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Post by raynebc on Aug 29, 2019 17:15:28 GMT -5
The watermelon still seems to be getting bigger, if not very quickly:  The cayenne pepper plant has been doing well, this pot size may be good enough for it. I may try to overwinter it and then put it in a larger container next year: The habaneros are finally starting to change color: I was able to vacate my AG Harvest because the scotch spearmint cuttings had gotten big enough to give to my coworkers. I moved the sweet heat pepper plant to the AG Ultra LED, but I think I killed it by dripping rubbing alcohol on the grow sponge to kill the white mold on it. Either that or the starting pump cycle settings for a new garden on the Ultra LED are insufficient. No huge loss, I got lots of more seeds. I thoroughly cleaned the AG Harvest by soaking the deck and pump in peroxide and water overnight, scrubbed everything with perodixe and then ran water and peroxide through the water pump to make sure it flushes any junk out of it. I planted replacement sponges with lavender (which never sprouted last time because the mold overtook it), jalapeno, sweet heat and habanero. I also took a cutting each of orange mint and chocolate mint to raise for another coworker: |
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Shawn
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Post by Shawn on Aug 30, 2019 3:44:11 GMT -5
All looks good and that watermelon is getting big.
As for the alcohol. To get rid of any mold or algae, use a qtip dipped in peroxide and dab on the sponge lightly. Then I use a dropper or syringe to place some regular water over it as not burn or kill the plants. But a little goes a long way.
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Post by brenwren on Sept 1, 2019 19:15:04 GMT -5
Your peppers look very good. That watermelon is amazing to me. I want to know if it tastes good.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2019 9:06:54 GMT -5
Great assortment of peppers there! As for alcohol on plants: I once followed a recipe for critter repellent that had pepper and a tiny bit of alcohol in it as well as some other simple ingredients. I poured it on grass and the next 2 days the spots turned to hay because of the alcohol. It is a killer for plants. I stay away from alcohol around plants indoor or out. FWIW (and the critters still came around to eat my toms)
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Post by raynebc on Sept 5, 2019 12:05:17 GMT -5
I finally got the nerve to eat one of the habanero peppers, cutting it up and adding it to some General Tso's chicken with a few cayenne peppers as I like to do. I must have been too aggressive with removing the seeds and pith because my tongue didn't even work up a sweat like it usually does if I use a half dozen cayennes. Next time I'll add a couple habaneros, take out the seeds and leave the pith to see how that differs.
I'm sort of demo-testing a plant light array at the moment, it's chip on board style of light instead of an array of small LEDs. It's pretty bright, but the specs for power draw aren't really up to the manufacturer's claims so I have to question the light output. I don't have a spectrometer, so I can't verify their claims about PAR. I can only compare the lux readings versus their older model plant light (which I previously bought, probably why they offered to give me a refund for this newer light if I leave a review for it).
Still no sprouts from my pepper seeds, but when they do sprout, that new light will probably be good enough for nice, big a jalapeno plant. I miss being able to have fresh red jalapenos, the grocery stores only have green ones.
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Shawn
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Post by Shawn on Sept 5, 2019 13:20:30 GMT -5
I sometimes remove the seeds depending on what I am making. I never remove the pith. But then again Mark likes HOT  . So they stay  |
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Post by raynebc on Sept 6, 2019 0:34:14 GMT -5
Today I saw that old sunflower had been broken half-way down the stalk. It didn't take long for me to see the bushy tailed culprit, who was busy picking the smaller flowers off and dragging them away.
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Shawn
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Post by Shawn on Sept 6, 2019 3:31:21 GMT -5
The bunny must have been hungry and wanted the seeds.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 6, 2019 8:09:03 GMT -5
So cute...and yet....  |
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Post by raynebc on Sept 6, 2019 18:09:08 GMT -5
It was a squirrel. I fully expected it would happen eventually, and am just surprised it took this long for one of them to go for it. Next year I want to plant several different colors of sunflowers.
After using both sub irrigation planting and drip irrigation this growing season, I think I'm preferring the drip irrigation. Building SIP buckets takes far too much work, the results are variable even when using the same method (sometimes the water won't drain out of the hole I drill in the outer bucket) and if I'm away for more than a day or so the plants still run low on water (a large mint plant drinks up tons of water). Drip irrigation is much more fool-proof, just set it and forget it. To that end, I ordered a 4 outlet water timer and more drip irrigation parts. Next season I'll have plenty of capacity to run everything on drip irrigation, including the ability to program 4 different zones that can get a different amount of water. I will still use my sizeable collection of buckets as planters, just one bucket per plant though, with drainage holes a couple inches from the bottom.
This year was a good learning experience though, I will have much more plant starting capacity (3 AeroGardens, several plant lights) for next year than I did this year. I just have to get my timing right for sowing. I'm probably going to get rid of my normal spearmint and peppermint plants in favor of high oil commercially-used hybrids like the scotch spearmint that I bought (which is currently flourishing) and Black Mitcham peppermint (which I'll buy from an online nursery when they re-open this fall). I don't personally like the taste of the orange mint, but it smells and looks nice. It also brings in plenty of bees. The chocolate mint looks, tastes and smells great. I'll try to distill some oil from it when I prune it down before winter.
I forget, how many people here over-winter plants like peppers? Do they just need to be pruned down heavily and kept in low light and mild temperature until after last frost in the Spring? Are any precautions needed beyond spraying down with azadirachtin/neem to kill any stow-away pests?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2019 8:33:28 GMT -5
I bring NO plants inside from the outdoors, whether they were in the raised beds or pots. Eggs and larvae could adhere to the roots even when rinsed off carefully. An the soil may be harboring earwigs or arachnids. I just don;t want to risk it, so go 'green & clean' inside.
I love the plans you have in mind.
As for SIP, many call and have it done just because of the work it takes. Around here the SIP gardens did not do well because of the many severe heat waves and scorching sun. I would imagine those neighbors who had it put in their beds would have done better with Drip buckets.
I am noticing the Monarchs this year. Not as many bees as last year, though.
I have had so much spearmint ice tea this summer that I am sick of it. I have it in the garden in an EB junios as well as in the Harvest inside. But I think in a few weeks I will end the Harvest and try my hand at peppermint..not the fancy gourmet kinds, but just plain old peppermint tea.
Nice garden projects, nice plans ahead!
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Post by raynebc on Sept 7, 2019 16:57:10 GMT -5
For the over-wintering, I was just planning on putting the cayenne and habanero pepper plants in the garage, since they won't survive freezing temperature. I'd figure the treatment with azadirachtin as both a foliar spray and a soil drench would kill of most or all of the bugs that would attack it during its dormancy. My understanding is that in my hardiness zone (6b/7a), the mint, scallions and pineapple sage will likely survive the winter outside.
For the other plants that will be dead at the end of the season (flowers, tomatoes, etc), are there steps I can take to make their potting soil suitable for re-use, such as killing any soil-borne pests, adding specific amendments (presumably not much, since I will be manually adding fertilizer), etc?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2019 19:25:51 GMT -5
I reuse all my soil in the EB's, the long boxes and the pots. When the plants are done, I thoroughly remove all roots, shaking the soil off into the pot. Then I turn it over real good, The EB;;s I cover over with plastic, but the others are uncovered even through the blizzards of winter. Come Spring, I turn everything over again, and add some Miracle Grow timed release to the ones for flowers, and some dolomite lime and fertilizer to the ones for vegetables. A few weeks later I plant my seedlings and top off with fresh Espoma soil if needed. All is outside. I don;t think anything(bugs and eggs) could survive the N'or Easters here.
If they are in a heated building, though one would most likely have to get an organic pesticide like the Safer 3 in 1 Brand and mix it in real good. I have used that sort of stuff for outside during the growing season in the past.
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Post by raynebc on Sept 21, 2019 21:03:16 GMT -5
The habanero seedling survived so I transplanted it to the Ultra to make use of the nutrient water, but the mold took out the other pepper and lavender seeds. I'm going to leave some peroxide solution soaking in the Harvest reservoir overnight and retry in a couple days. As per AG support's suggestion, I will leave the domes off this time to try to prevent the mold from going bonkers.
I transplanted the mint clones I was making for a coworker, but the orange mint branches were too fragile and tore a bit where the meet the main stem. They're not fully torn off, just partially. Will it fuse the wounds closed or is there anything I could due like use some sort of glue? Or should I just cleanly cut the damaged branches off?
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Shawn
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Post by Shawn on Sept 22, 2019 4:34:59 GMT -5
I honestly have no clue about the torn off piece. But in the past if thtat happened to me it would die off. I do not htink it seals itself. BUT it may or may not on the mint.
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Post by raynebc on Sept 22, 2019 18:02:02 GMT -5
Mint is pretty tough. Already it looks like it's doing fine, the branches will just have to prop themselves up on the edges of the pot, but they already re-positioned themselves to point at the light.
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Post by raynebc on Nov 15, 2019 12:37:04 GMT -5
That habanero has taken its time but it's now getting big enough I probably need to prune it, and it's overdue for a reservoir change and probably a root trimming: Did anybody have any quick advice about how much of this I should prune off, ie. the bottom 1/3 of leaves? Do I try to ball up the roots and trim them to take no more than about half of the Ultra's reservoir?
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Shawn
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Post by Shawn on Nov 16, 2019 9:18:48 GMT -5
Some plants take longer while others grow so fast.
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Post by raynebc on Nov 16, 2019 22:25:28 GMT -5
No suggestions for pruning?
Edit: Also, it's started putting out some flower buds. Should I aim at getting this plant to my maximum desired height before I let it flower?
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Shawn
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Post by Shawn on Nov 17, 2019 5:50:46 GMT -5
When was it planted?
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. So they stay 
