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

Hi All,
   I've got Manzanos sprouted and my Bhuts, Lotah Bih and Donne Sali seeds planted so it looks like time to leave 2103 behind and begin to concentrate on 2014. Last year I started some of my late-season varieties right after New Year's Day, but our season was too short to bring the pods to full ripeness so this year I started 2-3 weeks earlier.
 
Manzano seedlings...
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Fruts and Bhuts ;) ...
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There are many more varieties yet to plant in the proper turn, and I have 4 overwintered pepper plants from 2013 that I'll report on later. Have a great weekend all!
 
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Yeah I have heard alot of good things about the black plastic mulch, but I can't use it in my plot. Also I worry it'll get too warm in my part of the world... Summers can get pretty hot.

Very interesting reading Stickman. I am learning alot.
 
maximumcapsicum said:
Yeah I have heard alot of good things about the black plastic mulch, but I can't use it in my plot. Also I worry it'll get too warm in my part of the world... Summers can get pretty hot.

Very interesting reading Stickman. I am learning alot.
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You absolutely could use it in your plot to get a jump on the season, and when things get hot enough that the chiles start dropping blossoms you can temporarily cover the black plastic mulch with something more reflective that'll cool the soil underneath it. If you can get some shredded white office paper, about a half an inch on top of the plastic mulch should do it. I know this works because a couple of years ago I used some shredded white office paper from my wife's workplace to mulch some squash plants. It was a very warm spring that year and everything was flourishing except for the squash. It took a few weeks for the lightbulb to go off, but when it did I peeled back the white paper mulch and felt the soil underneath, and it was at least 10 degrees cooler than the rest of the garden. After that I left the paper mulch peeled back so the sun could get at the soil to warm it, and the squash started to grow normally.
   The nice thing about this is that you can leave the black plastic mulch in place, cover it with the  white paper to cool things down at midsummer, and remove the white paper when the season cools down again to expose the black plastic mulch so it can once again warm the soil and extend your growing season. The shredded paper you can just throw in the compost then. No fuss, no muss... ;)
 
Happy Saturday all, 7 more days to round 2 sowing...    The round 1 seedlings are beginning to put out true leaves. The pace is still pretty slow at these (natural) light levels, but I'll be putting together my grow table downstairs this weekend to get ready for the move.
 
Manzano
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Lotah Bih
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Donne Sali
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Cheers!
 
Looking good Rick, you're off to a great start. Hopefully the weather will cooperate with you and be warm enough for you to plant out when they're ready to go out. Did I miss it, what medium are you using? 
 
RocketMan said:
Looking good Rick, you're off to a great start. Hopefully the weather will cooperate with you and be warm enough for you to plant out when they're ready to go out. Did I miss it, what medium are you using? 
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Hi Bill,
   I'm just using Hoffman seed starting mix for germination and Promix BX when I up-pot... nothing too special.
 
 
HabaneroHead said:
Impressive! :-) It is not even 2014, and you have such beautiful seedlings! Keep posting the pics, my friend! :-)
 
Balázs
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Will do my friend. Glad to see you've already started your glog for 2014... good luck!
 
 
Devv said:
Looking good Rick!
 
So what's in the second round?
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Hi Scott! Round two will be the rest of the Chinense and Frutascens varieties, and the Baccatums:
 
Aji Lemon
Dedo de Moca
Brown Egg
Scotch Bonnet MoA
Tabasco
Piri Piri
 
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.
 
Have a great weekend all!
 
stickman said:
You absolutely could use it in your plot to get a jump on the season, and when things get hot enough that the chiles start dropping blossoms you can temporarily cover the black plastic mulch with something more reflective that'll cool the soil underneath it. If you can get some shredded white office paper, about a half an inch on top of the plastic mulch should do it. I know this works because a couple of years ago I used some shredded white office paper from my wife's workplace to mulch some squash plants. It was a very warm spring that year and everything was flourishing except for the squash. It took a few weeks for the lightbulb to go off, but when it did I peeled back the white paper mulch and felt the soil underneath, and it was at least 10 degrees cooler than the rest of the garden. After that I left the paper mulch peeled back so the sun could get at the soil to warm it, and the squash started to grow normally.
   The nice thing about this is that you can leave the black plastic mulch in place, cover it with the  white paper to cool things down at midsummer, and remove the white paper when the season cools down again to expose the black plastic mulch so it can once again warm the soil and extend your growing season. The shredded paper you can just throw in the compost then. No fuss, no muss... ;)
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Interesting. I'll run it by the farm manager who runs the garden. Got to respect the community, but I think they'll like the office paper move. Still not sure if I can get away with the plastic mulch. How do you fertilize when you have the mulches down? Do you rake out the plastic mulch in between seasons?
 
I need to start narrowing down my fertilizing regimen in general now.
 
Do you do loosen the soil around the peppers after they're established to prevent weeds and increase aeration? I read that some people do this but wasn't sure if it was a good idea.
 
maximumcapsicum said:
 
Interesting. I'll run it by the farm manager who runs the garden. Got to respect the community, but I think they'll like the office paper move. Still not sure if I can get away with the plastic mulch. How do you fertilize when you have the mulches down? Do you take out the plastic mulch in between seasons?
 
   I don't see that they would have a problem if you used the black plastic  until it got too badly torn to re-use and then recycled it. It's not as if you use it and landfill it, eh? I do remove it between seasons because I add shredded leaf mulch, bone meal and green manure in the fall so it can all "mellow" together. In spring I add "Tomato Tone" organic fertilizer and a little sugar and  till it all under. It might seem a bit daft, but the plants take the sugar in through the roots when you water them and it gives them a good boost. This is a useful strategy for a small garden, but too expensive for a whole field of peppers... Anyway, once the bed is prepped, I lay down the black plastic mulch and fasten it down with the sod staples and it stays in place until the end of the season. If I want to add more fertilizer after that, I add it when I water the plants... usually just some General Organics "Bio Thrive" and a little molasses every other week after they start to blossom.
 
Do you do loosen the soil around the peppers after they're established to prevent weeds and increase aeration? I read that some people do this but wasn't sure if it was a good idea.
 
   No... the plastic mulch suppresses weeds as well as warming the soil. My soil is very sandy and I plant my chiles in raised rows, so they already get adequate aeration.
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   Better and better... I just checked in on the seedlings and I see another hook in the BOC pot! :dance:
 
I've grown Cilantro every year up to the present because it goes so well with spicy food, but one of the down sides of this particular herb is that it only tastes good fresh... drying destroys the flavor and our growing season is short. I was researching a potential substitute called Culantro (or Recao, Ngo Gai, Mexican Coriander, etc) It's a shade-loving tropical plant that grows as a biennial in warm climates and a tender annual here in the north. It's much more pungent than Cilantro, though similar in flavor, and is supposed to dry well. I'd grow it just for that, but this info from Purdue University's Horticulture department says that it's extremely useful for attracting Ladybugs and Lacewings. I'd call that win-win!
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1999/v4-506.html
 
stickman said:
I've grown Cilantro every year up to the present because it goes so well with spicy food, but one of the down sides of this particular herb is that it only tastes good fresh... drying destroys the flavor and our growing season is short. I was researching a potential substitute called Culantro (or Recao, Ngo Gai, Mexican Coriander, etc) It's a shade-loving tropical plant that grows as a biennial in warm climates and a tender annual here in the north. It's much more pungent than Cilantro, though similar in flavor, and is supposed to dry well. I'd grow it just for that, but this info from Purdue University's Horticulture department says that it's extremely useful for attracting Ladybugs and Lacewings. I'd call that win-win!
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1999/v4-506.html
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That sounds really interesting I would love to grow that I have tons of spots that could grow
 
I've had culantro before... It is indeed very tasty, and I'm not sure i could really tell it apart from cilantro in a blind taste test. Didn't know about it's horticultural properties. Definitely a win win!

Crap, you just reminded me I forgot to order cilantro seeds. Not totally necessary, as they are widely available, but I keep things organic in the community garden.
 
Nightshade said:
That sounds really interesting I would love to grow that I have tons of spots that could grow
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maximumcapsicum said:
I've had culantro before... It is indeed very tasty, and I'm not sure i could really tell it apart from cilantro in a blind taste test. Didn't know about it's horticultural properties. Definitely a win win!

Crap, you just reminded me I forgot to order cilantro seeds. Not totally necessary, as they are widely available, but I keep things organic in the community garden.
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If anybody wants to get seeds for the Culantro, you can find them here... http://www.kitazawaseed.com/seed_374-185.html
They also have a fair selection of Asian hot peppers... including Prik Kee Nu (Garden Bird pepper)     http://www.kitazawaseed.com/seeds_hot_pepper.html

Pinoy83 said:
your so lucky sprouting so many manzanos congratz :onfire: .....and lots of babies.....prolly i sow 100seeds of manzano couple sprouted :mope:
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Thanks Jericson! Sorry you had so many Manzano duds, but at least you got 2 sprouts so there's a little backup if one doesn't make it. Come to think... I bet the Culantro would grow great in Hawaii, and it would help keep the aphids and mites off your plants.
 
The second hook in the BOC pot is standing up, so now I have a little backup too!
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We had quite a flurry of activity around the bird feeders in our back yard this weekend when this Cooper's Hawk showed up...
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Not the clearest picture, but it was taken just before sunrise on a foggy morning.
Have a good Monday all... one more day to the end of 2014!
 
Congrats on all the starts Rick, great to see you are also growing the BOC, I can't wait to see all the pod pics down the road.
 
Wishing you and yours an awesome New Years Day & great 14 \o/
 
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