Heating row tunnels and grow box with Christmas lights
15.4 years ago cheap, indoor growbox
Currently it is 16 degrees outside and given my grow box containing jalapeno peppers is in my unheated detached garage, which can bring some challenges. Like most plants, peppers will continue to grow in the range of 60 to 90 degrees, but thrive in 70 to 90 degrees. With the lights on the grow box gets to about 60 degrees but drips to the 50’s at night. This will result in plants having stunted growth and begin dropping blossoms before they can start bearing fruit.
My solution, a string of green mini Christmas lights. Just to clarify these are your typical small bulb Christmas lights not LEDs, given the efficiency of LEDs they do not product much extra heat which is what I am going for here. I also chose green Christmas lights because plants do not absorb this wavelength very well so they can be left on at night to keep heating while still letting the plants “sleep”.
Of course results will vary depending on the size of your grow box or outside row tunnel, insulation, and exterior temperature, but I am seeing 8-10 degree increase in temperature with a single string (50 bulbs)
I am always open to new ideas to safely, cheaply and efficiently heat my grow box or row tunnel so if anyone has any other suggestions please add a comment.
Tags: cheap, grow lights, growbox, led, outdoor plants, pepper plants
How to save Bhut Jolokia peppers seeds
15.4 years ago Bhut Jolokia, ghost pepper, harvest, seed saving
I was lucky enough to win some Bhut Jolokia pepper seeds from Red Icculus. In case you haven’t heard of these they are the hottest peppers on earth having a heat rating of over 1 million scoville units. Just to put that into comparison jalapenos are around 5000 scoville units. One property of this pepper is the way the heat builds after consumption, on first bite it is spicy but takes a few seconds until you really feel the burn which is where it gets the name “ghost pepper.”
Now when dealing with these peppers I recommend using extreme caution I have some pain in my nose hours later just from breathing around these things so vinyl gloves and possibly even a mask would be recommended.
Once you have the safety precautions in place the process is actually very simple. Just break them up and pick the seeds up and store in a homemade seed packet. Now eating the pepper whole is not a challenge I want to take though saving the dried pepper flakes and adding a pinch so some chili might be up my alley. Though if you want to watch some people in pain taking see these videos of people taking the Bhut Jolokia pepper challenge on YouTube. Here is my favorite and my inspiration to not take the challenge.
I am planning on trying to grow one of these using my new hydroponic setup, well at least once I get around to building…so stay tuned.
Tags: cheap, garden seeds, pepper plants, vegetables
Pickled jalapeno peppers
15.6 years ago jalapeno, peppers, recipe
My jalapeno peppers did great this year. So good I didn’t really know what to do with all of them. After making some salsa and having several mature red ones as snacks in the garden, I still have about two pounds that I didn’t want to go to waste. After a little thought I decided to make some pickled jalapeno peppers.
CVG Picked jalapeno pepper recipe
Directions: Mix ingredients and bring brine to boil. Either slice or leave the pepper whole. If you choose to do whole peppers, be sure to poke them with a toothpick so they won’t collapse. Fill jars with jalapeno peppers and then fill with hot brine up to 1/2 in from the top of jar. Boil for 10 minutes and feel free to pick some pickled peppers as fast and as many times as you want this summer.
Tags: garden seeds, led, pepper plants, salsa garden
Peppers sprouting in grow box (time lapse)
15.6 years ago indoor growbox, peppers
Well slightly more exciting than watching grass grow but for something that takes several weeks to complete is definitely worth a watch. If you watch carefully you can even see the automatic watering in action.
Joining the sprouts is a mature pepper plant which has been flowering and daisy seedling my 7 year old planted hoping it will flower as well.
Tags: garden seeds, growbox, outdoor plants, pepper plants
Garden Salsa recipe
15.7 years ago cilantro, garlic bulbs, harvest, onions, recipe, tomato
Big moment this week, I was able to make salsa entirely from ingredients. I normally don’t use cherry/grape tomatoes for salsa but my Early Girls are not that early this year and have not quite turned red.
CVG Garden Salsa Recipe
- 2-3 tomatoes (or 12-15 cherry/grape tomatoes)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 small onion
- green onion
- 5 sprigs of cilantro
- tablespoon vinegar
- 1 jalapeno pepper (seeded)
- sugar
Directions: Coarsely chop tomatoes (removing seeds, though if I few sneak in it is not a big deal), onion, and green onions and add to bowl. Finely chop garlic, cilantro, and seeded jalapeno pepper and add to mixture. Add vinegar to bowl and mix thoroughly. Let sit for 10 minutes and add sugar until salsa does not have a spicy aftertaste (normally 1-2 teaspoons) If you like the spice skip the sugar and include seeds from the jalapeno.
Tags: cilantro, garden seeds, garlic bulbs, pepper plants, salsa garden, tomato plants
Mango Salsa Recipe
I am starting to get some cherry tomatoes turning red but not enough to make salsa so yet again so I decided to make some Mango Salsa. It is great to eat on tortilla chips the same you would for regular salsa or black bean corn salsa. One of my favorite things to do with is as a topping to blackened salmon (salmon grilled with dusting of Cajun seasoning)
CVG Mango Salsa Recipe
- 3 mangos
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 small onion
- green onion
- 5 sprigs of cilantro
- juice of one lemon (or lime)
- 1 jalapeno pepper (seeded)
- sugar
Directions: Finely chop 1 mango (or blend in blender/food processor) this will create a base for the salsa. Coarsely chop remaining mangos, onion, and green onions to have more defined texture and add to bowl. Finely chop garlic, cilantro, and seeded jalapeno pepper and add to mixture. Squeeze in juice of lemon into bowl and mix thoroughly. Let sit for 10 minutes and add sugar until salsa does not have a spicy aftertaste (normally 2-3 teaspoons)
Now if you really like the spice you can leave the seeds in and/or skip the sugar but for the blackened salmon it give a good contrast to the spicy meat and people just are not usually expecting fruit to be spicy.
I can proudly say with the exception of mangos, lemons, and sugar the remaining ingredients came right out of my garden.
Tags: cheap, cilantro, garden seeds, garlic bulbs, led, pepper plants, salsa garden, tomato plants, vegetables
