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Stickman's 2018 Soil Mineralization Glog

Hi all! Now that the new year is here, it's time to swing into gear and get ready for the next season of growing chiles! I'll be starting my seeds in a few weeks, and after rotating the crops in my raised beds to get rid of the Pepper Maggots that showed up in 2016, I'll be able to plant a lot more this year. In the meantime, I thought I'd share what I do to prepare my garden soil for the start of the season. I've grown chiles in pots and in-ground, and for me at least, I seem to do better with the plants grown in the soil.
 
To start with, my garden soil is sandy, so I have to add lots of compost in the top six inches of soil to hold moisture and prevent nutrients from leaching away. Soil microbes break it down in just a few years though, so keeping it topped up is a yearly necessity. We compost our kitchen waste to that end, but there's never enough, so we also buy it from a local outfit that produces it commercially. I was put onto adding biochar as well by brother Scott (Devv.)  The biochar does the same things that humus does but it lasts longer and  helps the environment by sequestering carbon in the soil. I've also been reading about how amending with Montmorillonite clay can increase fertility and help with soil structure, but more on that in a future post.
 
At the end of each growing season I take soil samples from my various gardens and get them tested at Logan Labs in Ohio. They do a more thorough job than our UMass extension by testing for Cobalt, Molybdenum and Silicate levels as well as he usual suspects. :)    I'm taking a "Build and Maintain" approach toward soil nutrients because I want my plants to have the best organic nutrition available to them, and at the small scale I'm planting, it's affordable for me. http://nevegetable.org/cultural-practices/plant-nutrients  
 
Here's my last soil test, taken the end of November. It's the starting point for figuring what amendments I'll need when I prep my beds for planting in the spring. The pepper garden is bordered in yellow.
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In my next post I'll cover the math I use to figure that out. Cheers!
 
stickman said:
 
Thanks Scott! I've got a ways to go to catch up to you, but I won't be planting outside for at least 4 weeks. :)
 
 

Yes, but I'll be letting most burn up in the sun while you're still running ;)
 
We are on most different schedules for sure!
 
Devv said:
 
Yes, but I'll be letting most burn up in the sun while you're still running ;)
 
We are on most different schedules for sure!
 
Heh... at least you're not dodging toasters from outer space! IDK if anti-hail netting would be enough protection if those suckers come in at terminal volocity...  :P
 
Howdy folks! We're 4 weeks into my grow, and I think I've got things pretty well dialed in inside the growbox. I just checked the temperature inside before the lights came on and it was 60 degrees... Just perfect!
The plants in the growbox are right on track, and here are the second wave at week 2... The best of those is a Red Rocoto that's working on it's third set of leaves. I'll probably move it downstairs next weekend.

Have a great one yourselves!
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Genetikx said:
Good to see everything coming along, Rick. That rocoto looks like it'll be an over achiever
Cheers Ryan. ☺ That's the hope anyway. The only other Pube I've been successful with has been the Orange Manzano. Looking forward to trying the Peruvian Red this year for sure!
Checking in on the plants in the growbox I see one of the PDN x Bondas got a bit too dried out from the fan inside, so I moved it further away and chanced the fan timer to half an hour on and 2.5 hours off. Hopefully that takes care of the problem. The other seedlings are growing noticeably every day, and the onions are sprouting. :woo-hoo:
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PeriPeri said:
Looking fantastic Rick. I just don't know how you manage to grow onions.... they take soooooo looooooong!
The long-day onions we grow here take about as long as the Chinense Chile's Laurens. Pretty good timing for sauce-making, eh? [emoji6]

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Hi all! The Annuums are starting to hook up. The first are the Kurtovska Kapijas in the Aerogarden. There are 6 of those, and the next to pop should be the 6 Szegedi Paprikas in the cells next to them. The rest I've sown in 1020 trays in the growbox. As warm as they are inside that, they should follow quickly. Tomatoes, Tomatillos and Eggplants will get sowed at the end of the month.
Cheers!
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Downstairs I have Jalapeno Jalafuego x6, Jalapeno Craig's Grande x6, Texas Wild Pequin x6, Chile Tepin x6, Goat's Weed x6, Ancho Gigantea x6, Macedonian Rezha x6, Kapia Ajvarski from Baker Creek x12, 18 more Szegedi Paprika and 24 more Kurtovska Kapijas.
Most of the Szegedi Paprikas and Kurtovska Kapijas are gonna be split between my Mom, a Romanian friend and myself.
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It'll be interesting to see which will germinate quicker... the seeds in the Aerogarden or the ones in the growbox.

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Walchit said:
Kurtovska Kapijas looks pretty good, have you grown them before?
 
I sure have! I got the seeds from a swap with MisterNo in 2012 and have been growing them every year since, with the exception of last year when I was trying to get rid of the Pepper Maggots from the year before. I love them roasted and peeled by themselves or used to make Ajvar. http://thehotpepper.com/topic/36298-ajvar/#entry742986
 
I love these big, meaty, and sweet peppers! Here's just one of the pods I grew in 2014. The weight in grams comes to a bit over half a pound.
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Solid 9 ouncer! I might try to entice you into a trade this season. Do the plants have allot of pods? I was really disappointed by the amount of pods I got off my bells last year, maybe they just needed more soil
 
Walchit said:
Solid 9 ouncer! I might try to entice you into a trade this season. Do the plants have allot of pods? I was really disappointed by the amount of pods I got off my bells last year, maybe they just needed more soil
It really depends on the size of the plant. The leaf canopy is usually about the size of the root ball when you grow in soil, and the more of both, the more pods the plant can grow. The Kurtovska Kapijas are a long-season pepper. They won't produce ripe pods much before September, but a dozen plants should give you a bushel of ripe peppers if they like the soil and get enough water.
I've got plenty of seeds if you want to trade.

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Walchit said:
I would have to look thru my stock or wait till I get some pods, I need to go though my seeds and update my trade list for sure
In your own time... [emoji4] the seeds I have are from 2015, but seem to have 80% germination. Just let me know.
Devv said:
Looks like you're right on track Rick!
I think so Scott. ☺ Dang if the weather isn't getting colder this weekend! If we can believe the weather forecasters, the end of March will be colder than the whole month of February. At least it's nice and toasty in the growbox. I'm really happy with the spectrum mix in the T5 fixture. It came with 4 Spectralux 6400k flourescent tubes, but I swapped one tube out this year for a Hortilux PowerVEG FS+UV tube and I see better growth as compared to last year.
https://eyehortilux.com/grow-lights/powerveg-family/powerveg-fsuv/powerveg-difference/
 
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Everything is looking great!
 
I'm a bit perplexed by the schedule your Onions have, that or I start them way too early. Here if I grow them from seed, starting them in September, they are the same size as the ones I can get in the stores that sell the starter Onions. Harvest time is in June, when the tops fall over. I grow the short day Onions. So that's a 90 day ordeal. I can extend the season by growing the long day varieties by 30 days, which means more in storage before they spoil. They always spoil before we can eat the all. Just too warm here. So what we do is run them through the food processor and freeze them..
 
Devv said:
Everything is looking great!
 
I'm a bit perplexed by the schedule your Onions have, that or I start them way too early. Here if I grow them from seed, starting them in September, they are the same size as the ones I can get in the stores that sell the starter Onions. Harvest time is in June, when the tops fall over. I grow the short day Onions. So that's a 90 day ordeal. I can extend the season by growing the long day varieties by 30 days, which means more in storage before they spoil. They always spoil before we can eat the all. Just too warm here. So what we do is run them through the food processor and freeze them..
That's what I've heard for growing onions in different regions... short day varieties down south and long day varieties here in the north. If you don't have a humidity-controlled walk-in cooler for storage, then freezing sounds like a must for the sweets. Most storage varieties seem to be the pungent types... yellow onions here in the north, and maybe these red onions down your way. The seller is in Texas too.   http://www.dixondalefarms.com/product/red_creole/short_day_onions
 
 
Awesome Rick! I do love onions and the only thing that has put me off is how long it takes for them to grow. Almost a year for regular onions. I have never hear of long/short day onions. I don't think they sell those here - I may have to do some research!
 
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