2021 garden season

[AKTrailDog]

Anyone use the ashes you generate in your fireplace/wood burner in the garden? I just tossed my 3rd 50# of ashes in the trash. Maybe I should be spreading them?

We use ash all the time in the garden, mixed in with the compost. Usually let the mixture set with other soils etc thru the winter to get the pH balanced out. I've got several experimental areas going where ash is spread/mixed in.
Along with the garden, I have (2) 5-gallon buckets (with lids) filled with ash that stay in our vehicles for when vehicles get stuck when icy conditions are present. Haven't found anything that works better.

 

[Goinwheelin]

Yep ash goes in a bucket when I clean the shop stove then on the garden when I till it up. Usually not a whole lot because I don’t burn that much wood but I figure every little bit helps. Good point on the PH

 

[muddstopper]

Ash is mostly made up of Potassium and Calcium. All the other nutrients, including the carbon, are burnt up and released into the air. In most soils in my area, the soil can benefit from the addition of wood ash to the garden. In soils with high ph's, it isnt as helpful. The Charcoal nuggets left in a ash pile provide a valuable source of carbon as well as moisture/nutrient holding capacity for the soil.

 

[Goinwheelin]

Has anyone here ever grown peppercorn? I’m thinking of ordering some seeds and trying it as a potted indoor/outdoor houseplant.

 

[muddstopper]

You do know peppercorn is a vine dont you? Planted outside with a stake it might work ok, but inside unless you let it grow long, I dont see much peppercorn being harvested.

 

[muddstopper]

https://plantinstructions.com/herbs/how-to-grow-peppercorns/

 

[Goinwheelin]

You do know peppercorn is a vine dont you? Planted outside with a stake it might work ok, but inside unless you let it grow long, I dont see much peppercorn being harvested.

Yep I did some research the other night.

 

[Goinwheelin]

Speaking of peppers. Sunday I kept the shop warm all day and brought in the wheelbarrow and soil to move the reapers to bigger pots

Digging thru my seed stash last night I found these so I went ahead and started some

 

[sonny580]

Them dudes sure look healthy!!! lol! --- By planting time they will be trees! When they get in the ground they will take off without transplant shock!

 

[Goinwheelin]

Them dudes sure look healthy!!! lol! --- By planting time they will be trees! When they get in the ground they will take off without transplant shock!

They will spend their entire life in a pot because I plan to keep them over the next winter. It’s hard to get a good harvest in the first year because they develop so slowly. Peppers and Chiles that are going in the ground get put in 2 or 3 gallon plastic grow bags and yes they take right off after going in the ground.

 

[Goinwheelin]

Even put a few in milk cartons to give to a friend. The other pots are 2 cayenne and 1 habanero

 

[Del_]

Seedlings are coming along!

Photo taken a few minutes ago. Each tray holds twelve 4-cell packs. Each shelf holds three trays and two 4 ft. 50 watt LED fixtures, one bulb per fixture for 100 watts per shelf. The shelf system is 20" X 48" and 84" tall holding six shelves. Our first year for this shelf and LED's and am happy so far. Mylar hanging for light reflection on three sides. We ran out of mylar but will be adding.

 

[djg james]

They will spend their entire life in a pot because I plan to keep them over the next winter. It’s hard to get a good harvest in the first year because they develop so slowly. Peppers and Chiles that are going in the ground get put in 2 or 3 gallon plastic grow bags and yes they take right off after going in the ground.

Did not ever consider saving pepper plants over the winter. I do with some of my flowers, but never peppers.

 

[djg james]

Seedlings are coming along!

Photo taken a few minutes ago. Each tray holds twelve 4-cell packs. Each shelf holds three trays and two 4 ft. 50 watt LED fixtures, one bulb per fixture for 100 watts per shelf. The shelf system is 20" X 48" and 84" tall holding six shelves. Our first year for this shelf and LED's and am happy so far. Mylar hanging for light reflection on three sides. We ran out of mylar but will be adding.

Wow! You must put out a large garden. Do you use special grow light bulbs or just regular fluorescent?

PS. Just saw you used LED lights. It was early. Thanks

 

[Goinwheelin]

Did not ever consider saving pepper plants over the winter. I do with some of my flowers, but never peppers.

It works well with the hot varieties. Sweet peppers and chiles are pretty much done after one season and not really worth keeping over the winter in my opinion.

Seedlings are coming along!

Photo taken a few minutes ago. Each tray holds twelve 4-cell packs. Each shelf holds three trays and two 4 ft. 50 watt LED fixtures, one bulb per fixture for 100 watts per shelf. The shelf system is 20" X 48" and 84" tall holding six shelves. Our first year for this shelf and LED's and am happy so far. Mylar hanging for light reflection on three sides. We ran out of mylar but will be adding.

View attachment 890387

Man that is a nice setup.
I swapped to a LED in my seed closet as well. Made it easier to control the temp

 

[Del_]

Wow! You must put out a large garden. Do you use special grow light bulbs or just regular fluorescent?

PS. Just saw you used LED lights. It was early. Thanks

Thanks!

We do have a large garden but I always start more then we need and do give away some seedlings.

When selecting LED's for growing plants be sure to get 5k to 6.5k kelvin light temperatures. This is the best for plants but a lot of LED's for house lighting is 3K kelvin or thereabouts and not good for growing plants.

 

[Goinwheelin]

Good tip. Higher K is for growing Vegetation lower K is for flowering. An old trick to get full spectrum is to use low K bulbs and high K bulbs in the same light fixture but thats not much use for seedlings. Most of your off the shelf shop lights are going to be in the 5k range that’s what I put in my closet.

 

[5backacres]

Something to remember about fertilizers.. here in PNW with acid soil I'm always trying to raise the Ph. Fertilizer frequently contains Ammonium sulfate (21-0-0, that's great for blueberries) But for every 1# of it you put on you have to use 5# of Lime to neutralize it. which is fine in Midwest or low rainfall areas, no problem you're trying to acidify the soil. I find the wood chips that I've spread in my animal containment areas once decomposed tend to neutralize the soil and add P & K and of course humus But I also have a lot of grass and weeds that I have to keep on top of. I use a lot of wood chips for mulch/ weed control.

 

[Goinwheelin]

Something to remember about fertilizers.. here in PNW with acid soil I'm always trying to raise the Ph. Fertilizer frequently contains Ammonium sulfate (21-0-0, that's great for blueberries) But for every 1# of it you put on you have to use 5# of Lime to neutralize it. which is fine in Midwest or low rainfall areas, no problem you're trying to acidify the soil. I find the wood chips that I've spread in my animal containment areas once decomposed tend to neutralize the soil and add P & K and of course humus But I also have a lot of grass and weeds that I have to keep on top of. I use a lot of wood chips for mulch/ weed control.

You guys over on the west side of the state have it good for growing blueberries. Wife and I usually stop by Mossyrock on our way back from the coast for some. One year I decided to try and grow them here in the desert, did a bunch of reading, bought plants and acidic soil but they never took off. It’s something I want to revisit though now that I know a bit more.

 

[djg james]

I've been looking at some LED lights and 6000K to 6500K keeps popping up. OK right? Anything over 5000K?
Thanks