Stickman's 2016 Gochu Glog- Transplanting is Finished

stickman · Jul 8, 2016

FreeportBum said:
Plants are looking great Rick. What a crazy June we had here, I think the hottest driest that I can remember. Next year I will be putting down some soaker hose for sure. keep it green my friend. Cheers

Cheers D! Boy, it sure has been a crazy spring... I was reading in this morning's newspaper that the local Peach crop got wiped out in February. The weather the first two weeks of that month was warmer than normal, and the flower buds swelled up in anticipation of an early spring, but the temps dropped down to below -20 degrees on Valentine's Day weekend and killed them all off. There's nary a peach for Scotch Bonnet/Peach sauce this August, and no Plums or Apricots either. :rolleyes:

I was checking my plants while watering them this morning and found some Blossom End Rot on a few of my Plum Tomatoes... guess I need to water them more and/or foliar feed with some Cal/Mag

. The plastic water meter broke on me a couple of weeks back, so I've got my eye on a well-made brass meter as soon as I can afford it. In the meantime, it's measuring the water out a 5 gallon pail at a time for accurate records. The water line to our community garden is metered. http://www.dwyer-inst.com/Product/Flow/WaterMeters/SeriesWM2/Google?gclid=Cj0KEQjwnv27BRCmuZqMg_Ddmt0BEiQAgeY1l8UAWpYZbZ0k2pFzXNCLtXOX6wtao7O0l8-nGME82IQaAnOq8P8HAQ

I'm wondering if one of my Bonnets has a touch of Bacterial Leaf Spot too... some of the leaves have necrotic spots on them, and most have a twisted-up gnarly look.

The pods on it don't look right for Bonnets either, gnarly though they are...

The last two Gochu varieties are in production, so that raised bed is showing a lot of dropped skirts every morning. :dance:

Ttaeng Cho heirloom

Cheon Wu Shin Jo hybrid

One of the King Nagas is getting shaded out by these Epazote plants. I'm gonna cut them down and put them in the solar dehydrator the first couple of sunny days we get.

Some blossom pics this cloudy morning...

Rocoto

Aji Pineapple

TGIF all!

OCD Chilehead · Jul 8, 2016

Looks great Rick. I was looking at that meter awhile back. Looks like a good one. Sorry to here about the Peaches. We had the same thing happen here, a couple years ago. Dang BER. I just fed yesterday again. So far I don't see any signs. I bet your plants are enjoying the clouds. Cool blossom pics.

Devv · Jul 8, 2016

Plants are looking good Rick!

Hope that you're not having the Bacterial issues Paul has. Those funky leaves may just straighten out, I have that too with the MoA's. I think it's stress for my plants. Hammer those maters with 1 tsp per gallon, 2 times a week in the AM with a foliar application, and keep the watering as even as you can. I start this Calmag treatment as soon as the first flowers show. It's worked wonders for me. I push the maters really hard early on to get maximum growth before the heat shuts the fruit setting down, I feel this may well contribute to BER. But the Calmag fixes that issue.

Good luck!

stickman · Jul 9, 2016

OCD Chilehead said:
Looks great Rick. I was looking at that meter awhile back. Looks like a good one. Sorry to here about the Peaches. We had the same thing happen here, a couple years ago. Dang BER. I just fed yesterday again. So far I don't see any signs. I bet your plants are enjoying the clouds. Cool blossom pics.

I hope you never see it in your plot either Chuck. I hate losing fruits to things like that. We're getting a few days of cooler weather here, but by Tuesday we're back in the oven.

stickman · Jul 9, 2016

Devv said:
Plants are looking good Rick!

Hope that you're not having the Bacterial issues Paul has. Those funky leaves may just straighten out, I have that too with the MoA's. I think it's stress for my plants. Hammer those maters with 1 tsp per gallon, 2 times a week in the AM with a foliar application, and keep the watering as even as you can. I start this Calmag treatment as soon as the first flowers show. It's worked wonders for me. I push the maters really hard early on to get maximum growth before the heat shuts the fruit setting down, I feel this may well contribute to BER. But the Calmag fixes that issue.

Good luck!

Thanks for the info Scott! I'm thinking I'll give the 'Maters a foliar feed of Cal/Mag Solution and a top-dressing of some wood ashes. Hopefully that does the trick.

I'll have to read up on BLS... the plant doesn't look all that bad, but then neither do Paul's. Looking at the pods on the affected plant, I think they're a King Naga x Scotch Bonnet cross... it'll be interesting to see how they come out.

stickman · Jul 10, 2016

We've had a solid weekend of cloudy skies and gentle rain, and it's done wonderful things for the garden! All the Nightshades have grown 4 inches in 2 days. :woohoo:

This raised bed is truly looking like Gochu Heaven right now.

A little closer look at the Saeng Cho Gochus at the head of the raised bed

Lots of these too

The Pequins are forming mounds that are growing together... I'm gonna have a hedge soon!

Bhuts are loading up

... and the inner perimeter is on duty.

Picked the 3 largest Jalapenos and made the first fresh Pico de Gallo of the season

Hope you've all had a fun and productive weekend. Cheers!

Bhuter · Jul 10, 2016

Very, VERY nice! I love days like that. When you can go out to the garden and say, "WOW! Everything looks great!" Everything DOES look great! Very healthy. And that Pico de Gallo looks delicious! Keep up the good work!

-Adam

OCD Chilehead · Jul 11, 2016

Wow! The garden his maturing quick. Looks lovely. All the goodies are paying off. Wish mine looked so good. Need to add some biochar and other goodies next season. Your going to be in pod city soon. Pico looks delicious.

tctenten · Jul 11, 2016

You have it dialed in Rick. Ripe pods will not be to far behind. :dance:

Devv · Jul 11, 2016

You're riding on rails Rick!

Congrats on the great growth and all the poddage :dance:

I wish summer here was a bit more forgiving, I'm in the high 90's to 100's. 7 to 9 weeks left of this misery (for the peppers)...LOL. BUT! I don't get the cold winters, so it's a trade off.

Keep doing what you're doing!

stickman · Jul 11, 2016

Bhuter said:
Very, VERY nice! I love days like that. When you can go out to the garden and say, "WOW! Everything looks great!" Everything DOES look great! Very healthy. And that Pico de Gallo looks delicious! Keep up the good work!

-Adam

Cheers Adam, and welcome to the zoo!

OCD Chilehead said:
Wow! The garden his maturing quick. Looks lovely. All the goodies are paying off. Wish mine looked so good. Need to add some biochar and other goodies next season. Your going to be in pod city soon. Pico looks delicious.

Thanks for the good vibe Chuck! I'm amazed at the difference a couple of days of rain make when it's been so dry... not that I'm complaining.

I'm getting ripe Jalapenos now believe it or not! I picked my first ripe Cherry Tomato yesterday, so it won't be long until I'm able to make it with all my own ingredients.

Today's pick... they're runt pods, but one fully ripe and the other one almost so

stickman · Jul 11, 2016

tctenten said:
You have it dialed in Rick. Ripe pods will not be to far behind.

Cheers Terry! I certainly hope so. :party:

Devv said:
You're riding on rails Rick!

Congrats on the great growth and all the poddage

I wish summer here was a bit more forgiving, I'm in the high 90's to 100's. 7 to 9 weeks left of this misery (for the peppers)...LOL. BUT! I don't get the cold winters, so it's a trade off.

Keep doing what you're doing!

From your mouth to God's ear, eh Scott?

Ya... we're all learning to make the best of what we're given garden-wise. None of my peppers this year have gotten any more than plasticulture methods to make a warmer microclimate for the plants, compost, a little blackstrap Molasses and a few liquid nutes. I'll be interested myself how the plants will do next year with the addition of biochar and a crop of green manure this fall when the pepper season's over with.

Here's what's going on today...

The atypical first Bonnet pod is beginning to color up... at least the color is right even if the shape isn't

Lady Choi Gochu pods are looking longish and skinny

Korea Winner pods a little shorter and fatter

I unfortunately broke off this Lady Hermit Gochu pod when I was trying to get a pic of it. It wasn't going to ripen now anyway, so I ate about half the pod. It's still tasting green and a bit grassy for flavor, but had a pretty good punch of moderate heat... about like a New Mexico pepper.

Between them, the four Poblano plants I set out have set about 20 pods of about this size, and more coming all the time.

I'm not sure if the Bonnet plants with the necrotic spots and twisted-up leaves are due to stress or disease, but if it was stress I'd expect the new leaves that come out after the rain we had this weekend to be free of distortion. The plants seem to set pods OK, but not in any great numbers as yet.

Here's a better pic of what I mean for the spots and leaf distortion

This Saeng Cho pod looks a little bit fetal...

And lastly... the Aji Pineapple I planted in the Non-Annuum bed is about a foot tall and a foot wide Chuck, and it's beginning to set pods.

That's all for now folks... hope you all have a great week!

Spicegeist · Jul 11, 2016

Looking good. Now that you know the color is right, you can just pluck that runt so it stops taking up nutrients.

OCD Chilehead · Jul 11, 2016

Those pod's are fantastic. I didn't know the Gochu got that big.

Pineapple is looking great. I hope it's a winner. I have 12 of them. LOL! If it's anything like the one I grew last year, I'll be happy. Beerbreath81(Anthony) gave me last year's plant. Wish he was still around. Liked his grow and food pics.

Comptine · Jul 12, 2016

I'm really glad that your plants are starting to put out lots of pods! And ripening even! Rain is quite the blessing for the gardener, this year I'm trying a minimal approach with my outdoor plants. I don't water, don't fertilise (they should have enough in the sail to last them) and I try my best to not pollinate, just let nature do it's thing, and you know, it's working well!

Will you be doing reviews on the gochus? I'd be interested to hear more about them later, what they taste like, and don't forget the pictures that we all love!

randyp · Jul 13, 2016

Pods are filling in nicely Rick.I bought my brass meter from my city 3 years ago from my city for 100$.I take it in on October 15th every year and get water used outside thru the meter rebated from my sewage bill.It has paid for itself since it cost more to run water down to the water plant then the water itself.

stickman · Jul 13, 2016

Spicegeist said:
Looking good. Now that you know the color is right, you can just pluck that runt so it stops taking up nutrients.

It's not really a runt pod Charles, just one with an a-typical shape... probably caused by setting just before the cold weather set in this spring. At least I hope so. It's destined for a breakfast sammie this morning. :dance:

stickman · Jul 13, 2016

OCD Chilehead said:
Those pod's are fantastic. I didn't know the Gochu got that big.

Pineapple is looking great. I hope it's a winner. I have 12 of them. LOL! If it's anything like the one I grew last year, I'll be happy. Beerbreath81(Anthony) gave me last year's plant. Wish he was still around. Liked his grow and food pics.

Thanks for the good vibe Chuck! Yeah, the Gochus get pretty big for Cayenne-types... productive too. I got about a pound and a half of powder from 20 plants a few years ago and I expect to get about a kilo and a half from the 40 plants I have this year.

Comptine said:
I'm really glad that your plants are starting to put out lots of pods! And ripening even! Rain is quite the blessing for the gardener, this year I'm trying a minimal approach with my outdoor plants. I don't water, don't fertilise (they should have enough in the sail to last them) and I try my best to not pollinate, just let nature do it's thing, and you know, it's working well!

Will you be doing reviews on the gochus? I'd be interested to hear more about them later, what they taste like, and don't forget the pictures that we all love!

Cheers Alana! I'll be sure to post reviews of this year's Gochu crop. Glad your minimalist approach to gardening is working for you, and having a greenhouse to move the pots into at need is a real bonus!

randyp said:
Pods are filling in nicely Rick.I bought my brass meter from my city 3 years ago from my city for 100$.I take it on October 15th every year and get water used outside thru the meter re-bated from my sewage bill.I has paid for itself since it cost more to run water down to the water plant then the water itself.

Cheers Randy! I don't know if our town bills separately for water and sewer, but I'll be looking into it for sure. We use more water for our gardens here than we do for ourselves and that could be a significant savings. Thanks for the tip!

I finally cut down the Epazote herbs that were shading a couple of my Chinense plants, and ran them through my solar dehydrator. Boy, is this stuff pungent, but in a good way!

Have a great "hump day" all!

OCD Chilehead · Jul 13, 2016

Looking good Rick. Nothing like a fresh pod from the garden. I can't seem to find that herb. Haven't searched a lot, but the places I've gone they haven't had it. I've got a couple of places to try I the city.

randyp said:
Pods are filling in nicely Rick.I bought my brass meter from my city 3 years ago from my city for 100$.I take it on October 15th every year and get water used outside thru the meter re-bated from my sewage bill.I has paid for itself since it cost more to run water down to the water plant then the water itself.

That's pretty cool Randy. I would live to use one of those. If the city offered. I'm suppose to use non-potable irrigation water. I don't. We had a fracking spill a few years ago and it got into the creek. There is so many well pads around here, I don't trust the water. All the cooking and consumed water is bottled. I use the irrigation for the little patch of lawn. I wish it was good water. I have to pay an extra $30 a month for the irrigation. There is no limit on the irrigation.

Sorry Rick for the hijack rant. LOL

stickman · Jul 13, 2016

OCD Chilehead said:
Looking good Rick. Nothing like a fresh pod from the garden. I can't seem to find that herb. Haven't searched a lot, but the places I've gone they haven't had it. I've got a couple of places to try I the city.

That's pretty cool Randy. I would live to use one of those. If the city offered. I'm suppose to use non-potable irrigation water. I don't. We had a fracking spill a few years ago and it got into the creek. There is so many well pads around here, I don't trust the water. All the cooking and consumed water is bottled. I use the irrigation for the little patch of lawn. I wish it was good water. I have to pay an extra $30 a month for the irrigation. There is no limit on the irrigation.

Sorry Rick for the hijack rant. LOL

You probably won't find it at a nursery Chuck, but seeds are much easier to find. http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-8203-epazote.aspx

No problem with the rant... if my water was that bad I'd want to to blow off some steam too. :doh: