea. What type of grapes you got? Will you be building a trellis for them?

Wishing you a great growing season.

Thanks! I keep reminding myself that I'm thinking ahead for the next few years. Especially with the soil in the annuals garden this year. I'm not sure what kind of grapes they are, I'll have to see when they come in (if I can tell at all). They've been there awhile though and the grapes are coming in nicely. They are already up on a trellis of some sort. I should get a better picture of them sometime so that's clear. They were established already, so I just have to pick and eat.

Sawyer said:
Yeah, the Bockings are all sterile hybrids, so if you're growing it from seed, it's not a Bocking. This is my first experience growing comfrey and the #4 hasn't come up yet, so I can't say anything about they how they compare. I know the rabbit likes the #14... time to pepper spray the plants, I guess.

One thing I've read about the true variety is that it can become invasive. As long as you're harvesting it before it goes to seed, that shouldn't be a problem, though.

Thanks for posting about "All Good Things Organic". I hadn't heard of them before and have added them to my list of sources. (Already had GE.)

I thought the Bockings were sterile. I've heard the claim about them being invasive as well, but I'd think that the root cuttings and stuff would be just as much of a problem. The seeds won't fall far away, and you can just pull them up when the sprout if you don't want them. I think the roots and stuff will become a large mass - which would be harder to contain either way and wouldn't that just come from roots? Anyway, I'm not buying the invasive stuff. But I have heard good things about the Bockings.
Glad you liked All Good Things Organic. They had something go a bit off when I ordered and the coowner of the company exchanged emails with me back and forth and was absolutely top notch. Seemed like a great guy too. Like I said, I had a really good experience with them.

Ok, I took some pictures tonight.

First off, my second child/eldest daughter has been interested in animals, and since we have more space, I started thinking about rabbits. They seemed easy enough to learn with. I thought about getting them next spring or something, but then a person from my last church put a post on facebook offering 2 free (both female) rabbits and a hutch and everything. For free. Costing nothing. So...

meet Cheddar and Lucy. And they make manure, which works for me.

Now for pepper shots:

One of the Yellow CARDI scorps (Romy6)

Trinidad Scorpion, Chocolate - Buckeye Peppers

The white hab with stinger from PaulG

The plants are looking better. I still feel way behind, but here you can see with this Jay's Peach Ghost Scorpion (Buckeye Pepper), many are nice and bushy and full:

Here is an unidentified overwintered plant:

Tobago Scotch Bonnet Red (pepperlover)

Yellow Brainstrain (pepperlover)

And a yellow Manzano

Alright, I've got a bunch of other stuff going on, but that is all the time I have tonight. Busy with the job at the new church underway.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sawyer · Jul 9, 2014

A manzano pod! Awesome.

Pulpiteer said:
I thought the Bockings were sterile. I've heard the claim about them being invasive as well, but I'd think that the root cuttings and stuff would be just as much of a problem. The seeds won't fall far away, and you can just pull them up when the sprout if you don't want them. I think the roots and stuff will become a large mass - which would be harder to contain either way and wouldn't that just come from roots? Anyway, I'm not buying the invasive stuff. But I have heard good things about the Bockings.

I think it can become invasive regardless of the type, but somewhat more slowly with the sterile types. I've found more conflicting information about comfrey online than just about anything else I've looked up. The whole PA thing seems to have a lot of traditionalists upset. I'm only growing it for mulch and fertilizer, so I'm not worried about that. Some places I've looked claim rabbits like it (others say no) and can tolerate the PAs, so you might have a ready supply of food for the new rabbits. Do your own research, though; I'd hate for your rabbits to keel over based on something I said. I do know my wild rabbits love the #14 I'm growing. (#4 still hasn't come up) I guess I'm going to have to double the concentration of my pepper spray to stop them.

Pulpiteer · Aug 4, 2014

Wow, it's been a busy and rough summer. The move has been killer. Lack of updates... ugh...

But I'll begin with good news:

Devv (Scott) out of nowhere sent me a wonderful package of heat. Here it is:

And here is the cool thing - they arrived on a Saturday morning. The new church I am at does a family camp where a majority of the church folks camp at a lake about an hour and a half away. It was important that I go there with my family to visit for an evening, so we went on Saturday evening. And I brought the peppers.
So it was a wonderful introduction - to walk up to the pavilion right after they finished eating and break open that box of loveliness and share the heat. As you can imagine, a group of guys huddled around the box and we all experienced a great deal of pain. It was wonderful. Also, I discovered one of the guys is a bit of a pepper head, so we've made a connection. It's the community building power of hot peppers. So thanks again Scott!

So the new garden is a huge challenge. I don't want to use fertilizers, although I broke down and sprayed some miracle grow just to get some nitrogen on the plants this year. The garden is fairly sandy, it's part of a plot that has been farmed for years, which, I think means that a lot of the nutrients have been stripped and it has undergone a bath of pesticide and herbicide a few times each year. Stuff just isn't growing, except some sort of grass, ragweed, and some other persistent weeds. My beans grew to about 4 inches high and stopped. The squash did the same. And the pepper plants have basically stopped in growth.

Here is a long shot of the garden. Notice how it looks like a weedy lawn. Ugh.

So, I'm in the process of finding sources of manure and compost. I just emailed someone tonight who says they can get me horse manure. I've talked to another guy about manure and compost. I'm hopefully getting wood chips from someone next weekend. It's a long term project, but it will be worthwhile.

So meanwhile, I will look at these pictures as a baseline by which to measure my success. (That's my attempt at optimism!)

Meanwhile, I've brewed some tea:

I got this batch going from the vermicompost from my own worms, which was cool. I added molasses and away it went. I used a lot of it, but left about 1/3 of the bucket and then added more water including the water left from boiling corn on the cob (after it cooled). I figured the starch from the corn would feed the beasties, and the whole thing kicked up again and I got another batch pretty quickly.

One good thing about this place - lots of toads to patrol the garden.

In spite of it all, I do have some pods growing (on incredibly short plants)

I harvested what I think will be my only yellow brainstrain from two plants. Here it is cut in half. It was a scorcher.

Here is a Tobago Seasoning (pepperlover). This is my first year with this one. Great flavor. Good kick, but not killer, which is nice. I can't wait to cook with it. I'll be growing it again. The sweetness kind of reminded me of a white bhut for some reason. Very flavorful.

Here's a mean looking chocolate scorpion (buckeye pepper)

And a mini harvest shot of stuff from the last few days.

Finally, a quick shot of the home office as it was coming together. Please note the newly purchased hanging tapestry of Dogs Playing Poker. Fans of the series will note that this particular piece is titled "A Friend in Need." Contain your jealousy if you can.

Thanks for stopping by!

PIC 1 · Aug 4, 2014

Way to go Andy......I can't imagine making the move and starting a new garden from scratch. Man you've done a great job, and the seasons still happening. Any kind of harvest is respectable. Those are the peppers that will get used up quickly.....better fresh than frozen.
Those Tobago Reds are tasty peppers.....especially wen dried and flaked. They give off a unique scent out of the spice jar, not the typical c.chinense..
Beat of luck with the rest of the go !

PaulG · Aug 4, 2014

Hey, Andy, you have been a busy boy! Your garden space looks great - lots of room and sun.
A couple of seasons of pulpiteerization, and you'll be back in the blockbuster business again!

Enjoy those fresh pods, brother! We get a fresh one here and there, but are into the waiting game now :rolleyes:

romy6 · Aug 4, 2014

Great stuff Andy .

Nice to see your settling in your new home .

Looks like you have your hands full with that garden . Keep us posted .

P.S. Rabbit pooh is a great way to jump start that garden !!!!!!!

Devv · Aug 4, 2014

As Greg already said. Really hard to move and then plant a garden when you weren't around to ready it. But you're getting harvests. I'm sure next season will be more to your liking once you get some goodies added. When you dirt grow it's a never ending process of building the soil.

Glad the peppers went over well!

beerbreath81 · Aug 5, 2014

Great update Andy,

Sorry to hear about the troubles with the soil, but as quick as you are I'm sure youll have er whipped into shape by next season. Nice score from Scott and way to spread the heat and intrest with the locals. You speak of toads, we too have a TON this year! They are liking the lawn more than the garden right now though, when we mow you see a line of them jumping, and every morning our porch is littered with frog poo haha. Nice pics of from the harvest, I got my eyes on that tabago.

Hope all is well for you over there

Cheers!

gnslngr · Aug 5, 2014

Ahh, soil problems, right up there with you this year...the evils of a solid clay bed about a foot down is my nemesis(when the rains come, kinda helps when it is real dry).
Son in law raises rabbits....and the composted waste makes excellent ferts......
Alas , my Tabago Seasoning Pepper was an overwinter that "didn't", which reminds me, did you end up with any Tabago or Trinidad Treasures(sweet,yellow,med heat)?

Pulpiteer · Aug 5, 2014

PIC 1 said:
Way to go Andy......I can't imagine making the move and starting a new garden from scratch. Man you've done a great job, and the seasons still happening. Any kind of harvest is respectable. Those are the peppers that will get used up quickly.....better fresh than frozen.
Those Tobago Reds are tasty peppers.....especially wen dried and flaked. They give off a unique scent out of the spice jar, not the typical c.chinense..
Beat of luck with the rest of the go !

Thanks Greg, it's been a lot of work all the way around. I am really enjoying those Tobagos - if I have enough I'll dry some for sure. Although, I bet they'd be good in a jelly...

PaulG said:
Hey, Andy, you have been a busy boy! Your garden space looks great - lots of room and sun.
A couple of seasons of pulpiteerization, and you'll be back in the blockbuster business again!

Enjoy those fresh pods, brother! We get a fresh one here and there, but are into the waiting game now

Yep, after a couple of seasons I hope the place looks totally different. It is a nice, large plot with plenty of sun, so if I can get the soil going it'll be great.

romy6 said:
Great stuff Andy .

Nice to see your settling in your new home .

Looks like you have your hands full with that garden . Keep us posted .

P.S. Rabbit pooh is a great way to jump start that garden !!!!!!!

Thanks Jamie, I've got to go and get some saw dust from a buddy of mine and I'll mix that with the rabbit manure and it should be awesome. If I can collect a large amount of it, I'll be set for planting next year.

Devv said:
As Greg already said. Really hard to move and then plant a garden when you weren't around to ready it. But you're getting harvests. I'm sure next season will be more to your liking once you get some goodies added. When you dirt grow it's a never ending process of building the soil.

Glad the peppers went over well!

It is never ending, that's for sure. The beginning is tough, just getting the ball rolling and getting the plot sheet mulched so the decomposition process can start up. Once it gets going it should take off and mother nature can do her wonderful work!
Yep, those peppers went over awesome. Perfect way for me to connect with folks at that picnic! Thanks again.

beerbreath81 said:
Great update Andy,

Sorry to hear about the troubles with the soil, but as quick as you are I'm sure youll have er whipped into shape by next season. Nice score from Scott and way to spread the heat and intrest with the locals. You speak of toads, we too have a TON this year! They are liking the lawn more than the garden right now though, when we mow you see a line of them jumping, and every morning our porch is littered with frog poo haha. Nice pics of from the harvest, I got my eyes on that tabago.

Hope all is well for you over there

Cheers!

Interesting that you have a ton of toads too. Since it's my first year here, I'm not sure if that's abnormal or not. I wonder now... Have you had more rain than normal? I think we have here, so I think more toads is possible. And yeah, they run through the grass like crazy when the mower is going.

Try out that tobago - you won't be disappointed!

gnslngr said:
Ahh, soil problems, right up there with you this year...the evils of a solid clay bed about a foot down is my nemesis(when the rains come, kinda helps when it is real dry).
Son in law raises rabbits....and the composted waste makes excellent ferts......
Alas , my Tabago Seasoning Pepper was an overwinter that "didn't", which reminds me, did you end up with any Tabago or Trinidad Treasures(sweet,yellow,med heat)?

I'm counting on it for the rabbits. If I have a few years to work on this plot we should make a turnaround, at least I hope. I had lots of clay at my last place, but it wasn't under 1-2 feet of real sandy stuff. It was right towards the top, so I just composted in place above it and it went fine. This sand is killing me!
I didn't get any of the Tobago or Trinidad treasures - but I seem to remember looking at them at pepperlover. How were they?

Thanks everyone for checking in!