Showing posts with label chilis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chilis. Show all posts

Thursday, January 10, 2019

Starting The First Seeds. 1.10.18

 Today is officially the first day of this year's garden season.  The reason - I began the first seed starting.

Onion seeds can be started very early.  I want them to be at least  inches tall before setting out, and I have set out onion plants in March or April.

Peppers grow slowly for me.  I wanted to start the most tropical, slowest growers, now.  So that's the Thai and Tabasco.  I'm curious to see whether those "Low Germ" Thai peppers will germinate.  If not, the backup plab is to buy a packet or plants, if too late for seeds.

This year, I used the little six-packs, and commercial peat and perlite based seed starting medium.

These 6-packs are in plastic bags to retain moisture and warmth.  They are on a seed starting mat with pre-set temperature I think in the low 80s.

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

Kitchen Garden. 7.10.17

Georgia Collard Greens and  Squashes.  7.10.17

Chili Peppers and Scallions.  7.10.17
 The kitchen garden is doing pretty well.  Collard greens got  mixes with squashes, when I had extra starts and didn't know where to put them.  They seem to be getting along together just fine.  Others are among blackberry plants and volunteer potatoes.  Big, beautiful leaves.

Chili pepper plants are small, but starting to take off.  Some are blooming. 
Vates Collard Greens.  7.10.17

Squashes.  7.10.17

Ripening Onions.  7.10.17
 Zucchini and summer squashes are looking good.  They are starting to bloom.

Sweet corn seems further behind this year.  The first two batches had poor germination, and I transplanted seedlings together in groups.  The later ones did better, even with rabbits eating off many of the plants.  There is still a good chance for some nice sweet corn later this year.

Both potatoes and onions are almost ready for harvest.  I dug some potatoes yesterday, and there are some nice ones.  I have also been using some of the onions, on an as-needed basis.

Tomatoes and beans are making good progress.  There are small tomatoes on some of the plants.  The pole beans are starting to climb.  I gave them some bamboo poles to climb on.
Sweet Corn, Various Start Times and Sizes.  7.10.17

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Garden Harvest. Bud Grafts. 8.23.14

Garden Harvest 8.23.14
Not much chance to garden this weekend.  All work via internet.

But here are the items Ning picked in the kitchen garden, raised beds.

Really nice.  We have a bunch of zucchini already.  I like the yellow supper squash better.

I did remove polyethylene tape from a few of the 3 weeks old bud grafts.  They look pretty good in general.  On some, the buds are hard to see, on others the buds are large and plump.  A couple might not have taken, but most are promising.  Also on the lilac that I budded.

Saturday, May 31, 2014

Red Portugal Chili Pepper. 5.31.14

 The first chili peppers from my seedlings.  This is Red Portugal.   I'm happy with the result.  The container is kept on the deck now in full sun.
Red Portugal Chili Pepper.  5.31.14

Thursday, November 28, 2013

Early early early planning for next year


I ordered the following seeds from http://www.victoryseeds.com/.

3270021Dwarf Green Long Pod Okra$1.951$1.95
3270071Emerald Okra$1.951$1.95
3250351Minnesota Midget Melon$2.251$2.25
3030061Roma II Bush Green Bean
Size Options: 1 ounce - $2.25
$2.251$2.25
3310141Cayenne Long Red Hot Pepper$1.951$1.95
3310171Hungarian Yellow Wax Hot Pepper$1.951$1.95
3370211Dark Green Zucchini Summer Squash$1.751$1.75
3300011Oregon Sugar Pod II Pea$1.951$1.95

It's early.  Planning ahead gives me something to look forward to.

Some of the choices are proven performers for me.  The zucchini, Roma bean, Minnesota Midget melon, and the peppers have all done well.  Some are my standards.  The Okra varieties have potential due to their short season - the okra.  Some are shorter growing, so may work OK in a covered bed.  So far I held back on tomatoes.  I have lots of tomato seeds from previous years.

I also placed this order from Burpee.  Except for the compact Okra, all are heirloom varieties.

YOUR PURCHASE INFORMATION
NAMESKUDESCRIPTIONQTYPRICE/ITEMTOTAL ITEM
Okra, Baby Bubba Hybrid(54114A - 1 Pkt. (35 seeds))54114AThis dwarf variety is only half as tall as other okras and perfect for large containers.1$4.95$4.95
Borage(61481A - 1 Pkt. (200 seeds))61481AYoung leaves for salads and lemonade.1$4.95$4.95
Pepper, Hot, Lemon(54320A - 1 Pkt. (30 seeds))54320AHEIRLOOM. From Ecuador, as hot as any Cayenne, but with a truly unique flavor.1$5.25$5.25
Pepper, Sweet, Banana(62976A - 1 Pkt. (125 seeds))62976AHEIRLOOM. An All-America Selections Bronze Medal winner for 1941 and still extremely popular.1$3.95$3.95
Pepper, Hot, Tabasco(53275A - 1 Pkt.)53275ASmall, very hot peppers that lend the kick to the famous hot sauce.1$4.95$4.95

I want  to use1/2 of a a raised bed entirely for peppers.  Foraging in the vegetable garden for them was fun this year.  They added a lot of flavor to many meals.  They need some extra animal protection.  Maybe a chicken-wire fence.

The plan for okra is to raise plants indoors.   Then transfer to a covered raised bed, for warmer growth.  If last years' seeds grow, I may also have Clemson spineless.  Which didn't do great, but were my first attempt, ever, at growing okra.  It was nice using a few pods in soups.

A raised bed is 4 X 8 feet.  A half bed is 4 X 4 but one will be 2 X 8.

Thinking about it - 

1/2 bed for okra
1/2 bed for tomatoes.  Maybe a whole bed.
1/2 bed for peppers
1/2 bed for bush beans.
1/2 bed for pole beans.
1/2 bed for Zucchinis.
1/2 bed for butternut squash.
1/2 bed for melons.

This totals to 4 raised beds for summer / fall vegetables.

1/4 bed for snow peas. These are early, something can replace them in June.

Currently I have 1 bed planted in garlic.  Done in June so can be used for warm season vegetable.
1 bed for onions.  Also done in June so reusable.  That worked well this year for beans.
1/2 bed is shallots.  Those are done in July so can be used for a late vegetable.
1 bed is ready for winter or fall growing.  Maybe greens, radishes, scallions.

There are 11 1/2 raised beds, or will be when I finish the 1 1/2 currently pending.  3 are flowers, 1 is strawberry, leaving 7 1/2.  Other thoughts:  Eggplants.  have been a challenge, maybe1/2 of a covered bed would be warmer.   Chinese cabbages.  Those get eaten by cabbage worms. Even one with a row cover disappeared. 

The last 1 1/2 raised beds.  I have the wood.  It is cut.  Half of the holes are pre-drilled.  Maybe I'll assemble the sides this weekend.  I need to check on whether I have liner and hardware cloth or chicken wire to annoy the moles that want to tunnel into the beds.

The pics are all from Commons.wikimedia.org.


Saturday, November 09, 2013

The last of the peppers.

Barrel-grown Thai Hot Peppers

Cayenne, Peter Pepper, Thai Chili Peppers, and a Golden Sweet Pepper
This is the last, or near last, of barrel-grown peppers.  Pretty good for November.

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Harvest Early September


Harvest Last Weekend

Charlotte Peach with Yellow Jacket

Pepper barrel
Hawaiian Pineapple Tomato

Fresh Peaches

Today's Catch

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Grafted Tomato. Broccoli. Chilis.

Grafted Tomato Hawaiian Pineapple.  Broccoli.

Chilis
This grafted tomato is growing fast.  There are flower buds which were present when it was bought.  I don't know yet if it will lead to good tomatoes, but the growth is impressive.

This is the first time I've grown broccoli.  Starting to develop broccoli head in the center.



Chili peppers.  Also growing nicely.  These are at the place in Vancouver.  The ones at Battleground are bug or slug eaten and smaller.

Both the Tomato and Chilis are mulched with dried cherry blossoms I swept off the deck.  Kind of an exotic mulch.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Chilis and Tomatoes

The chili's are doing well considering the little I've done for them. Mainly just watering. One half-barrel is enough to supply 2 people with a few peppers a week, without feeling like we MUST eat them to avoid waste. Ditto for the tomatoes. These are Better Boy, Supersweet 100, and Sungold. I stand by the plant eating them off the vine, they are so good.

Saturday, July 31, 2010

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.