pepperhead212's 2024 garden

[JayneR13]

I wouldn't know! If I tried planting that outside, the rabbits would decimate it long before I saw it! I grow greens in my hydroponics units. No rabbits.

[pepperhead212]

That's sort of what I do - plant those, the basil, and the dill, in 4 SIP windowsill boxes, around the perimeter of my deck! Rabbits can't get up there, though squirrels and birds can, but they seem to like the food I put into the traps more.

I do put the rest of the greens in a raised bed, and cover it, as one thing that rabbits will eliminate quickly, if you turn your back on them, is kohlrabi. I had this happen one time, when I planted a bunch of different greens, and got distracted by a "visitor", and in no time, just a dozen or so kohlrabi were GONE, but not one other variety! Fortunately, I had extras, and I never made that mistake again. I always get the Agribon cover ready in advance, and cover immediately, upon planting.

After sitting one more night, almost all of those brassica varieties have at least a few spouted when I checked this morning (a couple look like most have sprouted). The only one with no sprouts is that new green kohlrabi, even though that is the newest.

[JayneR13]

Oh my yes! Rabbits decimated my brassica beds, which I thought I had safely fenced. Then one day I was looking out of my window thinking that those beds looked a bit sparse, and saw a baby rabbit in there, munching away! I went outside and just watched it. It ran away through its secret entrance, thusly showing me where to patch my fence. I had to buy replacements for both beds too. My kohlrabis aren’t perfect but I have 5 to put up this weekend.

It’s been a really challenging year! Thank goodness for the farmer’s markets!

[pepperhead212]

I harvested about 3 more quarts of the smaller tomatoes today, and after that, I did another trimming of all those dead, and shriveled up stems and branches, from all those tomatoes it's produced since the last trimming! This has been an incredibly good tomato year for me, despite the near record heat summer I had in the area, until it came down in August. Once again, those Negro Azteka cherries were probably the most productive of all the varieties.
About 3 quarts of smaller tomatoes, 8-21 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Here are those tomatoes, poured out in a tray showing the different types, mostly the Negro Azteka, and a number of those Bronze Torch hybrids - the elongated streaked ones.
Here are those smaller tomatoes, poured into a cleaned tray, to spread them out in. You can see the larger number of Negro Azteka in there. 8-21 by pepperhead212, on Flickr
The eggplants are coming back strong now, after an early August lull - I'm guessing a result of the heat in July, which didn't seem to affect the tomatoes much this year. These 9 harvested today are in addition to the 11 or 12 I cut up that went into the dehydrator yesterday. These are the first 2 Matrosik harvested of the second crop - one just under a pound, and the smaller one just under 15 oz, but the two plants are loaded with different sized fruits, and new blossoms.
More eggplants - 2 Ichiban, 5 Asian Delight, and 2 Matrosik, 8-21. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

And here's something I saw today that gave me a chuckle. I was pulling the occasional weed out, from the perimeter of the Jr EB, I have that lettuce planted in. I quickly realized why there were so many of them (usually only one or two weeds). Another this happens with a lot are the dill seeds.
just a few of the many volunteer lettuce plants, around the edge of the Jr Earthbox, the lettuce went to seed in. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

Those red habanero peppers I'm growing this year are some generic habaneros, which I had to buy at a local nursery, due to the old seeds not germination well. This plant grew well, but the peppers are relatively mild, compared to the chocolate habs I usually grow - probably only about 200k, vs. 400k. The chocolate habaneros I originally grew (that I wish I've saved seeds from now, as the company is out of business, and others I've tried aren't the same) were my favorites. For next year, I got some seeds for an old variety I grew back in the early 90s (maybe before?), that has an intense flavor, like the chocolate, a huge number from one plant, and about the same heat, around 400k - Fatalii. That was the second hottest back then (tells you how long ago!), but also had an incredibly intense habanero flavor, like my favorite chocolate habs. Hopefully they are still the same.
Red habaneros, left until very ripe, before picking. I'll see if they get hotter than the first time I picked some. 8-26 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Thai Vesuvius, all picked from one plant, since it was on its way out, and these were almost all green yesterday, 8-26 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Here are a few other things I harvested yesterday, but the peppers were the main things I went out for.
Not a lot today, besides the peppers. Just this one bottle gourd and one cuke, and a few beans. 8-26 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

And here are a few more of those smaller tomatoes I harvested a couple of days ago, almost 3 more quarts of those, in a tray next to the same kind, harvested 4 days earlier, showing how much they ripened, and how many of those Negro Azteka cherries there are again.
Almost as many of the smaller tomatoes, next to the ones from 4 days ago, showing the Bronze Torches mostly darker. 8-26 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

Those eggplants are really producing well now, but I only picked 2 of those Ichibans, because there are a bunch of smaller fruits, almost like they set too many fruits on the 2 plants, and they just aren't growing very big.
Large number of eggplants now, the Ichiban sort of smaller, because there are so many. 8-29 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The beans are starting to grow more now - the fortex, the small green ones, The Thai Long Red beans are getting loaded with beans, and the first Long White bean showed today, on I think only one plant - don't know what happened to be others.
The long beans starting to produce more now, and the first one of those white long today. 8-29 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[PlainJane]

Odd that the white type of long bean is behaving differently.

[pepperhead212]

Only harvests today was some more smaller tomatoes, and some beans. Will be a lot more eggplants soon, and soon I'll make something with some of those Swiss chard stalks - my only greens right now.
3+ quarts again of the smaller tomatoes, plus a few beans. 8-30 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Those 3 Swiss Chard plants, started when I pulled out those Green Giant tomatoes. 8-30 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

Today I harvested another 9 or 10 eggplants, and along with all those others I've gotten in the last several days, I put another 5½ trays in the dehydrator. I might put in a few trays of those green (and red) beans in there, to fill it up, as I have to do something with those, and started filling up another ziploc with them.

All the fall seedlings are doing well, except for that one new (for me) kohlrabi - Tianjin Green, for which I got not one sprout, out of at least a dozen. So I got out another variety I've grown before - Blauer Speck, a Purple variety from Baker Creek, which wasn't quite as good as Kolibri, as far as being a little later, and not quite as large, but it's OP, and better than the old Early Purple variety. So I sprouted some quickly - almost all of them sprouted in 24 hours, after soaking overnight in 250 ppm GA3, which I have found works fast with most brassicas. Today, I put some of the sprouted seeds in the small pots, plus another pot that I pulled the lettuce out of, because of those volunteers I used for the lettuce! So I should have a good number of these Blauer Specks.

[Shule]

@pepperhead212
Are hydroponic greens more tender on average than greens in the ground? Do they take longer to bolt?

[pepperhead212]

I don't find hydro greens more tender, and they definitely seem to take longer to bolt, though some I have tried bolted just as fast, indoors or out. And I've never been able to find any spinach that grew well, indoors or out, even trying tricks others have given me. Arugula is another one that doesn't keep growing well for me - something that would have to be succession planted. That's why I'm always growing those Asian greens, and Swiss chard - things I can "cut and come again". Some of the Asian greens are too large for my hydro setup, however.

[JayneR13]

Indeed, I have to cut the choy sum regularly or it'll take over the unit! And mine is flowering again, so I'll take some seed, cut it down, and replant. And yes, cut and come again is definitely my preferred method. Once my lettuce grows in I'll have greens for sammies for the next three months!

Blauer Speck grows well for me, albeit they were a bit strange this year. Oh well. Cylindrical kohlrabi eats just fine!

[pepperhead212]

The plant I got the most from in hydro last year was the Russian Red Kale, though, like the red lettuce, not much red in the leaves! Here's a photo showing maybe 2 weeks after planting, on 12-5, next to other very small seedlings planted at the same time! And the same plant in April, when I had to finally pull it out, as it was growing into the lights, after many harvests - not because it was bolting! I was wondering if just cutting it at the top would trigger some lower stems, like it does with broccoli, but it was too late to think of that, as I was getting things started outside!
Russian red kale, fastest growing indoor plant this year. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Had to finally pull out the Russian red kale in the hydro, as it was growing up in the lights. Another 5" of stem not in the photo. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[JayneR13]

I've found that trimming the upper leaves doesn't trigger the lower ones, sadly. This is especially true of plants that grow in whorls, from the center out. I take the outer leaves as needed and when it's grown into the lights, it's time to replant. I'm not a huge fan of burned lettuce leaf LOL. I've also found that my red varieties don't get very red. They are tasty, however. Red Romaine grows especially well in my hydro unit.

[pepperhead212]

I don't grow many inedible things - just a few, to attract some pollinators. Here's one of them - a zinnia, and one of the larger ones, which I cut quite a few old blossoms off of (the only reason I trim them), and almost overnight those unopened buds popped open, and in about 2 days they were wide opened! And here's something that really likes this variety:
An eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly, on one of my zinnias they seem to be particularly attracted to. 9-02 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I pulled some things out of some SIPs, that just didn't do much, at least later in the season, plus, I "refreshed" the soil mix with some Espoma Garden Tone - or one of their mixes. I marked the container 5-3-3, which is why I used it - greens will be going into them, for the fall! I put some senposai in one, and some purple "Merlot" napa cabbage, and I put a few of those leftover seed sprouts of the blauer speck kohlrabi - I'll see if it grows as well (or better) that that which I put in the pots indoors, to transplant later. I have a bunch of other places to put some, but the Swiss chard grew so incredibly fast in that SIP, I figured I'll try some of these brassicas in them, as well.

[GoDawgs]

Butterflies sure do like zinnias! And like you, I don't grow many inedibles except I do grow zinnias. The butterflies love them and I like seeing them.

[JayneR13]

I grow a number of things for the pollinators but not in my raised beds. I had two containers of flowers this year (phlox and celosia) and a number of perennials around the yard. Those include yarrow and comfrey (both medicinal), lavender (culinary), bergamot, great blue lobelia, a few prairie grasses, lanterna and lamia, two roses, and some American ginseng. The lanterna, lamia, and bishop's weed were planted by the last home owner and I'm trying to kill that latter. Volunteers such as creeping bell flower are numerous, of course.

[BlackKrim]

Butterflies sure do like zinnias! And like you, I don't grow many inedibles except I do grow zinnias. The butterflies love them and I like seeing them.

Can you possibly recommend a medium sized (height-wise) Zinnia? Something inbetween giants like Benary's or Polar Bear and the 8" powder puff types? I seem unable to find any such varieties but you would probably know. Thanx. -BlackKrim. Already I am planning for next year.

[GoDawgs]

Butterflies sure do like zinnias! And like you, I don't grow many inedibles except I do grow zinnias. The butterflies love them and I like seeing them.

Can you possibly recommend a medium sized (height-wise) Zinnia? Something inbetween giants like Benary's or Polar Bear and the 8" powder puff types? I seem unable to find any such varieties but you would probably know. Thanx. -BlackKrim. Already I am planning for next year.

I sure wish I could help you but I only grow the tall Benary's Giants, mainly because they're a lot easier on my back when I'm deadheading them.

Can anyone else help @BlackKrim ?

[pepperhead212]

The Peruvianna from Baker Creek is a fairly good, medium size, about 2' tall, but not totally true bred - slightly different flowers. All the rest of the zinnias I have are larger ones.