Windchicken 2016

stickman · Aug 7, 2016

windchicken said:
Thanks Rick! Your Naga/Tabasco cross is certainly compelling...It's also interesting how readily C. frutescens seems to cross with chiles of other species...And that Louisiana-style hot sauce sounds perfect!

If you like, last year I air-dried some of those SmiterQ pods at room temperature, to ensure viability of the seeds...But I don't mind going down to the garden and picking you several hands full of fresh pods, either...They need to be picked badly, as you can see by the photos!

For some reason BOC seems to really flourish here, which seems unlikely considering where they were bred, but then again both of the parent varieties are from very warm climates...

As for the soil in the Red River Valley, or any other river valley, it really depends on what part of it one is considering (Hope you don't mind my geeking out on alluvial geology for a bit): The grain size of the sediments decreases, generally, with increasing distance from the main channel. The land right next to the river is the highest in the valley, and is quite sandy. My home is at the very western edge of the valley, a couple of miles from the river, so what we have here is very dense, sticky, dark-reddish-brown clay. When we first moved here I bemoaned my poor choice of real estate, but after I built my first clay-and-RCW (shredded hardwood) beds, I realized that this is really wonderful soil, very rich in minerals compared to sand, which is chemically inert, and light and porous from the addition of the wood chips and the constant re-working by the earthworms. The worms really love the forest soil, and my beds are basically worm palaces. Never mind worm tea or castings, those dudes are producing more than one could possibly imagine, right there in the beds where the chile plants live....

You may have heard me speak of RCW soil elsewhere, I don't know. If you are interested to know more, let me know...

I'll have plenty of Texas Pequins this year from my 8 plants, so I'm good for fresh pods, but would certainly be interested in a seed swap if you're up for it.

My experience with the Red River valley is pretty much limited to a 3-day visit with a buddy who was stationed at Barksdale AFB. I remember lots of Cotton fields and finding mudbug holes about a mile from the river there... interesting that the soil is that much different a couple more miles out. I'd certainly also be interested in hearing about RCW... don't think I've heard of it before, and anything that'll help build up my sandy soil is something I'm interested in. I've been experimenting with a 90/10 mix of compost to biochar this year and having good results from that.

cloudhand · Aug 9, 2016

What is the "SmiterQ" variant?

My first experience with a pequin was in 1989 when I was in the Army and stationed in San Antonio. I lived off base and a Hispanic neighbor had a small bush in his front yard that produced small, oblong, red berries that were blazing hot (at the time the hottest pepper I had eaten was a cayenne, so these were nuclear to me!). He told me they were "chili pecan", at least that is what it sounded like when he said it. This bush did not die off in the winter and would just get bigger each year. If I would have known better, I would have saved some seed, but at that time I wasn't growing peppers.

A few years ago I finally did some research and figured out that this "chili pecan" was really a pequin. I tried ordered some seed but they did not turn out the same.

It looks like what you have there is very similar to that bush growing in my neighbors front yard many years ago. I would love to get some seed from you and try growing it next year.

windchicken said:
Texas Pequin, the soft, juicy "SmiterQ" variant. Once a healthy stand of these plants is established, one only needs to pick out the weeds. The plants re-sow themselves every year, and many survive icy winters.

What is this Bonda Mahalas? Knowing of some of the amazing peppers you grow, the statement that you think this is one of the best-tasting of all peppers is very powerful. I'm intrigued. Is there any information you can share regarding this pepper? Sounds like that is another one I want to add to my grow list for next year!

windchicken said:
Thanks Frank! I'm a bit biased, but I think Mahala is one of the best-tasting of all peppers...

windchicken · Aug 9, 2016

cloudhand said:
What is the "SmiterQ" variant?

My first experience with a pequin was in 1989 when I was in the Army and stationed in San Antonio. I lived off base and a Hispanic neighbor had a small bush in his front yard that produced small, oblong, red berries that were blazing hot (at the time the hottest pepper I had eaten was a cayenne, so these were nuclear to me!). He told me they were "chili pecan", at least that is what it sounded like when he said it. This bush did not die off in the winter and would just get bigger each year. If I would have known better, I would have saved some seed, but at that time I wasn't growing peppers.

A few years ago I finally did some research and figured out that this "chili pecan" was really a pequin. I tried ordered some seed but they did not turn out the same.

It looks like what you have there is very similar to that bush growing in my neighbors front yard many years ago. I would love to get some seed from you and try growing it next year.

What is this Bonda Mahalas? Knowing of some of the amazing peppers you grow, the statement that you think this is one of the best-tasting of all peppers is very powerful. I'm intrigued. Is there any information you can share regarding this pepper? Sounds like that is another one I want to add to my grow list for next year!

Sounds like your neighbor in San Antonio had the real thing! What a wonderful introduction to this truest of all Southwestern chiles...well, maybe second truest, after Chiltepin, the mother of all C. annuum chiles...

It seems to me that there are as many variants of Chile Pequin as there are chile gardens, probably because it seems to cross so very easily with just about every other pepper...I sometimes call my primary version "Texas Pequin," which is fair, because it is native to the Austin, Texas area, but it seems a little different from what one normally considers to be the classic Texas Pequin, in that the pods are a bit larger than a normal Chile Pequin, and they are quite soft and juicy, like Tabasco. The flesh is quite sweet and carries a potent kick. I call it the "SmiterQ" variant because my original seeds were sent to me by THP member Brian "SmiterQ" Williams, who collected them from a perennial plant growing in his neighbor's yard in Austin, Texas. I am happy to send you seeds right away...

Bonda Mahala is a cross, the creation of THP master breeder Charles "Spicegeist" de Souza. He sent me f1 pods several years ago, saying that he did not want to grow it any more, and that if I wanted to stabilize it I could consider it to be my variety. The parent varieties are Bonda Man Jacques, the yellow, tapered version from St. Lucia, and 7 Pot Yellow, I believe the giant version from pepperlover.com....

Mahala is my wife's name...

windchicken · Aug 9, 2016

stickman said:
I'll have plenty of Texas Pequins this year from my 8 plants, so I'm good for fresh pods, but would certainly be interested in a seed swap if you're up for it. My experience with the Red River valley is pretty much limited to a 3-day visit with a buddy who was stationed at Barksdale AFB. I remember lots of Cotton fields and finding mudbug holes about a mile from the river there... interesting that the soil is that much different a couple more miles out. I'd certainly also be interested in hearing about RCW... don't think I've heard of it before, and anything that'll help build up my sandy soil is something I'm interested in. I've been experimenting with a 90/10 mix of compost to biochar this year and having good results from that.

Cool! Which version of Texas Pequin are you growing?

If you don't mind a little more geeking out: Areal distribution of sediment grains is highly dependent on the velocity of the water that is carrying it. When the river overflows its banks, spreading its sediment load across the valley, it drops the heaviest grains first (sand), just next to the channel, forming the natural levee. Beyond there the flow rate drops very quickly, and only clay and very fine silt grains get carried more than a few hundred feet from the river...That's a bit oversimplified, because the river meanders back and forth across the valley over time, leaving relict channels and their sandy levees stranded far from the main channel of the river, but that's why the various soil types in the valley of a slow-moving river which floods periodically.

Here's some good info on RCW. (I'll try not to bog you down with "TMI"...) If you have questions, please don't hesitate. Forest soil is my passion!

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

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

cloudhand · Aug 9, 2016

windchicken said:
Sounds like your neighbor in San Antonio had the real thing! What a wonderful introduction to this truest of all Southwestern chiles...well, maybe second truest, after Chiltepin, the mother of all C. annuum chiles...

It seems to me that there are as many variants of Chile Pequin as there are chile gardens, probably because it seems to cross so very easily with just about every other pepper...I sometimes call my primary version "Texas Pequin," which is fair, because it is native to the Austin, Texas area, but it seems a little different from what one normally considers to be the classic Texas Pequin, in that the pods are a bit larger than a normal Chile Pequin, and they are quite soft and juicy, like Tabasco. The flesh is quite sweet and carries a potent kick. I call it the "SmiterQ" variant because my original seeds were sent to me by THP member Brian "SmiterQ" Williams, who collected them from a perennial plant growing in his neighbor's yard in Austin, Texas. I am happy to send you seeds right away...

Bonda Mahala is a cross, the creation of THP master breeder Charles "Spicegeist" de Souza. He sent me f1 pods several years ago, saying that he did not want to grow it any more, and that if I wanted to stabilize it I could consider it to be my variety. The parent varieties are Bonda Man Jacques, the yellow, tapered version from St. Lucia, and 7 Pot Yellow, I believe the giant version from pepperlover.com....

Mahala is my wife's name...

Thanks for the information. I didn't realize there were so many variations of pequin. I would love to try growing out the variety you have. PM sent.

windchicken · Aug 9, 2016

cloudhand said:
Thanks for the information. I didn't realize there were so many variations of pequin. I would love to try growing out the variety you have. PM sent.

I believe I have at least 5 varieties in my Pequin bed alone...Two that I planted, and several variations that just showed up in the subsequent seasons...I need to take some photos and catalog them. There are some real interesting little peppers down there...

OCD Chilehead · Aug 9, 2016

What a great read on the RCW. Had to book mark that one again. I think a good blend of compost, RCW, and Bio-Char and one could have some good results. Rick has turned me onto the Bio-Char. I read for about an hour on it last night.

I always like reading what you and Rick have to say. Some great stuff.

Thanks for sharing.

DesertRoots · Aug 9, 2016

Thanks for sharing those links on RCW. My search for correct material will begin real soon as it seems this is something that does not happen over night. The two links cover it pretty well but are there any tips, dos or donts you can think of from your experiences before beginning?

You mentioned forest soil being a passion so this might be very simple and surface level discussion to you but I found this podcast be a fun listen about fungi and forest soil. Its only 30 or so minutes long but got the wheels turning in my head relating it to gardening and even further with RCW. http://www.radiolab.org/story/from-tree-to-shining-tree/

Sorry to jump in your glog like this, but its right on topic!

Rob

windchicken · Aug 11, 2016

OCD Chilehead said:
What a great read on the RCW. Had to book mark that one again. I think a good blend of compost, RCW, and Bio-Char and one could have some good results. Rick has turned me onto the Bio-Char. I read for about an hour on it last night.

I always like reading what you and Rick have to say. Some great stuff.

Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for reading! That combination would probably work real well, and I think you should try it, but I also urge you to try at least one bed of pure RCW-and-native-earth. It will probably take longer to reach its peak fertility than whatever else you are doing, but after 3 years I promise you that you will be amazed at the results. And forest soil is extremely sustainable and very, very low-maintenance. There is a natural human compulsion to want to continually tweak the soil-building process by adding this mineral and that biologic agent, and by annual tilling, but please bear in mind that nature built forest soil for countless millennia without our help, and it was far richer than anything we have ever designed...

DesertRoots said:
Thanks for sharing those links on RCW. My search for correct material will begin real soon as it seems this is something that does not happen over night. The two links cover it pretty well but are there any tips, dos or donts you can think of from your experiences before beginning?

You mentioned forest soil being a passion so this might be very simple and surface level discussion to you but I found this podcast be a fun listen about fungi and forest soil. Its only 30 or so minutes long but got the wheels turning in my head relating it to gardening and even further with RCW. http://www.radiolab.org/story/from-tree-to-shining-tree/

Sorry to jump in your glog like this, but its right on topic!

Rob

Thanks for the link Rob! I'll listen to it after work today...

Without going on at great length about my particular process, I should probably say that all my forest soil beds are above ground. I build them at least 18 inches above ground level, by mixing the native earth with hardwood chips, at about a 50/50 ratio. I do that because the native ground at both my garden locations is very high in clay, and the wood chips provide quite a bit of porosity and permeability. The Lemieux studies recommend using far less chips, mixing only to a depth of 2 or 3 inches, but his literature assumes well-draining soil. After the RCW is mixed in and the beds are built up, I finish up by topping with a 3-4 inch thick mulch layer of fresh RCW chips...

The mistake I see most early participants in the forest soil-building process make are:

#1) Tilling. This is an annual ritual that comes down from thousands of years of bad farming and gardening practice. It is absolutely essential that one does not damage the soil food web and the worm population by mechanical cultivation. Set that damn roto-tiller out by the curb!!! Your forest soil beds will be worm palaces, and once the initial mixing of woods chips into the soil is done, the worms will happily take it from there. Please don't reward them by chopping them to bits with a roto-tiller, or even a hand hoe...

#2) Adding anything other than wood chips to the soil mix. This includes fertilizers, manures, fish emulsion, worm tea, seaweed extract, etc., etc. (You get the idea.) The forest knows what it is doing much better than we do, and beyond providing the wood chips, it doesn't need or want our help, thank you very much. There is a tendency to want to "help" the process when the beds are very young by adding other amendments, but I've never had much success with that. Your best friend in building forest soil is patience, and as they say in recovery, Trust the process!

#3) Planting too early. The RCW needs at least 4 or 5 months to begin decaying before plants are set into the beds. Planting too early won't damage the plants, they just won't grow. I wait at least one year after mixing the wood chips into the soil before I plant.

Having said all that, I have one "cheat" that I use when I need to get plants in the ground right away, and the forest soil beds are very new and raw. Once my RCW-and-native-earth beds are built, I will hollow out a hole for each plant, leaving a couple inches room all around the soil ball formed by the plant container, and "pad" the hole with potting mix, so that the plant's soil ball isn't in direct contact with the raw RCW. This provides enough nutrition for the young plant to get started, while the RCW is still too raw to provide any nutrients. You only want to do this if your beds are very new, and then you will never need to do it again...

OCD Chilehead · Aug 11, 2016

Great info. I agree with you on the forest soil. I dig a couple buckets, and use when I make compost tea. Nothing better than natural made forest soil. I tilled this year. My ground is clay, silt and high in alkaline. I wish I had more to work with. I'm trying to work in some organics to break it up. If not, it's hard as a rock and won't take water. I tilled this year and made rows. I didn't disturb the rows after they were made. Didn't want them to compact. My plan is to do what your saying and leave it alone. I think I still need to add some more organics to it. If I leave it sit all Winter, this Spring it will be hard as a rock. Almost impossible to even dig a hole. Eventually, I'll get there. Still learning a lot. Thanks for the info.

windchicken · Aug 12, 2016

OCD Chilehead said:
Great info. I agree with you on the forest soil. I dig a couple buckets, and use when I make compost tea. Nothing better than natural made forest soil. I tilled this year. My ground is clay, silt and high in alkaline. I wish I had more to work with. I'm trying to work in some organics to break it up. If not, it's hard as a rock and won't take water. I tilled this year and made rows. I didn't disturb the rows after they were made. Didn't want them to compact. My plan is to do what your saying and leave it alone. I think I still need to add some more organics to it. If I leave it sit all Winter, this Spring it will be hard as a rock. Almost impossible to even dig a hole. Eventually, I'll get there. Still learning a lot. Thanks for the info.

Thanks Chuck! You may be interested to know that my big garden in DeSoto Parish is built on a layer of what is locally known as "iron ore gravel," actually irony sand and clay, the road-building material of choice in this area. As you say, when allowed to sit for a while, the ground turns to stone, as the iron forms a very effective cement. However, when hardwood chips are mixed with the gravel at a 50/50 ratio, and allowed two years to mature, one is rewarded with this kind of growth (my 17 NagaBrain plants, photo taken just now):

stickman · Aug 14, 2016

windchicken said:
Cool! Which version of Texas Pequin are you growing?

If you don't mind a little more geeking out: Areal distribution of sediment grains is highly dependent on the velocity of the water that is carrying it. When the river overflows its banks, spreading its sediment load across the valley, it drops the heaviest grains first (sand), just next to the channel, forming the natural levee. Beyond there the flow rate drops very quickly, and only clay and very fine silt grains get carried more than a few hundred feet from the river...That's a bit oversimplified, because the river meanders back and forth across the valley over time, leaving relict channels and their sandy levees stranded far from the main channel of the river, but that's why the various soil types in the valley of a slow-moving river which floods periodically.

Here's some good info on RCW. (I'll try not to bog you down with "TMI"...) If you have questions, please don't hesitate. Forest soil is my passion!

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

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

Hi Gary! The variety of Pequin I'm growing this year is from wild seed collected in Texas by a friend of Shane's (stc3248). If I remember correctly, I think he said they came from somewhere near San Antonio. They share some of the characteristics of Frutascens varieties in that the pods are soft and juicy when ripe and fall off the stem when touched.

Thanks for the information on RCW... I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but I've bookmarked the links and want to read it over the next few days as time permits.

Thanks also to Rob (DesertRoots)... you guys have given me a lot of great information to absorb. Cheers!

chileaddict · Aug 24, 2016

Hey Gary. As usual, your plants and pics are a masterpiece. So gorgeous. The best way for me to get back in touch with the THP folks is to start with your grow log.

Trident chilli · Aug 27, 2016

NagaBrain plants awesome ....

Devv · Aug 27, 2016

Been awhile Gary!

Been reading on the wood chip beds. I put these together during the winter:

Gotta decent supply for next season, free from the county:

That's about 10-12 yds, I scored over 50 yds from the county this last winter (free).

I'm going to let the rows "marinate" one more season before I use them, and add more rows this winter. I made them with 50-50 soil and a bit of green cow manure I scarfed from the pasture to help get things going. They really did some settling over the summer, which is a good thing. I'm also trying the hugel bed thang, which is very similar. You bury the chips 6"s thick, 6"s under the soil.

I'm growing the F4 NagaBrain again this season, and it's doing really well. I started it last season and had some issues with a rodent eating all my seeds potential F5 seeds. Such a robust plant!

Thanks for the starter seeds!

windchicken · Aug 30, 2016

stickman said:
Hi Gary! The variety of Pequin I'm growing this year is from wild seed collected in Texas by a friend of Shane's (stc3248). If I remember correctly, I think he said they came from somewhere near San Antonio. They share some of the characteristics of Frutascens varieties in that the pods are soft and juicy when ripe and fall off the stem when touched.

SANY1667.JPG

Thanks for the information on RCW... I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but I've bookmarked the links and want to read it over the next few days as time permits.

Thanks also to Rob (DesertRoots)... you guys have given me a lot of great information to absorb. Cheers!

Thanks for considering forest soil Rick! And I'm glad to know that some of the other Texas pequins and soft and detach from the calyx when ripe...I've got the real thing then!

chileaddict said:
Hey Gary. As usual, your plants and pics are a masterpiece. So gorgeous. The best way for me to get back in touch with the THP folks is to start with your grow log.

Wow, thanks so much for saying that Richard! It's so good to hear from you again!

Trident chilli said:
NagaBrain plants awesome ....

Thanks John!

Devv said:
Been awhile Gary!

Been reading on the wood chip beds. I put these together during the winter:

Gotta decent supply for next season, free from the county:

That's about 10-12 yds, I scored over 50 yds from the county this last winter (free).

I'm going to let the rows "marinate" one more season before I use them, and add more rows this winter. I made them with 50-50 soil and a bit of green cow manure I scarfed from the pasture to help get things going. They really did some settling over the summer, which is a good thing. I'm also trying the hugel bed thang, which is very similar. You bury the chips 6"s thick, 6"s under the soil.

I'm growing the F4 NagaBrain again this season, and it's doing really well. I started it last season and had some issues with a rodent eating all my seeds potential F5 seeds. Such a robust plant!

Thanks for the starter seeds!

Looking real good there Scott! And thanks for growing NagaBrain! It is a strong plant, to be sure...I really like that about it...

stickman · Sep 11, 2016

DesertRoots said:
Thanks for sharing those links on RCW. My search for correct material will begin real soon as it seems this is something that does not happen over night. The two links cover it pretty well but are there any tips, dos or donts you can think of from your experiences before beginning?

You mentioned forest soil being a passion so this might be very simple and surface level discussion to you but I found this podcast be a fun listen about fungi and forest soil. Its only 30 or so minutes long but got the wheels turning in my head relating it to gardening and even further with RCW. http://www.radiolab.org/story/from-tree-to-shining-tree/

Sorry to jump in your glog like this, but its right on topic!

Rob

I finally got a chance to listen to this link while processing peppers in the kitchen this weekend. Really thought provoking stuff... I always thought the key to plant health was good soil, it was very cool to hear about the mechanism the plant kingdom uses to search for and extract nutes from the soil. Thanks for sharing!

stickman · Sep 11, 2016

windchicken said:
Thanks for reading! That combination would probably work real well, and I think you should try it, but I also urge you to try at least one bed of pure RCW-and-native-earth. It will probably take longer to reach its peak fertility than whatever else you are doing, but after 3 years I promise you that you will be amazed at the results. And forest soil is extremely sustainable and very, very low-maintenance. There is a natural human compulsion to want to continually tweak the soil-building process by adding this mineral and that biologic agent, and by annual tilling, but please bear in mind that nature built forest soil for countless millennia without our help, and it was far richer than anything we have ever designed...

Thanks for the link Rob! I'll listen to it after work today...

Without going on at great length about my particular process, I should probably say that all my forest soil beds are above ground. I build them at least 18 inches above ground level, by mixing the native earth with hardwood chips, at about a 50/50 ratio. I do that because the native ground at both my garden locations is very high in clay, and the wood chips provide quite a bit of porosity and permeability. The Lemieux studies recommend using far less chips, mixing only to a depth of 2 or 3 inches, but his literature assumes well-draining soil. After the RCW is mixed in and the beds are built up, I finish up by topping with a 3-4 inch thick mulch layer of fresh RCW chips...

The mistake I see most early participants in the forest soil-building process make are:

#1) Tilling. This is an annual ritual that comes down from thousands of years of bad farming and gardening practice. It is absolutely essential that one does not damage the soil food web and the worm population by mechanical cultivation. Set that damn roto-tiller out by the curb!!! Your forest soil beds will be worm palaces, and once the initial mixing of woods chips into the soil is done, the worms will happily take it from there. Please don't reward them by chopping them to bits with a roto-tiller, or even a hand hoe...

#2) Adding anything other than wood chips to the soil mix. This includes fertilizers, manures, fish emulsion, worm tea, seaweed extract, etc., etc. (You get the idea.) The forest knows what it is doing much better than we do, and beyond providing the wood chips, it doesn't need or want our help, thank you very much. There is a tendency to want to "help" the process when the beds are very young by adding other amendments, but I've never had much success with that. Your best friend in building forest soil is patience, and as they say in recovery, Trust the process!

#3) Planting too early. The RCW needs at least 4 or 5 months to begin decaying before plants are set into the beds. Planting too early won't damage the plants, they just won't grow. I wait at least one year after mixing the wood chips into the soil before I plant.

Having said all that, I have one "cheat" that I use when I need to get plants in the ground right away, and the forest soil beds are very new and raw. Once my RCW-and-native-earth beds are built, I will hollow out a hole for each plant, leaving a couple inches room all around the soil ball formed by the plant container, and "pad" the hole with potting mix, so that the plant's soil ball isn't in direct contact with the raw RCW. This provides enough nutrition for the young plant to get started, while the RCW is still too raw to provide any nutrients. You only want to do this if your beds are very new, and then you will never need to do it again...

I finally sat down to read your links to RCW methods, and a lot of it makes sense to me. Up here in the north we have no shortage of climax hardwood species, and late summer into early fall is when most folks here really start thinking about taking down that mature tree with heartwood damage that could come down on the house or across the wires coming into it, so it should be pretty easy to pick up free wood chips about now. From what was in the links, it looks like the only other adjunct required in agricultural soils is a certain amount of leaf litter to inoculate the soil with the Fungi and Bacteria to do the actual work of breaking down the Lignin in the wood... as sandy as it is, I'm thinking that my particular soil conditions would benefit from the inclusion of Biochar as well, but that would be a once-a-lifetime addition since well-made char is supposed to last in the soil for about 200 years.

Cheers!

windchicken · Sep 13, 2016

stickman said:
I finally sat down to read your links to RCW methods, and a lot of it makes sense to me. Up here in the north we have no shortage of climax hardwood species, and late summer into early fall is when most folks here really start thinking about taking down that mature tree with heartwood damage that could come down on the house or across the wires coming into it, so it should be pretty easy to pick up free wood chips about now. From what was in the links, it looks like the only other adjunct required in agricultural soils is a certain amount of leaf litter to inoculate the soil with the Fungi and Bacteria to do the actual work of breaking down the Lignin in the wood... as sandy as it is, I'm thinking that my particular soil conditions would benefit from the inclusion of Biochar as well, but that would be a once-a-lifetime addition since well-made char is supposed to last in the soil for about 200 years.

Cheers!

Thanks so much for taking time to look at all that info, Rick...Forest soil is really my #1 passion, and chiles are just one of the nice rewards I get from "trusting the process." I do hope you give it a try...I should probably say that I've never done the forest litter inoculation that Dr. Lemieux recommends in his literature, but then our climate here is far different from Quebec and Massachusetts. I think there must be some sort of fungus colony thriving on and inside of just about everything and everyone here in Louisiana...Probably just my hands and my breath are what inoculate my beds with the proper fungi...

windchicken · Sep 14, 2016

DesertRoots said:
Thanks for sharing those links on RCW. My search for correct material will begin real soon as it seems this is something that does not happen over night. The two links cover it pretty well but are there any tips, dos or donts you can think of from your experiences before beginning?

You mentioned forest soil being a passion so this might be very simple and surface level discussion to you but I found this podcast be a fun listen about fungi and forest soil. Its only 30 or so minutes long but got the wheels turning in my head relating it to gardening and even further with RCW. http://www.radiolab.org/story/from-tree-to-shining-tree/

Sorry to jump in your glog like this, but its right on topic!

Rob

Hey Rob, I listened to the Radiolab episode on my drive home last night...Wow! Thanks! I was aware of the broad strokes of the "soil food web," as you might expect, but the comprehensive details discussed were revelations to me...Thanks so much! For several years I have held the idea that the forest is a sentient intelligence unto herself...Now we have objective scientific evidence supporting that idea! You have changed my whole life, my friend! Thanks again!

Gary