Windchicken 2013

capsidadburn · Jul 2, 2013

Great info addenda Gary! Love the look of those bonda x yellow 7 cross from Charles. Great bright color. I often say to myself that I going to amend my beds earlier to help with this but I never get it done.

I count myself among the many here with grow envy after reading your updates!

Have a great day!
Mike

windchicken · Jul 2, 2013

Indiana_Jesse said:
Termite poison? Accidentally on plants? I encourage you to PM me about your strategy, as I want to make sure you're not getting sold "snake oil". I've been working in pest control for a long time, and I am more than happy to help. Pretty much, the only products that actually work for termites, only licensed professionals can use/apply. Also, all termiticides must be either injected into the soil, or infested wood, never broadcast on top of the soil or wood. I'm not criticizing, just want to help, I'm sure you understand.

Thanks Jesse...This is what I used...Without my glasses on it looked very similar to a bottle of Malathion:

compmodder26 said:
I've done a brief search on here without finding an answer to my question, so figured I'd just go ahead and ask you directly, Gary. You say you buy your RCW in bags. Do you get it from a big box store? If so, what is the brand. In the doc you've linked to before it says to stay from coniferous trees, yet most of the mulch I see sold at big box stores are made from conifers. Do you hold to that thought as well?

Edit: Found this at Lowes. Seems like what you are referring to? And at ~$1.17/ft3, seems pretty budget friendly to me.

That's the very stuff, Brian.....And yes, I get it at Lowes...

It's really hard to find as a bagged product, at least around here...As you say, most of it is cedar or cypress chips, or those dyed mulches...You may want to consider checking with you local landscaping supplier, who will have it in bulk at much cheaper prices. Where I live they sell hardwood bark mulch for $30 per cubic yard...That's where I will be buying mine in the future...

Thanks so much for thinking about using RCW...You will be very happy you did!

capsidadburn said:
Great info addenda Gary! Love the look of those bonda x yellow 7 cross from Charles. Great bright color. I often say to myself that I going to amend my beds earlier to help with this but I never get it done.

I count myself among the many here with grow envy after reading your updates!

Have a great day!
Mike

Thanks Mike! It's so good to know I'm not alone in my procrastination! Hope you garden is flourishing!

I took this panorama shot of the new row just now, facing SE. From L-R: 3 plants Congo Trinidad (PIC1), 2 plants Bahamian Goat (capsidadburn), 6 plants Bahamian Goat (FadeToBlack—the pale plants in the middle of the photo), 1 plant Hippy Yellow 7, 6 plants MoA Scotch Bonnet (STEVE954). The plants under the shade cloth are Madame Jeanette (meatfreak). I burned up one of them with Osmocote, hence the empty spot. The nutsedge-infested mound of dirt behind the Goats and Bonnets is the raw material I will use to finish the middle row:

This is the Mexican annuum row. It was amended in April of 2012, so the RCW soil is nice and mature. I used a little MG soil at plant-out time, but nothing since then. From L-R: 4 plants Zapotec Jalapeño (Peppermania), 4 plants Chile Onza (CPI), 8 plants Chilhuacle Rojo (Peppermania—middle of the photo), 5 plants NuMex Heritage 6-4 (CPI), 3 plants Thai Garden Birdseed (an "honorary" Mexican annuum

—original seeds from Baker Creek—these plants are from third generation saved seeds):

millworkman · Jul 2, 2013

So a pallet at a time?

Great looking plants Gary. Pro style for sure.

windchicken · Jul 2, 2013

If they would give me a price break for buying in quantity I would buy it by the pallet...Maybe your experience with them is different, but they have NEVER cut me a break at Lowes....

I saved the bags I used to build out that short section under the shade cloth—40 bags for 15 feet of bed (amendment + mulch layer)!!! :surprised:

That was my wake-up call...$30 per cubic yard at the landscape supply is making WAY more sense...

Thanks for the kudos dude! Still lots of work to do, but I'm NOT going to kill myself...This is supposed to be fun....

millworkman · Jul 2, 2013

windchicken said:
If they would give me a price break for buying in quantity I would buy it by the pallet...Maybe your experience with them is different, but they have NEVER cut me a break at Lowes....

I saved the bags I used to build out that short section under the shade cloth—40 bags for 15 feet of bed (amendment + mulch layer)!!! That was my wake-up call...$30 per cubic yard at the landscape supply is making WAY more sense...

Thanks for the kudos dude! Still lots of work to do, but I'm NOT going to kill myself...This is supposed to be fun....

Never get price breaks for bulk from any big box store. We have a little mom and pop place though that only sells it bulk by the scoop or a whole pallet of bags. Same product but you have to get a lot at a time but it breaks down to being 40% cheaper than bags at Lowes of Home Depot.

It is fun... watching you work so hard and making the mistakes so that we can learn from it. Keep it up!

Indiana_Jesse · Jul 2, 2013

Yup, good ole snake oil! They can advertise it as such because if you expose said insects to it directly they WILL die. However, unless you have proper soil/wood drenching equipment , or apply it directly inside the insect nests, the treatment is more like a placebo. Termites are a big pain in the butt, and unfortunetly the only treatments that work are expensive soil and wood treatments done professionally, and they ger real expensive, BUT they do work for a good 3 -20+ years depending on whether you use a bait system or a soil insecticide barrier.

compmodder26 · Jul 2, 2013

windchicken said:
That's the very stuff, Brian.....And yes, I get it at Lowes...

It's really hard to find as a bagged product, at least around here...As you say, most of it is cedar or cypress chips, or those dyed mulches...You may want to consider checking with you local landscaping supplier, who will have it in bulk at much cheaper prices. Where I live they sell hardwood bark mulch for $30 per cubic yard...That's where I will be buying mine in the future...

Thanks so much for thinking about using RCW...You will be very happy you did!

Yeah I'm considering that. This local supplier has hardwood bark mulch and a "living mulch" that is 70% hardwood bark and 30% standardbred compost. You think that the living mulch would be a good option or would it just be best to stick with the hardwood mulch only? A yard would actually be about perfect for me as I will be using it on 3 raised beds (64 square feet total) which would amount to 16 cubic feet needed if I dig it in 2 inches in the soil and add an 1 - 1 1/2 inch layer as mulch, like the paper suggests. I would then have pretty much the right amount to use as mulch in my front yard landscape.

PaulG · Jul 2, 2013

Sorry to hear about the baked plant roots, but things look like
they are going to pull through for you, Gary. Some nice pods
goin'. Great info about the hardwood mulch. I'm with you - drive
to the local landscape supply in yo' rig and get a yard of it!

Good growin' your way, bro!

romy6 · Jul 2, 2013

Beautiful G money :fireball:

windchicken · Jul 2, 2013

millworkman said:
Never get price breaks for bulk from any big box store. We have a little mom and pop place though that only sells it bulk by the scoop or a whole pallet of bags. Same product but you have to get a lot at a time but it breaks down to being 40% cheaper than bags at Lowes of Home Depot.

It is fun... watching you work so hard and making the mistakes so that we can learn from it. Keep it up!

Cool...I love to support local business, too...

Lol...if even one guy can skip this $&%*! part, it will have been worth it...

I'm sure I have many more mistakes to learn...stay tuned!

Indiana_Jesse said:
Yup, good ole snake oil! They can advertise it as such because if you expose said insects to it directly they WILL die. However, unless you have proper soil/wood drenching equipment , or apply it directly inside the insect nests, the treatment is more like a placebo. Termites are a big pain in the butt, and unfortunetly the only treatments that work are expensive soil and wood treatments done professionally, and they ger real expensive, BUT they do work for a good 3 -20+ years depending on whether you use a bait system or a soil insecticide barrier.

Wow, thanks for the heads-up Jesse. I need to call someone, then...

compmodder26 said:
Yeah I'm considering that. This local supplier has hardwood bark mulch and a "living mulch" that is 70% hardwood bark and 30% standardbred compost. You think that the living mulch would be a good option or would it just be best to stick with the hardwood mulch only? A yard would actually be about perfect for me as I will be using it on 3 raised beds (64 square feet total) which would amount to 16 cubic feet needed if I dig it in 2 inches in the soil and add an 1 - 1 1/2 inch layer as mulch, like the paper suggests. I would then have pretty much the right amount to use as mulch in my front yard landscape.

If I were planting straight away right after the amendment, I think I would consider trying some of that 70/30 stuff...I'm not real crazy about the sawdust, but the horse manure might be about right to offset the N2 tie-up. Or you could just use the regular hardwood mulch and add some aged manure...If I were building beds 4-6 months before plant-out time, however, I would probably pass on the 70/30 blend...RCW really has everything the soil needs, once the decay is well underway and the forest soil ecosystem is established.

PaulG said:
Sorry to hear about the baked plant roots, but things look like
they are going to pull through for you, Gary. Some nice pods
goin'. Great info about the hardwood mulch. I'm with you - drive
to the local landscape supply in yo' rig and get a yard of it!

Good growin' your way, bro!

Thanks Paul....I think they will probably all survive—They're just not going to be the honking massive trees I had envisioned...But there's always next year...By then the new beds will be truly primo!

romy6 said:
Beautiful G money

Thanks J Dogg!

compmodder26 · Jul 2, 2013

windchicken said:
If I were planting straight away right after the amendment, I think I would consider trying some of that 70/30 stuff...I'm not real crazy about the sawdust, but the horse manure might be about right to offset the N2 tie-up. Or you could just use the regular hardwood mulch and add some aged manure...If I were building beds 4-6 months before plant-out time, however, I would probably pass on the 70/30 blend...RCW really has everything the soil needs, once the decay is well underway and the forest soil ecosystem is established.

Won't be planting straight away. I plan to incorporate this in the fall (late Sept. - early Oct.) and won't be using the beds until March. So I'll probably just stick to the hardwood mulch only. Thanks for the advice Gary!

Datil · Jul 3, 2013

Amazing as usual Gary!

Cya

Datil

windchicken · Jul 3, 2013

compmodder26 said:
Won't be planting straight away. I plan to incorporate this in the fall (late Sept. - early Oct.) and won't be using the beds until March. So I'll probably just stick to the hardwood mulch only. Thanks for the advice Gary!

Perfect! Expect some primo soil and plants like you've never seen....

Datil said:
Amazing as usual Gary!

Cya

Datil

Thanks Fabrizio!

windchicken · Jul 3, 2013

Texas Pequin (SmiterQ). These babies are a rock solid 100,000 Scovilles. Maybe not so impressive by the numbers, but YOU WILL RESPECT THE PEQUIN—It doesn't creep up like a chinense...It hits you all at once, like a firecracker going off in your mouth:

capsidadburn · Jul 3, 2013

Gary that plant is sickening! Get it off the forum please. I have a couple first years but I've only tasted from one and maybe 30 to 50 K scovie. Your hedge has arrived I'd say!
Congratulations are in order.

Mike

windchicken · Jul 3, 2013

Thanks Mike! This is actually an overwinter from the original seeds Brian sent me last year...Would that make it F1 or F2, assuming Brian's plant came from the original cross? I can never remember how that works....

KiNGDeNNiZ · Jul 3, 2013

Whattttt. Gary made a mistake ?! But you're an earth science DR. Hope all recovers.

GA Growhead · Jul 3, 2013

Way nice plant there!

Spicegeist · Jul 3, 2013

windchicken said:
Here's an update on the Bonda Ma Jacques x Yellow 7 cross from Spicegeist. (These plants are in 7-gal. nursery containers):

Wow, I am very impressed! They look just like the pods on the F1 plant!
You can see both the Y7 and the Bonda in the shape...

MGOLD86 · Jul 4, 2013

Wow, looking great Gary, had to go back through the last couple of pages to get caught up. The plants are looking very healthy, and I love that Texas Pequin! Definitely gotta put it on my grow list for next year, really good looking plant, and I bet it would be the perfect "snacking" pepper! Pop one, take some photos of the garden, pop another...repeat until you OD....

Also, great info on the soil. It is very interesting watching you work with the soil you have and build it up to make something great.