New Garden

[custosnox]

It's been recommended for years, but the ill effects have just recently been realized.  I used it for years without knowing how bad it was.  Indoors I would use something like Seven Dust, since you are not going to eat what you put it on. 

Not labeled for bed bugs, and I have discovered if it isn't labeled for it, it's not gonna do it in most cases.  I'm glad I've managed to get rid of them, but I really want to keep them from coming back... I'll have to rethink my strategy on that, but it sounds like something I'll use on the plants.  Wonder if it works on ants.

[Hoss]

Not labeled for bed bugs, and I have discovered if it isn't labeled for it, it's not gonna do it in most cases.  I'm glad I've managed to get rid of them, but I really want to keep them from coming back... I'll have to rethink my strategy on that, but it sounds like something I'll use on the plants.  Wonder if it works on ants.

Argh, ants.  The bane of my existence in spring.  Some years their nearly non-existent...other I spend half my time trying to get rid of them it seems like.

[Conan71]

The effects of DE on the respiratory tract are similar to that of asbestos.

Does Carmichaels have any Big Jim or poblano plants?  Our New Mexican 180's germinated just fine, but the seeds I took from Big Jims I brought back last fall were duds.

[Conan71]

Argh, ants.  The bane of my existence in spring.  Some years their nearly non-existent...other I spend half my time trying to get rid of them it seems like.

MC tuned me in on boric acid a couple of years ago.  Works like a charm.

[Townsend]

MC tuned me in on boric acid a couple of years ago.  Works like a charm.

And the colors will blow your mind.

[Gaspar]

Not labeled for bed bugs, and I have discovered if it isn't labeled for it, it's not gonna do it in most cases.  I'm glad I've managed to get rid of them, but I really want to keep them from coming back... I'll have to rethink my strategy on that, but it sounds like something I'll use on the plants.  Wonder if it works on ants.

It works on ants but not as well as on other soft bodied insects.  It basically gets in a bugs joints and, like broken glass, scrapes off the skin causing the insect to lose moisture and die of dehydration.  With aphids, it literally causes them to bleed to death.

Ants inside?  Use boric acid.  (borax and corn syrup mixed together works well.  Put it on a saucer and enjoy watching them eat their last meal).

Ants outside?  Magnifying glass, or if you want to get rid of them faster, sprinkle cinnamon around the outside of the house, or use the borax to kill them.  AMDRO is a great commercial product that kills the hell out of them.  It's non-toxic too.

[custosnox]

I've got some boric acid, so I'll see about putting some down, though I'm lacking the corn syrup.  ants are outside and in.

[Red Arrow]

Does Carmichaels have any Big Jim or poblano plants? 

They usually have both but not all their peppers are out in the sales greenhouse yet.

This year is about $1.19 for a  3 pack of plants or $15.99 for a flat of 54 plants.  Mix and match is allowed.

Conrad's didn't have much out yet.

[heironymouspasparagus]

A

[Conan71]

What are the potential pitfalls of planting jalapeño, big jims, NM 180's, and poblanos all in the same proximity.  Will cross pollination end up producing some odd flavors or weird mutant fruit?

[heironymouspasparagus]

What are the potential pitfalls of planting jalapeño, big jims, NM 180's, and poblanos all in the same proximity.  Will cross pollination end up producing some odd flavors or weird mutant fruit?

Yes.  Possibly.  There will be changes, but that is how new varieties are made.  Try it and see if you get a pepper you like better.  They may close to the same, too.

[Red Arrow]

What are the potential pitfalls of planting jalapeño, big jims, NM 180's, and poblanos all in the same proximity.  Will cross pollination end up producing some odd flavors or weird mutant fruit?

It is my understanding that next years fruit may be strange if you plant seeds from this year's fruit but this year's will be normal.  I've been growing about 9 varieties in close proximity for about 7 years and all the flavors are as they are supposed to be.  I buy new plants each year.  Last year and this year I am also starting plants from purchased seeds.   I read on the internet a while back that if you are growing plants for seeds, they should be separated from other varieties by a few miles.

[Gaspar]

It is my understanding that next years fruit may be strange if you plant seeds from this year's fruit but this year's will be normal.  I've been growing about 9 varieties in close proximity for about 7 years and all the flavors are as they are supposed to be.  I buy new plants each year.  Last year and this year I am also starting plants from purchased seeds.   I read on the internet a while back that if you are growing plants for seeds, they should be separated from other varieties by a few miles.

You can pollinate and bag the flowers.  I have done this when attempting to create hybrids in tomatoes and peppers.  I have one hybrid Piquin pepper that I've developed that looks like a small red marble and separates cleanly calyx leaving almost no decreeable mark.  There are also sprays that you can buy that allow you to fertilize a flower (I use a paintbrush) then spray the flower to seal it from being pollinated by another (there is a rumor that under Obamacare, this spray may be free).

Rooting cuttings and grafting is the best way to propagate varieties that you want to make sure are genetically pure.  As your plants produce suckers early in the season you can remove some of them and root into new plants.  It's not hard, but being successful requires some explanation.

Each year I graft some of the "suckers" shoots from my early girls onto my later varieties like Cherokee Purple and long day tomatoes.  This allows me to continue to produce fruit during the heat of the summer when some slow down.  Every now and then I like to make a Frankenstein plant with 4 or 5 different varieties of fruit.  I had a friend in college who used to graft "other plants" to his tomato plants to produce a very interesting crop.  That is also something fun to do with rose bushes.

In Oklahoma, pollination will slow or stop when temps get over 90, because the pollen literally dies in that heat.  Unfortunately the plant will continue to flower and get gangly.  Use a fruiting hormone (set spray) to continue to produce fruit in that heat.  Much of that fruit will have few or no seeds.

Unless you are interested in hybridizing, or grow only a single (non commercial) variety, saving your seeds is not a great idea.  Most commercial hybridized varieties will revert to one or both of their pollen parents after a single generation.  Sometimes they will even skip back to previous undesirable varieties used only for disease or insect resistance.

If you are a plant geek, learning to graft and root cuttings is fun, and can save you a ton of money if you do it successfully. This is my favorite guide on the subject.
http://www.amazon.com/Royal-Horticultural-Society-Propagating-Plants/dp/0751303658/ref=sr_1_27?ie=UTF8&qid=1332959199&sr=8-27

[custosnox]

It seems I have a lot to learn about gardening.  So much for the idea of making holes in the ground, putting plants in them, watering them regularly, then having a crop later. 

[Gaspar]

It seems I have a lot to learn about gardening.  So much for the idea of making holes in the ground, putting plants in them, watering them regularly, then having a crop later. 

That's how it starts.   

When I was 8 my Mom got me a seed starting kit from Burpee.