Re: pepperhead212's 2023 garden

[pepperhead212]

I did very little yesterday, due to heat, but I did harvest the okra and beans - things that quickly get oversized. Only a couple were oversized, but not those Thai red or Sweet White. One of the whites was 33", but I didn't want to leave it, though eventually I will, just to see how large they get!
A few beans, mostly the Sweet White long beans, definitely a keeper for next year. 9-4 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Also picked a few more Aruna peppers, just to fill up a tray, for the ones filling up the dehydrator.

[pepperhead212]

More peppers!
I must say, that Pumpkin Spice Jalapeño I grew the first time this year is very productive, and a good flavor, but little heat (for those who like that). And this isn't just me - a friend I sent some of the first ones with (another plus - one of the earliest of the season) asked me if I had grown some sweet peppers! And the jalapeño m wasn't much hotter, but it also wasn't as productive. The pumpkin spice plants were loaded with full sized (another thing - not very large, about 2") green ones, and many smaller ones, in addition to the ripe ones I picked. Those smaller ones in the photo were knocked off, by accident. Arunas were loaded, again, and the misc. Thai peppers were loaded with reds and browns.
Ripen Aruna peppers, 9-12 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Ripe and ripening Thai peppers, 9-12 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Misc. peppers - Big Mic, Joe E Parker, Pumpkin Spice Jalapeño, Jalapeño M, Datil, Aji Dulce, Hanoi Market 9-12 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I got another batch of eggplants - 3rd batch, every other day, from the blossoms that came around after an earlier heatwave made them drop their blossoms back in August. I'll have another lull, from this even longer heatwave in September, but they have a bunch more growing on them still.
Eggplant and just one cucumber, harvested on 9-14 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I also got a few more tomatoes today, though a number of some of the varieties had split, from that rain several days ago - first time this year.
A few tomatoes, from 9-14 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I'm finally getting some cukes on some plants that I planted on about 7-20, when I was pulling some tomatoes or other cucumber plants that had either died, or were not worth keeping. The regular County Fair cucumbers did not do well, but the CF Improved plants are doing well, and I'm getting cukes on them, in just under 2 months. And there's a lot of smaller ones. I sprayed Surround on them a couple of times, early on, but the main thing I've been spraying on them is H2O2, 1/2 c/gal, w/nothing added (H202 reacts with just about everything.

First cukes on the County Fair Improved on 9-17, planted around 7-20. by pepperhead212, on Flickr



Today, I cleaned out one of my beds, and put about 1½ 32 gal trash cans full of old potting mix, from re-potting, or when refreshing the SIPs. The leaves were in a pile at one end, and I pulled them onto the end I cleaned and re-covered, before cleaning out the other half. I didn't put any more leaves in, since it was supposed to rain (and actually did rain .21", so far), so I figured that would level the soil better.

Bed cleaned out, with a layer of old potting mix, saved when re-potting. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Before it started raining, I pulled the zinnias out front, and threw all that away with the stuff from out back, since Monday is lawn trash day here. It has rained .21", so far, with more to come overnight.

[pepperhead212]

I have at least 18 butternut squash almost ready to harvest out there (some definitely ready to harvest), and what is almost unbelievable, I still have 7 (plus the 4 I just cut up) butternuts from last season, almost a year old! I always watch them closely for any bad spots forming. Surprisingly, they have lasted a long time, even that very small one. Only one of these 11 was getting slightly soft by now, and it wasn't the smallest one! Amazing how hard they have stayed. I got 2 trays of cubes for the dehydrator, and I only cut up 4, to leave room for other things - I might cut up more.
A small butternut squash, almost 1 year old, and still good! 9-28 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

7 of the 11 butternut squash I still have from almost a year ago! I cut up 4 of them, only one slightly soft, others rock hard. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

A little more than a cup of seeds from the 4 butternut squash I cut up, to dehydrate. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

3 days ago I harvested 8 butternuts, and today I harvested 11 more butternuts - still 2 almost full sized, on one plant, but green, so I left those. One is just lightening some, the other just green. Surprisingly, no other various small ones, like there usually are, which I just cut up into pieces for a curry - they're still good, even green!
About a third of my ripened butternut squash, 10-3 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Butternut harvest, 10-6, only 2 left in the garden. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Today I sealed the ends of the first ones I harvested, with the shellac. They had dried out enough now. At first, the stems sort of "weep", and the sap eventually dries, and then I brush the shellac on.

Besides these, I also got some more long beans and other pole beans, a few tomatoes, and close to 3 more qts of cherry tomatoes - mostly sunsugars and Juliets.

[pepperhead212]

Today I peeled, seeded, and cut up the last 7 of those butternuts, I still had from last season, and I got almost 7 trays ready to go into the dehydrator. Only one of them had some spongy spots, but there were no "bad spots" on any of them, turning rotten, or anything that that. And I got another 2 cups or so of seeds, though the 2 small ones had seeds that were sort of flat - those might have been some of the ones that didn't totally ripen before the plants were pulled out, like the last 2 out there now. I got about 3 gallons of trimmings for the compost.

About 3 gallons of trimmings from the last 7 butternut squash, from last year. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Tomorrow, I'll put the last two trays in with peppers - about all I'm still getting a lot of, these days.

[PlainJane]

@pepperhead212 do you compost in ground or in a bin?

[pepperhead212]

@PlainJane Mostly in a bin, at least for things like this. A lot of the ground up leaves, however, I just us them as mulch, and let them rot in the ground.

[pepperhead212]

Early on, the weather was cool, and breezy, though not as bad as yesterday, and it soon got better, so I went out, and got busy. The best thing was, after it got cold (48° and 49°) the last two nights, there were no mosquitoes or no-see-ums! First time since May, maybe! I cleaned out the row, where all those squash grew, and pulled that landscape fabric out, and sort of shook it off, then rolled it up (amazingly, it's still good after 6 years!). Then I 'tilled the row - I might cover it with black plastic, since I probably won't be planting there until spring.
Cleaned up row from the butternut squash, behind the rosemary. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

This season, the garlic I think I'll plant in a raised bed, and I got that bed cleaned out more, and scratched some fertilizer in the surface of it. I was going to plant it this weekend, but rain is forecast for both days, so it looks like Thursday and Friday the garlic is going in!

The last thing I did today was pick a bunch of peppers. The Datil is very productive this year - just one plant has given me all these peppers I got this year! The Joe Parker was late, but eventually, productive, and the Big Mic started early, and kept producing all season. Those Pimiendo de Pedron were slow, but once they started producing, they ripened quickly, while the other larger, mild varieties stayed green a long time. Jalapeños haven't been that great this year - I'll have to try others next season. The Thai peppers were good, as usual, and the Thai Vesuvius was the best, again. Aruna was very productive and is winding town now. Those new Maui Purples are the same, almost black color, the old Maui Purple used to be, but the peppers are better - not bitter, when ripened, and only about as hot, or a little more than Thai Vesuvius, and can be used in the same types of foods, fresh or dry. I bagged some blossoms on the largest plant, and got 2 ripe peppers inside them - I tagged them, and left them to totally ripen, before I harvest them, for the seeds.
Ripening Datil peppers, from one plant, plus some Aruna, 10-9 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

A bunch of green Joe Parker, Numex 6-4, and Big Mic peppers, and red Pimiento de Pedron by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Various Thai and Jalapeño peppers, a lot of half sized jalapeños left. 10-9 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I spent this evening separating a bunch of garlic for planting the next two days!

I have that Music and Bogatyr that I ordered the pound each of seed garlic for. Only two cloves with bad spots, and 5 too small to plant, so I have 48 - exactly enough to fill 2 rows.

Music, 48 cloves from a pound. Large cloves, largest 12.4 grams by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Leftover Music cloves. Just 2 larger ones with bad spots, and 5 thin cloves, I won't plant. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The Bogatyr is a little smaller, but still larger than most softnecks. They were very uniform, with very few small cloves, and only one with a bad spot, and just that one very small head (and I got more than a pound with both). And the skin was incredibly tight to all the cloves, so I assume it will be a good one for storage, like Metechi.

Bogatyr heads, before separation, similar to Metechi, which I'm growing in place of. fairly uniform, and I got 76 cloves in the pound. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Bogatyr, only one with a bad spot, and 3 too small to plant. And I didn't even separate that small head! by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The Estonian Reds are 10 heads I labeled last season, when I had harvested everything, and these were the largest; I also labeled 9 of the largest Georgian Fire heads - not quite as large, but close to it. One of the ER heads had just those two largest cloves, and one head had just 3! Yet, these things have even more potent flavor than most garlic, the Georgian Fire even more so! Not mild, like elephant garlic.

Just 10 heads of Estonian Red, 27.8 oz. Largest heads I've ever grown. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Estonian Red garlic, 44 cloves separated, 18.9 oz. Those 2 largest were 23.2 g, and 21.8 g. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Georgian Fire, 9 heads, almost as large as Estonian Red. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

41 cloves of Georgian Fire, 15.5 oz. Not one bad or small clove, in these, or the Estonian Reds. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I'll have a few empty spots out there, and I will probably fill it in with some Metchi from last season.

[pepperhead212]

I finished the garlic today! As usual, I soaked it with a 50% isopropyl alcohol solution, starting the first batch - the Georgian Fire - and pouring it onto the next container, and soaking that, while planting the first batch. By the time I get to the last, there is about a quarter of the alcohol left, though still enough to coat everything, and sterilize it.

When I planted today, I found only one more double clove than I had before, so I ended up with 45 Estonian Reds, with 3 Metechis - plus 7 more Methechis, in addition to the 41 Georgian Fires. I had 2 extra Metechis, and I just shoved them in the other bed at the end. 48 Musics, and 72 Bogatyrs filled the 2 and 3 rows exactly.
Here's the first row of fabric, with the row of Garlic directly down the center of the bed, showing the placement string. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished bed of garlic, before putting on a layer of ground up leaves. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[PlainJane]

Great technique with your garlic bed.

[pepperhead212]

I did go out and cover the garlic bed with some leaves today, since I have a feeling it is going to get windy, along with that rain that is coming in, and I don't want those strips to blow loose. After looking at everything else out there, I pulled all my okra out - I hadn't gotten much out of that all week, so the cold has done them in, but the peppers are still going nuts! I got some beans, but the long beans have especially been slowed up by the cold, and most of those I just left to save the seeds from. I picked a few eggplants, and more cherry tomatoes, but the cucumbers seem pretty much killed by the cold temps.
Garlic bed, covered with some leaves from last year, 10-13 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I'm still getting a lot of cherries, but very few larger tomatoes. These I picked 2 days ago, and the ones in the white container were the ones just showing a hint of ripeness. Now, they are almost entirely ripe! And I did little out there today, due to the very high wind, but I saw a bunch more totally ripe ones!

Cherry tomatoes still producing. 10-15 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I only got enough eggplants to fill one tray, peppers to fill 5 trays. I still have a bunch more peppers out there, but I didn't want to wait for those, and I know there are more than 3 trays worth.
5 trays of cut up peppers, and one tray of eggplant slices, ready to dehydrate. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[PlainJane]

Really nice haul!

[pepperhead212]

Thanks @PlainJane! And hard to believe, but all those yellow Datil peppers I've gotten all season have been from one plant! And those cherry tomatoes not much different, with just 2 Sunsugars, 2 Juliets, and one Sprite supplying all you see there. I try other new ones, but most didn't do well enough to be keepers - just the Juliet.

[pepperhead212]

Yesterday, I harvested the last of my mints - could have held on longer, but there is just very little new growth at this time of year. I cut 3 cuttings of each long enough to root, and cut enough spearmint to make my last batch of mint tea - have to wait until next spring! For some reason, mint is the first thing to come up in the spring, not affected by cold, but it is also one of the first, along with basil, to fizzle out, once it starts getting cool. I have 3 of each rooting - I might plant a peppermint in the hydroponics, but spearmint is an aphid magnet. I'm going to try them on my back porch - the rosemary and the Syrian oregano I grow on the back porch, in case the ones outside die from a colder low, than normal. After getting what I could from those, I pulled out the drip-lines, and removed it from the hose, and removed the timer, and weedwacked the mint, to level it.
Mint cuttings rooting, 3 peppermint and 3 spearmint, 10-17 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I picked more peppers today (imagine that!), after putting all those latest dried peppers in the jars. And I didn't touch the datil or habaneros, and there are a few others, as well! I don't know how they are still producing like they are, with these cold nights, as well as days, we are having here, though later this week is forecast for low 40s, which will have to affect them.
More peppers! And this is only a few of them - the Aruna, Jalapeños, and the mild varieties. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

While picking some of those peppers today, I saw something else I had to do - start some epazote cuttings, for the hydroponics! I was surprised at how much new growth that stuff had - last year, it was all flowers by the time I looked for cuttings. All I really need is one, to grow in there, but I started 3, and I'll just take the best one.
3 epazote cuttings rooting, 10-18 (I later put a Syrian oregano in the last place in the pot) by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I also picked off as many of the largest leaves I could find, and salt layered them, something I used to to, before indoor hydroponics.
The epazote leaves I picked, for saving, by salt layering. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The largest of the 2 epazote plants, showing a bunch of those small new growths, besides much of the flowers. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
The salt layered epazote leaves - much better than drying, for preserving the flavor of this. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

Something I am going to have to do soon is trim back all those trees I have on the deck, to bring indoors. The forecast low about a week from now is 41°, and the curry tree needs to be in before that. The bay laurel and lime trees are a little more cool hardy, but still need brought in soon, and all need severe trimming.

That curry tree, needing trimmed WAY back, before bringing it inside very soon. by pepperhead212, on Flickr



The bay laurel and makrut lime trees also need major trimming, before bringing indoors. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I got that curry tree and bay laurel trimmed way back today, and set most of the larger and darker bay leaves in a tray, to dry. I sprayed both of them down with a H2O2 solution, and soaked the soil with it, as well. Tomorrow, I'll spray them with a diluted solution of orange oil and neem oil, and let that dry, and just after bringing them inside, I soak the upper soil with Bt israelensis, to prevent fungus gnats - something I do about every time 30 days, once inside, and never have a problem with them. The makrut lime trees are next to trim.
Curry tree, after trimming a lot from it, to be brought inside soon. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Bay Laurel tree, trimmed considerably, to bring inside soon. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The bay leaves trimmed, before drying. by pepperhead212, on Flickr