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.

Beautiful Day in the Garden

Volunteer Orientaton

Yup, it was a beautiful day in the garden. I spent some hours in the Alaska Botanical Garden today. It is a lovely place to visit. I went to volunteer orientation and plan to spend at least a couple of hours every week there this summer to various tasks that are needed.

If you haven't been to this lovely place you should make every effort to do that. They are open basically from 9-5 each and every day. Sometimes earlier and sometimes later. There are many beautiful places to explore and if you are so inclined opportunities for you to get involved. If you have a few hours to spare any day during the week you won't be disappointed with a stroll in the Alaska Botanical Garden. You might even get some ideas that you could use in your own garden. Don't have a garden? You could certainly start one!

First Planting Day

I wasn't sure how the day was going to turn out. There was certainly a lot of rain yesterday. I had hoped the garden would dry out so we could begin planting today. Dry it did and plant we did. A very special thank you to my lovely bride, Bonnie, for her hard work today putting 144 broccoli plants in the ground. That is really a gross number you know. After she left I also put another 68 cauliflower plants in the ground. So with the potatoes that have been planted the garden is about 25% awaiting a harvest sometime later in the summer or fall.

Sharon had previously planted peas and lettuce. Those are breaking through the soil. It's exciting to see the miracle of new life happen right before your eyes. Unfortunately I don't have pictures of those plants poking their leaves out of the earth, maybe later this week. The lettuce is hardly noticeable unless you know what to look for anyway. And the peas actually look more like weeds so it might be better to wait.

Rod and I attempted to get the elevated beds covered up today but the visqueen is  not the proper size so we will have to wait to finish those up. We did get the hoops cut and mostly installed. Rod also put together the frames and the wire for the cucumber "enclosure". He was slaving away on that while Bonnie and I did the planting today.

Hopefully the weather will hold and we will be able to get the rest of the cauliflower, the sprouts, and the squash in the ground. Supposed to rain Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. So I guess the seeds will have to wait 'til the weekend. It was a great day.

See you in the garden.

Nearly Ready to Go!

Here it is already the middle of May. The sun is warm and bright. Peas are in the ground. Some potatoes are in the ground with more to come. And there is lettuce getting ready to sprout.

Hydrant with Meter

Nathan hooked up the water meter this week. Friday morning I was fortunate enough to get it tested and inspected. Talked with Nathan about the irrigation system and it's starting to come together. Many thanks to Nathan, Sharon, and Rod for their assistance this week it has been wonderful getting so much done.

Box Cover

Getting plants ready this year has been a real chore. The expansion made it impossible for me to grow enough starts to fill the garden. I am putting out a call for some assistance. I will need the following plants: broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage both green and red. When you are out and about see if you can scare up some spaghetti squash. I would really like to try that this year. If you can purchase them and bring them by the church next week that would be great. All help is appreciated. I will be trying to direct seed some cabbage and broccoli this year so there may be two harvests.

East End

I have redesigned the elevated beds this year and they will have covers that can be opened so there will be access to the whole bed. At least that's the plan. I combined many ideas that I have seen on the web over the winter and hope that this will work well when completed. I still have to test the seeder that I purchased over the winter. That test will come very soon.

West End

The soil temperature today was 50° F. That's pretty warm for this early in the season. The air temperature over the garden has been as high as 78° F. The low temps are still in the upper 30s and low 40s so hope there won't be a frost.

Well the water is ready to go, the ground is ready to plant. All we have to do is "git er dun"!

See you in the garden!

 

May Day

No it's not a distress call. It's the first day of May. The garden is free of snow. Now for it to dry out so we can get in and prepare it for planting. There is much to be done in the meantime.

Peppers & Pak Choi

Will need to purchase some some fencing to close the 18 inches of open space at the bottom of the south side of the fence. Peas will be planted there to take advantage of the "natural" trellis created by the fence. Hope to get those planted next week some time. Need to build covers for the boxes so they will be easier to water and weed this year. Will be making a lean-to greenhouse on the north end of the garden so will have to do some construction for that as well. The chipper/shredder will have to be assembled. Start up the compost bins again. The lawn in front of the church that must be assisted with a wake-up. Must check the lawn tractors to make sure they are working properly. Need to cull the three or four push mowers we have. Which one is worth keeping and what to do with the rest. And there is always the possibility the none are worth keeping.

Apple "trees"

I did a tree grafting workshop on April 15. Two apple trees are now waiting the warm weather to begin growing anew.  One is a State Fair and the other a Carrol. These varieties are supposed to be good eating. More are in the wings so we may end of with an orchard in the near future as well as a garden. It will probably be 5 or 6 years before these will bear fruit. We do already have a State Fair and a Norland tree in front of the parsonage that are bearing well now.

Sunflowers & Cukes

So the church will be a fruit grower a well as a veggie grower. The bee hives are in place and the ladies (worker bees are female) are hard at work as we speak. The tour of the garden this year will include many more things than just walking the rows.

Plants for the garden are growing. We have peppers (many varieties), cucumbers, sun flowers, and squash. Soon there will be cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower. Still need to purchase some seeds but the seeder has been assembled and will soon be tested.

The list is long. Time will fly. All will get done. At least that's what I keep telling myself. If you have some time the next two weeks stop by and I will put you to work. You can call the church office to see if I'm around. Chances are I will be.

May the Lord be with you. See you in the garden!

 

April Fool

March this year came in like a lion and when out the same way. It was the 9th coldest March on record for Anchorage. The highest temperature recorded for the month was 35° F. Last year it seemed like we had record high temperatures every day.  Then at the end of the month it was the coup d'gras, 9 inches of new snow. The snow was melting. Yes, it was slow. The snowfall on the 28th was just too much for me to take. The last time we had this much snow on the ground on April 1 it took until the 28th of April for it to officially melt away.

I did pick up a new chipper/shredder up at Home Depot today. I ordered in the middle of March knowing it would be the end of April before it arrived in Anchorage. But it's here now. It's still in the box and probably will be for the next few weeks yet. After all, everything I would want to chip or shred is covered with snow.

The highs for the next week or so are supposed to be above normal. That's good. I would like all of the lows to be above freezing as well. A little rain would speed things up. But I'm afraid that any precipitation we might get would be snow. I certainly don't want snow.

I did talk with Sheila Toomey today about being put on the Alaska Master Gardeners Anchorage (AMGA) garden tour this summer. That's sounds like fun. We can spread the word about the mission of the garden and what the plans are for the future. I will probably put some seeds in dirt this week to get things moving along. Looking forward to the first planting of the year. Though I do still have to turn some bowls for the sale at the end of the month.

Thanks for reading, may the Lord be with you always, and we will see you in the garden.