Overwintering Pepper Plants. Update. 11.29.22

 Here are the pepper plants so far.  We are at just over one month now.   No more fungus gnats, aphids, or any other visible insects.  They were becoming noticeably light (dry) so I gave each a cup of water.  Not enough to run out the bottom.

Tabasco.  I'm not aiming for any growth, bit this one has the most and largest new shoots so far.

Serrano.

Early Jalapeño.  A few small new shoots.  Basically dormant.

Cayenne.  Quite a few small shoots.

Banana.  No much going on here.  Still green, which seems like a good thing.

Thai Dragon.  I left the leaves on for ripening peppers.  I thought they might die and fall off.  So far they are still there.  No insect problems, so I'm leaving them alone.

These are all in a south facing window, in a cool (usually 50s F) room.

Nikita's Gift Persimmon. 11.27.22

 This persimmon tree always produces a generous crop of nice persimmons.

Harvesting Horse-Radish. 11.27.22

 I dug up one of the horse-radish clumps.

I cut some of the root into 1/2 inch cubes.  About a cup.

I added 1/2 cup of vinegar, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and 1/4 tsp salt, and ground it all up in the food processor.

Very tasty.  This cleared my sinuses and brought tears to my eyes.

Progress Refurbishing Mini-Orchard. 11.27.22

 I hauled and spread five wheel-barrows of arborist tree chips, for the pathways in the mini-orchard.  I also laid out the general footprint for the planned planter that will have peppers next year.

This view shows Jonathan dwarf apple tree on Geneva 222.  I used the Geneva 222 for this one, instead of Bud-9, because Jonathan has so much less vigor compared to most other apple cultivars.

This view shows Akane on  Bud-9.

I think the right foreground mini-tree is Black Oxford apple on Bud-9.  I need to check.  In front of the raised bed is Porter apple on Bud-9.

Nemagon Mustard Cover Crop Germinating. 11.27.22

 It's interesting to watch how this over-winter cover crop is starting to grow.  I wasn't sure it would grow at all.  These are the Nemagon mustard seedlings.  Their purpose is to reduce crop diseases, serve as a winter cover crop to prevent weed growth, and act as a green manure when turned in, in the Spring.  This should help decrease dependence on bringing in materials from off site.  Materials from off site can be contaminated with plant diseases and pests, and even worse, herbicide residues,

I think the mustard will continue growing through the winter, just like weeds do.  I'll chop it and turn it under, when it starts to bloom in the Spring, or at least a few weeks before planting thectonato pkantsvin these beds.