Watcha Growing

[21incher]

I'm going to grow strawberries this year.

Does anyone have any tips/advice?

I ordered 25 plants from burpee.com.

I'm looking forward to it!

I'll also be growing the basics...sweet corn, greenbeans, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, sweet potatoes, and basil.

The first year I pick off all but a few of the blossoms to let the plants get stronger and allow them to make a larger crop the second year. I usually remove all the runners also.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

To whom it may concern....

My dad planted 8 acres of Sweet Corn today....we will see if it takes. 

[69bronco]

I have had good results using the 4 foot Phillips Alto 6500K T8 bulbs in shop lights. They are fairly low cost at Home Depot and only 32 watts.

I've been using the T8 shop lights also with great results, was wondering if anyone has been using LED?

[DPatton]

 8 acres of sweet corn will feed a lot of goats . I live in the middle of corn country but my family doesn't plant anywhere near that amount. Of course we also are not selling it or feeding the entire county either, just our families and give some away. Love me some 4th of July sweet corn :)but in our climate it would be too early here. I usually shoot for about mid April on the early planting but I've had that freeze off a time or two or just not get a good start because of the conditions. Your father should be in tall corn long before the 4th of July if all goes well.

[LaneC]

  I just saw this thread. I just planted 11 of the worlds hottest peppers. I don't know what I will do with them, other than make a sauce or dry them. If anyone has any tips/advice I would love to learn from it. This is my 1st time growing these "superhots" as they are called.

[coxy]

well i guess the only thing ill be growing this year will be snow peas  :D

[Ianab]

 I just saw this thread. I just planted 11 of the worlds hottest peppers. I don't know what I will do with them, other than make a sauce or dry them. If anyone has any tips/advice I would love to learn from it. This is my 1st time growing these "superhots" as they are called.

You can make a TON of "hot sauce" with just a handful of peppers.  Or make some crazy hot sauce with a ton of them.  ;D
We are in the process of setting up a greenhouse just to grow chillies. Polycarb roof on an old pig pen, automatic watering etc. All on a budget / hobby / experiment at this stage. We are going to grow a selection next season, "mild" up to Trinidad Scorpions. Once we see what grows, and sells, we have about an acre of concrete shed space that could be re-roofed.
Only advice, treat them with respect. I grew 2 plants this year. A handful of chillies has made a couple of bottles that have been labelled "Danger Sauce". 
Or...

That's 3 ghost chillies in a bottle of vodka. 

[LaneC]

 :D Dangar, danger, danger. I hope you have good luck. Sounds like a great endeavor. I am probably growing too many to start on my journey. I have the Carolina reaper, Butch T Scorpion, Trinidad scorpion, Apocalypse scorpion,Big red mama, Naglah Brown, Ghost, Yellow ghost, Yellow Scotch Bonnet and a couple more. I figure if I can grow 4 out of all of these I will be doing good. I will treat them with respect. As of now they are about and inch tall. I still have a long way to go, and I think I will keep them in pots in case of bad weather I can protect them.

[Ianab]

They will probably all grow and, although some will prefer your particular conditions more than others. We have a couple of hardier varieties that handle our cooler local climate better than others. Last year was complete crud and if never really got warm enough for them to take off. I had some plants only just flowering at this time of year (early Autumn). Another just never grew, and spent the window on the kitchen window sill, about 2" tall. Repotted it and put it out in the sun in the spring and it actually took off. It's back in the kitchen tonight as it's almost snowing outside, but it's got dozens of fruit ripening. 



It's a medium hot dwarf variety we call Thai birdseye. Small but tasty fruit. Probably not as hot as Habanero, but for a tiny wee thing they pack a kick. 

This year has been brilliant with "tropical" temps over summer, and warm nights. Even the exotic ones have grown well, but to get a consistent harvest here I think we need a greenhouse.

[21incher]

I can't eat those hot ones anymore but like the flavor so I am trying Habanada's this year https://www.rareseeds.com/habanada-sweet-pepper/
It is supposed to have the same flavor as an Habanero but be a sweet pepper.  Can't wait to pickle them and fool people.  ;D 

[Ianab]

Not everyone is into the really hot varieties. That's why we are going to test growing various types, from the tamer ones through to the crazy hot ones.   

[Ianab]

I think this is what your Ghost Chilli crop is supposed to look like 



2 plants, years supply of hot sauce   :D

[69bronco]

Transplanted my tomatoes into 6 packs yesterday,  garlic is just breaking ground. Finally got a break in the weather, going to plant our onion plants today.

[LaneC]

I wish mine were that big. Right now they are about 1-1/2 inches tall. Out of all the top variaties of superhots, the Ghost for me seems to be the biggest challenge to grow. My Reapers and scorpions are doing fine but the ghost, not so much.

[DPatton]

To whom it may concern....

My dad planted 8 acres of Sweet Corn today....we will see if it takes.  

POSTON, hows that corn looking? Did it get to growing?

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

To whom it may concern....

My dad planted 8 acres of Sweet Corn today....we will see if it takes.  

POSTON, hows that corn looking? Did it get to growing?

Its barley busting the ground now. Lost 1 row of maters due to frost but have all the plants out now. 

[Banjo picker]

I planted muscadines in our little backyard garden last fall.  I am tired of the tomatoes breaking my heart.  Last two years they (maters) got nice and tall and loaded down with fruit, and then the vines would just die with in two or three days.  I did a autopsy on the vines and they were hollow.  Nothing left but the outside shell of the vine.  Muscadines are just starting to bud a little bit.  I ordered $50.00 worth  (seven vines from a dude in Ga.) and hopefully in three years I will have some fruit.   8)  Deb said she was going to plant some tomatoes, I'll see how that goes.  Banjo

[thecfarm]

I picked corn one summer. He would cover a couple fields of corn with crop cover to get it early. Than plant other fields every 2 weeks or so. I picked corn until early Oct that year.

[Magicman]

And then that corn was ground into Grits!!!     You sneaky rascal.  

[21incher]

And then that corn was ground into Grits!!!    You sneaky rascal.  

Thecfarm is safe, sweet corn is not ground for GRITS. ;D.
GRITS are ground from the corn they grow for cows and pigs. :D

[thecfarm]

I think someone has forgot that someone does not eat veggies.  ;D

[Don P]

Banjo, I asked the boss about your maters. She said that sounds like a soil borne bacterial wilt or canker, a real bugger. There are wilt resistant varieties but it might be better to grow in pots of commercial soil. Cornell has a good plant disease key online.
http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu/PhotoPages/Tomatoes/Tom_BactDiseases/Tom_BactPhotoList.htm

http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu/factsheets/Tomato_Bacterial.htm

[Banjo picker]

Thanks for posting the links.  I will pass the info on to the wife about using store bought soil.  Here is a picture of the area in question.  Might have been the first year we set it up.  Its a raised bed thing.  I brought about a foot of sand from the creek bank and topped it off with about 8 inches of composted horse manure.  I have growed tomatoes in the composted horse manure in a different location and they did alright.  May have been something I brought up from the creek.    I just hope whatever it is won't bother my muscadines.  Banjo
 

[thecfarm]

Banjo,you got an Extension in your area? We have one at the college and can be a big help to problems like that.

[51cub]

Hey Banjo, this might satisfy my own curiosity more than it helps you, but what are the chances that the horse manure wasn't as composted as you thought? I'm asking only because of the things I've heard about horse manure being hot and having to be very well done. I'm also going to +1 what Ray said about the Extension Service. They're usually pretty slick