Windchicken 2014

Devv · May 28, 2014

Gary,

That plant's growdown material!

windchicken · May 29, 2014

Datil said:
Woah!
Maybe you'd have to top it some time ago Gary? LOL

Datil

Haha, thanks Fabrizio! I'm try to leave it alone so I can observe its normal growth habit. That, and I like tall plants

Cayennemist said:
It almost looks like a sunflower

Lol, thank Ras! I believe it finally forked a couple days ago….

chile_freak said:
Awesome grow as always Gary! This is my third season growing those great big Congo Trinidad seeds you sent me love those! The nagabrain looks deadly!

Thanks Paul! It's good to hear from you!

It's so cool you're still growing our old friend the Congo Trinidad…I still have one plant myself, in a container, that I've kept around for three seasons. That one is just so fun to grow, with the big, robust plants and the buttloads of huge, thick-fleshed, spicy pods that never fail to satisfy…Many chile heads might disagree, but some of those Congo pods seem very nearly super hot strength in the mouth burn…And there's nothing like a Congo burp, right? :dance:

Remind me in a few weeks and I'll ship you some fresh NagaBrain pods when the first ones get ready. It's another really fun plant to grow, with more pods than you can imagine, and plants that easily reach 7 feet tall….

Devv said:
Gary,

That plant's growdown material!

Thanks Scott! I'm damned excited to see how big it will get. Moving it to a barrel planter soon….

chile_freak · May 29, 2014

windchicken said:
Haha, thanks Fabrizio! I'm try to leave it alone so I can observe its normal growth habit. That, and I like tall plants

Lol, thank Ras! I believe it finally forked a couple days ago….

Thanks Paul! It's good to hear from you!

It's so cool you're still growing our old friend the Congo Trinidad…I still have one plant myself, in a container, that I've kept around for three seasons. That one is just so fun to grow, with the big, robust plants and the buttloads of huge, thick-fleshed, spicy pods that never fail to satisfy…Many chile heads might disagree, but some of those Congo pods seem very nearly super hot strength in the mouth burn…And there's nothing like a Congo burp, right?

Remind me in a few weeks and I'll ship you some fresh NagaBrain pods when the first ones get ready. It's another really fun plant to grow, with more pods than you can imagine, and plants that easily reach 7 feet tall….

right you are sir i use them to cook with constantly big delicious pods w/ a very nice heat! Nagabrains! :onfire:

oooooooooooh hooooooooooooooooo!

chile_freak · May 29, 2014

btw Gary, what do you fertilize with rocket fuel :flamethrower:

windchicken · May 30, 2014

chile_freak said:
btw Gary, what do you fertilize with rocket fuel

Lol, thanks so much, Paul

If you're asking about that crazy tall CAP 501 cross, it's only in MG Potting Mix, with no other amendments. I may have "bumped" it once with Liquid MG, I can't say for sure. The extra-dark leaves and insane upward mobility seem to be the way that plant rolls….I've never seen anything quite like it. :dance:

As for my in-ground plants, well now, that's a whole 'nother thing….If you really want to know, I'm always glad to talk about it building forest soil….It's probably the thing I'm most passionate about, even more than chiles...

chile_freak · May 30, 2014

I was actually referring to the extra tall cap that looks awesome, but I'm always down to get more knowledge to better my composting and soil management habits, the better we treat our earth, the Better it will treat us!
I'm not 100% organic, but I try to be as natural as possible only compost, worm castings, manure, fish emulsion, and seaweed extract to fertilize with,w/ the occasional bloodmeal,bonemeal and or Epsom salt or dolomite as needed. As for pesticide I stick w/ garden safe or neem oil, or garlic or citric extracts on my peppers and tomatoes, as I have well water and don't want to poison myself, but on my squash I inevitably have to use some 7dust cuz the squash bugs get nasty around here if I could find an alternative to that I'd be all ears, but all the gardeners and farmers here say the same thing 7dust!

chile_freak · Jun 1, 2014

windchicken said:
Haha, thanks Fabrizio! I'm try to leave it alone so I can observe its normal growth habit. That, and I like tall plants

I hear ya Gary, me too!

windchicken · Jun 2, 2014

chile_freak said:
I was actually referring to the extra tall cap that looks awesome, but I'm always down to get more knowledge to better my composting and soil management habits, the better we treat our earth, the Better it will treat us!

Cool, Paul, we are on the same page, then!

For the last 5 years I've been building tall beds with chipped hardwood branches, a.k.a. "RCW". I first learned of this method of building forest-type soil from a Laval University (Quebec) study that was seeking a way to rebuild depleted soils in Africa. Basically what it does is mimic thousands of years of soiling-building in just a few years. No, or very little, fertilizer is involved, and the soil becomes increasingly more fertile with the passing years, instead of needing to be constantly fed with chemical fertilizers or manures. In addition to increased fertility, porosity and permeability problems in dense, clayey soils are cured, erosion problems are solved, a more uniform moisture level is maintained, weeds are greatly reduced, and that bane of the southern garden, the root know nematode, is completely removed from the soil. One of the biggest benefits, however, is that once the wood chips are mixed in with the soil, it is no longer disturbed. There is no plowing or cultivating whatsoever—a true "permaculture" method of gardening.

My method, as simply as I can put it— The first year ONLY, I mix the wood chips and soil at the ratio of about 1:1, down to several inches. If I am building tall beds—and I usually do—I will mix the wood chips and soil and "hill" it up into mounds 20-50 feet long x 2 feet tall x 3 feet wide. The reason I build such tall beds is that my soil has extremely poor drainage—In my beds the entire root ball is contained above ground level, insuring good drainage. I then apply a 3-4 inch thick layer of hardwood chips to the entire bed, as a mulch layer. The bed then needs to sit for at least 3 months to allow the wood chips to begin to decompose and release nitrogen into the soil. A very new RCW bed—one that is around a year or less old—may require some "adjustment" additions of a liquid fertilizer for certain varieties. Every year I "dress" the beds with more hardwood chips, so that the previous year's mulch layer becomes this year's top soil layer. After 3 years the soil becomes very, very fertile.

If you like science, here's a link to the paper that turned me onto RCW soil back in the day. There's also a link to a less technical, more hands-on article, written by one of the students of the man who did the original work:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/61900856/Original_Lemieux_Paper.pdf

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/61900856/ramial_chipped_wood_2007_11_27.pdf

Thanks for asking, and please don't hesitate to ask questions!

JJJessee · Jun 2, 2014

I haven't read that second link, but I have the first and I highly recommend it.

chile_freak · Jun 2, 2014

That's great thanks I have two huge piles of hardwood chips out back from shredding several falling trees winter before last, I had been throwing them in my compost a bucket at a time, now I've got a use for a bunch of it, and the best part is it already has had a year of decomposition and it is already on top of forest soil, so I may have to dig up some that has had decomposing hardwood on it for a year and a half, my house was built on farmland that butted up to a very old forest w/ a creek running through it, I've been taking a bit of soil of the floor for my mix now the past couple years it has helped a lot in pest and disease control I believe

KiNGDeNNiZ · Jun 2, 2014

Thinks look great. Glad to see the bonda x 7 yellow and the NagaBrain be it chocolate and red

Devv · Jun 2, 2014

You have me convinced Gary! I'm going to make some type of rig for the tractor so I can pull the material of the trailer and truck bed, and load up!

Have a great week!

windchicken · Jun 3, 2014

JJJessee said:
I haven't read that second link, but I have the first and I highly recommend it.

Wow, Jesse, thanks so much for checking that out and the endorsement, too!

chile_freak said:
That's great thanks I have two huge piles of hardwood chips out back from shredding several falling trees winter before last, I had been throwing them in my compost a bucket at a time, now I've got a use for a bunch of it, and the best part is it already has had a year of decomposition and it is already on top of forest soil, so I may have to dig up some that has had decomposing hardwood on it for a year and a half, my house was built on farmland that butted up to a very old forest w/ a creek running through it, I've been taking a bit of soil of the floor for my mix now the past couple years it has helped a lot in pest and disease control I believe

Your place sounds idyllic, Paul! Your soil will be amazing....

KiNGDeNNiZ said:
Thinks look great. Glad to see the bonda x 7 yellow and the NagaBrain be it chocolate and red

Thanks KD! Oh, there's plenty of NB red...I just haven't posted the pix yet. :cool:

Devv said:
You have me convinced Gary! I'm going to make some type of rig for the tractor so I can pull the material of the trailer and truck bed, and load up!

Have a great week!

Haha, that's great, Scott

I'm excited to see what you come up with...I've been using a shovel and a wheelbarrow—It's real satisfying work, the wood chips aren't nearly as heavy as sand, and I always sleep very well after moving a yard of the stuff. The evening after doing that, however, I have to do neti pot twice, cause my sinuses will be packed with RCW dust.... :surprised:

windchicken · Jun 3, 2014

Since KD mentioned NagaBrain Red yesterday, I decided to snap a few pix of the "patio" garden before work this morning.

The F3 NagaBrain (red) population—all 12 plants—growing in the oldest of my RCW beds.

:dance:

These plants are the proud descendants of romy6's 2011 happy accident: :dance:

The 7 plants in the RCW bed nearest the camera are Zapotec Jalapeño (Peppermania). That's a yellow mushroom growing with Plant #6—There's been A LOT of rain:

Some extra NagaBrains and Madame Jeanettes, already promised to MeatHead1313 in Lafayette, Louisiana:

A couple extra 7 Pot Yellow in front, and the mysterious missing fourth 7 Pot Rennie in back. These plants are also spoken for:

This Guampinha de Veado (C. baccatum, Peppermania) plant survived two winters before succumbing to the Ice Storm of 2014. Fortunately, plenty of seeds had fallen into its container, giving me this forest of volunteers.

If you were wondering whether seeds can survive a freeze, here's your answer:

millworkman · Jun 3, 2014

I love how normally garden beds need to be kept up and because they degrade year after year yet the RCW beds look better and better as they age. GREAT STUFF!!

JJJessee · Jun 3, 2014

That top bed is a beauty. How many years is it now?

chile_freak · Jun 3, 2014

Quick question for you Gary,BTW,the peppers look amazing as always, do you think partially decomposed hardwood chips would be good in a potting mix as well or should I ssave those for the gardens?
I believe its ash, walnut and oak if I remember correctly, if that helps.

windchicken · Jun 3, 2014

millworkman said:
I love how normally garden beds need to be kept up and because they degrade year after year yet the RCW beds look better and better as they age. GREAT STUFF!!

Thanks Noah! You totally get how this works

. I was at the wood chip place a few days ago getting another pick-up load, and the guy asked "What are you doing with all these wood chips?" I started to explain the RCW soil-building process as simply as I could, and I just got a blank gaze in return…These people are professional landscapers.….

They're really nice folks, though, and I like doing business with them, so I don't want to dis them. It's just that almost no one gets it….We've got a ways to go, but I think when RCW soil finally catches on it will be like wildfire, and the price will go from $30 per yard to $50 or $60…So maybe this is a good time right now….

JJJessee said:
That top bed is a beauty. How many years is it now?

Thanks Jesse. At the end of this season it will be 5 years old. At this point I have to be very careful not to burn up the plants with the overly-rich soil when I first set them in the ground….

chile_freak said:
Quick question for you Gary,BTW,the peppers look amazing as always, do you think partially decomposed hardwood chips would be good in a potting mix as well or should I ssave those for the gardens?
I believe its ash, walnut and oak if I remember correctly, if that helps.

I'm a total doofus about potting mix, Paul—That's why I always just use MG, because it's always worked for me. For what it's worth, your mix sounds excellent, however. I'm pretty sure MG Potting Mix is primarily partially-decomposed hardwood chips and cow manure, along with a couple other things….

chile_freak · Jun 3, 2014

Cheers thanks!

JJJessee · Jun 3, 2014

This thread finally got me to pick up the phone and call Asplundh who trims trees for the power companies all over the east coast and beyond appearently.
I'm hoping to intercept some of their grindings on their way to the water treatment plant where they accept them for free to make compost.
If I can save them some mileage we both win.

chile_freak said:
Quick question for you Gary,BTW,the peppers look amazing as always, do you think partially decomposed hardwood chips would be good in a potting mix as well or should I ssave those for the gardens?
I believe its ash, walnut and oak if I remember correctly, if that helps.

The way I understand it. The ramial wood, twigs and small limbs, is the prime substance because it is soft tissue, full of nutrients and hence decomposes more quickly. As you get into the heartwood of the tree, there is not much there nutrient-wise and takes longer to break down.

But the tree trimming service material tends to be more ramial chips, and our species mix locally tends to be less than 20% conifer (which doesn't seem to compost as well) so, I should get pretty good material if I can get a few loads.

Somewhere on the internoodle it was pointed out you can really get things rockin' by inoculating the pile with mushroom material(preferably spawn) and a little igneous rock dust.