The Cheap Vegetable Gardener

Peppers: Good, Bad, And Ugly

14.3 years ago jalapeno, peppers 6 Comments

The jalapenos are doing great, they are loaded with peppers and I already harvested some to make some jalapeno powder.

The Cayenne peppers are looking good and though they are a little late, I am just waiting for them to just begin to change color before I dry them and make some cayenne powder.

The bell peppers are not doing quite as well the ones above have a pretty bad sunburn.

Not quite as bad a sunburn…but still a waste.

Not sure what this one is…any ideas?

Protecting Your Plants and the Planet: Eco-Friendly Large Pest Control

14.3 years ago deer, pests, rabbits, Uncategorized 4 Comments

Photo from Alberta Home Gardening

You’re not the only one who enjoys your garden–deer, rabbits and even household pets may find your flowers or vegetables to be tasty treats. And, of course, dogs and cats may mistake your garden beds for a great place to do their business.

While organic or eco-friendly pest control is a good idea for combating any type of pest, it is especially important to use non-harmful deterrents when dealing with larger animals, particularly household pets. Fences, lighting, noisemakers and a variety of biological sprays and spreads can help make your garden less appealing and less accessible to unwanted guests.

Physical Pest Control Methods

Perhaps the easiest way to keep animals out of your garden is to fence it in. Dogs, rabbits and even deer will dig, so a good garden fence should extend at least a foot underground, and the spaces should be too small for little heads to poke through. Deer can also jump, so a good deer fence will be 8 feet high. Depending on the size of your yard or garden, a fence can quickly become an expensive means of pest control, but it can also be a beautiful landscape element itself, and well-built fencing will last many years.

If a fence is not an option, then floodlights, noisemakers or motion-activated sprinklers are also effective, but less intrusive, pest deterrents. Neither cats nor rabbits like water, and dogs’ ears are sensitive to certain pitches that can’t be heard by humans. Deer tend to shy away from brightly lit areas and may also be startled by sprinklers or noisemakers, causing them to retreat and avoid the area in the future.

Unique Pest Control Methods

If physical pest control methods don’t work or aren’t enough, there are also many natural chemical options. Diluted hot-pepper sauce sprayed over plants will make them unappetizing. A sprinkle of coyote urine, available at many hunting and outdoor supply shops, around the border of your garden will deter rabbits and deer from coming near, and may also keep dogs and cats at bay.

Biological Pest Control Methods

Of course, like people, animals like certain plants and dislike others. Rabbits, for example, prefer clover to vegetables and hate onions, so planting clover will keep them away from your vegetable garden, and planting rows of onions along the outside of your garden will deter them from going after the tastier vegetables in the middle.

Deer, too, prefer certain plants–namely, clematis, roses, tulips, lettuce, peas, broccoli, azaleas and fruit trees (among others). Avoid these plants, or locate them in a less accessible area of the yard or garden. Disguising these plants among less desirable offerings–such as mint, onions, chives, daffodils, boxwood and butterfly bush–may also protect them.

Author of this guest post is Marco who is an editor over at Luma Gardening.

Soil Logic Moisture X-Tend testing and review

14.3 years ago moisture sensor, product review, Uncategorized, water 2 Comments

I was contacted by SoilLogic and offered a free sample of their product Moisture X-Tend.  Though I could attempt to describe their product, I will let them do it in their own words…

Moisture X- Tend helps water penetrate the surface of the potted soil easier and remain within the soil root zone up to 4X’s longer than untreated water.

This innovative soil moisture management product helps prevent water from evaporating too quickly or draining past the roots of the plant. Moisture X-Tend is so easy to use — just add and mix the recommended amount directly to our watering can and water as usual.

The specific claim on the bottle that got my attention was that by using the product you can actually water plants 4 times less often.  I must say I was a little skeptical about this claim, though I decided to give it a try. 

My first attempt was shortly after I brought out a couple of my pepper plants from my grow box.  They both were bearing fruit of similar size and overall plants were of very similar size.  I started by watering one plant with water and the second with Moisture X-Tend and I observed their physical appearance over a period of time.  There was one problem on day two it rained ruining my results.

Having an empty client controlled grow box in my garage equipped with a moisture Vegetronix sensor, I decided this would be a great place to conduct my testing.  I watered two identical pots filled with Miracle Grow Potting Mix (without moisture control) with 250ml of liquid.  One being purified water, the second with Moisture X-Tend as described in the directions and monitored the moisture saturation over time.

As you can see the Moisture X-Tend started out with a much greater water saturation immediately after the watering and continued to hold the moisture 1.5 times longer than water alone.

Now this 1.5 times is quite a difference between the 4 times claim on the bottle, though in their defense this was from a single application and the FAQ on their website mentions that watering frequency is reduced after about a month of use.  I also was using a 4 inch pot and I would suspect that a larger pot would show better results.  If there is interest I am considering extending this experiment over a longer period of time to attempt to prove/disprove the 4 times claim that they mention on the bottle.

Though for me this is not practical to use all summer Moisture X-Tend is a great option when you are going away for a few days on vacation and do not have an automated watering solution or are forgetful like me and just get busy and neglect those poor plants for a day (or two) too long.

How to make jalapeno pepper powder

14.3 years ago dehydrator, jalapeno, peppers, Uncategorized 25 Comments

Other than gardening I also enjoy cooking manly foods such as chili and BBQ rubs.  One seasoning I have heard being used for both recently was jalapeno pepper powder.  Not seeing any in local stores and having an abundance of jalapeno peppers in my garden I decided to attempt to make my own.

1. First picked some nice green jalapeno peppers from my garden, I chose to use young green ones but you could also use more ripe red ones for a different and less spicy flavor.

2. Next I cut the ends off the pepper, split them in half, and removed any seeds.  After a little trial and error I noticed that if I cut perpendicular to the line in the middle of the pepper (see below) it was much easier to remove the seeds

3. I then placed the halved peppers in a plastic tray and put them in my dehydrator at 90F for 24 hours until they were brittle (when you break them in half they snap with minimal bending) with no soft or moist areas.

Tip: For difference flavor you can dehydrate at a higher temperature to roast/cook them a little but you will lose some of their heat.

4. Place your dried peppers into a blender or spice grinder and pulse until they create a fine powder.

Be sure to let the powder settle some and be careful to not inhale the powder, though much less heat then some of its pepper cousins (see chart below) getting a nose full of jalapeno pepper powder is not a pleasant experience (I did try this not too painful, though should have a nice little coughing fit).

5. Finally carefully pour powder into a airtight container and store for 6-12 months.

As I mentioned above you can use this in meat rubs and chili but also can be used anywhere you may use other pepper powders.  Some ideas I am thinking about is complement to Mexican foods, omelets, popcorn, and potatoes.

Small container pond (water garden)

14.3 years ago Uncategorized 5 Comments

Don’t have the space, money, and/or time to have a full size pond?  May want to think about adding a small container water garden.  All it takes is a sealed decorative container and you can have an attractive addition to your garden.

I would also recommend the mosquito prevention techniques of creating moving water with a pump or add some goldfish to eat the mosquito larva.

Via apartment therapy, via Likehacker

Organizing seeds using bead containers

14.3 years ago cheap, seed saving, seed storing 6 Comments

I first saw this idea on a garden mailing list at work but given most of you are not on that, I figured I should share with the rest of you.  My problem was I had a big bag of seeds and it was always a pain to dif through and find the right seeds for the time of year I was planting.

My solution was to use Darice Bead Container and some Avery Shipping Labels (printed lengthwise) and was able to get 7-8 seed labels out of a singe shipping label.

One printed I added the seeds and labels and grouped by planting time.  After I was done I did have some thoughts about getting even more organized with a little color coding of specific dates…but guess I should take small steps

As you can see from a glance you can find your seeds and do a quick inventory of your available seeds.  With this you can make easy incites like, “I really shouldn’t plant on collecting onion seeds this year” or “I almost forgot to plant fall spinach/lettuce”

Well off knock off a onion flower and plant some spinach and lettuce for this fall/winter.