pepperhead212's 2024 garden

[pepperhead212]

Those seeds I ordered Saturday night, got here today!

I only harvested a few beans in my garden today, but I went back to my friend's place, where I was yesterday, when I took her my " "extra" greens, and she was showing me all those peppers they had ripening, on only one plant of each type, that I gave her in spring. Her son - the only one that really uses any of the hots - when I told him about the problems I had with the peppers, and most were gone, told me I could have all the peppers I wanted, since he already had more dried and frozen than he could use until next season. They picked them all yesterday (I was going to an appointment, otherwise I would have stayed and done it!), and I went back today, and took them a container of that creole mix I made last night, plus a pint of that yogurt, since they use more of that than I do. And she showed me where she had planted those greens yesterday, and was shocked that they had already grown in less than a day! So I might get her hooked on those, too.

Here are all those peppers they gave me, and only 3 Aji Dulce, because I reminded him that was the habanero flavor with almost no heat, which he forgot. I also gave them another very mild pepper she really likes - Big Mic - a Numex type, that she got some 8" peppers from, and barely any heat, so even she could eat them, so she wants more of those next year. All of these were just from one plant each.
Hanoi Market, from my friend's garden. 9-18 These went into a vacuum bag, and into the freezer. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Thai Vesuvius and Thai Dragon, from my friend's garden. 9-18 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

A bunch of Datil peppers, and just 3 Aji Dulce from my friend's garden. 9-18 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Here's an eggplant, that she "lost" in all the vegetation, so it got close to 2 lbs. I told her it might be a bit seedy, but I haven't had that variety get bitter.
A large Matrosik eggplant from my friend's garden, just under 2 lbs. (my hand is not small!). Said she sort of lost it under the leaves. 9-18 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Here's my only harvest today, because those beans get overgrown quickly.
A few more beans I harvested, after I got home today. 9-18 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[imafan26]

Looks good.

[pepperhead212]

I got a few beans and okra today - something I do daily - but mostly tomatoes and eggplants, since it had been a few days since I harvested those. And there are still countless tomatoes of those smaller types, and a generous number of the larger types on those plants. Still one cucumber plant alive, but one I'll pull out tomorrow, after harvesting the last fruit from it. And those Ichibans are still producing more than the rest of the varieties.
19 eggplants, just over 60 oz. 9-21 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

That 4 qt bowl has over a qt of sunsugars on the bottom, and about 2 qts of the Juliets and Bronze Torch hybrids, and the Negro Azteka on top. The gold ones in the basket are all Zluta Golds, and the larger blacks are Ron's Carbon, and a few Rosellas, and mostly Negro Azteka one plant.
Tomatoes are still producing well! 9-21 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

Today I pulled out the excess seedlings from all those brassicas I direct seeded less than a week ago - I was amazed at how many had sprouted! They were those Wu Choy, and Choy Sum, that are the coldest resistant varieties that I have this year, plus a few of those "stem mustards", used for the Szechwan preserved vegetable. I also started a number of radishes, and some variety of leeks, that is for spring harvest. And in the empty spaces I planted 9 kohlrabi seedlings, I started a few weeks ago, the kolibri still being the largest seedlings.
The only covered bed, mostly for the brassicas, but 3 volunteer tomatoes flowering already, and a bunch of scallions. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

This week I've been getting the garden ready for the garlic, and the shallots, and also got some of the garlic ready for that experiment I'm doing, chilling about half of each of the variety in the fridge, and leaving the rest in the basement. There are theories about vernalization of garlic helping to grow larger heads (and some, especially down south, need this to form heads at all, but that's not my problem), so I took heads with about half of the cloves, and put them into a box, and into the lower level shelf of the fridge.

Those shallots I have to look at closely, to see how many will be planted (some will be split, other, smaller ones, as one), and they will go into the end of the 3 rows, then I can see how many of the garlics can be planted. I only chilled 8 Bogotyr and 17 Music cloves - the rest will all go in, with the chilled labeled.

Northern While Porcelain - new this season, but grew it years ago. 18 chilled, plus 19.

Metechi - favorite in the past, but would be out of stock, by the time I ordered the last few years. Best storing hardneck, in my experience. 27 chilled, plus 29.

Estonian Red - largest variety I've ever grown, but doesn't store well, but keeps until planting - it's the first variety I use after harvest. 22 chilled, plus 23.

Georgian Fire - second largest, even stronger flavored than Estonian Red, and stores a little longer, but it's the second I usually use up, after planting the largest. 20 chilled, plus 19.

The Music and Bogotyr I have the most of left from last season, but I told my friend that I'd give her some to plant, since she wants to start planting it this year. The Music is the second best storer, for the hardnecks I've grown - too early to tell for the Bogotyr, as this is the first season for me. It has a powerful flavor, but not as strong as the GF.

Earlier this week I 'tilled the row, where 3 rows will be going, about a foot apart, with a T-tape between the rows. I had to wet the ground some, as it was rock hard, from the lack of rain. Today, it 'tilled easier, and I'll do it again, just before planting.

[pepperhead212]

After all those tomatoes went to the 5 trays in the dehydrator, and today I cleaned up all the rest of the last two harvests, and they are cooking down to a paste, I harvested a bunch more today! A bunch more Sunsugars, Juliets, and Bronze Torch Hybrids almost filled a 4 qt bowl, those Negro Aztekas, and a few other cherries, filled another 4 qt bowl about halfway. And the larger tomatoes I got about 3 qts of, almost entirely the Early Blue Ribbon Hybrids this time.

Tomatoes picked on 9-26 - the old ones are all ground up and cooking down to paste. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

This isn't for canning, but for freezing. Yesterday, I cleaned up all of the tomatoes I had, and ground them up, and cooked them down slowly, in a NS wok. It was almost 192 oz (6 qts), and I had to keep about 2 qts in a bowl, until it had boiled down some. It eventually cooked down to just under 50 oz. I'll freeze it in 1 and 2 oz portions - maybe a few larger.
Just under 192 oz of ground up tomatoes, cooked down to just under 50 oz of paste, to be frozen. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Here's the gold cherries that I ground up, that lightened this a little, plus sweetened it some, along with a few other larger yellow ones, but most are red ones.
about 24 oz of Sunsugar and Zluta Golda, ready to blend - one of 8 batches being cooked down to tomato paste. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

Those greens are doing great, both the seedlings I planted in the pots, as well as the seedlings and direct seeds in the covered beds. And those Swiss chards aren't really winter greens, though they will last well after the frost. I have gotten good 3 harvests in the month since this photo:
Those 3 Swiss Chard plants, started when I pulled out those Green Giant tomatoes. 8-30 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Those Senposai are more for the warm weather, but they are resistant to the low 20s, in my experience. The bok choy variety I have - Koquie - is another that is bred for heat resistance, but I still planted some for the fall, as it should also produce well, before it gets too cold. The Merlot napa is somewhat cold resistant, as is lettuce, but the most resistant listed were the wu choy, which is supposed to be resistant to 14°.
Senposais, in an 18 gallon tub. 9-30 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Bok choy, in an 18 gallon tub. The vine on the right was pulled out, and replaced with a kohlrabi. 9-30 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Merlot Napa cabbage, in a 4 gallon SIP 9-30 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

An Earthbox, with 6 greens - the smaller, dark ones Wu Choy, and the larger ones Choy Sum. 9-30 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

And these lettuce plants, I only started with volunteers around that last one that finally bolted in August (later than any, so far), and I eventually pulled the plant, after most of the seed pods had dried, and that's where all those volunteers came from! I only transplanted 4 of them, but gave about a dozen of them to a friend - another thing I got her hooked on! Now she wants to know how to grow them in the winter.
Leaf lettuce, 10-1, volunteer plants from the one that lasted into August, before bolting. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[imafan26]

What variety of lettuce are these? I actually really like semposai. It even outlasts komatsuna during the summer. I still mainly grow them as winter crops because they really don't like my summers. Kale, on the other hand can tolerate heat and cold, but it is bitter in the heat.

[pepperhead212]

imafan, those lettuce I got were in a "Mesclun Mix", and I have never found a variety that lasted as long, and I've ordered several red blush lettuces, including "quatre saisons", plus others, that were touted to be heat resistant, but none came close. So I simply had to save the seeds, and almost every season I would have one that took the longest to bolt, so I would save the seeds!

That photo of senposai I labeled wrong - I think it was getting late... I fixed it now.

[pepperhead212]

Yesterday I harvested the ripening tomatoes from just 2 varieties - mostly Juliet, but a few Bronze Torch hybrids, as well. There were a lot more Sunsugars, too, but the sun was getting in that area, so I waited until today, when they were in the shade again! A bunch more of the black varieties ripening, too, and I'll pick them tomorrow.
over 3 qts of mostly Juliet tomatoes, with about 1/3 Bronze Torch hybrids . 10-2 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Here are those Sunsugars - about 2 qts of them - and only those few barely ripening. 10-3 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I picked those black cherries today, and even more juliets, that had ripened since those last ones I picked! There were 6 or 7 of them that had blown off the plants, because of the gusty wind early, but I had picked everything with a blush, and all these had ripened, so I picked them again, along with just 3 ripened Bronze Torch Hybrids. The 3 Negro Aztekas in that bowl were from blossoms I had bagged, on the best plant, and I tagged the stem with the fruits, when I removed the bag. I'll let them ripen some more, and save the seeds from those.
More Juliet's ripening in a short time, and those 3 Negro Aztekas on the right, were bagged on the best plant. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Here's the black tomatoes, almost 3 quarts of mostly Negro Aztekas, a few Ron's Carbons. 10-6 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I got the garlic in today - 254 cloves, more than I was expecting, but I planted 33 shallots, which was exactly what I had counted (I had sort of counted them in the mesh bag, some had to be separated, some not, so I was sort of guessing). I planted 12, 11, and 10 at the far end, before I started with the garlic, and the 3 rows I finished with 10 and 26 Bogotyr and 49 Music, saved from last season.

Here's the 3 rows of garlic planted, then mulched with last year's leaves. I'll be getting many more soon.
Planted triple row of garlic and shallots, at the end of each. A row down the middle, and another about 3" outside of each T-tape. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Last year's leaves on the garlic row, to start it out - will need more, once they start blowing down this year. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I was over at my friend's house today, because she harvested her peppers and most of her tomatoes, and getting the area ready for the garlic I gave them, to grow that for the first time. These peppers were all the ones ripening from just one plant each, most of them the orange Hanoi Market and yellow Datil. My friend wants to plant even more next season, because she likes the colors so much, not because they use the peppers so much. I told her that I'd look for seeds for some similar peppers, but w/o heat.
My friend's peppers, still producing on 10-12, and only 1 plant each! by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I didn't actually harvest this today, but I saw this almost ready to harvest some off of today, and these choy sum have a longer growth season listed, than most of the other greens. I'll have to make a simple SF with some, just to see what the flavor is like, compared to the other greens.

First flowers on the largest Choy Sum. 10-12 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[applestar]

So you WANT them to bolt?

[pepperhead212]

Yes, choy sum is often listed as "flowering bok choy", though it has different types of leaves, and the center stalk can be harvested, along with some of the side leaves, and there are a bunch more buds forming in the center. I grew one variety, years ago, from that Evergreen seed company, but whatever it was, it was much slower. These things are almost as fast as the senposai! Here is the place I got them - they have 3 varieties, I got the late green multiplier variety.
https://asiangarden2table.com/product-c ... oy-sum迟菜心/

[pepperhead212]

Here is that Choy Sum I harvested some of today, leaving about 2/3 of the plant there, with a bunch of buds on it.
The center, flowering stalk from the choy sum, along with 6 of the larger leaves, from the perimeter. 10-14 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Here's that choy sum plant, after cutting about a third of it off. It finally exposed the smallest wu choy beneath it, which should start growing better now, with more light.
The largest Choy Sum on the right, after harvesting the first stalk, and several leaves. 10-14 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I went out to just harvest the larger tomatoes, but it had been so windy today, that half the ripe juliets were on the ground! So I picked all those up, as well as any on the plants with a hint of ripening, since this would probably happen again. Only a few others were on the ground, but they are usually some the ones to hold on the loosest. And those Amish Gold Slicers, Beefsteaks, and Early Blue Ribbon hybrids, had about 80% of all the rest, on just those plants.
Just the Amish Gold Slicers and Beefsteaks, about 4 quarts. 10-14 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The rest of the tomatoes, after the Beefsteak and Amish Gold slicer. Mostly Early Blue Ribbon hybrid. 10-14 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

About 3 quarts of Juliet's and Bronze Torch hybrids. 10-14 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I had a bunch of Sunsugar, Negro Azteka, and other cherries out there, too, but it just got too windy!

Here are some other greens I have out there. All of the senposai are large, but one of the Merlot Napa cabbages is considerably larger - so much so I'm thinking of isolating the pot some way, and saving the seeds!
The largest Merlot Napa, so far. That's a 7 gallon planter above, as a size reference. 10-14 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

5 Merlot Napa cabbages, plus a kohlrabi, where one died. 10-14 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Largest senposai, so far, almost totally hiding the 5 gallon planter under it. 10-14 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Here are the "smaller" senposai, showing why I only put 2 in each of those SIPs, or one in the 5 gal.
Senposai, the largest of the greens out there, a cross of cabbage and komatsuna, 10-14 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

And the kohlrabi starting to bulb - largest of about 5 I noticed.
The largest kolibri so far, 10-14 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

Today is supposed to be the coldest night here, so far this fall, yet we are not in the frost advisory area! This is probably due to the very dry air, and the wind we've been having. Still, today I went out and harvested all of the tomatoes - all of the ripe cherries, and anything else that had just a hint of ripeness. Found a few beans, on plants I thought were dead, and a few okra, which are probably the last of the season, even though it is getting warm again.

The Zluta Gold Kytice cherries, and the misc. remaining larger ones, mostly Amish Gold. 10-16 by pepperhead212, on Flickr



Sunsugars, Negro Aztekas, a few Napa Roses, and a few more beans, I thought were dead! 10-16 by pepperhead212, on Flickr



Probably the last okra of the year, but you never know! 10-16 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

While out harvesting those last few (I think) tomatoes today, I noticed quite a few garlic sprouts out there! Mostly Music and Metechi, but a few others, as well.

Some of the garlic stalks coming up, mostly the Music and Metechi, though I saw a couple of others, too.
Some of the garlic stalks coming up, 10 days after planting, mostly the Music and Metechi, though I saw a couple of others, too. 10-16 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[applestar]

Looking good!
What a great “last” harvest.

…Those garlic are going to grow more since the crazy weather is going to warm up again. You may need to hoop and cover with frost fabric if we’re going to get really cold winter, but I would think they’ll grow big next season.

[pepperhead212]

I will put a bunch more leaf mulch on that garlic, as soon as the trees start dropping! Garlic can die off from very cold weather, but will grow back, usually before any of those other perennials, that start coming up in March, though some years it's even earlier, or they don't die back at all. Last year, my garlic, as well as parsley and a couple of others, stayed out there all winter, though the parsley went to seed very quickly, I assume due to length of daylight.

[pepperhead212]

Here is the second Choy Sum plant harvested, along with 2 large leaves from the first plant. And a photo of the first plant, with 3 more stalks starting to blossom. And that huge Senposai plant, showing how large it has grown, since the first photo. I'll have to harvest some of those soon, since they are the CACA type - cut-and-come-again - what most of these greens I grow are.
That first harvested Choy Sum, with 3 buds starting up, along with many more leaves! 10-18 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The second Choy Sum harvest, including 2 large leaves from the first plant. 10-18 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

That huge Senposai, largest of 4 - the one behind much smaller, due to shading. Trash can for size reference. 10-18 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Today I trimmed those lime trees way back, and the curry tree and bay trees a little more, so everything is ready to come in, though the curry tree is the only one I keep rolling in and out, due to the cool nights. I got over half of the trash can filled with the thorny lime branches.
About a half filled trash can, after trimming the 2 Makrut limes, with one plant behind it. 10-18 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Tomorrow, I'll go out front early, and cut out the okra, and zinnia, since they will be in the shade then! Later, the eggplants out back will come out, and anything else that doesn't have anything left on it. Still quite a few green tomatoes, as well as a good number that have started ripening since those last ones I pulled. I might pull everything full sized, just to see what I can pickle; yesterday there were a bunch of undergrown ones, but those cherries can grow fast, and we are supposed to be getting higher than normal temps into next weekend.

[imafan26]

Looks good. I have started semposai and started more broccoli since the first ones were beheaded. I still have to work on getting the main garden ready. I don't know when that is going to happen, I am still moving things around the house.

[pepperhead212]

I would have left the tomatoes out there, with the heat coming, but when I looked today, some had totally died off (maybe less cold resistant than the others), and there were hardly any ripe tomatoes on the larger ones, only the smaller varieties, mostly the Bronze Torch Hybrids. I cut all the plants out, after harvesting the tomatoes - tomorrow I'll pickle those green ones, or what didn't turn overnight.
Picked all of the tomatoes today - this was about 3 quarts of everything with just a blush, mostly the Bronze Torch hybrid. 10-29 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

And here is the last of the green tomatoes, a heaping 4 qt bowl. Most of these will become pickles. 10-29 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

My Makrut lime trees weren't bothered by the cold so far, and both of them have areas of new growth, after the severe trimming they got. I've been letting them dry out, to bring indoors, but they are still very heavy, while the curry tree and bay laurel I can carry in myself, they have lightened so much.
One of the severely trimmed Makrut Lime trees, with new growth. Both have a new growth like this, but need to get inside soon, still. 10-29 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Besides all those tomatoes, I also weedwacked all those dried up garlic chives flat, and I'll have a lot more of them next year, with all those seed heads! I also harvested a bunch of that Syrian Oregano, that is spreading back there every year, and it is an herb that dries well, so I always harvest some about now.
Syrian Oregano, ready to dry. 10-29 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Getting the hydroponics set up, the large tub filled, just starting the smaller one. 10-29 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I got my hydroponics set up, with the nutrients leveled out, and added some "Karma", and some micorrhyzae powder last night. Today, I got the rooted cuttings planted - all that's left to do is plant seeds (I'm just drawing it up now). I planted all of the basils, but I won't need 2 of any of them - I'll just wait and see which grow best. I have a few new varieties of seeds, but most are tried and tested. I semi-sterilized those cuttings, before planting them, by doing a dunk in a hydrogen peroxide solution - 1 tb/a pint of water.
All of the basil cuttings rooted in 7 days, the Thai basil with a little fewer roots. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The red Epazote all rooted strong, in about 15 days. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Epazote and basil cuttings, planted in the larger hydro tub. Seeds get planted later. 10-30 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The smaller hydro tub, for seeds later. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I got almost all of the seeds planted in the hydroponics, the Russian kale, the white stem bok choy (had good success last year with this not bolting quickly), and the new Koquie bok choy, that I've only grown outside this fall. I'll see what it does inside. I planted the new Landrace Mizuna, and the standard green Mizuna. And some leaf lettuce, from seeds that I saved from that plant that went well into August, before bolting. And 3 cilantro, of 2 varieties - Burpee, and Leisure. Only one parsley - the curly (but not triple curly) variety, as the roots in the flat leaf varieties are just too massive, for this. And just the one new Persian dill - I'll be getting new seeds for the Dukat from the outside plants. And one Arugula, which I'll have to plant maybe every 3 weeks, as it grew fast, but bolted fast, so I have to just use it up fast, and pull the roots out, which I won't let get overgrown (last year was my first time with this in hydro).

Oh yeah - I almost forgot that Za'atar I planted - some other new seeds I got from trueloveseeds.com A couple other herbs I got from them I didn't try, as the plants are way to large - 3 and 5 feet tall! They are the Quillaquiña, or Bolivian Coriander, and the Huacatay, or black mint. I got seeds years ago for the Huacatay, but had no germination, so hopefully these will do better.

[pepperhead212]

Here are those winter greens on the side of the house, that the squirrels destroyed most of in the back yard. The choy sum I harvested again today, but the one on the left has never flowered yet, while the other two have had multiple blossoming. I haven't tried that yu choy yet - that's supposed to get sweeter once it gets below freezing.
The greens on the side/front of the house, not bothered, KOW. These are the Koquie bok choy and kolibri. 10-31 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The Choy Sum, harvested several times, and the Yu Choy, getting quite large. 10-31 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Those very large Senposai plants, growing back, after harvesting more than half of them. 10-31 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

5 Merlot Napa cabbage plants, and 1 Kolibri, in an Earthbox, after pulling peppers out. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I got a large amount of leaves collected, and ground up today, and got my garlic and shallots covered by about 4". The rest will get saved.

The seeds are sprouting quickly in the hydroponics, though the one Thai basil cutting, is bolting, which I was afraid it might, since it started turning purple on the tip, even while rooting. So I found a totally green cutting yesterday, and stuck it in one of those coir things I am starting all those seeds in - the only empty one left. Hopefully this one won't bolt. The other basils are getting new growth, and doing fine. The lettuce germinate in less than 2 days, and most of the brassicas are just becoming visible in the holes, though the herbs are taking longer, as expected.
Lettuce, germinating after less than 2 days. 11-2 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I turned off the water to the outside this morning, and drained the pipes, since we might be getting out first freeze of the season. And we may be getting the coldest day of the year since March, on Wednesday. It is VERY windy, with gusts to 40 mph, so all I did was bring the trash cans in, drain the pipes, and came back in!

The hydroponics is doing great - not only the cuttings, but the seedlings. The cilantro, while slower than most, is larger now than most of them. The only thing I had a problem with was Thai basil - both the first and the second cutting flowered soon after putting the cuttings in the hydro. So now I'll just have to plant a few seeds, and do it that way; slower, but I'll get the plant eventually.

I can't believe that the basil is still alive outside! Usually, my basil is the first thing to die out there - starts getting black spots, even before the first frost, but I think it's because of the moisture I usually have here, and in the low 40s this would happen, with all the dew.
The hydroponics, with the basils and the epazote growing great, from the cuttings. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

The hydroponics are about on course - I usually start getting to harvest many of them the first week of December, a few before, a few slower than that. I was surprised last year how fast the Russian red kale was, compared to the rest of the brassicas, yet this year they are much slower than the bok choys and mizunas. The arugula is also lagging behind. The parsley finally came up - something that's always slow - and the Thai basil is coming up now; something I had to start by seed, since the 3 cuttings bolted.
The hydroponics plants doing well, with the parsley coming up finally. 11-20 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Older, skinny leafed Mizuna on right, the newer, wide leafed variety on left. 11-20 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I harvested the first kohlrabi today, and yesterday I harvested some more of that Wu Choy. I ate one of those Wu Choy leaves raw, and it tasted slightly bitter, but not nearly as bitter as some tatsoi (which it looks very similar to), that I've had in the past, but again, the cooked greens had none of that bitter flavor. It will be interesting to see how it grows in the hydroponics.
The outer leaves from 2 of the Wu Choy plants, 3rd harvest. 11-23 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The Wu Choy, chopped up, and stir fried a few minutes, with some fish sauce and nam prik pao. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The finished Wu Choy, for a small side dish I ate with some leftovers. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Kolibri kohlrabi, about 4"x4"x3", largest of the bunch. 11-24 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Leaves from the one kolibri, 11-24 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I went out today and gathered many of those SIPs together in 3 bunches - one in the front, and the others in the back - and covered them with tarps. The rest have some of the greens in them still, but I wanted to get all that I could covered, since we are supposed to get a generous amount of rain tomorrow. I'm up to about 2½" now, since the drought broke a week ago - still over 6" low for the area, but every time I moved those pots, or anything outside, the worms were back! It's been so dry, I hardly ever saw any the last couple of months.
The last things I harvested today was some peppers, and a bunch of red epazote seeds, which I brushed about a tb of tiny seeds from the one large plant that flowered - the other plant next to it never flowered, and has a bunch of leaves still. Why these things haven't been killed by the cold yet, I have no idea, since they are more from tropical areas! I won't complain. Everything else still out there are greens, or herbs.
Last harvest of the season (besides all those greens) - a ripe Byadagi, 3 Thais, and a tb of red Epazote seeds. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I didn't cover anything else out there, except for the fig tree, but I did harvest some more greens, a bunch of greens to take over for Thanksgiving, and again yesterday, to shut down a few more of those SIPs. Last night was the first hard freeze here - 26° out back - and every day in the forecast has lows in the 20s, but everything out now should be cold resistant enough to survive. The lettuce I had out on the deck, in a Jr Earthbox, is on the back porch now, so it's about 10° warmer than outside, and should produce a while longer. Plus, the lettuce in the hydroponics is about as large now, and soon I'll be having to cut it, to keep it in check! On that topic, the episode was growing into the light, last night, so I cut a couple inches off, and all the suckers are a couple inches long already, and soon, that will be growing rampant.

Here are those greens I took over for Thanksgiving, which my friend has a few of, but she started them later than I did, so they aren't that large. But I told her, don't pull them yet - there's still hope! After all, even her peppers were producing still.
Close to 2 lbs of Senposai greens, from 2 plants, to take over to Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. I offered to cut them up, and she took me up on it. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

My friend's last pepper harvest, the day before Thanksgiving! by pepperhead212, on Flickr

A harvest the day after Thanksgiving - the last chard of the year, and a few heads of Koquie bok choy. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

Here are those plants, just 17 days after that last photo of the hydroponics, and that lettuce had gotten so large that I moved it over to the other tub, to an empty spot. Everything else is going crazy, too, except for the arugula, which didn't germinate twice, and that Russian kale, which seems simply stunted, while last year it was the quickest up, and the fastest growing of all the brassicas. I might plant some in that empty spot, where the lettuce was, and if it starts growing fast, replace the original one with it. Both of those bok choys are doing great, with no sign of bolting (KOW), and soon I'll have to trim that epazote, as always. Hopefully, the cilantro will last a while, before bolting.
The lettuce in the hydro, with the dill and Mizuna behind it, and just to the right, the Russian kale, which is stunted. 12-7 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The basil, growing back quickly, after that first harvest, and the cilantro is starting to do well. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

As always, the epazote is growing like it's on steroids! 12-7 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[applestar]

Hydro really seems to work wonders. Is the solution very high nutes?

Also, I don’t know much about the practice — is this the kind with aerated standing solution? Or do you circulate the solution among different containers?

The greens are growing in a different setup from your rooting setup which is the spray/misting kind, right?

[pepperhead212]

apple, Those two hydro tubs are separate, not connected, and the nutrients are relatively low - 16-20 units, which I don't have to top off too often. It's amazing how seldom I have to add nutrition, considering how those plants grow! I keep them aerated, both with a small airstone, plus a powerhead from my aquariums, with one of those sponges, which basically composts any dead bits and pieces, and when I break it down, after about 7 months, it's amazing how clean it is! And some of the longest roots growing into the sponges!

That cloner is a mister type, but I didn't even use it this year, since I didn't have many - just stuck the basil and epazote cuttings in some water, on a windowsill, in my kitchen, and changed frequently.

[pepperhead212]

Today I had a nice day out there, as it got up to at least 59°, maybe higher, and if it wasn't so windy, I could have worn my shorts! But I wanted to cover all those SIPs I had out there - a couple of weeks ago I put almost all of them on their sides, to drain, before the freezing started, and the weather finally cooperated today, though it would have been better with a little less wind. Still, it only took a little over an hour and a half to get all those in place, and covered. That last silver tarp has enough space under it for the rest of those that I'm growing the greens in, once I harvest all those - I'll just have to watch the temps out, to see when I have to pull them.
The 3 groups of SIPs I covered today. That large silver tarp has way more room, for putting those last 5 under, once I get the greens out of them. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The senposai left on 3 plants in the back, that squirrels had chewed up, but they recovered some. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

That harvested Koquie bok choy, 12-8, almost 30 oz. No buds yet, but if left out, would probably bolt soon. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Two more of those bok choy, plus that one I harvested. That koquie variety is supposed to be heat resistant, but is also cold resistant, since it has been into the mid 20s a few times already, which also hasn't bothered those other plants, or a a tub of kohlrabi out there.
Those Koquie bok choy, the one on the right I harvested, as it is just hinting to bolting. About 60 days, 12-8 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The Wu Choy, under the Choy Sum, all these harvested several times, and growing back. 12-8 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

5 Merlot Napa cabbage plants in an Earthbox, with one stunted kohlrabi, from being shadowed. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I went out this morning and checked the greens, to see how they had fared, in the 24 and 22 degree nights I've had a few of lately, and none of them seemed affected at all. In a week we are forecast for a 19° night, so I might have to harvest a bunch more of them. Fortunately, most store well, and there are countless things I can use them in.

[pepperhead212]

Today I harvested the last of those greens outside, partly because it was nice out there - 63° and sunny - but mainly because they are forecasting the coldest nights of the season this weekend, one predicting as low as 12°, but others forecasting 16 or 17°, which is still too low for most. The Napa I had the most of now (kept 3 of them, and 2 went to my friend), though those were all one day harvests, along with the kohlrabi, whereas the senposai (the most this season, as usual), bok choy, wu choy, and choy sum were all cut and come again, though those bok choys are almost full sized, and you wouldn't think any had been removed before! I took over a 13 gal trash bag to the friends that I took those greens to at Thanksgiving, and I told her she can sample all these now, and see what she wants to grow next season!

The end of the greens, for 2024, plus another large trash bag I took over to a friend's house. by pepperhead212, on Flickr



The Merlot Napa cabbage, I harvested, along with the rest of the brassicas, on 12-17, due to the upcoming cold weather. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[applestar]

That Merlot napa looks beautiful! Yeah I just looked, and forecast for Monday morning here is 9°F! (if I subtract 3° as needed usually, that would make it 6°F )