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

stickman · Jan 19, 2014

Jeff H said:
Now that you have them growing, you have no excuses not to keep fresh seeds in your seed stock. That was probably your only issue last year. Bad seeds.

I think you're right Jeff. Thanks for the good vibe guy!

maximumcapsicum · Jan 19, 2014

Sounds smart Rick. Do you keep any numbers toward the end of your seasons? How many pods do you normally get out of how many plants? I bet it's staggering.

stickman · Jan 20, 2014

maximumcapsicum said:
Sounds smart Rick. Do you keep any numbers toward the end of your seasons? How many pods do you normally get out of how many plants? I bet it's staggering.

I don't keep track in that kind of detail Adam, but I'm always trying to find new ways to improve the yield without costing me more. My biggest single expense right now is electricity for the lights. After that it's growing medium, then amendments. Unfortunately, the south-facing roof on my house is completely filled with solar collector panels for electricity and hot water, otherwise I'd want to add a few more PV panels to help offset the electric bill. Roughly $40 a bale for ProMix is cheaper than I could mix my own for. The only thing left is amendments.

RocketMan · Jan 20, 2014

stickman said:
The Brown Egg isn't supposed to be a particularly hot pepper, but what I'm hearing about the flavor is pretty interesting, so I thought I'd give it a go. 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.

Nice to know the onion carrot companion deal. I was on the Farmers Alminac the other day and read that if you alternate Garlic and Dill between your Lettiuce plants it help to control Aphids. Now I wondering if it would help alternating them between my peppers. Might be worth a try

stickman · Jan 20, 2014

Go for it Bill! I'd tweak the mix by adding Cilantro along with the garlic and dill. From what I've read, the Dill and Garlic repel the Aphids, and the Cilantro calls in the friendlies. All three plants have shallow root structures so they shouldn't interfere with the peppers, and Cilantro and lime go extremely well with dishes made with fresh chiles.

Devv · Jan 20, 2014

Good info on the friendly plants, I wonder what I could grow to keep the dang grasshoppers away? I understand they like tall grass, so I'm going to crop down the pasture that's nearby out to 50'

stickman · Jan 20, 2014

Well, the Mormons claim that their locust infestation was dealt with by huge flocks of seagulls... You're a little far inland, but maybe you can attract them by chumming... perhaps with some raw fish in an AACT? :rofl:

PaulG · Jan 20, 2014

Looking good on the round two starts, Rick.

stc3248 · Jan 20, 2014

Guinea Fowl for grasshoppers...not the smartest birds though. Lost our flock when they decided to roost one night on the nice warm highway.

JJJessee · Jan 21, 2014

Turkeys are good on grasshoppers too, but also not a particularly brilliant bird.

Devv · Jan 21, 2014

stickman said:
Well, the Mormons claim that their locust infestation was dealt with by huge flocks of seagulls... You're a little far inland, but maybe you can attract them by chumming... perhaps with some raw fish in an AACT?

stc3248 said:
Guinea Fowl for grasshoppers...not the smartest birds though. Lost our flock when they decided to roost one night on the nice warm highway.

JJJessee said:
Turkeys are good on grasshoppers too, but also not a particularly brilliant bird.

'Yall kill me!

Turkeys we got, but evidently not enough....and no more pets needed...LOL

PeriPeri · Jan 21, 2014

Do Ostriches fit in this discussion :think:

They eat grasshoppers, will eat the plants and very large stones too... should take care of every problem. Luckily they don't come in flocks and I have never had any problems with one being run over on a road, but I did once see a car run over by an Ostrich

stickman · Jan 23, 2014

Hi folks,
Made stage one in the chile for the cookoff this weekend... a red mole' with Pasillas, Anchos, and "chile Meco" Chipotles. I ended up with about 9 cups of Mole' base, and put up 4 ziplok bags with 2 cups of the base in each bag, then froze them for later. To serve, I just need to defrost a bag and simmer with a cup of chicken stock, pour over poached chicken or turkey and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. I'll add a couple tablespoons of the Mole' base to the chile when I make it, and I'll add some of my homemade chili powder made with more Anchos, Chimayos, and Anaheims that have been toasted, stemmed, seeded and ground.

stc3248 · Jan 23, 2014

Final stage 1.5 cups each of Brain and Douglah powders??? Haha...good luck!

chilli whisperer · Jan 23, 2014

That sounds good!

stickman · Jan 24, 2014

stc3248 said:
Final stage 1.5 cups each of Brain and Douglah powders??? Haha...good luck!

Naw... the cookoff is a fundraiser, so I'm gonna make the chili with the milder varieties I grew last year, and garnishes on the side... shredded cheese, chopped green onions, crackers, sour cream, and a bottle of my smoked Habanero sauce for the thrill-seekers. Most Yankees aren't really fond of that much heat...

stickman · Jan 24, 2014

Round one seedlings proceeding apace...

With the exception of one BOC seedling that for some inexplicable reason the primary node was DOA when it sprouted. Great stem and cotys, but it'll never get any bigger than that.

Round two is looking like a mixed bag... the MoAs and both of the Baccatums are 5/5 in the germination, but nothing yet from the Tobasco and Piri Piri. The Brown Egg hasn't hooked either beyond the one seedling with strange cotys and no further growth, so I re-sowed those and sowed some Pequins as well. This weekend I'll re-pot the MoAs and Baccatums in individual pots.

If I don't get any hooks from the tardy ones I'll break out the Horticubes and try again.

TGIF all!

chilli whisperer · Jan 24, 2014

Very nice looking seedlings

Scarecrw · Jan 24, 2014

Good luck with the cookoff. To bad I don't live closer. I travel out to Pa every year for one held at a campground. Keeps people from driving after eating all that chili or it might be to much beer. Nice job on your season so far. Thanks for the recipes. More things to experiment with.

Penny · Jan 24, 2014

Very nice Rick!! :onfire: