Stickman's 2015 - That's All She Wrote...

Hi All! It's been an incredibly busy winter dealing with one thing and another, and it's only about half over here.   Still, it's time to get on the stick and put my seeds in the dirt in preparation for plant-out in another 12 weeks or so. I have a Manzano over-wintering inside that's going on its third year. It's next to a sliding glass door with a great southern exposure but the light it gets here this time of year is pretty paltry... I expect it'll start to perk up sometime in March. I have a couple of MoA Scotch Bonnets over-wintering at a friend's house because there wasn't space in front of the sliding glass door for them and my wife's indoor plants... the deal is that if they both survive the winter, we'll split the plants. If not, he'll keep the one that lives. That seems fair since he did all the work.
 
The rest of the list is looking like this...

Pubiscens Varieties
Total bust this year... nothing that germinated survived.

Baccatum:
Ditto

Frutascens:
Tabasco
Hawaiian Bird chile
 
Chacoense:
Ditto

Chinense:
7-pot Yellow Turned out to be a red "Not"
MoA Scotch Bonnet
Beni Highlands... Also turned out to be a "Not"... maybe a Mako Akokrosade cross?
Ja Hab
Trinidad Perfume
Zavory

Annuum:
Cabe Rawit (mouse turd pepper, in Singapore where the seeds were collected they're called Cili Padi)
Red Thai
Biggie Chile Anaheim
Poblano Gigantia
Jalapeno Ciclon
Jalapeno Tormenta
Serrano Tampiqueno
Hungarian Hot Wax
Almapaprika
Ethiopian Brown Berbere
 
I'll also be planting a sweet Criolla de Cucina plants and about 20 sweet Kurtovska Kapijas. The Kapijas have the longest growing and ripening times of any Annuum I know, but they're big, meaty sweet peppers that average around a half a pound apiece... just the thing for making that eastern european condiment called Ajvar.
 
Too tired to say more now, but will pick up later... Cheers!

 

[Pulpiteer]

Very cool Rick, thanks for the info. Those gem marigolds really sound interesting. I like sweet alyssum because it attracts good guys, it seems like these gem marigolds could fit that slot as well for me and have a nice smell to them.  I'm going to have to keep them in mind when planning for next year. They are a beautiful looking plant.

 

[stickman]

Hi Rick things are looking good for ya hope it keeps going that way.
I ordered form Judy & Baker creek today all but one will be saved for next year that's right planning 2016 while working on 2015 lol  
I am going to plant these in my empty bed Amarylla Tomatillo they only take 60 days have some green ones but they are in the junk area don't know if they will pan out .
i wanted these earlier but they was sold out.
 

 
Good luck with next year's garden plans... That's a cool Tomatillo variety! Never heard of it before... I wonder if it's as tart as other varieties when green. That's the best time to use them for salsa anyway.
 
I had to work all day yesterday, so our big meal was today. I smoked a salmon filet...

 
... made some pesto with basil from the garden...

 
... and blanched some filet beans.

 
I know there's no heat here, but eating out of the garden this time of year is the best!

 

[Plantguy76]

 
Good luck with next year's garden plans... That's a cool Tomatillo variety! Never heard of it before... I wonder if it's as tart as other varieties when green. That's the best time to use them for salsa anyway.
 
I had to work all day yesterday, so our big meal was today. I smoked a salmon filet...

 
... made some pesto with basil from the garden...

 
... and blanched some filet beans.

 
I know there's no heat here, but eating out of the garden this time of year is the best!

It is supposed to be sweet ripe color kinda a chartreuse but I am thinking flavor might be close to a green zebra tomato
Speaking of green zebra I ordered green grape cherry tomato its green zebra sister
My tomatoes for next year will be Paul Robeson ,Green Zebra ,Green grape & Red Marzano but I may have to add black cherry again cause I just eat one highly recommend it awesome !
I am thinking that polish tom will go great with yellow moa make them into a jelly or salsa

Very cool Rick, thanks for the info. Those gem marigolds really sound interesting. I like sweet alyssum because it attracts good guys, it seems like these gem marigolds could fit that slot as well for me and have a nice smell to them.  I'm going to have to keep them in mind when planning for next year. They are a beautiful looking plant.

Dill attracts good guys as well just pulled my old dill & planted Bronze Smokey Fennel in its place
I still have some dill blooming in another bed.
I learned this year it attracts Pennsylvania Leather Wings there good pollinators & aphid eaters

 

[OCD Chilehead]

Looks delicious. I think hot peppers have there place. That meal looks and sounds great without it. There's something about eating out of your own garden. It doesn't get any fresher then that. I remember when I was still back in San Diego, cooking fresh fish, along with fresh veggies from the garden. I could eat like that everyday. I need to cut back on the red meat. I dont eat a bunch of it. I just prefer fish if I can afford it. Heck, I went vegetarian for about 6 months once. I never felt better.

Thanks for sharing.

Have a great week Rick.

 

[stickman]

It is supposed to be sweet ripe color kinda a chartreuse but I am thinking flavor might be close to a green zebra tomato
Speaking of green zebra I ordered green grape cherry tomato its green zebra sister
My tomatoes for next year will be Paul Robeson ,Green Zebra ,Green grape & Red Marzano but I may have to add black cherry again cause I just eat one highly recommend it awesome !
I am thinking that polish tom will go great with yellow moa make them into a jelly or salsa
Dill attracts good guys as well just pulled my old dill & planted Bronze Smokey Fennel in its place
I still have some dill blooming in another bed.
I learned this year it attracts Pennsylvania Leather Wings there good pollinators & aphid eaters.

 
Believe it or not, we get Leatherwings up here too, but not in any great quantity. I have a few Dill plants in the veggie garden too... just enough to make New York half-sour dill pickles in a week or two when the pickling cukes start to come in.  Ain't nothing like a half-sour dill pickled with garlic and a few dried hot peppers.
 
Sounds like you're planning a kind of Tomato nirvana for next year... good luck!
 

Looks delicious. I think hot peppers have there place. That meal looks and sounds great without it. There's something about eating out of your own garden. It doesn't get any fresher then that. I remember when I was still back in San Diego, cooking fresh fish, along with fresh veggies from the garden. I could eat like that everyday. I need to cut back on the red meat. I dont eat a bunch of it. I just prefer fish if I can afford it. Heck, I went vegetarian for about 6 months once. I never felt better.

Thanks for sharing.

Have a great week Rick.

 
Oh, I eat vegetarian too Chuck... it's just not all I eat. I'm a strict omnivore...
 
Some pics from this morning's Dawn Patrol...
 
Poblano pod

 
"Pritamin" Pimientos

 
Leutshauer Hot Paprika

 
Jalapenos approaching useful size

 
Red Marconi pod

 
Kapijas loading up

 
Prik Kee Nu as well

 
The "not" Orange 7-Pot... Cili Goronong or whatever the heck it is in beast mode

 
and the other "not"... it looks like a ghostly Scorpion or Habanero

 
Lima Market Red Rocoto clone is really kicking in.

 
That's all for now folks. Have a great day!

 

[OCD Chilehead]

Those are textbook plants. I don't think they can get any better looking. Do you supplement Rick? Or is it just good soil?

 

[stickman]

Those are textbook plants. I don't think they can get any better looking. Do you supplement Rick? Or is it just good soil?

 
My soil is so sandy, I have to amend Chuck. We have a farm nearby that produces compost on an industrial scale and sells it for around $60 a cubic yard. That's about as much as I need each year to keep the soil where I like it. We only have 2 tenths of an acre of yard, and mulch the grass clippings in place to build up the soil underneath. What's left between my wife's flower gardens and my veggie garden plus kitchen scraps amounts to a couple of wheelbarrow loads in the spring after screening. I've heard that 2 bushels of compost per 100 square feet per year is about right to keep the soil reasonably fertile. Testing the soil from there should point up any deficiencies after that. I tested my soil this spring after spading in the compost and found low Nitrogen, adequate Phosphate and low Potassium. I added composted cow manure and blood meal to bring up the Nitrogen, and added wood ashes to bring up the Potassium. There's some phosphate in the wood ashes too, but mainly I add rock phosphate (rock dust rich in phosphates) every 3 years or so to cover that. Too much is as bad or worse than too little, so I stick to the recommended amounts after testing. Testing also showed that the soil has been used agriculturally for so many years, that it's low in trace elements too. That's why I've been adding another rock dust called Azomite that contains 67 trace elements in the amounts required by plants and easily dissolved by soil dwelling microbes in the presence of adequate water and compost. It makes a huge difference in the outcome in my experience. http://www.fiery-foods.com/chile-pepper-gardening/122-preparing-the-pepper-garden/1840-part-3-soil-and-garden-preparation

 

[maximumcapsicum]

Cool notes Rick. Do you ever use leaf mulch to build up trace elements? What is your experience with cover crops to aid with nitrogen?

 

[Plantguy76]

looking good

 

[meatfreak]

Things are really lifting off now, Rick! Like you said, nothing beats eating the stuff you've grown at your garden this time of year

 

[suchen]

I am digging the Azomite. Definitely adding it to the list for next year to dial in the trace goodies.

 

[OCD Chilehead]

Thanks a bunch Rick. That's one of the reasons I like your Glog's. You go out of your way, to share information with the rest of us. The other reason. Good vibes. From cooking to growing, a one stop shop. LOL.

Looks like I need to start with a soil sample.

As always, thanks for sharing.

 

[stickman]

Cool notes Rick. Do you ever use leaf mulch to build up trace elements? What is your experience with cover crops to aid with nitrogen?

 
I've spread leaf mulch on the garden Adam, but not consistently. In the fall of 2013 I pulled up all my plants after the killing frost, shredded 13 thirty gallon bags of raked leaves I got from donors and spread them evenly over the garden plot in the community garden. After that I oversprayed with a can of regular cola, a can of cheap (Busch) beer and a cup of ammonia in a 20 gal. hose sprayer. The idea was to feed the soil-dwelling bacteria and hasten the breakdown of the shredded leaves. By snowmelt in the spring of 2014 the breakdown was nearly complete, and I spaded them into the soil to finish the process. I ended up using half as much compost for soil prep that spring. As time allows I'll continue do this since it reduces the amount of money I spend on compost, but my time was in short supply last fall, so I didn't do it then.
 
I was impressed with the results Scott(devv) got with his "green manure" experiment, so I planted 2 blocks in my square-foot veggie garden with a nitrogen-building cover crop. This is my first year trying it so we'll have to see how it goes. Scott tailored his cover crop to conditions in west Texas, so he planted Red Clover and a grass I don't remember... maybe Rye? I planted Field Peas and Oats. The idea is to have the grass scavenge up the nutes at the soil surface and incorporate them into themselves while the co-crop adds Nitrogen by having bacteria in the root nodules convert atmospheric Nitrogen into Ammonia. The cover crop is allowed to grow to the point just before it begins to flower, then cut down and turned under to rot and release the nutes they fixed in place until then. In my case, the first to begin to flower was the Oats. I cut the cover crop down last week and spaded it in, then planted Napa Cabbage.

looking good

 
Cheers Jason.
 

Things are really lifting off now, Rick! Like you said, nothing beats eating the stuff you've grown at your garden this time of year

 
You bet Stefan! It's cool that you are introducing your kids to the benefits of home-grown produce... It's good education for them and the world needs more of it!
 
 
 

I am digging the Azomite. Definitely adding it to the list for next year to dial in the trace goodies.

 
Make sure you get your soil tested first Josh... it may not be necessary.   In my experience the soil test pays for itself by showing what your soil doesn't need as well as what it does so you don't waste time, money and effort.
 

Thanks a bunch Rick. That's one of the reasons I like your Glog's. You go out of your way, to share information with the rest of us. The other reason. Good vibes. From cooking to growing, a one stop shop. LOL.

Looks like I need to start with a soil sample.

As always, thanks for sharing.

 
Cheers Chuck! I'll definitely keep an eye out to see how it goes for you next year. I don't like to toss people out to sink or swim, and I learn as much from your experiences as you do from mine.

 

[maximumcapsicum]

More great notes! I should have a look back at your 2013 glog, hah! A bunch of the beds next to mine have overgrown with weeds, so much so that the soil is almost half compacted. I cut the weeds yesterday and broadcast buckwheat over them. It's a fast turnaround cover crop, and it's supposed to outcompete the weeds. Hoping to reclaim the beds for the other community gardeners.

Also harvested black beans and noticed the nitrogen fixing nodules on the roots. I left them in place and tilled in the bean straw, planted buckwheat over that as well. All this should have a fast turnaround so I can get fall veggies on top toward the end of August.

When I pull the pepper bed late in the Fall ill put down a mix of rye, field pease, red clover, and whatever else I can find and cut it in time for it to turn to straw in the bed. Hoping all this cuts down the need for fertilizers and compost and generally improved the soil.

 

[romy6]

 Nice to see some fat pods on the vine Rickster .
 
The salmon look'd delish but was lacking some of your tasty blueberry sauce that would have made it perfect  

 

[stickman]

More great notes! I should have a look back at your 2013 glog, hah! A bunch of the beds next to mine have overgrown with weeds, so much so that the soil is almost half compacted. I cut the weeds yesterday and broadcast buckwheat over them. It's a fast turnaround cover crop, and it's supposed to outcompete the weeds. Hoping to reclaim the beds for the other community gardeners.

Also harvested black beans and noticed the nitrogen fixing nodules on the roots. I left them in place and tilled in the bean straw, planted buckwheat over that as well. All this should have a fast turnaround so I can get fall veggies on top toward the end of August.

When I pull the pepper bed late in the Fall ill put down a mix of rye, field pease, red clover, and whatever else I can find and cut it in time for it to turn to straw in the bed. Hoping all this cuts down the need for fertilizers and compost and generally improved the soil.

 
Cool! I'll have to keep an eye on your glog too Adam.
 

 Nice to see some fat pods on the vine Rickster .
 
The salmon look'd delish but was lacking some of your tasty blueberry sauce that would have made it perfect  

 
Cheers Jamie! I actually had some of my MoA Bonnet/peach sauce on hand. With the fish flaked and stirred into leftover rice, topped with steamed Tuscan kale and the Bonnet sauce on a burrito-sized tortilla... that was lunch the next day.

 

[Plantguy76]

 
Cool! I'll have to keep an eye on your glog too Adam.
 
 
Cheers Jamie! I actually had some of my MoA Bonnet/peach sauce on hand. With the fish flaked and stirred into leftover rice, topped with steamed Tuscan kale and the Bonnet sauce on a burrito-sized tortilla... that was lunch the next day.

Rick Moa Peach Sauce that just sounds right up my ally
I am thinking when I get that fall crop form those tom seeds I am going to plant that I will mix them with bonnets or BGs maybe even starfish sounds like they will go good with them
You with your Moa Peach Sauce & Andy with his Jelly has me fired up !

 

[stickman]

Rick Moa Peach Sauce that just sounds right up my ally
I am thinking when I get that fall crop form those tom seeds I am going to plant that I will mix them with bonnets or BGs maybe even starfish sounds like they will go good with them
You with your Moa Peach Sauce & Andy with his Jelly has me fired up !

 
S'right Jason... there's nothing like fresh, vine-ripened tomatoes! Typically, about half my tomato crop goes into making hot sauces. You go guy!
 
The hot, humid weather of midsummer is finally here, and the chiles are all starting to pump out the pods with the exception of a couple hold-outs.
 
More MoA Bonnets

 
and Ja Habs

 
The King Naga is starting to kick out the classic pod shapes

 
Criolla de Cucina

 
Ethiopian Brown Berbere

 
"Bangkok" Thai hybrid

 
Trinidad Perfume

 
I guess I misremembered what phenotype the "Nagykuti" was... it's obviously an Almapaprika-type not a Pimiento-type.

 
The Almapaprika is a little tardy but confirms the ID. I'm not disappointed to have two of these... they make great pickles!

 
I picked a couple of Serrano chiles and a pint's worth of shell peas last night. I blanched and froze the peas after I'd shelled them to put away for a mild Indian curry later this week called Mattar Paneer. Made with fresh peas and tomatoes it's incredibly good (and not too spicy for the faint of heart.)

 
Have a good day all... Friday's coming!

 

[tctenten]

Rick a question about the Almapaprika.....I am about to pick the first few ripe ones, in your opinion would they make a good smoked powder? They seem thick walled and almost remind me of a larger version of a cherry pepper. How is their heat?

 

[Freekie]

Those Almapaprikas look great.