Stickman's 2014 Glog- That's all folks!

maximumcapsicum · Jan 1, 2014

Excellent pics Rick. I am going to have to pick up some of that reflective enclosure material too. I bet it keeps everything bright and toasty. What's the growth rate difference between peppers in the box and outside of it?

stickman · Jan 2, 2014

maximumcapsicum said:
Excellent pics Rick. I am going to have to pick up some of that reflective enclosure material too. I bet it keeps everything bright and toasty. What's the growth rate difference between peppers in the box and outside of it?

Hi Adam,
I didn't do a side-by-side grow inside and outside the box, so I really couldn't say what the difference is. I did measure the difference in temperature though, and when the lights were on inside the box it was 10 degrees warmer than ambient. The heat comes from one 4ft T8 and two 4ft T12 flourescent bulbs.

RocketMan · Jan 2, 2014

Nice start Rick, everything's looking good. I'm thinking abut going with the Culantro to use in some sauces where the Cilantro just loose it's flavor, myself and thanks for the planting onions among the carrots tip

good to know. Gotta start planning the non-pepper garden now. We're going to try giving the kids each they're own little raised bed to grow what they want to. Planning to surround the whole garden with Marigolds and Garlic as part of my pest control. My Grandma used to plant garlic that ways as it chases a lot of pests away and the Marigolds are sacrificial, ok and they look nice.

Good Grow Brother!

annie57 · Jan 2, 2014

Nice Rick on the BOC! :dance:

Grow area with lights looks nice and warm too! Ordered culantro seeds other day. Am hoping they'll hold their flavor in sauces as cilantro doesn't, not once heated, as Bill mentioned! Great idea! Not starting mine inside but gonna let it warm up and plant in pots. Also gonna plant cilantro as it comes up like weeds and usually overwinters in same pot, fallen seed. Going with "a bit" of borage and marigolds, maybe lemon mint--keeps squash vine borers at bay, I hear--but also, those outside--provided me don't have some weird winter again that extends into May :doh:

.

Looking good, Rick! Might start some seeds this weekend and might wait. Started, re-started Jan 26 last year and annuum stuff was getting woody by plant out. Nice starts though and without helmet heads!!

Sawyer · Jan 2, 2014

stickman said:
I'm also going to start 2 full flats of long-day type Yellow Storage Onions. I'd heard that planting Onions in among your Carrots would keep the Carrot Flies away, so I tried it last year and found that it really works. No Carrot Fly larvae at all in my carrots... they went to my Asian Radishes instead, which were not similarly protected. So this year I'm going to double my Onion production and companion-plant along with both.

I like that idea. Where did you get your yellow storage onion seed?

Jeff H · Jan 2, 2014

Rick, nice to see the old germination area getting pulled out again. Wow, you still have some T-12 lights? Can you even get bulbs for them anymore? Looking forward to seeing all the sprouts.

When you start your onions they are from seed? How long do they take to mature vs. using those little onion bulbs the stores sell in the spring?

annie57 said:
Looking good, Rick! Might start some seeds this weekend and might wait. Started, re-started Jan 26 last year and annuum stuff was getting woody by plant out.

But Annie, getting woody is a sure way to insure the plants are big enough for early pods. I don't have most of my annuums planted yet but I do have a decent group going just so I have early pods.

annie57 · Jan 2, 2014

True enough, Jeff but last year, my poor things looked like I could cut'em up for firewood--the annuums only--but to each his/her own, hon!

stickman · Jan 2, 2014

RocketMan said:
Nice start Rick, everything's looking good. I'm thinking abut going with the Culantro to use in some sauces where the Cilantro just loose it's flavor, myself and thanks for the planting onions among the carrots tip good to know. Gotta start planning the non-pepper garden now. We're going to try giving the kids each they're own little raised bed to grow what they want to. Planning to surround the whole garden with Marigolds and Garlic as part of my pest control. My Grandma used to plant garlic that ways as it chases a lot of pests away and the Marigolds are sacrificial, ok and they look nice.

Good Grow Brother!

Thanks for the good vibe brother! Looking forward to growing Culantro for the first time this year... we'll have to compare notes on saucemaking with it later in the season. I bet garlic and leeks would also be good for companion planting with root veggies, and Marigolds also draw friendlies as well as repelling certain pests. It's all good!

annie57 said:
Nice Rick on the BOC! Grow area with lights looks nice and warm too! Ordered culantro seeds other day. Am hoping they'll hold their flavor in sauces as cilantro doesn't, not once heated, as Bill mentioned! Great idea! Not starting mine inside but gonna let it warm up and plant in pots. Also gonna plant cilantro as it comes up like weeds and usually overwinters in same pot, fallen seed. Going with "a bit" of borage and marigolds, maybe lemon mint--keeps squash vine borers at bay, I hear--but also, those outside--provided me don't have some weird winter again that extends into May .

Looking good, Rick! Might start some seeds this weekend and might wait. Started, re-started Jan 26 last year and annuum stuff was getting woody by plant out. Nice starts though and without helmet heads!!

Thanks Miz Annie, the Old Farmer's Almanac forecasts another hot, wet summer for you, so don't neglect your soil drainage! I'm thinking of planting Tansy together with my Cukes to stymie the striped Cucumber beetles, and planting "Lemon Gem" Marigolds to attract the friendlies. So cool that you'll be planting Culantro as well... definitely compare notes on that, please?

Jeff H said:
Rick, nice to see the old germination area getting pulled out again. Wow, you still have some T-12 lights? Can you even get bulbs for them anymore? Looking forward to seeing all the sprouts.

When you start your onions they are from seed? How long do they take to mature vs. using those little onion bulbs the stores sell in the spring?

But Annie, getting woody is a sure way to insure the plants are big enough for early pods. I don't have most of my annuums planted yet but I do have a decent group going just so I have early pods.

Oh yeah... I start them from seed about now. I get much bigger bulbs from seed rather than from onion sets. To make sets they start the seeds and force the onion plants into dormancy. That costs the plant energy that it could have been using to grow bigger. At my latitude I have to plant long-day onions... I'm not sure about your area, but you can find out from your extension agent. This is the variety I grew last year, and will again... http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-8362-patterson-f1.aspx

annie57 said:
True enough, Jeff but last year, my poor things looked like I could cut'em up for firewood--the annuums only--but to each his/her own, hon!

Scarecrw · Jan 2, 2014

I tried to buy them but they are sold out. I went with copra, the one they compare it to. Also ordered the Ailsa Craig and some bunching ones. I just have to figure out how to harvest them( bunching ).

stickman · Jan 2, 2014

Scarecrw said:
I tried to buy them but they are sold out. I went with copra, the one they compare it to. Also ordered the Ailsa Craig and some bunching ones. I just have to figure out how to harvest them( bunching ).

Onions aren't really that hard Jeff... the first thing is starting the seeds early enough because they grow pretty slowly at first. The second thing is soil prep... all the Alliums are heavy nitrogen feeders that like a light soil and lots of sun.

When they're growing, they need lots of water on a regular basis, but when the tops die and fall over they need to be kept as dry as possible to prevent rot and to help the bulbs to lose water through evaporation so they firm up and store longer. "Copra" onions are great keepers... I grew them in 2012, but Patterson onions have larger bulbs. Ailsa Craig onions have really big bulbs but don't store well... they'd be great for making sauces in the fall though. I've been growing bunching onions for 4 years now, and I always plant the seeds for them in the spring and let them winter over before harvesting them in ones and twos to cook with. That way they continue to grow throughout the second season and I get thumb-thick scallions instead of pencil-thin ones.

Hope this helps!

JJJessee · Jan 2, 2014

maximumcapsicum said:
.....

Will investigate as well! Maybe I should pick up some pods from the grocery store and go ahead and experiment a little. I've already eaten through my 2013 reserves.

.......

Smokin' is my favorite pepper treatment, though I'm growing fond of fermented.
I smoke em until fairly soft, whole pods, but others do differently.
What I don't use then, I pack in a mason jar and top it up with cane or rice vinegar, stick em in the fridge.
I seed them at sauce time or before packing.

What I did last winter, or one before, whilst jonesin' for some smoked peppers was ta get a bag of cheap dried chilis from an asian market, soaked them in spring water until soft, then put em on the smoker. Made a pretty good sauce. Kinda of the Ripple route to smoked peppers. No really, they were good and pretty cheap. Got me through least ways.

ED IT:
OPPPS!!!
Didn't realize I was reading so many pages back.
Well I'm caught up now.

Yes onions. I'm about ready to pitch some red cippolini and Stuttgarters, plus I ordered starts from Dixondale for insurance or extra onions.
I may even dibble in a few sets for insurance insurance.

Scarecrw · Jan 3, 2014

I was thinking perennial. Thanks for the info. So I should start both at the same time (now) and plant them out together.

stickman · Jan 3, 2014

JJJessee said:
Smokin' is my favorite pepper treatment, though I'm growing fond of fermented.
I smoke em until fairly soft, whole pods, but others do differently.
What I don't use then, I pack in a mason jar and top it up with cane or rice vinegar, stick em in the fridge.
I seed them at sauce time or before packing.

What I did last winter, or one before, whilst jonesin' for some smoked peppers was ta get a bag of cheap dried chilis from an asian market, soaked them in spring water until soft, then put em on the smoker. Made a pretty good sauce. Kinda of the Ripple route to smoked peppers. No really, they were good and pretty cheap. Got me through least ways.

ED IT:
OPPPS!!!
Didn't realize I was reading so many pages back.
Well I'm caught up now.

Yes onions. I'm about ready to pitch some red cippolini and Stuttgarters, plus I ordered starts from Dixondale for insurance or extra onions.
I may even dibble in a few sets for insurance insurance.

Cool idea with sauce-making using dried peppers Jesse. I've never heard of smoked onions before... are they roasted at the same time that they're being smoked? When making Mexican sauces or salsas I often roast onions whole in the coals of my charcoal grill and they pick up a bit of the smoke flavor at the same time that they get soft and very sweet. It's a bit of extra work but well worth it IMHO. We also love Baba Ganouj made with smoke-roasted eggplant when they're in season. :drooling:

Scarecrw said:
I was thinking perennial. Thanks for the info. So I should start both at the same time (now) and plant them out together.

Why not? I'm sure they'll transplant well, just remember to take pics, eh? I'd be curious to see your results in the "growing other" thread.

JJJessee · Jan 3, 2014

Oh, YEAH! smoked baba ganouj one of my favorites.

I never just smoked an onion, but roast/smoke, yeah. My daughter taught me to roost salsa but instead of the kitchen oven I stick it in my smoker. A BBQ/smoker from Lowe's (<$200) It's on the back deck and I use it year round as the notion strikes me.

http://s98.photobucket.com/user/JJJessee/media/Garden%202013/IMG_0280.jpg.html]

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Yeah, I'll try slow roosting some cippollinis on charcoal when they come in. Put the extras in vinegar in the fridg.

Devv · Jan 3, 2014

Another good thing for the waste parts of the Onion that wind up in the compost is to throw them directly on the fire when using the pit or BBQ. If nothing else it's great to be downwind

And you're correct Rick, the Onions grown from seed do get larger. I've tried the three ways I know of, the sets which are terrible (small sizes), the fresh ones that are cut back and suspended do real well here, almost as well as from seed. One thing I've never really done is feed them heavily, taking notes here!

maximumcapsicum · Jan 3, 2014

JJJessee said:
Oh, YEAH! smoked baba ganouj one of my favorites.

I never just smoked an onion, but roast/smoke, yeah. My daughter taught me to roost salsa but instead of the kitchen oven I stick it in my smoker. A BBQ/smoker from Lowe's (<$200) It's on the back deck and I use it year round as the notion strikes me.

http://s98.photobucket.com/user/JJJessee/media/Garden%202013/IMG_0280.jpg.html]

[/URL

Yeah, I'll try slow roosting some cippollinis on charcoal when they come in. Put the extras in vinegar in the fridg.

Tasty looking spread man. How long you leave them on the heat and for how long?

JJJessee · Jan 3, 2014

It took at least an hour, but not near 2.
Fire in the smoker box, and in general, you just have to watch and play by ear.

meatfreak · Jan 4, 2014

Happy New Year, Rick! Hope you are having an awesome season again with good yields

Looks like your of to a good head start

stickman · Jan 4, 2014

JJJessee said:
Oh, YEAH! smoked baba ganouj one of my favorites.

I never just smoked an onion, but roast/smoke, yeah. My daughter taught me to roost salsa but instead of the kitchen oven I stick it in my smoker. A BBQ/smoker from Lowe's (<$200) It's on the back deck and I use it year round as the notion strikes me.

http://s98.photobucket.com/user/JJJessee/media/Garden%202013/IMG_0280.jpg.html]

[/URL

Yeah, I'll try slow roosting some cippollinis on charcoal when they come in. Put the extras in vinegar in the fridg.

That looks really tasty Jesse, and pretty authentic. I understand in farmer's markets in Mexico you can find people who will fix you a meal with produce you buy from one seller and get fire-roasted by another. I take it that you don't bother to peel the cherry tomatoes when you roast 'em?

meatfreak said:
Happy New Year, Rick! Hope you are having an awesome season again with good yields Looks like your of to a good head start

Thanks Stefan... from your mouth to God's ear, eh?

When do you plan to start your grow this season? Will you be using the hoophouse again?

With the exception of the BOC, the rest of the first round seedlings have all grown true leaves.

The Lotah Bih has a new hook even...

BOC

Donne Sali

King Nagas

Guwahati Bhut

The Manzanos have mostly absorbed their cotys, but they're all showing true leaves at this point, if small ones...

Have a great Saturday all!

meatfreak · Jan 4, 2014

stickman said:
That looks really tasty Jesse, and pretty authentic. I understand in farmer's markets in Mexico you can find people who will fix you a meal with produce you buy from one seller and get fire-roasted by another. I take it that you don't bother to peel the cherry tomatoes when you roast 'em?

Thanks Stefan... from your mouth to God's ear, eh? When do you plan to start your grow this season? Will you be using the hoophouse again?

With the exception of the BOC, the rest of the first round seedlings have all grown true leaves.

Lotah Bih

BOC

Donne Sali

King Nagas

Guwahati Bhut

The Manzanos have mostly absorbed their cotys, but they're all showing true leaves at this point, if small ones...

Have a great Saturday all!

Seedlings are looking good, Rick. I will probably start at the end of February again like last season. It's a bit later then normal but with the use of my CFL lights I will catch up very quickly. If the season is normal this year (read no frost in june) I hope to plant them out half of April in the hoophouse. They withstand the storms we had so far without any real damage, the wind was really hard this season. I hope to be using them for at least 8 years.