Pepper Plants- The Obituary

I've been trying to deny it for a while, but these pepper plants are straight-up dead.  They look exactly like a dead plant.  I bet a Google Image search of dead plant would turn up several pictures that look exactly like these.

I'm so sad, because it's nearly Spring!  I almost made it!  But that's not even true.  I'm acting like they just suddenly died this week, but in reality they have been dying for a long time.  

The first one died for real a long time ago.  It got spider mites, and I just dealt with that (emotionally, at least) because hey, I had two more that looked great!  About two months ago I noticed they had aphids. Then I started hearing Mike McGrath point out over and over that peppers like, always get aphids.  I did know that I was supposed to rinse them down really, really well before bringing them in, for this exact reason, but I didn't because I am lazy.  Once I saw the aphids, I knew I was supposed to rinse them off inside.  I got as far as moving one up to the bathroom so I could give it a shower, but after it sat there for a week or two, I came to the conclusion I was too lazy to do that as well.  

The aphids kept going.  When it was warm, I brought them outside, hoping that something would deal with the aphids for me.  They didn't have an aphid problem outside, right?  That's because something was keeping them under control, probably?  I did leave them out overnight, even though it wasn't really in the 50's overnight, but it was certainly not in the 30's.  And maybe that made it worse.  Not that it really matters.  

I had big plans for the peppers!  I was going to keep them around for years, and have little pepper trees.  I was thinking I would have to transplant them up to bigger pots, because by then they would have nice giant roots.  And now I have to deal with these monsters.  In the process of pulling them out of the pots, I would like to check out the roots a little bit.  I don't think they're really... root-intensive? Is that the word?  As Mike McGrath would describe it, their "life" is all above ground.  So it's not like it's going to grow back from the roots.  Right?  Maybe?  No, it won't.  Just stop.  

So yeah, I got two, actually three, nice big pots.  What am I going to put in them?!  Oh my god, nothing right now.  I will be buying pepper plants this year (I really thought I wouldn't have to, so sad) and probably I'll just use the same pots.  What peppers do I want to buy?  I mean, let's just buy the same shit again.  It went just fine, until they came inside.  My house is kind of a terrible place, maybe that's the problem.  Maybe the aphids live here already.  But yeah, I like Habeneros, and I like Jalapenos obviously, and maybe I'll get something else weird just to mix it up.  Or maybe I will try an Eggplant.  I've never grown that, of course.  

And next fall, am I going to try this shit again?  Am I going to actually wash them off like I'm supposed to?  Please?  

Outside Stuff

Eventually, I am going to have to take this whole gardening situation outside.  I have a lot of nice ideas, but as I'm getting closer to when I need to actually do it, it is sounding like a lot of work.

Vegetables and Stuff

• I was thinking I wanted to move all the soil from the tomato side of the bed, so that the tomatoes won't be growing in the same soil and building up wilt.  But I'm not sure I have to, and honestly I don't think I'm going to actually do it.  It sounds like a lot of work.  The tomatoes I am going to put in there are Brandy Boy, and Sun Gold.  Brandy Boy says it has disease resistance, and the reviews seem to confirm that.  And Sun Gold is a cherry tomato, and you can't hurt those.  So all I am going to do is buy a bunch of potting soil and dump it on top.  
• Once I've prepared the bed, I will transplant all that lovely Kale.  By then, the Romaine may be big enough to transplant.  And I just started some Bok Choy today, and they grow so fast they might be ready to transplant in 2 weeks.  Then the bed is full, nothing to do but watch it grow me some nice vegetables.  
• I also want to start some peas.  I guess I can do that whenever I want.  
• I threw some seeds in the Gutter Garden a few weeks ago when it was warm, but I don't see anything yet.  So I guess I need to re-sow that.  The radish seeds I put in the window box are doing great, I just need to go out and thin it down.  

Bigger Stuff

• First I should clean out all the dead crap and leaves and garbage and stuff.  I'm really hoping the landscaping people actually cut back the Liriope and the grass, because I just don't think I am capable.  Probably want to pull out some weeds too.  
• Gotta prune the roses.  That's not going to be fun, because of thorns and shit.  I guess I can do that now, because they do have new growth.  But I really don't feel like it right now.  
• Take down the goddamn Christmas stuff!  Oh my god, it's March.  This is embarrassing.  
• Stir up the compost.  I was hoping it would be farther along than this, but it is getting warmer, so that should help, and I'm adding coffee grounds.  I am hopeful that the compost will finish within like, 2 months.  That way I can add it to the raised bed before I put in the tomatoes, as I'm getting going with summer flowers and stuff.  
• All of the other leaves and brush and stuff, I will pack in to that trash can thing.  And hopefully, the compost in the tumbler now will be finished, and I can move all the other crap into the tumbler and try to get it to compost over the summer.  

Of course none of this got done this weekend.  Next weekend looks ok.   And now it's raining so I have an excuse.  

So hopefully in the next week or two I will have the raised bed filled with the greens, and the smaller bed sown with some peas.  And it won't be until early to mid May that I can put in the tomatoes and green beans.  Yeah so that means I have to keep these poor tomatoes going for another 2 months.... well, that's why you are not supposed to start them in January.  I might need to pot them up into something bigger.  I hope I have to do that, right, I hope I end up with a lot of roots since they got like, 4 months to get started.  

And I think I want to space them a little farther apart than I did last year.  So instead of 2 feet per plant, like 2 1/2?  That's going to be most of the bed.  And that's fine, I don't really want to grow much else in there, just a few Swiss Chard and some Parsley.  And the Chives have already come back, so that's awesome.  And of course I'll put some Basil in between the tomatoes.  

In the smaller bed, I'll replace the peas with green beans.  And hopefully the strawberries come back ok and maybe I'll even get some strawberries this year.  

March

I did some seed-starting rearranging.  I realized I had the biggest, heaviest stuff on the highest shelf, and it was only a matter of time before I dump my whole tray of plants all over myself and the carpet.  Now I've got the heaviest, biggest stuff on the bottom, on the counter.  That's the many Rudbeckia, the Kale, the Zinnias, and the bigger Tomato plants.  The Zinnias need some kind of a booster seat to raise them closer to the lights.  The Rudbeckia and the Kale need the light pretty high, mostly because they are in such tall containers.  (No regrets, the plastic bottle method means I see them taking full advantage of that space.  #teamdeeproots)  

The shelf above that is for the six-pack starts.  There is some logic to putting them on the highest shelf, but then I really can't see them, and that's the smallest light. (2 bulb 2 foot)  So they are on the second shelf, under 4 bulb 2 foot lights.  Getting creative, I was able to fit all 11 six-packs under there.  

On the top shelf, I have kind of a mid-height.  This is good for most of the Tomato starts, the Coleus, and Basil. This is not the most light, so I hope it's enough, but as these plants have more leaves, I think it will be ok.  And Coleus doesn't need tons of light at this point.  

So where are we with these plants?  I've reduced the Tomatoes down to 4 of each.  I took out the ones that looked the worst.  They just weren't worth the space.  There are a few that are getting pretty tall.  The biggest by far is a Sun Gold; it's at least a foot tall above the container.  That one, and a Fresh Salsa, and two Brandy Boys are on the bottom shelf because they are a little too tall for the top shelf. I really should give all of the tomatoes some fertilizer, I think that's why they are not growing as fast as I would like.  

I had 3 six-packs of Basil.  Two were directly under the bottom light, and they got pretty big.  The other was getting less intense light and it's still small.  The two that were getting big were starting to touch the lights and burn, so I transplanted them up to 3 inch round containers.  I worked in some Espoma fertilizer in there because I think they could use it at this point.  

That freed up 2 six-packs, so I planted those with more Zinnias, the Zahara Bonfire kind.  That conveniently used up the pack.  I would like to start more Zinnias when I get the space.  I have the Thumbelina Zinnias, which are obviously shorter, and I was thinking I would just direct-sow those.  

The Romaine is looking ok.  I'm kind of disappointed that only like, 2/3 of them actually germinated.  Actually less than that considering multiple seeds per cell.  I was thinking about consolidating, moving out the empty cells and scooping in some.  I've got 4 six-packs, and it could definitely be condensed down to 3.  But since they are so young and weak looking, I don't want to do that just yet.  I'll give them some more time, but in 2 weeks it will be ok to plant them outside. 

Same with the Kale!  The Kale looks pretty great, overall.  A few looked pretty thirsty but presumably they will recover ok.  Next weekend might be a good time to actually put them in the ground.  

Next up is Morning Glory.  I'm kind of behind on these.  I was planning to put them in their final containers right away, but that depends on me actually buying potting soil, and I've just been too lazy.  And I need to decide if I want to do anything with those poor Liriope that are in the containers now.  Of course I could start them in six-packs and just transplant them quickly.  It's probably more important to do that early.  

Before I put anything in the raised bed, I want to move some soil around and really add a lot of potting mix.  Again, this depends on me buying soil.  My thought is that if I move all the soil from the tomato side to somewhere else, I am less likely to get some awful wilt.  Sounds like something I could do next weekend.  

I was planning to plant some peas.  St. Patrick's Day is supposed to be the lucky time to plant them, and I will be away in North Carolina.  And Mike McGrath says to germinate them inside first, because the soil is still pretty cold.  So maybe I'll do that.  I mean, I don't have to.  I will use that space for green beans in May.  And if I get the Peas in there next weekend, that gives me...8 weeks?  That's the exact Days to Maturity, and I think that means that is when the peas start producing, and there should be like a month of this.  But I can't see a big downside.  I would need to pull them out and de-tangle them from the trellis.  Ok let's say I plant peas now-ish, and by May they are starting to produce.  Can I just plant the green beans around them?  The Peas will be fully grown, so there will be no confusing them.  It's like a month before the green beans get really established.  So I can keep getting peas, and by June, I can just cut them down.  I don't think there is any problem to have the roots in the same place.  They are both nitrogen-fixing, so having peas proceed them could only help.  And I assume most people do this, because it's so convenient and obvious.  If there was a reason not to, I think I would have heard of it.  Ok, let's do it.  

And the next thing I need to start is the Bok Choy.  I really need some open six-packs for that.  Maybe in like, 2 weeks, the other pack of Basil will be ready to transplant.  

What's in the six-packs, again?  I have: 

• 2 of the Giant Leaf mix of Coleus
• 2 of the Red Coleus (they look awful, barely anything happening) 
• 1 of Basil
• 2 of Zahara Zinnias
• 4 of Romaine

Hm.  The closest thing to transplant is the Romaine.  The Zinnias (the Giant ones) that are in that 12-pack are actually looking really good, but they certainly don't need to be transplanted any time soon.  And if I did, what would I put them in?  Twelve plants in large containers, c'mon.  

Let's buy a lot more lights and start using the space under the counter!  More plants!  

No, no, no.  C'mon.  

How are we going to free up some space?  The Kale is the first thing to come out, and if everything goes well, that can happen next weekend.  Then maybe the Romaine.  The Rudbeckia is the one taking up the most space, and they don't get planted until late April.  But at this point, maybe they could survive in front of the window?  And that would make it easier for me to harden them off on nice days.  

If I get the Kale and the Rudbeckia out of there, then I have a lot more space, and I don't need to have a light so high up.  Well, maybe I will have the same light placement but hopefully it will be for the tomatoes.  

I gotta get some Bok Choy started soon, but I'm not sure where I will be able to start them.  Maybe I need to make them out of some other container...

Well, I've now got quite a lot of seedlings going under the lights.  Let's see if I can remember...

• 4 six-packs of Romaine
• 4 six-packs of Coleus
• 3 six-packs of Basil
• 12-pack of large Zinnias
• 15 Tomatoes
• 11 Kale
• 17 Rudbeckia
• 4 bigger, older Coleus

The Romaine are starting to show, so that's good.  The Basil have all germinated, as have the Zinnias.  The Tomatoes actually look better than they did a week ago.  I left everything along for nearly 4 days, and shit got dried out.  It's bad up there. 

Oh!  and wtf, the Basil has this green mold on the top of the soil.  Only the Basil.  Everything else looks good.  And it was all done with the same soil.  Hmm.  

Right now I am soaking the tomatoes, which is a slow process.  Things are looking better.  

I cannot start anything else anytime soon.  I don't have containers and I don't have space.  I could rotate things, right, I could switch things out under the lights daily.  But all the small six packs are being used.  I even found another one, so now I have 11.  I guess that the Basil will be the next thing to get potted up into larger containers (which I totally have).  

The next thing to plant is the Morning Glory, and those are going directly in the containers.  That's the 30" containers.  So I need to buy large amounts of potting mix.  And 2 of the 3 are filled with sad little liriope starts, so I will need to move those, or plant them, or whatever.  I could do that this weekend.  It's going to be warm on Sunday.  

And where am I going to put these containers?  I was thinking I would put them in the window in the living room.  I guess I could bring them upstairs... but that sounds like a lot of work that I don't want to do.  

I've got a nice collection of seeds I saved from last year and I want to grow those as a fun experiment, so I think I will do one container with just those, and the other two with the new seeds.  I'm not gonna mess with any trellis or anything, I'm hoping that between now and when they go outside (about 7 weeks).  

So anyway, what am I going to do outside?  I need to rearrange my raised bed.  I will probably shovel all the dirt from the tomato side onto the other side and then refill with potting soil.  We're going to need a lot of it.  Better get Drake involved.  Luckily I can't do anything until it thaws out.  All the snow is gone, but it will be another few weeks before it's actually workable.  

I guess I should also be getting the gutter garden ready, since that will be planted with stuff the earliest.  It will thaw out fast.  I guess I will top it off with more soil 

I should probably try to harvest more worm castings...

Overall, the seed starting is going well.  Almost all the Rudbeckia look really good.  In another week or so, they will need to be transplanted up.  I'm not sure what I will plant them into.  Maybe half soda bottles.  I'll need to go buy some more seed starting mix this week.  Of course, I'm going to run out of space before too long.  They're getting big, and I won't be planting them outside until mid April (two months from now).  And I've got 18 of them, maybe 16 will really make it.  Yeah, I guess I can handle that.  Damn, if I end up with that many full grown plants, I can just fill the area with these.  

I transplanted the kale into water bottles last week and they are doing really well.  Of course they are pretty tall, so I need to have more space between the lights. And I gave them some worm castings on top and watered with some worm tea.  I am not worried about these.  I know they're tough, and now that they're in larger containers they are even less likely to dry out all the way.  I just need to keep an eye on them and make sure they aren't hitting the lights.  I only have 11 of them (one died) and I think I want all of them for myself.  Because I'm going to eat that much kale?  Well, because it will look better to have a nice row of kale than like, six.  I'm thinking about starting more kale.  These will be going outside in mid March, so anything I start now will be a baby by then.  

Based on that logic, I started the Romaine today and I opted for FOUR six packs.  24 Romaines.  That is more than twice what I need.  Of course I can give some away...  There isn't really a disadvantage in having too many, other than the space issue, and I can always throw some out.  I'm thinking I can transplant them in mid March, late March.  So, like 5 weeks from now.  I think I can get away with keeping them in the six-packs until then, because they won't get that big.  And I really will need to harden them off, along with the Kale.  

The Coleus... man, I'm really disappointed.  Hardly any of them germinated!  What did I do?  I consolidated 3 six packs down to one, that's how sparse they were.  And like an idiot, I bought more of the same large leaf pink one.  I also bought a packet of a mix of other large leaf coleus, but I'm kind of regretting that now.  I'm afraid there will be a lot of that weird burnt orange color.  I'm sure I can give those away.  There are only 20 seeds in there, as well.  

So what are we going to do differently with this round of Coleus?  

• Use new seed starting mix, not the leftover stuff mixed with so much perlite.  Maybe I had too much perlite.  
• Soak the soil in the packs really well before sowing the seeds.  
• Make really small indentations in the top and drop the seed on top. Instructions online differ on whether they need to be buried or placed on top.  The one that says to cover them sounds like it's just using generic seed starting instruction.  I trust gardeners.com more, and they say Coleus needs light to germinate.  And my understanding of how this relates to the size of the seed is consistent with that.  
• Sow one seed per cell.  I only had two cells germinate on the first attempt, and one of them has two plants right next to each other.  I'll get 12 of the big pink leaf kind, and I'd like to get as many plants as possible, obviously. 
• After that, only water from the bottom, pouring water into the tray below and letting them soak it up.  I find that hard to do, because it doesn't feel like I'm putting the water where it needs to be.  But I think I was washing away the seeds when I dumped water on top.  

Once they germinate, it's pretty easy to take care of them, same as any other seedling.  They don't go out until May, like when the tomatoes go out, so I should have plenty of time.  I'm going for 2 six-packs of the large pink ones, and then I've got 20 seeds in the mix, so I could do 3 six pack-s with that.  That's 5 six packs, plus the one I've got now.  So to plant the Coleus when they arrive, I will need to transplant the Rudbeckia, just to free up the containers.  I'll then have 6 of Coleus, and 4 of Romaine.  That's all 10 packs.  

On top of that, I've got a dozen Kales, 15 Tomatoes, and nearly 18 Rudbeckia, which are not small plants. I guess I could cull the tomato situation, since I clearly don't need 15 tomato plants.  But that doesn't really help me either.  If I cut it down to 3 of each, that gives me 6 more pots, but I need like, 20 more.  Not to mention the light and space issue.  I could think about getting another light, and another shelf.  Or I could rotate them, since I'm not using any kind of timer.  I really don't want to have to buy any containers just for seed starting.  I think I'm going to use cut-off seltzer bottles.  They're just about the right shape, and I have them in abundance.  They have the added benefit of being garbage, so if I do want to give stuff away, I don't lose a container.  I also really like being able to see the root growth,  

Ok so!  My new seeds will get here in a few days, and I will buy some new seed starting mix.  I'll move the Rudbeckia to these soda bottles.  And I will then plant some Coleus.  And then what?!  Ahh, I don't know.  Too many plants!!!

Pepper Plants

I had three pepper plants last summer- two Jalapenos and one Habenero.  I brought them inside with the hope of keeping them alive through the winter so I can start with some nice big plants this year.  Because I'm lazy, I did not take Mike McGrath's advice to really thoroughly wash them off before taking them in, and of course I am now reaping the consequences. 

One of the Jalapenos was producing really well through the fall and into December.  It was churning out peppers like crazy, but no new leaves.  About a month ago I noticed lots of webbing around the stems.  So I pulled it away from the others so it wouldn't spread to them, and I'm pretty much left it there to die.  

But now I see a lot of nasty little bugs on the other Jalapeno.  Google Image confirms that they are definitely aphids.  They are pretty localized on the outer most branches, which does make me think they came from the other plant.  So now what do I do?  I think I will cut off those branches that are just crawling with them, but then I should probably hose it down really well.  I could try doing it in the shower, since it is going to make a big splashy  mess.  But I could also do it in the kitchen sink, where I have a little spray thingy.  Of course it would get water everywhere, but with the current state of the kitchen, that can only improve it.  I just hope I can save it.  

I'm really pissed off about these peppers!  I've kept them going for like, 5 months, and just now the aphids show up?  Or more likely, they've been here the whole time and they've just now gotten out of control.  I would still really like to keep them going, which I would need to do for like, 3 more months.  Other than this aphid situation, I think I've done a decent job- I've kept the moisture level reasonable, I've given them worm compost for food, they get a ton of sunlight, I closed up the vent so they aren't getting dried out.  They've grown more bushy, not leggy, which should be a really good sign.  And when people have asked about aphids, Mike McGrath doesn't seem to say it's a lost cause, just that there is no need to spray them with anything other than water.  I think we can make it through this.  

"Forcing" Spring, in January

In the past few years, I have bought these little pots of meager tulips or hyacinths in the grocery store, out of some kind of desperation to see a little glimpse of spring.  Obviously these don't occur naturally, they are "forced" somehow so we can get these gorgeous flowers early.  The psychology of this is kind of cute- there are houseplants that bloom indoors this time of year, we could go out and buy an orchid for a similar cost.  But an orchid might as well be a beautiful silk flower or something; it doesn't even count.  But the sight of a crocus or a daffodil in the spring is so remarkable- we've just started to get some leaves on the trees, and even the hostas, the toughest plants in the world, haven't yet rallied beyond poking their heads up.  And in spite of that climate, we get these masses of perfect, vibrant flowers on showy tall stems, the kinds of flowers that seem like they would need to be grown in a Longwood Gardens-hothouse.  It's such a fucking miracle, and we see it every year, and I think we couldn't create a flower that spoke of hope and relief as much as a daffodil.  The daffodils are here; we're not going to die!

Last season, I tried to force a bunch of hyacinths.  I planted them properly and put them up in the attic, where I figured it would get cold, but not freezing.  I even left a water bottle nearby as an indicator- is it frozen yet?  But it did not get cold enough, and that was a pretty cold winter.  They sprouted these sad, pale, long, flaccid shoots.  

Of course, I have learned a great deal from Mike McGrath.  Whenever this question comes up, he asks, "Ya got a beer fridge?"  These things need to be in a fridge-like environment, but with NO FRUIT.  Apparently fruit causes premature sprouting, I think because of the ethylene.  I don't really like fruit.  The only fruits I typically have in my fridge are limes or lemons, primarily for mixing with vodka or tequila.  I do have some things that are technically "fruits," like bell peppers and cucumbers.  Do they emit ethylene?  Can I test this?  I need a... what is it, a head-space FT-IR?  

Back in late October, I potted up a bunch of the Tete a Tete daffodils in these nice little pots, I think about 8" in diameter.  I bought begonias in these pots, and I think I am getting more use out of the pots.  I used regular potting mix, I think it was old potting mix that had already been used all season.  I know that bulbs do not need any nutrition during this time, so I wasn't worried about the quality of the potting mix.  I did mix in more perlite, because I know drainage is so important.  Then I soaked them for a long time in the sink, labeled them with the type and the date, and put them up on the top shelf near the back.  

From Mike McGrath, I had in my mind that 12 weeks was the minimum number.  Then I was reading Fine Gardening recently and they listed some longer time.  And they specifically said, "Do not be fooled by green shoots emerging, that does not mean they have met their chilling requirement."  But I wanted to try it.  I took up the one that had the largest shoots coming out, and put it in the window.  I got some great blooms on it so far, and they keep coming!  

I put it on my little side table, basically a pedestal, and admired it all weekend.  Then this morning I brought it into work.   Last year I would have put it on my desk, but now with my new position my desk is at the opposite end of the building and I only even go to it 4 or 5 days a month.  So I put this in my lab, where I will see them more, and where we have customers visiting regularly, so maybe it will make it look nice?  When I was walking in with my little flower pot, I think people responded nicely.  Daffodils mean hope!  

I took out the next one this weekend, 2 weeks after the first.  Maybe I will bring it to my mom, I think she would enjoy that.  Also I will be gone all of next week, which is when they would be at their best, but that's not the point.

I also have some crocus in there, but I think they went in much later.