AF, peppers look terrible for that first week. I always think that I have killed every one of them.....until they settle in and thrive. Even the saddest pop tall. Gj man!
We can all be sad together! Maybe even day drink, to spill some out for our long gone little plant pals. Hey, something worth mentioning, try straw as mulch? The big wood chips bind the nitrogen. NOT that it was the problem here.....just saying.
@Nettdata very beautiful! Do you find that spacing is an issue with your peppers? I was worried about spacing and erred on the side of more rather than less, have ~18" between my plants. Wondering if I can get more in my space next season without affecting yields.
Oh and another question about peppers. @Kubla Kahn haven't you put some peppers into dormancy before? Any tips? I am thinking about digging up a few jalapenos and bell pepper plants and putting them "to sleep" indoors over winter to jumpstart next season. I'm only now getting jalapenos and the bell peppers are still tiny and growing. I am reading a little now and think maybe in the garage in front of window that has blinds on it would work? I also have stick LED lights I could use to supplement light if needed. How much light do you really need to limp them along and how low can the temps go safely? https://www.cayennediane.com/tips-for-keeping-your-pepper-plants-alive-over-the-winter/
Tomatoes, squash, zucchini is taking off like crazy: And the cucumbers are climbing like nobody’s business. Okra in the middle is growing super tall as well. Peppers (to the right) are taking their sweet time. I think a combination of all the overcast weather recently and not enough dry heat:
I had them all in small planters to begin with then moved them onto my fireplace hearth that never gets used in my family room. Like 4 plants. I never trimmed them or dug them out figuring that type of shock would kill them. I just let them die back and watered every few weeks. Spring rolled around Id put them next to the back door window until it was hot enough to put out. They did survive one winter out in my garage which isnt as climate controlled as indoors.
I overwater and over fertilize like crazy and haven’t had a problem. At this point it’s a year to year challenge to see just how much more dense I can plant shit.
just ordered some fertilizer after consulting with my neighbor who’s been doing this shit for longer than I’ve been alive. He gave the beds a once over and said everything is on track given when I planted it and the conditions we’ve been having. have plans to build two more beds for fall/winter/spring gardening. Lots of lettuce, spinach, onions, shallots, etc. Brussel sprouts should be interesting to try. As will the Swiss chard.
Yeah, I have a combination of liquid and slow release fertilizers that I use. I bought an in-line siphon that allows me to fertilize the entire she-bang with the flip of a valve. Not as relaxing as walking around doing it manually, but pretty handy for those nights I just want to veg in the rocking chair like a proper old man.
One of these: https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/garden/water-and-irrigation/siphons/69656-brass-siphon-mixer
fertilizer question: this is what I ordered, because it was recommended to me and it's coming in today. Miracle-Gro water soluble singles packets that you just mix with a gallon and water in once a week. I'm gonna put it on asap so I at least have a week to explore other alternatives if I need to. Does that work though? Or do y'all use something different? The way my raised beds are setup, they drain very well, the soaker hose automation I think I got down to where it needs to be (30 min at 7:30 am/pm), just waiting on the weather to cooperate and dare I say heat up, so they can start doing a bit better beyond the fertilizer issue though.
Same stuff I’m using, for the most part. I use their flower, fruit, and tomato specific formulations where appropriate.
Yeah I was looking at that, think once these run out I’m gonna go with the tomato/vegetable mix and just do it myself that way. I find it funny that the vegetable mix is listed as tomatoes.
I use calcium nitrate on my tomatoes and peppers. I've saved tomatoes from bottom end rot. Ended up with a bulls eye pattern at the end of a few but it stopped ot from continuing to develop. Also helps when peppers are dropping new fruit. Calcium seems to be the limiting factor for my garden more often than not. Very little of this stuff is needed a d it is water soluble. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HETEHCM/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_s1m-EbNJMH2FB
Do you get instant results though? That fertilizer dissolves immediately, I thought eggshells were more of a long-term solution for soil building. At least for the foreseeable future I will continue to use that fertilizer because I have a big bag of it and a little goes a long way. I just put my eggshells in the compost bin with everything else. So my compost will have calcium in it. I am always looking for ways to improve my gardening techniques though!