Pinching Peppers and Eggplants. 3.27.2021

 Some of the peppers are developed to the point where I can pinch out the tops, leaving four good leaves / leaf axils.  I do this so that the plants will be well branched from the outset.  Instead of one growing point, there will be at least four.

Before photo of Banana Pepper seedling.  It's doing nicely, has four good leaves with reasonably separated leaf axils.

Same plant after pinching.  I actually don't "pinch" although that's what it's called.  I use a scissors with a fine tip, to cut at the right point and not crush stem or cause other damage.

Here is an Early Jalapeno that I pinched about a week or two ago.  The branches are starting to grow nicely.  It's interesting that branches may be starting at the cotyledons too, so it's possible there will be six branches instead of four.

In the background someone can be seen watching for cats, considered by someone to be the spawn of Satan :-).  

Some internet writers state this "forces" the plant to produce branches, or "directs energy" to the branches and roots.  In reality, the growing tip produces a plant hormone, auxin, that flows downward in the plant.  The auxin inhibits growth of lower buds.  Without the auxin produced by the growing tip, which is now removed, the buds at those leaf axils are released from dormancy and grow.   That's different from "forcing".  

This year I'm trying the same for at least some of the Japanese eggplants.  They are from the same plant family, and seem to have similar growth habits, as peppers. 

Seedling Progress Report. 2.15.2021

 Here are seedling photos for today and a few days ago.  Most are doing quite well.  Some are still germinating, some probably wont.  I always plant extra for that reason.

 

The shallots had lower germination than the onions even though they are related and look the same.  Still, there are some.  I added more seeds to cells that had limited germination or no germination.    The Japanese scallions look good.  The celery germinated over a week or so, now quite good.  Eggplants were uneven but there are enough.  Peppers too.  

The colors are weird due to the LED lights.  For some, I had them too close and the leaf tips dried out.  They will be OK.  Some people cut off the lead tips to encourage growth from below.  I don't get it, but at least these will be OK.  These are the bulb or storage onions.  They are growing faster than the scallions and shallots.

The two celery are from Baker Creek heirloom seeds.  They are Utah and Chinese.    There are various peppers, but so far I have a bunch of Jalapenos, a banana pepper, Serrano, and a Thai pepper. I dropped the cell pack for shallots, so now replanted some.

These are the two apple seedlings so far.  Both are from the same apple, a Calypso pollinated by columnar Golden Sentinel. Interesting, one is red leaf and other is green leaf. I had stratified them, wrapped in moist paper towel, in zip lock, in fridge, since about August.  I had to change the paper towel a couple of times due to mildew.  I planted these seeds in cells that had pepper seeds that did not germinate.  Then in one, the Thai pepper seeds germinated anyway :-)  I can separate them later.

Here is my seed starting setup so far.  I turned off the warming mats, since the seedling have germinated.

The view from outside today.

Some plants I brought in last fall.

This marigold, I dug up in the fall and planted in a container in potting soil.  It was a volunteer and has been blooming all winter long.

I've dug up this geranium every fall for about six years.  Maybe longer.  Sometimes I let it dry out in the garage.  This year I kept it going in the sunroom.  Sometimes it blooms.

The nepenthes have suffered because I've been sick several times this winter, and they need more water than I gave them.  Some are OK.

Kitchen Garden Update. 5.11.2020

 Here are some photos of my current kitchen garden (potager).  About half is newly worked soil, formerly sod, which I treated during the winter with a cover of black plastic to kill the grass, then added dolomite lime, some compost, and eggshells.  That is not the tomato / eggplant / peppers / squashes / bean area.

The greens and snowpeas are in what was tomatoes last year.  There is mesclun from old seed packets, swiss chard and radishes, collard greens and turnips.  There were all 3 to 8 year old seeds.  The snowpeas were 6 to 8 year old seeds.

I now have a seven foot chain link fence, to keep rabbits and deer out.  I don't know if that will work.

 I set out the fresh eating tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants yesterday.  Also bush cucumbers in a raised bed, for pickles.

This strawberry pot is doing better than I expected.  Last month, I transplanted these strawberries from a raised bed, where they appeared to be dying off.  At least not thriving.  I wanted the space for cucumbers this year.  In the strawberry pots, they need better attention to watering. but I have them in fresh potting soil with some added osmocote.  They perked up almost immediately and started blooming..

 This bed is fresh-eating tomatoes, slicers and cherry tomatoes.  Down the center I planted radish seeds, which should not take up much room and will be done before the tomato plants reach much size.  Along one edge, I also planted a row of Roma II bush beans.

 This view shows the sauce tomatoes.  I gave all of the tomates some osmocote when I planted them, about 1 1/2 tablespoon per hole.

 These squashes may not have enough room.  Space is at a premium.  I may be able to direct the vines of the long vining types, into spare locations as other crops such as potatoes are done in midsummer.

Same comment as for squashes above.  This batch is in ground that was sod last year.

The soil temp is 74F at 10 am.  I've had readings as high as 80F and in early am, as low as 65F.  I think this is high enough for the squashes, tomatoes, peppers, to be planted.  Not sure about sweetcorn and bean seeds, but doing a trail of them now.  May 15th is my usual target date for that.  I also wonder about the eggplants, which need warm conditions.

These are the first three rows of sweetcorn.  They are outside the fenced area.  I have the seed rows covered with screening to keep birds from eating the seeds.

These are the bush cucumbers I planted the seeds a few weeks ago inside.  Now they are in the former strawberry bed, along with some dolomite lime and compost treatment.  I also have a row of dill seeds planted, now germinated, in there, and some cilantro from seeds saved several years ago.

 These are the grafted fruit trees, and oak seedlings.  The fruit trees appear to be taking nicely.  These are on the north side of the raised bed, to shade the pots a little.  I stratified the oak seedlings by planting acorns into these containers last fall.  There are white oak, from a magnificent tree in my neighborhood, and some other white oak from a location in Salmon Creek, and some red oak.  I'm not sure where I will plant them when they are bigger.

Kitchen Garden. 5.25.15

Tomatoes, Eggplant, a Dahlia, and Zucchini.  5.25.19

Tomatoes, Eggplant, Jalapeno,, and Squashes.  5.25.19

 Most of the kitchen garden is in and growing.  Two views here show the fenced garden for deer and rabbit vulnerable crops.   The bottom view is the first batch of sweet corn, with temporary covers to keep rabbits away from the tender small plants.

Sweet Corn, One Week After Emerging.  5.25.19

Yesterday I planted a bed of sweet corn "Delectable".  The seeds are from 2018 so borderline too old to germinate, for sweet corn.  I will give them a week or two to emerge and then, if not, plant newer seeds.

Today's Kitchen Garden Yield. 9.21.14

Kitchen Garden Yield.  9.21.14

Fingerling potatoes, Asian Pears, more Tomatoes, various winter squash, a yellow summer squash, okra, various peppers, containerized Thai and Tabasco peppers, and probably some things I forgot.

This is one of our best garden yields ever, for this time of year.  Very happy with the result.

Starting Morning Glory and Hollyhock Seeds. Also some deck Plants. 6.19.14

Morning Glory Seeds at 2 days.  6.19.14

Hollyhock Seeds Sprouting at 2 days..  6.19.14

 The seeds toweesprouted quickly on the heating mat.  I read it can require weeks.  These were soaked in water for about 12 hours, then placed on moist paper towel in ziplock bags.  The bags are sealed and set on the heating mat.  This morning I saw they were sprouted, so added a little more water.

Now I filled plastic flowerpots most of the way with potting soil.  Watered the soil.  Placed the sprouts on the soil.  If the root was long, I gently made a hole for the root with my finger.  Then barely covered them and gently watered.

The temp outside is 60s night, about 80 day.  They are on the north side of the house so they don't overheat.

I think the black ribbed Japanese eggplant makes a nice decorative plant.

The black calla lily is about 3 years old.  I overwintered it by letting the container dry out, then placed in garage in October before first frost.  Super easy.

Japanese Eggplant.  6.19.14

Black Calla Lily.  6.19.14

The four O'clocks are almost blooming.  They have little hint of color in the flower buds.  Might need another week of warm temps.

container gardens

The peppers sat and sulked for a couple of months. So did the eggplants. Then suddenly... They shot up and grew like crazy. Now blooming, and some small fruits already developing on the pepper plants.

The fastest growing are the Banana peppers and Bell peppers.

I like having basil in the container. When I'm inspecting the peppers, I brush against the basil, and the frangrance is intoxicating. I ate some today on a sliced tomato. Yum.

Both eggplants and peppers in this container.
The banana peppers are growing day by day.

I admit, I gave them a boost of miracle-gro tomato food. So now they no longer count as organic. My rationale is that they did not seem to be growing, and I wanted to give them a boost. Since they are in containers, their situation is already more artificial than the plants in the ground.

This container also contains some eggplants. I bought a couple of Japanese eggplants at Fred Meyer, because my own starts were so slow. My start is also taking off, but way behind the purchased ones. The onions in the background are Egyptian Walking Onions. I want the tops to dry off, then will plant them in september.

The potatoes are all harvested. I have some in a windowill to chit (sprout). They are taking their sweet time. Maybe I'll also plant a few in their barrels, see if they grow faster that way. The potato barrel method worked GREAT! Lots from both the fingerlings, and the gourmet white.

What's up in the barrel gardens?

Here's what happened with the potatoes. They grew lush and green, then the weather warmed up.

I thought I should keep them going a little longer, but they wilted quickly. So I dug out the fingerling potatoes, which wilted the worse - although the white gourmet aren't far behind, as shown here.

These were excellent! Still a couple of pounds left. Just boil about 15 minutes, then a little salt, some butter, and chop some scallions from another barrel garden. Terrific! I like this potato barrel idea.

I've left some out to sprout, maybe we can get in a second batch before winter.

Technically not a barrel, but these container peppers are feeling the summer and have finally started to grow.

These barrels are mainly peppers and eggplants. Some of the eggplants are purchases. I know that's cheating, but my own are lagging so much. Next year, maybe start earlier, or keep them in a green-house arrangement.

More peppers, mostly, and eggplants that I did grow to size. Not too bad, they are blooming now and peppers are starting to form.

Peppers, Tomatoes, and Eggplants

Yesterday I started another wave of seeds. This time:

Pepper, "Big Red hybrid" - medium hot cayenne-type, 70 days"
Eggplant, "Millionairre" - Japanese-type, 55 days
Pepper, "Bulgarian Carrot" (seeds packed for 2008) - hot pepper
Pepper, "Red Popper" - 1 1/2 inch fruits, sweet, 55 days.
Eggplant, "Fairy Tale" - purple striped white fruits, 50 days

Of the seeds that I started last week a few eggplants and peppers have sprouted, and all of the tomatoes sprouted.

Most of the seedlings had just been watered and were still in the sink, but this is the general appearance of the seed starting system now. The foil does seem to make the light brighter directly under the lights. All are growing nicely, some tomatoes have their first true leaves now. Soon, I'll need to plant them individually in slightly larger containers. The towel covers the containers with unsprouted seeds, on the heating mat.

Cayenne peppers in the window sill now, from the original seed-sprouting experiment. I hated to throw them away. I did not really mean to start them for the garden, but here they are. On sunny days, I think the sindow is brighter than the fluorescent fixture, and the light is more "natural", anyway.

More seeds planted indoors

I planted more seeds in my indoor-starting unit yesterday. This included 2 varieties of eggplant, some additional chili peppers, and a couple of tomatoes. I need to take a photo and list them, this post is so that I have a 'bookmark' on the date

Seed Catalog Order

Not exactly the same as planned, but it's exciting to look ahead. I ordered from Burpee this year. I liked their user reviews of varieties, accessible right on the variety description. It looks honest - varieties that are labeled as user favorites, and featured prominently, are not necessarily the ones that won the reviews. For example, most thought that Tomato variety "Red Lightening" was tough-skinned and not flavorful. Much less expensive, and much older variety, "Supersweet 100" had a much higher rating for flavor, but complaints about splitting - exactly my experience. "Brandy Boy" was panned by many who grew it - so I changed my mind and went to old reliable "Better Boy", which has that old growing-up-in-the-midwest flavor, is reliable, disease resistant, and bears many big juicy tomatoes. I also added Black Truffle hybrid due to rave reviews, but kept Northen Exposure and 4th of July despite so-so reviews, as an experiment due to early bearing properties and reported tolerance to cold.

Photo Thumbnails from Burpee.com (note - they aren't paying me anything at all to post, or giving me any special deal or product - this is just my garden log. But I hope it's OK to include them in this discussion. Full sized photos can be seen at the Burpee website)

55103A Bush Bean Roma II 53 days - 1 Pkt. (2 oz.) 1 $2.95




83139 Burpee Booster for Beans and Peas - 1-3oz. Pkg (40' row) 1 $8.25

53512A Snap Pea Super Sugar Snap V.P. 64 days - 1 Pkt. (200 seeds) 1 $3.95

52936A Tomato Fourth of July Hybrid 49 days - 1 Pkt. (40 seeds) 1 $3.95




56663A Tomato Northern Exposure Hybrid 67 days - 1 Pkt. (30 Seeds) 1 $3.95

56812A Tomato Cherokee Purple (Heirloom) 85 days - 1 Pkt. (50 seeds) 1 $3.95

52027A Tomato Super Sweet 100 Hybrid (Cherry) 70 days - 1 Pkt. (30 seeds) 1 $2.95

67265A Tomato Black Truffle Hybrid 75 days - 1 packet (30 seeds) 1 $3.95




50724A Tomato Better Boy Hybrid 72 days - 1 Pkt. (30 seeds) 1 $3.95

62120A Tomato Black Pearl Hybrid 65 days - Packet (30 seeds) 1 $5.25

65005A Bush Bean Eureka 55 days - Packet (2 oz.) 1 $3.95




54460A Eggplant Millionaire Hybrid 55 days - 1 Pkt. (30 seeds) 1 $2.95




65025A Eggplant Fairy Tale 50 days - Packet (30 seeds) 1 $5.25

54148A Hot Pepper Big Red Hybrid 70 days - 1 Pkt. (30 seeds) 1 $3.95

63770A Pepper Red Popper 55 days - Packet (40 seeds) 1 $4.75

56020A Costa Rican Sweet Pepper 70 days - Packet (40 seeds) 1 $4.75




57109A Zucchini Sweet Zuke Hybrid 48 days - 1 Pkt. (25 seeds) 1 $3.95




53231A Zucchini Butterstick Hybrid 50 days - 1 Pkt. (25 seeds) 1 $2.95




62810A Cucumber Palace King Hybrid (Oriental) 62 days - 1 Pkt. (30 seeds) 1 $4.95




62802A Cucumber Early Pride Hybrid (Slicing) 55 days - 1 Pkt. (30 seeds) 1 $2.95

91056 Seedling Heat Mats - 1 Mat - 10in.X20-3/4in. 1 $36.75

This seems like a lot of expense, but I take the following into account:
1. It's a hobby.
2. Given the evaluations, and my past experience, I'm confident that most of these are high-potential varieties in my yard. I chose for early yield, reported disease resistance, and either my personal experience of reliability or multiple reviews. With storebought, it's more difficult to do this.
3. For tomatoes, varieties that turn out well - and a few are already proven performers - this is a 3 or 4-year supply of seeds. Some are admittedly experiments - 4th of July due to reported very early yield, Northern Exposure for reported good bearing in cool short summers. I usually experiment with a couple of new types - I love the black varieties, so will try Black Truffle. Cherokee Purple has always done well for me, as have Better Boy, Supersweet 100, and Lemon Boy. I'll see if my old Lemon Boy seeds sprout, if not see if some are locally available, since Burpee doesn't carry them. They should do fine, they are only 1 year old seeds.
4. For the beans, this will be enough for about 20 meals for two. Plus, when the plants quit bearing, they are fed to the chickens and become eggs. Both the Romas and the yellow beans are excellent, better than anything from the store.
5. For the zucchinis and cucumbers, two plants of each variety will be enough for many meals and snacks, plus some to give away, plus some for the chickens.
6. The pepper seeds may also last 4 years or more. I'm not sure about what to expect, but experience tells me they last longer than that.
7. The eggplants are listed as early bearing varieties. In fact, among the earliest. That's needed here, because they start late and bear late.

The seed mat is part of my master plan for peppers, especially, but also tomatoes and some of the others. Warmer start means faster start, and maybe even more seeds will sprout. It should last a long time. One year I used a heating pad - it seemed to help, but not recommended, they are not made for that.