pepperhead212's 2024 garden

[pepperhead212]

This hydro was started last year, but I figured that I'd start the tread with it, since I'll be harvesting a lot more of it, well into June, when I usually dis-assemble the hydroponics indoors. I got a good harvest of all of them this season.

Today I trimmed most of the overgrown hydroponics plants I had; still some leaf lettuce that I need to trim, and on Monday I trimmed that epazote, to take up to the Mexican grocery. All of these things were just one plant each, and I have used some of all of them, many times, but they keep growing back!
Russian kale, from the hydroponics, 1-26 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Thai basil, from the hydroponics, 1-26 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Bok choy, from the hydroponics, 1-26. Finally started bolting after 5 previous harvests. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Dill from the hydroponics, some turned brown, because it was against the lights. 1-26 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Cilantro, from hydroponics, 1-26. No bolting yet, which is unusual for me, even indoors. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I finally went out in the garden again today - it's been raining so much that I had to wait for it to dry out, at least a little, and watch closely where I was stepping. The garlic didn't seem bothered at all by the cold, and the snow probably helped it! The garlic chives and Syrian oregano are already showing new growth, and the marjoram (another, even hardier oregano variety) started growing back as soon as I harvested all of it in November, and didn't cover any of it.

The parsley is still growing, and the Swiss chard is growing back for the umteenth time! I don't know when it will go to seed, but it might be soon.
Garlic, last day of January, for 2024, most still growing, after being covered with snow. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Some Syrian oregano, growing back, after I cut it back, and covered with 6" of leaves. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Garlic chives, getting green shoots already, on 1-31-24 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Marjoram, started growing back as soon as I harvested, in early November, and it didn't seem to notice the winter! by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

Last night I trimmed my hydroponics plants as some were getting overgrown again, and shading out some others. I still had some of the kale from the last harvest, and it looks fine!
Well over 4 qts of the Russian red kale, from the one plant. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Trimmed Russian red kale, showing the stem that all the leaves have been removed from, on several harvests. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The bok choy is also producing well, most of it from the plant that bolted quite a while back, yet it still produces many leaves, with small stems.
The large bok choy in the hydro, that bolted, but keeps putting out new leaves after I pinch the flowers.. I left some for later harvests. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

About 4 qts of trimmed bok choy, some from a small plant, the rest from the large bolting plant, that keeps growing! by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Largest trimmed bok choy leaf, about 8 inches. Only one with a large stem. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I harvested about 3x what I usually do with the leaf lettuce - usually just enough for a salad for me.
Leaf lettuce - harvested more than usual, as it was shading out another plant. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Didn't harvest any of this mustard, but it should grow faster now, as it will get more light. The dill and epazote were growing into the lights again, so I trimmed some of those, too.
Wasabina mustard, in hydro. The red stems are epazote, which I had to cut back. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Today I started some seeds - just some cold weather greens and other things - and also planted some old seeds, to see if they are viable. Still too early to do much else - got down to 21° last night, though it is getting into the 60s later this week, so I'll get some things done out there.

[MissS]

Wow that's some harvest for February! I have never tried my hand at hydroponics but this harvest has given me pause. I still can't wrap my head around that kale harvest coming from that teeny tiny pots.

[pepperhead212]

Yesterday I saw that a test seed from a bottle gourd variety from 2017 (probably late 2016) had sprouted in just about 2½ days. I had more than a dozen seeds left, and I've had even older winter squash seeds sprout before, so this didn't surprise me.
A "test seed" of a bottle gourd variety, from 2017. It sprouted in just 2 1/2 days! by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

Mostly cleanup today, due to the nice weather, but no planting yet. I also put those two supports for the Jr Earthbox windowsill boxes, that got broken from fallen limbs, in those storms. I fixed them, way back, and had to re-install them with the lag screws.

I trimmed all the dead branches off my sage plants - the large one already has new growth on it, and they always start growing back soon. I also uncovered the fig tree I have out there - it was covered with some dry leaves, and shoved into an inverted trash can, then two 12" concrete squares on top, which never blew over, in those 2 really bad storms we had this winter. I'll see how the tree does now. The one I got is Chicago Hardy, which was supposedly the most cold hardy of the ones available.

[pepperhead212]

Yesterday I stained the deck, after the pressure washing on Tuesday. I also sanded the handrails, as they were getting sort of rough, and that didn't take long. I still had some other things to stain, but I delayed that, as rain is supposed to start tomorrow morning...again! So I pressure washed my front porch, and the windows and siding, then the concrete on the N side of my house, which, after several years, turns almost black, probably because of the excessive rain, which takes a long time to dry. I had to stop after about 2/3 of the cleaning, as water was building up on the edge of the concrete - the soil is just too saturated, from all the rain. I'll have to wait to wash the rest.
The stained deck, showing the old stain on the post, and the pressure washed rocker, showing some black spots I missed. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

One thing I noticed starting out there, even sooner than usual:
Daffodils blooming, 3-14 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I just noticed all of the branches on that fig tree have developing leaves on them. I might cover it again Monday and Tuesday nights, because it is forecast to get close to freezing those nights. After these days in the 70s, the first day of spring is forecast to only be 45° - 7° below average!

My garlic is going crazy! And even that new variety of mine - Bogotyr - which was behind all the rest, has pretty much caught up, and even the empty spaces filled in, all but one, and in the photo you can see how dark green and large the left 3 rows are, which is the Bogotyr. I'll have to look closer, once it gets less muddy out there, but there are a couple of very small plants of some of the others, which I might pull, and put an onion set in those, and any empty spots. All Estonian reds came up, all but one Music, and all but 3 Georgian Fires, and 2 of them may have appeared, but only about an inch, compared those others now.
Garlic on 3-15. Took off with all the rain I've been getting, and the new Bogotyr really caught up with the others! by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I went out today to check the 8 "empty" spots in the garlic rows, and every one had a clove still there, with no growth started. So I planted some purple onion sets in those spots - I figured that would make it easier to ID from the garlic.

Besides this, I got some more on my deck stained, using a brush, in this case - 2 more of the racks the Jr Earthboxes set in, with one more left. I would have done that, but that is the S side, and the sun was setting over there, and it was getting much windier, so I cleaned up, and I might start again tomorrow, depending on how windy it is. Otherwise, I might have to wait until next weekend, as the temps are dropping for several days. Meanwhile, it's almost time to start getting the trays ready for the inside seed starting.

[pepperhead212]

It was too cool to do any more of the staining of the deck, and the only thing I got done was mixing up the seedling mix. I was glad I do this, partly because I'm a cheapskate, and the plants do so well in it, but also because I've been hearing all these horrible tales about people having problems with herbicides in their potting mixes, sometimes "organic" ones of major brands. I just mix some peat, with some dry coir I had left from the hydroponics, and about 20% perlite, with a little granulated diatomaceous earth, for drainage, and about 10% worm castings - the only fertilizer I add to it. It was sort of good that it was so windy - it blew the dust away, as I mixed it up, as long as I stood on the right side!
Worm castings added to the seedling mix - peat, a little coir, and the perlite, with a little granulated diatomaceous earth. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished seedling mix. Extra will be used for topping off SIPs. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Before using it, I'll sterilize it, by a low cook (about 200°) let it cool, then add some Bt israelensis to it, to prevent the fungus gnats.

I also re-covered my fig tree today, since we are forecast to get some below freezing temps this week, after those temps in the 70s last week! So much for the first day of spring!

[pepperhead212]

I "weighed out" the soil mix for my tomato and pepper seeds (yes, I did say that!), to sterilize it, before getting it ready to plant. I took out my smaller scale from the kitchen, and packed the mix into one of the 6-packs of planters, that 6 go into each tray (thus 36 plants), and 11 oz of the mix goes in each 6 pack, so 66 oz goes in each tray (very little moisture yet!), and it fills a fairly deep foil lasagna pan, that fits almost perfectly in half my grill. I just heat it to about 200° (the inside temp got to 194°, which was enough, I figured), then let it cool, uncovered. I only weighed it to make sure I get enough sterilized - I'll have a bunch of extra of the second batch, since I won't be planting as many peppers (yes, I said that, too!).

Oh yeah - I saw my first spearmint coming up today! Turns out it was the same date as last year!
The first spearmint peaking through, 3-20 - same date as last year! by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I did little outside today, since it was very cool out, and very windy, while tomorrow is supposed to be much better, so I figured I'd wait. So I did inside work today, and I harvested a bunch of that kale, and more leaf lettuce today, and finally pulled out the dill, 2 bok choy plants, and trimmed back the basils. I might put in more cilantro in the empty spots, or another bok choy in one spot, since it grows fast. I have that mustard greens plant almost overgrown, but I'll wait a couple days to get that.
More of that Russian red kale, from the hydroponics. About a third of this much of the leaf lettuce by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

Something I'm doing this year with pepper seeds, to see how it works out, as well as save myself some time and energy, is something I did a few years ago with eggplant seeds, after which they grew so fast that they were ready to go out before the weather was ready! I have to re-pot them in larger pots, but time will tell if the peppers grow too fast. But I used to start all the seeds in that strip tray of vermiculite, and, while they started quickly, I had to transfer every one of them to the pots, and this was good, when growing as many peppers as I used to, as I had no other way to keep seeds for so many varieties warm! I "only" have 12 varieties this year, and with the eggplants growing so well the last several years in those Jiffy pellets, and I can fit them all in one tray, I figured that I'd try this. I have a heat mat, that 2 trays fit on, but I'll start them in my kitchen (on 4-1, after overnight soaking in KNO3 solution), in the same spot - on that warm griddle, with the pilot lights under it, keeping it warm all the time. I'll test the temp beforehand, as always, and tweak the temp, to get the tray ready for the seeds. When they start appearing, I'll move it to the heatmat in the plant room, under the lights.
Trays with Jiffy pellets, for planting eggplant and pepper seeds in. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

That tray with the space for the 18 pellets, is a tray I bought chicken thighs in! lol I knew it would be good for some gardening job! This year I'll be planting the eggplant seeds even a little later - the first year, starting in the pellets to save space, the plants were ready much earlier than the weather was, and each season I've been planting them a few days later, and last season, on 4-1, they were still slightly too early, so I'll try 4-3 this year. And same with my tomatoes, planting on 4-6, as they have also been almost too large too soon, since the early May has been quite cool the last few years, after hot Aprils! Better to be slightly too small, than to be ready too soon, and flowering.

[pepperhead212]

The weather was nice out today, except for the fact that it was VERY windy, so I couldn't really do the stuff I was hoping to. So instead, I did some cleaning up on the back porch, then later I went down in my workshop, and made 2 more of those SIPs, using those inexpensive 18 gal tubs I got at Ollie's. I made 2 of them last year, but still had one I hadn't started using, because one of the old and cracking SIPs made it through one more season. I used that as the pattern, and it only took about 3 hours to make 2 of those, though I already had the columns from two that I took apart, before throwing away cracked containers. Those re-used support and wicking columns save a lot of time, and I still have enough of those for 2 more SIPs.
Made 2 more Sub-irrigated planters, using the bottom one I made a while ago as the pattern. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Almost finished SIP, just needing the screens cut. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished SIP, with the screens in place. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I did something today that I was going to to yesterday, that I put off to today, because of that wind - re-potted my curry tree, which was starting to get some bad branches, plus that stickiness on some of the leaves, otherwise, I would have waited until May, when I could leave it out, once re-potted (has to stay over 50°). The bay laurel seems to get that at this time of year, maybe because of the increased daylight? Whatever it is, I just took it out and rinsed the leaves off, and let it dry, then started re-potting. I got a laugh out of a neighbor, who was watching me when I was starting out, and later she came over and said she "had to ask" why I was beating the pot the plant was in. I explained to her that the pot was fiber, and the root ball was almost solid roots, which is why I was re-potting it, and I had to remove the "pot". This was really the only way to do it - after a few times, I'll just cut it off, but this pot is relatively new, and I'm relatively cheap! And the plant must enjoy this, as I think it's at least 13 years old now.

I cut most of the root ball off, leaving about a 3 qt sized ball left, and that is a 12 gallon pot it's in, so at least 10 gallons of soil! I made it almost like I make seedling mix, but added some organic potting soil I got cheap, that has some worm castings in it, and added a bunch of perlite and granular DE, and a little of that micorrhyzae, and watered the top with some Bt israelensis, like I always do. I also "painted" the cut stems, and the large cut roots with that "liquid electric tape" I get at Harbor Freight - faster drying, and longer lasting, in my experience, than the stuff made for plants, which separates, and doesn't work as well.

Tomorrow is supposed to be even better, but after that, more rain, almost every day in the forecast.

Tomorrow night the pepper seeds get soaked, then planted Monday morning! Shortly after that, eggplant, and shortly after those, tomato seeds go in. It's that time!!

[pepperhead212]

I planted the eggplant seeds this morning, after soaking overnight. Asian Delight, Long Purple, Ichiban, and Matrosik, the last one a larger type, I got from @Ginger2778 in Florida, who says it grows well in the heat and humidity there, so it should do well here! So many seem to stop flowering when it gets hot, like tomatoes. Ichiban does this, but is always the earliest, which is why I still grow it.

[pepperhead212]

My first pepper seed sprouted today, after just 4 days! It is one of the Thai Dragon seeds. I moved the tray upstairs, to under the light, and I'll have to adjust that heat mat to keep them around 85°, like when they were over the pilot lights.

[pepperhead212]

This evening I got the seeds for my tomatoes and one tomatillo variety soaking, and those will all get planted tomorrow.
21 tomato varieties, and one tomatillo, set to soak overnight. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I just saw another pepper peeping through this morning - turns out it was one of those Hanoi markets, which usually aren't some of the faster ones. Those Thai Dragon ones are all the way up, with their fake leaves spread out, so I turned another light on - still one more left on the eggplant side, where I haven't seen any sprouts yet.

Two more peppers up, when I went up to get something later, and had to look again - a Thai vesuvius, and a Big Mic. 4 of the 12 varieties in just 6 days.

Still to wet to do much out there, though the weather is nice today.

[pepperhead212]

Today, besides straightening up, and getting ready out there, for when those things just starting up inside will be going out (these few weeks fly by quickly! :ohmy:), I also direct seeded some herbs (dill, cilantro, and parsley, again), and greens (a couple brassicas, and the lettuce). I also planted a clump of marjoram - something I had in a Jr EB on my back porch, along with a cutting of the Syrian oregano, both of those I had, along with that rooted rosemary, just in case it got excessively cold, and killed the outside plants. The marjoram outside didn't even die back, winter was so mild, and this cutting spread to about a 6" cluster, and when I removed it from the EB, to clean out the soil, and top it off, I just dropped this in a pot, under the table I was working on out there last weekend, and it grew even more, with all that rain! I hate to throw anything like that away (and nobody I know would use that), so I just planted it in an area I will let it spread as a weed, like that area I have all those garlic chives in! I'll see how long it takes to spread.

That garlic is going crazy, with all that rain! I'm glad I chose to plant it in the raised bed again this rear - not sure if it would have done as well without the drainage, and all this rain.

Not a hint of scapes, but coming soon.
Garlic, doing great, after that excessive rain I've seen having. 4-7 by pepperhead212, on Flickr