Stickman's 2013 Glog - Time To Pull The Plug on 2013

highalt · Apr 15, 2013

Congratulations on the plant field trip! You're closer than me to getting them permanently relocated. I had hoped to do some type of hoopy thing like yours, but the gardening budget has since vaporized. Now that I have that T5 fixture though, I'm sure my plants will survive being inside for a few more weeks!

sicman · Apr 15, 2013

sicman said:
actually i have 18 holes now laid out . i will get some pics soon and make sure you know that i posted them! thanks for asking

plants all looking good keep up the good!

im sorry if im hijacking your thread thats not the purpose :dance:

i threw some pics of my course in my glog. since you asked here i thought it was cool to tell ya here :cheers:

Stefan_W · Apr 15, 2013

I love it when it is time to harden them off. The best part, of course, is that first day you dont have to bring them back in again.

Everything is looking great! Thanks for including the onions in the shot, those are always my favourites.

georgej · Apr 16, 2013

looking good Rick! bet those plants cant wait to get their feet in the soil outside!

im literally seeing my plants explode with nice green flat leafs since the weather got sunny and 20c temps in the daytime.
gonna go help the MIL at her allotment this weekend, i think im gonna get greedy and maybe keep most of my plants

when is your projected plant out date??
i am gonna wait until the typhoons and rainy season is over until i plant out.

stickman · Apr 16, 2013

Thanks for the encouragement folks, the prospect of finally planting out has got me pumped! Overnight temps are still a roller-coaster ride, but the general trend is up.

Forecast for Greenfield (01301)
Tuesday

Chance of Rain
H 63° / L 39°
( Click for Details ) Wednesday

Partly Cloudy
H 63° / L 36°
( Click for Details ) Thursday

Chance of Rain
H 63° / L 50°
( Click for Details ) Friday

Chance of Rain
H 68° / L 50°
( Click for Details ) Saturday

Chance of Rain
H 54° / L 32°

We'll see how it goes this weekend... upper 30's would be acceptable for the odd night, but I need lows in at least the 40's before I plant out. It'll be in the next couple of weeks though.

highalt said:
Congratulations on the plant field trip! You're closer than me to getting them permanently relocated. I had hoped to do some type of hoopy thing like yours, but the gardening budget has since vaporized. Now that I have that T5 fixture though, I'm sure my plants will survive being inside for a few more weeks!

I understand, the family comes first, and you're right... increased light will help 'em maintain and grow in the meanwhile. When you do set up a low hoophouse, you'll need to put some heavy weights on the edges of the plastic cover to keep the wind from blowing it off. I used 16 pound sandbags last year, but found that the fabric the sandbags were made of broke down in sunlight over time, and by August were falling apart. I've gotta do some scouting for flat rocks of similar weight to do the same thing this spring. I'm planning on eventually using them to replace the planks I use as a walkway around the square-foot garden when the planks rot.

Stefan_W said:
I love it when it is time to harden them off. The best part, of course, is that first day you dont have to bring them back in again.

Everything is looking great! Thanks for including the onions in the shot, those are always my favourites.

You bet Stefan... Gotta have those Onions and Scallions! Cooking wouldn't be the same without them!

sicman said:
im sorry if im hijacking your thread thats not the purpose

i threw some pics of my course in my glog. since you asked here i thought it was cool to tell ya here

Not a problem Sic... I run a pretty loose ship...

The pics of your disc golf "holes" were pretty cool. I didn't know there was such a thing... it makes a lot more sense to me than whacking the little balls around, but hey, diff'rent strokes...

georgej said:
when is your projected plant out date??
i am gonna wait until the typhoons and rainy season is over until i plant out.

Out of curiousity, how much rain are you talking about? It must be a lot if it's enough to keep your babies inside until it passes. From some of those old Kurosawa films, it looks like at least some of the time they're real "Frog stranglers".

stc3248 · Apr 16, 2013

Getting close Rick!!! Won't be long till you're crawling through your pepper tunnels!

stickman · Apr 16, 2013

stc3248 said:
Getting close Rick!!! Won't be long till you're crawling through your pepper tunnels!

Yup, time to set up the only ride at Stickmanland...

stickman · Apr 16, 2013

Spent the time after work spading in the nutes to the veggie garden and the pepper plot...

I didn't quite finish the job because I ran out of bone meal, but I spaded in the pepper plot and the blocks of the square-foot veggie garden that I covered. For those interested in the veggies I started a growing other thread. The weather tomorrow is supposed to be warm and sunny, so my goal after work is to rake out the parallel rows of the pepper plot nice and even so the black plastic thermal mulch has the best possible contact with the soil for heat transfer from the sun. Once prepared, I just have to get the right overnight conditions and an afternoon to plant and put up the hoophouse... and 30 flat rocks that weigh at least 14 pounds each to hold down the poly sheeting on the hoophouse.

I did get some pictures of some nons to show how things are progressing here.

Hyacinths are starting to emerge...

Our Jonquils are budding up...

But our Neighbor's are blooming...

Since the Crocus' have gone by, the most colorful thing we have out right now is the Siberian Squill...

Have a good week everybody.

georgej · Apr 16, 2013

stickman said:
Thanks for the encouragement folks, the prospect of finally planting out has got me pumped! Overnight temps are still a roller-coaster ride, but the general trend is up.

Forecast for Greenfield (01301)
Tuesday

Chance of Rain
H 63° / L 39°
( Click for Details ) Thursday

Chance of Rain
H 63° / L 50°
( Click for Details ) Saturday

Chance of Rain
H 54° / L 32°

We'll see how it goes this weekend... upper 30's would be acceptable for the odd night, but I need lows in at least the 40's before I plant out. It'll be in the next couple of weeks though.

I understand, the family comes first, and you're right... increased light will help 'em maintain and grow in the meanwhile. When you do set up a low hoophouse, you'll need to put some heavy weights on the edges of the plastic cover to keep the wind from blowing it off. I used 16 pound sandbags last year, but found that the fabric the sandbags were made of broke down in sunlight over time, and by August were falling apart. I've gotta do some scouting for flat rocks of similar weight to do the same thing this spring. I'm planning on eventually using them to replace the planks I use as a walkway around the square-foot garden when the planks rot.

You bet Stefan... Gotta have those Onions and Scallions! Cooking wouldn't be the same without them!

Not a problem Sic... I run a pretty loose ship... The pics of your disc golf "holes" were pretty cool. I didn't know there was such a thing... it makes a lot more sense to me than whacking the little balls around, but hey, diff'rent strokes...

Out of curiousity, how much rain are you talking about? It must be a lot if it's enough to keep your babies inside until it passes. From some of those old Kurosawa films, it looks like at least some of the time they're real "Frog stranglers".

its not how often it rains, but the volume/ferocity. its hard to walk in it, let alone be a little plant with broad leafs. its not like it rains constantly for the season, but its lots of intermittant outbursts of absolute downpour. ground becomes waterlogged, storm drains struggle to cope.

probably a typhoon or two on its way soon as well.. feeling humid today, so i expect the storms are not too far in the future. my MIL has built hoop houses for seedlings, but i said i need to harden off them, and they cant cope with wet soil so im gonna wait. she understood.

the soil here is perfect for it though. sandy, dark. i need to check the PH though.

Stefan_W · Apr 16, 2013

Is the pics of the pepper garden your yard? It is a very nice sized space, no wonder you can fit in all of those amazing varieties!

stickman · Apr 16, 2013

Stefan_W said:
Is the pics of the pepper garden your yard? It is a very nice sized space, no wonder you can fit in all of those amazing varieties!

Actually, I live in a condominium, and that's the size of the plot I ~~conned~~ talked them into giving me. The 4 foot blocks are the veggie garden and the long parallel rows to the right of them is the pepper plot. My in-ground chiles go there, but this year I don't think they'll all fit, so I'll be setting airpots out along the south side of our house and running a drip line to water them.

I found a couple of cutworms when I spaded up the garden, so I'll have to use the bamboo skewer trick that Highalt showed me last year when I plant out.

georgej · Apr 17, 2013

damn cutworm!
is that where you build a little fence around the stem with bamboo and they can`t get to the plant?

landracer · Apr 17, 2013

Rick,

That looks like an awesome garden site!
How big is your hoophouse?
Are you using black plastic or IRT for the mulch?

Stephen

stickman · Apr 17, 2013

georgej said:
damn cutworm!
is that where you build a little fence around the stem with bamboo and they can`t get to the plant?

Hi G
It's even simpler than that... I just place a bamboo skewer in contact with the stem of the plant and an inch deep.

Cutworms here are a moth larvae that bury themselves in the soil by day and come out at night to feed. When they're small they'll climb the stem of the plant and chew on the leaves, but when they get big enough they'll wrap their feet around the plant stem and chew it off flush with the ground and eat the leaves of the fallen plant. They seem especially fond of Nightshades like Peppers, Eggplants and Tomatoes. Before I started using the skewers I'd find the fallen plants in the morning and dig down about an inch in a one foot circle around the fallen plants to look for the cutworm. I'd find them half the time, but if I missed them I'd have more plants down the next night. With the skewer (or a thin stick) in place alongside the plant stem the Cutworm can't wrap it's feet around the stem to get good leverage when chewing, and it doesn't seem smart enough to tell the difference between the soft plant stem and the hard skewer. I tried this method for the first time last year and had no losses to Cutworms. I was charmed by this incredibly simple and chemical-free trick!

landracer said:
Rick,

That looks like an awesome garden site!
How big is your hoophouse?
Are you using black plastic or IRT for the mulch?

Stephen

Hi Stephen
Welcome to the Zoo!

The mulch I use is called Solar Mulch, and it's sold by Johnny's Selected Seeds of Albion, Maine. http://www.johnnysee...h-4-x-50.aspx I used it also for the first time last year, and was blown away by the results.

This far north is marginal for growing late-season peppers like the Habaneros pictured, but I had an excellent crop using this mulch. The Eggplant and Tomatoes loved it too.

SeanW · Apr 17, 2013

Come on, weather, cooperate! It's such a tease, up into the 60's in the day, and then low 30's at night. Longest spring ever

I don't think I saw any cutworms when we've been digging up our yard, just a million grubs. I've put down some milky spore for the grubs, but that won't get the cutworms - but I plan on applying nematodes, which will. I like that bamboo stick idea, might have to do it.

Looks good so far!

georgej · Apr 17, 2013

Noted! I'll definitely be trying that! There's some big moths here!

Sawyer · Apr 17, 2013

I've also had good success against cutworms with a small cardboard collar cut from a paper towel or toilet paper tube. Just place it around the base of the plant and work it into the ground a half inch or so. I think I might try both techniques this year.

WalkGood · Apr 17, 2013

Wow, things looking great at casa de Rick, love the cut worm trick and Sawyer's paper towel one too. BTW have you ever compared the cost and/or performance of black polyester fabric VS the Solar Mulch? Not that I need any down here but I was thinking of covering up a small section of yard on our south side to keep weeds, grass and other stuff from popping up, covering it with small stones and putting a few pots in issolation there, I have a fence and two walls to keep some peppers from crossing. Keep the awesome updates coming

stickman · Apr 17, 2013

WalkGood said:
Wow, things looking great at casa de Rick, love the cut worm trick and Sawyer's paper towel one too. BTW have you ever compared the cost and/or performance of black polyester fabric VS the Solar Mulch? Not that I need any down here but I was thinking of covering up a small section of yard on our south side to keep weeds, grass and other stuff from popping up, covering it with small stones and putting a few pots in issolation there, I have a fence and two walls to keep some peppers from crossing. Keep the awesome updates coming

Sorry Ramon, I haven't... This paper by the Pennsylvania Cooperative Extension may help...
http://extension.psu.edu/plants/plasticulture/technologies/plastic-mulches

landracer · Apr 18, 2013

stickman said:
Hi Stephen
Welcome to the Zoo!

The mulch I use is called Solar Mulch, and it's sold by Johnny's Selected Seeds of Albion, Maine. http://www.johnnysee...h-4-x-50.aspx I used it also for the first time last year, and was blown away by the results.

This far north is marginal for growing late-season peppers like the Habaneros pictured, but I had an excellent crop using this mulch. The Eggplant and Tomatoes loved it too.

Thanks Rick.

Nice pix! That is the stuff I am using also. I think I got it from Harris Seed. I'm in sunny California, but in kind of an intense coastal meso-climate with daily fog and howling wind. It is rare for it to get over 85F here...ever. And we've been dipping into the 37-39 range at night for the last week.

I'm really happy to see somebody else using this mulch with good results on peppers. I installed mine under row covers and kind of freaked out when I saw the soil temps in the first inch under the mulch spike to >100F. None of the half dozen peppers I planted out melted or anything, so between that and your results maybe I can stop holding my breath and do some more planting.

Do you leave it in all season? And do you have drip irrigation installed under that?

Stephen