Starting Again

I have decided to be a little more serious about my seedlings this year and I am trying some new techniques.

Some (mainly cabbages and peppers) in peat pots from Jiffy, herbs and some alliums in proper start pots, and tomatoes and lemon grass in flower pots.

I got a seedling heat mat and set them all on a glass table top with the mat on it so it would warm them all some.  It really seems to be working well.  I am a little concerned with peat pots drying out too much and some of the peppers (seems like the hotter varieties, like Scotch Bonnet) are slower to germinate, but all in all its a success so far.

Here we have a rare (but increasingly common) Garden Monkey enjoying a popsicle as we check our seedlings in the morning.  He helped plant them and we enjoy checking them together.

Pepper List for 2011

I am a huge fan of peppers. I use six types in my chili. I use them every chance I can. I love the heat. I love the sweet. But mostly the heat!

Peppers
Anaheim
Cayenne
Zavory
Marconi
Poblano
Serrano
Jalapeno
Giant Jalapeno
Tennessee Cheese

No Thai peppers this year. I should grow them, they just didn't taste good last year. And I am soooo tired of seeing "Ancho" peppers, and "Chipotle" peppers on seed packets I could scream. Those are semi-prepared versions of Poblano and Jalapeno peppers.

Late Garden Still Going!

Its been a while since an update. Sorry for the delay, but life has been demanding, some things needed to slide a little, and this has been one of those things.

Here is a pretty typical day these days. These are actually the last of the summer potatoes, a good sized carrot or two, some peppers (marconi, cayenne, and poblano here), some tomatoes (Brandywine, Costoluto Genovese, and a little Cherokee Purple), an onion or two, and a special addition today - a little Charantais!

We harvested the first two ripe ones today and have 14 more to go. Let me tell you, we must have the exact right soil or something because these things taste AWESOME!

Here we have one of our BIG Rouge Vif de Etempes pumpkins. He have eight of them, but these two, next to each other on the same vine, have gotten a lot bigger than the others. Anybody got an idea on average size of these normally? Also, as is my plan each year, I just let them sprawl into the yard.

A number of the little cabbages that I thought would just die in the August heat came around strongly in the streak of cool weather we have had of late. The advantage of this in particular seems to be a total lack of cabbage loopers. I had loopers on me early cabbages (and I spent a lot of time picking them off by hand, yucky!), but these seem totally uneffected.

And here we have HOT HOT HOT Thai peppers grown from seed from my dad. These things are tasty, but a couple of them will drop you to your knees.

Will try to make it a lot sooner to the next post!

Garden Update, and a Brief Diatribe Regarding Rabbits

Hello, its been too long without photos, so without further ado.... The Garden Update...

Here we have the left two beds. The pumpkins, raddichio, tomatoes, etc are doing fine. The peppers (all 5 or 6 kinds) are not doing so hot. Oscar from freedomgardens.org who lives just north of here is having the exact same problem with his. Also, some of the bok choi went to seed and I was going to cut them, but when I saw the gorgeous little flowers, I decided that I would let them seed and collect some. Hope they breed true!

Below, near to far we have potatoes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes all doing well. Next bed we have turnips, beans, radishes, tomatoes, all doing well and carrots (that bald patch) not doing so well. Furthest bed are melons, ground cherries, onions, shallots and more tomatoes all doing well.

My favorite view.

Lettuce recovering on the right, squash, zuchs, etc on the right.

The raspberries (which I foolishly transplanted in late spring) seem to be taking, but just enough to survive, which if they survive the summer, I am all about it!

The strawberries are doing pretty well, but THE EVIL SUBURBAN RATS ARE EATTING THEM ALL. I thought something (hawk, cat, neighborhood kids?) had gotten the baby bunnies, but, in fact they had only gone to visit and are back. And bigger. And hungrier.

Blackberries a year ahead of schedule. Need I say more?

Grapes. Yummy. Concord grapes. Like I had when I was a kid.

Anyways, thats an update on where its at. Any questions or comments or suggestions appreciated!