Celebrate the Small Victories

Leeks

We have been away for some time, nearly two months. The virus has put a cramp in going out to check on stuff. My wife and I quarantined ourselves on the return from our 6 week vacation in South America. Two more weeks together. At least we like each other.

As you might recall we planted chili peppers and leeks before we left. The leeks are doing fine but the chili were eaten to the dirt by some critter, probably a shrew. They are resourceful little buggers. Once the quarantine is complete I will set some traps and see if I can get it or them.

Pepper Redo

Will probably have to transplant the leeks as they get larger. The peppers have already been replanted, thanks Dan. I will wait patiently or not for them to reappear. We should not worry about the small stuff and it turns out that almost everything is the small stuff.

On the bright side, I did order the seeds for the garden today. Hopefully they will arrive in time to get the broccoli and cabbage started the middle of April. I will be working on get the stuff ready while locked up. Plan to start the zucchini about the 1st of May. That worked very well last year.

Stay well, more later.

Pepper Update 3/26

Peppers

The pepper plants are still growing nicely. There are actually peppers on the plants now. The yellow wax is about and inch and a half long this morning and the pablano is about a half inch. There a blossoms on the jalapenos but no peppers yet. There are loads of blossoms on all of the plants.

Pablano

 I am really excited about the progress. I will use them as a visual aid in a couple of gardening presentations I will be doing this month. This week I will be putting them in bigger pots. They are outgrowing the ones they are in and I don't want to stunt the growth. Hopefully in a couple of weeks I will be able to harvest the first pepper. That will mke my morning eggs very tasty.

Yellow Wax

Soon I will be able to dig in the dirt again. Getting the garden ready for planting is almost as much fun as harvesting. Three weeks and I should be able to see the surface of the garden again. Wish the temperatures were warmer at night that would make the snow go away much faster.

On Saturday the 31st of March we will have a planting party at the Lutheran Church of Hope. The time is 1 PM. We will be planting a variety of seeds to give them a head start on the growing season. Be sure to come join us. It might be your first opportunity to get dirt under your fingernails this gardening season. Look forward to seeing you.

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.

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.

July Is Amazing

Broccoli

Beets

Cabbage and Cauliflower

First Carrots of the Year

Broccoli

 

Parsnips

Cauliflower

 

Pepper

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The month of July has been amazing in the garden. We have had no problems with any four legged animals and so far no problems with any two legged ones either. Hopefully the four legged variety will stay out with the fence up now. The success of the garden is beyond my wildest imagination. Every vegetable we have planted is or has done very well. This will once again be mostly a pictorial post as indeed the pictures tell the story of the harvest. The total as of July 27 has been 845.5 pounds of food. I am told by the people at the Lutheran Social Services of Alaska (LSSA) Food Pantry that the fresh produce is greatly appreciated. When I have been at LSSA when there are clients present they have certainly made their thanks know to me. I especially thank every one that has contributed time and other resources to the success of the garden. Thank you so much for your help and generosity.

Zucchini

More Zucchini