The Endzone Garden Thread

#1,776
#1,776
GVF said:
Ours have been sprinting for a bit. I already have sweet peepers picked out for next year that I'll be switching to. My okra is acting like it's in an iron man competition. It's pushing head high.
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The corn has gone nuts (sunflowers too.) They’re all between 8’ and 10’ tall. I was expecting 6-8 for the corn and 5-7 for the sunflowers. They’re in a 4x7 bed.

Thank goodness I don’t fertilize. lol
 
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#1,777
#1,777
GVF said:
Ours have been sprinting for a bit. I already have sweet peepers picked out for next year that I'll be switching to. My okra is acting like it's in an iron man competition. It's pushing head high.
Click to expand...
Next year, the only peppers I plant in a bed will be Jimmy Nardellos. Bell peppers have done ok, but they’re just not productive enough (for me) to give up precious real estate.

Oh, and that bed by the fence was last year’s tomato bed. The fence didn’t allow enough air movement, and it was Fungus City. It’s going to become a berries and (I hope) grapes bed instead.
 
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#1,778
#1,778
VolNExile said:
Next year, the only peppers I plant in a bed will be Jimmy Nardellos. Bell peppers have done ok, but they’re just not productive enough (for me) to give up precious real estate.

Oh, and that bed by the fence was last year’s tomato bed. The fence didn’t allow enough air movement, and it was Fungus City. It’s going to become a berries and (I hope) grapes bed instead.
Click to expand...

Cubanelle has done well for me, but bells only do ok anytime i have ever planted them. My next years sweets will be Lesya, Ajvarski, and Txorixero. About Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co and rareseeds.com

Now, hot peppers, OTOH, go nuts for me. THai Dragons, Tobbasco, Jalapeno, and Ghost are showing out. Thai dragons are a slightly hotter version of cayene I think, and better flavor. Looks similar. Maybe not quite as long.

I tried 3 corns to find a good grower for me. All sucked. AS has my sunflowers this year. They were just me, compared to last year, then one of those storms came thru and laid them over. They didn't get back up.
 
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#1,779
#1,779
I forget who was asking, but my report on the Heavy Hitter Okra==> Plant it. Plants just keep growing and producing. Flavor is great. Base stalks are like broomsticks right now. Never had this kind of okra out of Clemson Spineless. And unlike Clemson Spineless, I can miss a day or two, pick bigger pods, and the knife suprisingly goes right thru and they fry up tender anyway. I've been able to slice up pods I was 4 days late picking. If I miss several days, I can go pick a dozen really big pods and only toss maybe 2 or 3 that the knife don't like. And they hold well, as does the Jung Orange and Okinawa Pink. What I slice up today has been picked from yesterday to last week, and still fresh and ready to process, and barely softening.
 
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#1,780
#1,780
I just found a planting option on corn that goes back to native americans. Plant kernals in December 8-12 inches deep. stalks are obviously solid thoughout season and this method required no additional watering outside ma nature. Anyone ever heard of this or tried it???
 
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#1,781
#1,781
GVF said:
I just found a planting option on corn that goes back to native americans. Plant kernals in December 8-12 inches deep. stalks are obviously solid thoughout season and this method required no additional watering outside ma nature. Anyone ever heard of this or tried it???
Click to expand...
I never have! Any idea what USDA zones this needs? We’re now 7a (recently changed from 6b 😢)
 
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#1,783
#1,783
VolNExile said:
Next year, the only peppers I plant in a bed will be Jimmy Nardellos. Bell peppers have done ok, but they’re just not productive enough (for me) to give up precious real estate.

Oh, and that bed by the fence was last year’s tomato bed. The fence didn’t allow enough air movement, and it was Fungus City. It’s going to become a berries and (I hope) grapes bed instead.
Click to expand...
Our bells have done great this year, probably the best year ever. I had most of them in grow sacks, but I drilled holes in two heavy 3.5 gallon buckets, and those are the best ones.
These were the "Big Bertha" from Bonnie. They are sweeter than I ever remember them being. I think it's because I fertilized them very little.
The wife has spaghetti sauce on right now with our herbs, crushed Romas, and the bells.
Good eats
 
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#1,784
#1,784
GordonC said:
Our bells have done great this year, probably the best year ever. I had most of them in grow sacks, but I drilled holes in two heavy 3.5 gallon buckets, and those are the best ones.
These were the "Big Bertha" from Bonnie. They are sweeter than I ever remember them being. I think it's because I fertilized them very little.
The wife has spaghetti sauce on right now with our herbs, crushed Romas, and the bells.
Good eats
Click to expand...
Fresh marinara from the garden. good eating. If you could only grow a jar already cooked down.
 
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#1,787
#1,787
GVF said:
Exactly. You lose that good outside cover of meat peeling that blanched skin off. Gonna talk to my step-son about developing a seed strain for that. Or a paste you aint gotta peel to can.
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I read a comment on one recipe that the writer ran the peels through a food mill on fine and wound up with a really good paste that she added back to the sauce. But you still have to peel, and now you have extra work.

Roasting tomatoes makes it really easy to slip off the peels, but then there you are, roasting 10 pounds of tomatoes, 1-2 half sheets at a time.

No wonder people give up and buy Prego.

But it’s worth it! She said to herself firmly. If only to get ten lbs of tomatoes out of the fridge…
 
#1,788
#1,788
VolNExile said:
I read a comment on one recipe that the writer ran the peels through a food mill on fine and wound up with a really good paste that she added back to the sauce. But you still have to peel, and now you have extra work.

Roasting tomatoes makes it really easy to slip off the peels, but then there you are, roasting 10 pounds of tomatoes, 1-2 half sheets at a time.

No wonder people give up and buy Prego.

But it’s worth it! She said to herself firmly. If only to get ten lbs of tomatoes out of the fridge…
Click to expand...

In defense of the oven, you can roast more at a time than you can put in that boiling pot.

I'm with you though. I'll add a can of paste before I collect all the skins and puree them.
 
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#1,789
#1,789
I have prepared and dunked tomatoes in boiled water then peeled, seeded and cooked them down into sauce. I have roasted tomatoes and put them into a blender and used the resulting output in various ways. This year, I’ve eaten fresh every mater from my few plants.
 
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#1,790
#1,790
Resized_20220821_163730 (1) - Copy.jpg
The bells have done really well this year.
We have eight plants pretty much full of peppers this size right here.

Edit: German Queen we had last night was one of the best maters I've ever et. It's heirloom, so I saved quite a few seeds. Good eats.
@VolNExile looked again at the "tags" on those Centennial. The tags were slightly different. One says "determinate" on there, which makes total sense. Had I known that, I would not have put the buckets behind other plants....live and learn....hahaha
 
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#1,791
#1,791
This is more of a landscaping question than garden, but has anyone had success using old cardboard as a weed barrier under mulch? I've seen it recommended for use in place of landscaping fabric. Plus, I have tons of Jeff Bezos cardboard in my garage, so I may give it a try.
 
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#1,792
#1,792
Souce said:
This is more of a landscaping question than garden, but has anyone had success using old cardboard as a weed barrier under mulch? I've seen it recommended for use in place of landscaping fabric. Plus, I have tons of Jeff Bezos cardboard in my garage, so I may give it a try.
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tl;dr: Yep, works like a champ. Best if you have big boxes (minimal gaps from the fold cuts and the edges.) As you say, Darth Bezos is a generous provider for this.

****************
Don’t use shiny cardboard, just the raw beige stuff. Corrugated is better (thicker.) Pull any staples, but don’t worry about the tape. It won’t rot, but it doesn’t hurt anything. If you do plant there later, you just pull out the loose tape as you encounter it.

After discovering the persistence of Bermuda grass (and crabgrass), I’ve started putting down an underlayment of contractors’ paper with generous overlap. This stuff or similar: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Blue-Hawk-Builder-s-Paper-1-Pack-Paper-3-ft-x-140-ft-Drop-Cloth/50265367 Water it well, then cover with the cardboard, keeping the cardboard gaps away from the paper gaps as much as you can. Water the cardboard well, then spread a LOT of mulch, as close to 6” as you can stand (and afford.)

Weeds will still come up with time, but they are definitely weakened by having to work through so much, so they’re relatively easy to pull.

— if you do think that you may want to one day plant there, you can put a layer of compost between the contractor paper and cardboard. Not necessary, but it will help future fertility and tilth, and earthworms will be in heaven.

I’ve built at least 8 garden beds this way. No tilling, minimal weeding, rich, moisture-holding soil. Great stuff. And obviously, it’s just as effective for mulching alone.

Landscape fabric is evil. Kills the soil underneath (soil is a living organism), and a freaking nightmare to remove later on.
 
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#1,793
#1,793
VolNExile said:
tl;dr: Yep, works like a champ. Best if you have big boxes (minimal gaps from the fold cuts and the edges.) As you say, Darth Bezos is a generous provider for this.

****************
Don’t use shiny cardboard, just the raw beige stuff. Corrugated is better (thicker.) Pull any staples, but don’t worry about the tape. It won’t rot, but it doesn’t hurt anything. If you do plant there later, you just pull out the loose tape as you encounter it.

After discovering the persistence of Bermuda grass (and crabgrass), I’ve started putting down an underlayment of contractors’ paper with generous overlap. This stuff or similar: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Blue-Hawk-Builder-s-Paper-1-Pack-Paper-3-ft-x-140-ft-Drop-Cloth/50265367 Water it well, then cover with the cardboard, keeping the cardboard gaps away from the paper gaps as much as you can. Water the cardboard well, then spread a LOT of mulch, as close to 6” as you can stand (and afford.)

Weeds will still come up with time, but they are definitely weakened by having to work through so much, so they’re relatively easy to pull.

— if you do think that you may want to one day plant there, you can put a layer of compost between the contractor paper and cardboard. Not necessary, but it will help future fertility and tilth, and earthworms will be in heaven.

I’ve built at least 8 garden beds this way. No tilling, minimal weeding, rich, moisture-holding soil. Great stuff. And obviously, it’s just as effective for mulching alone.

Landscape fabric is evil. Kills the soil underneath (soil is a living organism), and a freaking nightmare to remove later on.
Click to expand...
You're a better person than me, probably in many was, but for answering any question from that non-answering buttcrack.
 
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#1,798
#1,798
GVF said:
I'm fixin to strip my tobascos and get some hot pepper sauce put up to drizzle on gumboes and collards.

My son emptied a Franks Hot sauce bottle and fermented/brewed some thai dragon pepper hot sauce. Beautiful color. I sure hope I don't forget what's in that bottle.
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Do you know what recipe he used for the thai dragon sauce? We have a ton of them from our two bushes and would like to try making a sauce. Picked probably close to 100 peppers off them last weekend and there are probably another 100 green ones that will be ready soon. Most of the ones we picked are hanging in ristras starting to dry for now.

We refrigerator pickled 4 quart jars of banana, serrano, jalapeno, and dragon peppers. Cut them into rings and mixed the peppers in the jars. Less of the spicy ones for friends and one jar with almost only jalapenos and serranos.
 
#1,799
#1,799
I have a bunch of jalapenos that I am letting turn red then I want to dry them, what is the best way to accomplish this feat?
 
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