Happy New Year

Wishing everyone a most joyous new year. Today we had the unexpected arrival of another Hungarian yellow wax pepper and another jalapeno. That makes 8 in all to start the new year.

Have a happy and safe celebration if that is what you do on New Year's Eve. If you don't celebrate get a good night's sleep to be well equipped to face the beginning of 2018.

Blessing to you all.

Pepper Update

Jalapeno

On the solstice my true love sent to me 2 jalapenos. On the second day of Christmas (the 26th) my true love sent me 1 pablano. On the third day of Christmas (the 27th) I received two more pablano and one Hungarian yellow wax pepper. So for future reference the jalapenos sprouted after 12 days in the ground, the pablanos 17, and the yellow wax 18.

Don't know if that's normal or not. From what I have read the ideal germination temperature is 75 - 85 F. It turns out the temp in the room averages about 60 because of the big window in the room. I did order a heat mat and installed it on the 23rd. Don't know if that helped the pablanos and yellow wax or not. Would have to do some more tests to find out

Pablano

The jalapenos still don't have any true leaves. I haven't kept track enough in the past to know if this is slow or normal. I will keep better records and should be able to make a judgement on that in a couple of years. Or find some literature that will point me in the right direction.  According to Wikipedia the plants with produce peppers in 70 to 80 days. That of course implies that the temperatures will be much warmer than in my house. 80 days would put the first peppers at the middle of March. My bet is not before the end of March or the beginning of April.

According to Wikipedia the pablanos, these are also called ancho, will take about 200 days to mature. I'm pretty sure that means to go to red color. I harvested a couple of these last summer in some elevated beds I have at church and I know it wasn't 200 days. They would have been frozen solid. So green pablanos in probably 120 days. Again all I can do is wait.

Hungarian Yellow Wax

According to totally tomato the Hungarians should mature in 67 days. That would mean I can have peppers in March sometime. These are know as cool climate peppers by many. In 2016 I was able to harvest about 15 pounds of these from about 30 plants. In 2017, a much cooler summer I go only about 4 pounds from as many plants but there were other problems as well. So once again will see what happens in the house.

The jalapenos are easy enough to see. The pablanos, there is one each in the center of the cells on the right side and there is one in the cell with the probe. The picture for the yellow wax there is one sprout in the the lower left cell. They will be more visible in a couple of days but they are there and growing. I was beginning to get concerned that I would have to replant. Collectively these peppers are called chili in North American and Central America. They are called aji in South America.

Plan to try some basil this winter too. Will plant that in a few days. 

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a most joyous New Year.

Holiday Gifts for the Gardener

6 Pack with labels

You may think it's too late to talk about this now. I should have posted this a month ago. You can still make it happen. What should you get a gardener. There are tools they always need and use. You may not think of them as tools but I'm sure the gardener does. Here is a short list.

Gardening books, Gloves, Hats, Aprons, Pots,
Potting soil, Twist ties, Twine, Marking stakes, Labels,
Log books, 1020 trays, 4 and 6 packs, Tray covers ,
Wagon , Gift cards to garden centers

Wagon

The list goes on and on. Maybe a special plant that they have been wanting but can't bring themselves to purchase. You know that special peony that is just too expensive. The Northwest Flower and Garden Show is in Seattle, WA the first part of February. Maybe a ticket to the show or a ticket to Seattle. The spring Alaska Master Gardener Conference could be something to think about. It's in Fairbanks, March 24. Don't have any details on that but a round trip plane ticket is only 10,000 miles and about $12. Let your imagination be your guide.

Happy Holidays

How Hot Are They Really

Poblano

The peppers that I'm growing in the house are actually pretty mild as hot peppers go. I guess I should say something about how hot peppers get their rating. There are chemicals in the peppers that activate the pain receptors in the mouth. These chemicals are called capsaicin.  It is one of many related active components found in chili peppers, collectively called capsaicinoids. The Scoville scale, created by Wilbur Scoville, it used to rate pepper "hotness". The scale goes from 0, bell peppers, to about 2.5 million, dragon's breath. I couldn't find a usable picture of dragon's breath to post here, sorry. Suffice it to say when they get up that high they are really hot.

Jalapeno

Of the ones I planted the poblano or ancho is the mildest. It's rate from 1,000 to 2,500. These are the peppers generally used to make chili rellenos in Mexican restaurants. They can be very tasty. Next on the heat scale are the jalapenos. They go from about 2,500 to 6,000. Most people are familiar with this variety because they are used extensively in nachos. The yellow wax peppers are very mild when they are harvested in the pale green stage. They might even rate lower than the poblano at this stage in their life. When they become a bright yellow they are about the same as a ripe jalapeno. When they get orange or red they are about 10,000 on the scale. That's nearly twice as hot as a ripe jalapeno. However, as peppers go they are all quite mild.

Hungarian Yellow Wax

The question usually arises, why are some peppers of the same species hotter than others? The answer is that it depends mostly on the weather. Dry hot weather tends to make peppers spicier. Cool, wet weather makes them more mild. The next question people ask is, can you do the same thing in a greenhouse or other location? The answer is yes. You have to stress the plants when they begin to bloom. The only way to stress them is to deprive them of water. Let them generally dry out until the leaves begin to wilt. Once this has occurred you can water them vigorously again and the crop should be hotter. 

My sample plants are very small in number but I want to see if I can make a significant difference in spiciness by stressing a couple of the plants of each type of peppers I am growing. I may have to get some assistance from my friends if anyone is interested.

I will keep you posted on the results.

Growing Peppers in the House

Hope to grow some peppers in the house this winter. I am going to try some Hungarian yellow wax, jalapeno, and poblano (also known as Baron, and Ancho peppers). I bought the seeds from Johnny's Select Seeds. Hope they work out okay. Will try to keep things posted on here so everyone can watch the progress. With a little luck I should have ripe peppers by the time I plant to get seedlings in the spring for the elevated boxes. Johnny's says you can grill these poblano peppers. I just might give that a try this spring if I can get them to grow.

The peppers were planted on December 9, 2017. Did a four pack of each variety. If all goes well there should be plenty of peppers for eating in March, maybe even February.


One would think you  could grow these outside in Alaska. The packets show 58 to 65 days for green or yellow peppers and 80 to 85 days for red ones.  However, they fail  to state that the warmth of the soil and the air are also huge factors in how quickly they grow and ripen. I will try to keep track in the house and  then track the ones I plant in the elevated beds by the garden. Soil temperature in the house will be about 70 F. I know they will get plenty of water so that won't be a problem. Air temperature will be about 70 F as well. Humidity could be a problem. It's usually about 20% in the house in the winter. Will have to make sure I do something the moisture in the air. Don't know what yet, but will think on it. I might even do a little research to see if others have solved the problem without a humidifier.

The Summer of 2017

Ready to Plant

I have been neglectful of my duties as a blogger. Please accept my apologies. I will certainly try to do better from this time forward.

First off, I would like to thank my numerous volunteers. Without you there would be no garden and the fresh produce we provide would not exist. Thank you for your help and I look forward to working with you and others next year.

The garden was a success this past summer. The harvest was about 2950 pounds. This is not nearly as much as I had hoped. Since we nearly doubled the size I was expecting to at least double the production but alas that did not happen. We did provide food to more organizations this year. We gave produce to Lutheran Social Services of Alaska, the Anchorage Gospel Rescue Mission on Tudor Road, the Downtown Soup Kitchen Hope Center, and to Bean's Cafe. All were very appreciative of our contributions. Once again, thank you for your help.

The weather for the summer of 2017 was not nearly as nice as the previous year. A cool, wet season was not a conducive to growth as the warm weather of 2016. Hopefully next year will be better but could very well be a normal summer like the past one.

Orchard Planting

We did do another expansion this year. We planted an orchard with 5 apple trees. I harvested apples from the trees in front of the parsonage as well so they were added into the mix. The new trees will be a few years before there is any production but I am looking forward to the harvest. Many thank to all of the volunteers that helped put in the orchard and fencing it as well. Two additional apple trees were planted inside the garden. These were grafted in April and they will take longer to produce but again will be a welcome addition to the harvest.

I am beginning the planning for next year as we speak. I hope to once again increase the harvest. I will not however, make predictions on the amount of increase. Will depend on the weather and other activities. I look forward to writing more in the weeks to come. Enjoy the season and stay warm.