What Are Some Tips for Successful Gardening?

[turbo]

Find a co-op near you and order hard-neck varieties. I use German white garlic and Russian red. They are very tolerant of the cold. The people that supply your co-op will have harvested their garlic back in July/early August and have been curing it by air-drying. It's not too early to locate a source, but you may have to wait a month or two until the co-op gears up for shipping fall bulbs.

 

[Evo]

My ghost pepper has buds!

 

[turbo]

My ghost pepper has buds!

Yay! Sadly, all of my peppers have flowers, and there just isn't enough left of the season to get any chilies out of the new growth.

 

[Evo]

Yay! Sadly, all of my peppers have flowers, and there just isn't enough left of the season to get any chilies out of the new growth.

Mine will be coming inside and getting full spa treatment.

 

[Ms Music]

Mine will be coming inside and getting full spa treatment.

Ooooh, can I steal that phrase?

My pepper will also be getting the full spa treatment. (c) Evo. ;)

 

[Borek]

We have some nice, warm weather now, and my peter peppers are finally ripening

This is strange. I have at least 6 varieties in pots. All treated exactly the same way - same soil, identical watering, same amount of sun. Most plants look OK, some look great, with dark green leaves, some look weak and yellowish. Apparently their needs are slightly different. I think next year I will plant only those that looked good this year. Plus peter peppers (unfortunately they look pathetic )

Now that I think about it... perhaps it was not the same soil. Or at least it was bought in two batches. But I don't remember enough details to say if there is any correlation.

 

[rhody]

Mine will be coming inside and getting full spa treatment.

Make sure you have their nails done and painted nicely too...

I can't believe I just said that !

Did you get your mail ? I am sure the seeds are in there.

Seriously, once you have buds, peppers are about I am guessing 3 to 4 weeks away.

Rhody...

 

[rhody]

This is strange. I have at least 6 varieties in pots. All treated exactly the same way - same soil, identical watering, same amount of sun. Most plants look OK, some look great, with dark green leaves, some look weak and yellowish. Apparently their needs are slightly different. I think next year I will plant only those that looked good this year. Plus peter peppers (unfortunately they look pathetic )

Now that I think about it... perhaps it was not the same soil. Or at least it was bought in two batches. But I don't remember enough details to say if there is any correlation.

Borek,

I only had to deal with one variety, and all of the potential pitfalls with ghosts. With multiple varieties you will drive yourself nuts trying to figure it out and keep it straight. I am facing that now, I have five or more varieties started last weekend. I am sure I will be asking the same questions you are soon.

Rhody...

 

[turbo]

This is the first year out tree has borne peaches. Not a big haul, but they are sweet, ripe, and really juicy. The dark spots on the skins are due to nitrogen deficiency, and don't affect the flavor or quality of the fruit. I have to prune the tree aggressively this winter, and feed it with blood meal and manure next season.

 

[rhody]

Nice haul Turbo... I like fruit, with pears being my favorite.

Rhody...

 

[turbo]

Nice haul Turbo... I like fruit, with pears being my favorite.

Rhody...

I have to get my wife to plant more Hostas under the peach tree, so those big leaves will cushion the fall. Many of the best peaches that I got were ones that had fallen off the tree and onto the ground.

 

[Ms Music]

and feed it with blood meal and manure next season.

Turbo, I can't find the article now (figures...) but a couple of weeks ago I read where someone studied the soil where bone meal had been added, and not added, and found that when blood meal was added the good/bad bacteria levels were actually off. They had decided that they were no longer going to use blood meal, and were trying to get the good bacterial levels back up. I thought the article was in relation to rose care, but as I said I can't find anything with a quick google.

Although in trying to find the article, I found a website stating that deer and rabbits tend to leave plants alone that have been given blood meal. I definitely need to remember that if I ever get moved onto the mountain.

 

[Ouabache]

This is the first year our tree has borne peaches.

Those look like some tastey fruit. Did you find it better to eat them outside. (lest the juice drip all over)

Well it is already that time of the year to replant the garlic. I have a small patch, two 8 ft rows, and the Russian cultivar gave us some wonderful heads this summer.

So I don't know how many happened to catch my thread about https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=498846&page=6,#87" soil (eating beetle grubs, tomato horn worm larvae, & other bugs, mulching the weeds and fertilizing). This fellow down under, has an ingenious approach. Reminds me of a gerbil maze

 

[turbo]

My organic-gardening neighbor built a wood-framed coop with mesh on the top, walls and floor, and shelter in one end. That end had a couple of wheels on it, and he could pick up the lighter end and roll his broilers around anywhere he wanted them. He is a vegetarian, but his wife, daughter, and little grand-daughters love to eat chicken, and he wanted the girls to know where that chicken-meat comes from. They watched him slaughter the birds and prepare them for the freezer.

When another neighbor (squeamish guy!) called me to come gut out a deer that he had shot, the girls graduated from seeing chickens slaughtered to seeing a nice buck being gutted out. Their grandfather and I gave them an anatomy lesson along the way, pointing out the intestines, stomach, etc, and how they are connected, showing them the liver, lungs, heart, etc. As "payment" for gutting out the deer, my squeamish neighbor let me take home organ meats, and I gave some of both the heart and liver to the girls' grandfather so he could prepare them for their supper. Thumbs up on the heart, and less enthusiasm for the liver.

I was brought up doing this kind of stuff (helping when I could) from the time I was very young, and it's something that most kids these days have no chance of witnessing or participating in.

I generally don't plant my garlic until the soil is very cold, but short of freezing. If garlic gets too much of a head-start before the severely cold weather arrives, the sprouts could be damaged over the winter, despite being well-mulched with straw. Of course, around here, night-time winter temps of -20 to -30 deg are not out of the question.

 

[turbo]

Cold rainy weather - blah! No danger of killing frost soon, but I have a bumper-crop of unripe chili peppers and they'll never ripen. The drought stunted my plants, then waves of heavy rains came. The plants actually perked up and the peppers filled out, but we didn't get enough hot sunny weather to ripen them. I hate making chili relishes out of all green peppers, but that may be my only option this year, if a sneak frost doesn't get my garden first.

 

[Astronuc]

Cold rainy weather - blah! No danger of killing frost soon, but I have a bumper-crop of unripe chili peppers and they'll never ripen. The drought stunted my plants, then waves of heavy rains came. The plants actually perked up and the peppers filled out, but we didn't get enough hot sunny weather to ripen them. I hate making chili relishes out of all green peppers, but that may be my only option this year, if a sneak frost doesn't get my garden first.

That's pretty much been the case since Irene blew through. We've had a few days of sun, but the rest overcast or raining. It's been too cool or wet for peppers and tomatoes. The kale loves it.

I found one more orange habanero, and there are about 2 dozen on plant and a dozen on the other that a green. They are also about 30 to 50% smaller than I've had in the past. I just tried on that I picked a few weeks ago. It is hot! I also harvested some ripened jalapeños (7), cayenne (6) and hot cherry (2). There are dozens more on several plants, but they are all green. And the bigger of two habanero plants has more flowers.

 

[NeoDevin]

Of course, around here, night-time winter temps of -20 to -30 deg are not out of the question.

You southerners and your mild winters. Around here daytime winter temps of -40 are not out of the question.

 

[Borek]

This year most of my peppers are definitely much more mild than the last year. I wonder what it means for the new variety that feels hot

I must admit I am not THAT into hot peppers. My eyes got tearful just from reading about ghost peppers.

 

[turbo]

I hauled all of my pepper plants this afternoon. Most got hit by this morning's frost, and tomorrow morning's frost is expected to be much harder. I got lots of sweet peppers, like Bells and poblanos. An igloo cooler full of Hungarian Wax (paprika) chilies and habaneros. Plus over 1/2 of a 32 quart cooler full of jalapenos. I have to find homes for these peppers. Due to the crappy growing season, they are not anywhere near as hot as I have hoped. While I was pulling habanero plants, I was eating raw peppers. This is NOT a normal year. I won't bother sending chilies (Carribean Reds/Savinas) to Rhody as they are not worth the effort. If I can eat them on the fly while harvesting them, they are not hot enough to merit attention.

 

[turbo]

Preparing for tonight's hard freeze, my wife harvested all our Rosemary. It is now hanging from the beams in our kitchen, and the place smells great.

 

[Astronuc]

We had frost this morning. I think the peppers are still surviving. No hard freeze yet.

 

[rhody]

I just changed from one pot to three separate pots and added some new soil for my ghosts. Have them indoors under grow light and if warm enough put out in the sun during the day, peppers and buds are still forming. I only got one chocolate ghost out of the bunch I tried to start 14 days ago, I used up all my old seeds, that is probably the reason. Just started 5 ghosts (new seeds) in a new container in these high tech seed bed thingees, I will take a picture and post, they look like Styrofoam cups, and are split to the middle on one side, you wet them, squeeze out excess moisture, the plop the seed where ever you wish, and put on a heat mat in closed container. Every day of two, check them and spritz with a water spray, and hope fully they will sprout. Since they are man made, there is no fungus, germs, etc... to worry about in the soil. Will see if they work or not.

Rhody...

P.S.

Here is a picture of the new starter things I used. They were just released so you won't find them anywhere. They look like cotton balls but have a firmer consistency.

http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/2536/startern.jpg

 

[Evo]

We're having an Indian summer, 86F tomorrow.

 

[PAllen]

Very poorly. My wife and I have excellent brown thumbs.

 

[Evo]

I just changed from one pot to three separate pots and added some new soil for my ghosts. Have them indoors under grow light and if warm enough put out in the sun during the day, peppers and buds are still forming. I only got one chocolate ghost out of the bunch I tried to start 14 days ago, I used up all my old seeds, that is probably the reason. Just started 5 ghosts (new seeds) in a new container in these high tech seed bed thingees, I will take a picture and post, they look like Styrofoam cups, and are split to the middle on one side, you wet them, squeeze out excess moisture, the plop the seed where ever you wish, and put on a heat mat in closed container. Every day of two, check them and spritz with a water spray, and hope fully they will sprout. Since they are man made, there is no fungus, germs, etc... to worry about in the soil. Will see if they work or not.

Rhody...

Jiffy 7 pellets. pellets. low tech. cheap. my ghost was started in a pellet

 

[rhody]

Jiffy 7 pellets. pellets. low tech. cheap. my ghost was started in a pellet

I know Evo loves to rub it in. hehe... BTW, did you get the peppers and gloves I sent to you ? Go have a look at my last post, those things are funky looking, huh ? Will see if they work in a few days.

Rhody...

 

[turbo]

My chilies are very disappointing. While I was pulling up the plants and harvesting chilies, I was eating habanero chilies whole. Very mild! I had hoped to send some to rhody for comparison with his ghosts, but there is no point in it. Somehow, the peppers never developed any real heat this year. I got quite a lot of fruits, but there isn't anything practical that I can do with them because they are too mild to make relishes or salsas out of.

 

[Borek]

This is interesting, as my peppers are also much milder than the last year - and while it could happen there was a similar weather here and in Maine, it would be quite a coincidence.

 

[turbo]

Our summer started out cool and wet, then we went into an extended drought, followed by very wet weather from the remnants of two hurricanes. The plants were very lush and green and were still flowering when I pulled them out (just in time to avoid a hard frost). Still, the chilies never developed the heat that I am used to.

I wonder also if the truck-load of manure that I tilled in last fall gave the chilies too much nitrogen... I wish I could have left them in the ground longer - we're heading into a very warm spell. Currently, it's sunny and 80 deg in the shade, and a week of this might have helped a bit.

 

[Evo]

I know Evo loves to rub it in. hehe... BTW, did you get the peppers and gloves I sent to you ? Go have a look at my last post, those things are funky looking, huh ? Will see if they work in a few days.

Rhody...

Ok, I'm taking a crowbar to my mailbox tomorrow.