Kim, thanks for starting the thread. I am glad your garden looks nice, my looks okay for this time of the year, I don't go out there often, but I sure need to get some weeding, and clean up done.

Larry, I have so much work to do in the garden but after New Year’s, I will be free to take care of all that. I’ve got to get my onion beds ready as they are in the Fort Worth post office headed my way. They should be here tomorrow. I’ll store them in the shed untiltime to plant them out. 200 does not seem like that much until you start putting them in a garden the size of mine.

Kim, I can relate, my garden needs a lot of work, and is disappointing. My beets and garlic are the most disappointing.

I have 3 spots cleaned, each large enough to hold 200+ onions. I expect to not plant over 200 bulbing onions. I need to clean and feed the garlic.

My collards are disappointing also, I may stick some collard and cabbage seeds under my lights, I have them burning to warm my grand daughter's sweet potato plants anyway. I don't think that I have ever started collards inside, and cabbage only a few times.

Merry Christmas everyone !

My garden has a splotch of Austrian Pea in the middle. And when we get our first 10 Degree night that won't be there. But on the bright side without the rye grass clumps, its gonna be really easy to till come March.

I have limited experience with growing peppers, jalapeno and bell , from seed, maybe 3 years now. Last year, I held off on starting my seed till May cause it seemed the plants really did not produce until the heat of the summer.

But I'm thinking this year, I'm gonna start seed mid January ? I start my tomato seed one week after the Super Bowl ( Dawn started her's on Super Bowl Sunday, but she was a ways further south ) . Is January too early ? The peppers grow so slowly, I can't see them causing space problems.

Dawn said peppers would pout if they got cold. A cold spell can cause them to take a month off. They also seem to take at least 2 weeks longer than tomatoes to be ready to go in the ground. I've seen them pout. I learned not to put them out as early as tomatoes. I'm not sure what temp might trigger it, maybe below 50⁰. I know soil temp needs to be warmer than tomatoes. I only do one jalapeño, cause I don't do hot. Bell peppers are divas and some years I only got 2 a plant. Pimentoes produce like gangbusters. So do what I call frying peppers, long pointed sweet peppers that go into stir fries or Italian dishes. I'll come back with some details, I don't want my post to go to internet limbo.

This is germination rates for seeds, but notice the difference between tomatoes abd peppers. Save this website and explore, it's useful. https://tomclothier.hort.net/page11.html

https://www.johnnyseeds.com/growers-library/vegetables/peppers/growing-tips-successful-pepper-transplants.html?srsltid=AfmBOoow5M6o-hSp2BmV1w9AjG90vFto0PFcf-AORpIWF0LKcWXdliwJ

These are some varieties I recommend.

Ashe County Pimento, Calif Wonder, Corno Di Torox, Elephant Ear (flattened bell pepper) , Figitelli Sicilia (frying pepper), Jewel tone bell peppers (DAWN RECOMMENDED), Red Cheese Pepper, Red Tennessee Cheese Pepper, Ros de Mallorca.

Ros de Mallorca, Nancy gave me this one and it was prolific and tasty. She also found Ashe County Pimento. You may have to put a tomato cage over Ashe County because the fruit will be so heavy it will break the branches in the wind. My first bell was California Wonder. It was prolific, but I've not grown it again. Corno Di Torox is another long pointed pepper sweet pepper.

I kept trying to grow bell peppers, without much luck. I think they are the most likely to pout from a chill. I also tried to grow one called Buran which was thin walled and I thought it was my fault. It was supposed to be sweet whether green or red, but it didn't matter because it had little "flesh". Now you know everything I know about peppers.

Amy, thanks for posting these links, I have seen them before, but I don't remember how to save links. I just shoot for 75 to 85 degrees on everything I start, I also like to place a dome over the seed flat. Another way I like to start seeds is to make 3 mounds of potting soil across a 10x20 flat, much like a meatloaf. I then make 3 small furrows along the mound, which I drop from 10 to 20 seeds in along the furrows. I have to up pot sooner starting seeds like this, but I like to finish up with a 36 count tray, which in turn gives me 288 plants, which fills my light shelf.

I just checked my purple sweet potatoes that I am growing for my grand daughters. The plants are doing really well, some are ready to start making slips. I don't know what I will do with all of them, I really don't want to plant any, but I will do anything I can to help the kids grow anything they have an interest in. These sweet potatoes I plan to make potted plants for the kids to take home with them so they can use them to make there own slips and grow their own sweet potatoes.

Amy, I agree that Ashe County pepper is a must grow. I have grown them every year after seeing someone post on here about them, everyone I have given fruit, or plants to loves them. I try to keep Calif. Wonder, Ashe County, jalapeno, habanero, and a few other pepper seeds on hand, those seem to be the ones the kids like the best. I don't know much about growing anything, but I love playing in the dirt.

Thanks Amy.

I only have room for four pepper plants. Two Jalapeno and two bells. And the part about pouting, I fully believe. I've seen that in late spring.

What started me thinking about this, was my bells did really well last fall when it got a little cooler. Best they've ever done. I planted a

Charleston Bell, from Southern Exposure

I think I will delay planting the seed.

I remember Dawn would post links to Tom Clothier a lot.

If you have a lot of links and want to organize them, I recommend the website https://bookmarkos.com/ You can create categories, then shuffle them around. My "Garden" folder is mostly links to posts Dawn made through the years.

I haven't been to the garden in over a week. I went to my dad's on Thurs, just got back today (abandoned my "poor husband" lol). One of my brother's did Christmas yesterday and dad really shouldn't be driving, so inviting myself up was the easiest way to keep him from coming down here.

We'll have Christmas day, then Sat my niece and her boy and her boyfriend will come down. The boy joined a gardening group at school a couple years ago and still has interest, so last year I signed up for that christmas card swap here in the round robin group and asked for cards for him. So of course Aunt Jen is doing everything in her power to corrupt the kid into staying interested in gardening.

If you don't like spicy peppers, I recommend trying Trinidad perfume. It produces small, thin walled peppers that have very mild heat and a fruity taste. I made some candied peppers using about half those, half jalapenos, and they made the entire batch taste delicious. I've never been able to grow bells, but I did grow some this year that produced fruits about the size of a pool ball that were thick walled like bells and tasted just like them. I grew in a smaller container so they didn't produce very well, but I'm definitely putting them on my "to grow" list for next season.

Pimentoes taste like bells and look like squashed bells.

One other thing about peppers, it seemed like I had Years peppers were impossible and then there were Years all conditions must have been right, because all of them produced like crazy, even the bells. Rebecca told me Charleston bells were good, Lynn.

I used to use Evernote software to save links. Then they decided to limit the free version and I lost most of what I had saved. Mostly I just do a new search on whatever subject I'm trying to find.

Merry Christmas my friends.

We got some much needed rain last night. I opened the bedroom window so I could hear it. I'm glad it rained while Ethan is here. He loves rain like me.

We've been super busy. I've been tied to the kitchen a lot, but that's okay because I enjoy cooking/baking for people I love.

You know....we use a LOT of butter around here. We went grocery shopping last Tuesday for holiday food ingredients (bought butter), then again on Saturday to get fresh fruit/veg/things I forgot ingredients (bought more butter), then again yesterday. Yes, we're baking/cooking, but even still we are some butter eaters.

(Okay. You know how I have high cholesterol/LDL? Two years ago, I did a vegan diet except for an egg on Saturdays and it didn't budge my cholesterol numbers and I literally was eating zero cholesterol other than that weekly egg. THEN, last year I did a Whole 30--no grains, etc. Again, didn't make a difference. THEN, this year I've not paid much attention to my diet. Still mostly what I consider healthy. Still exercising, but a little less. My numbers dropped 20. lol

I don't know. So weird. But, I've studied it and talked to my doctor, science knows that LDL isn't always bad. It depends on the type of LDL (soft, buoyant or small dense). There is a test to determine that, but insurance doesn't pay for it yet. And my triglycerides are 54 and the HDL is high, which is what you want. And A1C is 5, also good. I feel like I'm doing what I can to be healthy, but sometimes things are just genetic.

And I like butter. lol)

We had our immediate family Christmas party yesterday. I do brunch type of food. We decorate our family cookies (Gingerbread cookies made with sugar cookie dough decorated like each of us.) and opened gifts. It was nice. I can't believe it's over tho.

I'm going to a candlelight service this evening and we'll see a movie afterwards, which is a tradition on Christmas Eve, although my daughter and her family are not coming this year. Once the baby gets bigger, they'll probably rejoin that tradition. He did very well yesterday at our house, tho. And luckily it was warm enough to go outside and show him the chickens and the donkey that lives next door.

Ethan and I went for a little hike on a trail that is sorted hidden off Sooner Road. We went a little late, so barely got back to the car before dark.

We'll go to my mom's on Christmas Day, but there will only be a total of 7 of us. I'm trying to embrace the changes rather than be saddened by them. Again, my daughter and her little family won't be there, but we're going to Edmond to see them on Thursday. Maybe watching a movie and getting pizza.

Every year it comes faster. It honestly feels like yesterday was Thanksgiving and I should be Black Friday shopping today. It's like we lost a month. Part of it was the craziness at work. My job had my brain for most of November.

Peppers.

We had a good pepper year. We even got a few large bell peppers. Marconi is a good substitute for bells unless you're wanting to make stuffed peppers or something like that. They're a very good producing one. Ashe County is also a favorite of mine.

And, one of our favorite YouTubers agrees with Dawn about peppers getting fussy if you plant them too early. It seems like I normally put them in around the first of May.

I made my pepper list for 2025 a few months ago. Here it is:

4 each of:

Jalapeno, Sugar Rush Peach, pepperoncini, Marconi, Ashe Country Pimento, Anaheim (maybe??? want to can diced green chilis), lunch box pepper. Scotch Bonnet, and maybe 2 habaneros.

My thought is to put clusters of 4 at the end of the tomato beds.

I have my planner sitting next to me and I also have Katrina cucumber, Karjari Melon, and Honeynut squash, Muir lettuce, Baby Butter squash, Jade bush beans, pixie cabbage on the 2025 list. And my heirloom tomatoes, Isis Candy, and Sungold. Not a complete list.

Kim, my seeds and herb list are in an armoire in Ethan's room and he's getting dressed or I would type those up now.

I enjoyed reading all of your posts.

Happy Holidays!

Kim, here's the herbs:

Marjoram

Sage (broadleaf)

English thyme

Common mint

Lemon balm

Basil (Italian Genovese)

Basil (Sweet Thai)

Basil (Holy Tulsi)

Basil (lemon)

Parsley (flat leaf)

Basil (purple petra)

Butterfly pea (lavender queen)

Wild bergamot

Valerian

Borage

Calendula (pacific beauty)

Yarrow (colorado blend)

True Hyssop

Bee Balm (lambada)

Lavendar (munstead)

Chamomile (German)

Calendula (oopsy daisy)

Eucalyptus (silver drop)

Amaranth (burgundy)

Lobelia

Saint John's Wort

I'm still not sure, yes, I think taking the peppers into the ground in the first week of May is the right course ............ but when to plant the seed ? They are so slow growing.

I plan on my tomatoes going in the ground 6 to 8 weeks after planting seed. If I got room , what would it hurt to plant pepper seed mid January ? As slow as they grow.

But hey, its Christmas .............. time to eat, drink, and be merry !!

Merry Christmas everyone, but don't look up, all of Santa's reindeer are out eating my greens, and those mustard greens go though an animal pretty fast.

Jennifer, that is quite a herb list, that list is longer than a list of everything I grow.

Amy, I think the Ashe County pimentos are sweeter than my bell peppers. Bell peppers seem a little harder to grow, but I have pretty good luck with them. I grow most everything in the ground because I am still learning on container growing.

I was really surprised about how many habaneros I have given away. Madge made some peach habanero jelly that I really like, but I don't think that Madge and I used over 4 or 5 habaneros. and we must have given away a bushel of them. Emmy and Jerry made a bunch of what he caller "Rub", which just looked like powered pepper. We tried some of his tub, I think that it was hot enough to cook the meat without a fire, we put a little in a pot of stew, it was good, but a little is all you need. Jerry's Jalapeno rub was not as hot as the habanero rub.

Lynn, I would say " go for it". Pepper seeds are cheap, and if you have room under the lights, might as well have something growing. I just went in to make sure that I can lift my light assembly up a few inches, which I can. I may be starting a few peppers early also, but probably not in January.

I went out to my truck and put some potting soil in one end of my sweet potato flat to plant some seeds of some kind. I am thinking maybe cabbage, but it will be after the holidays. I also have a bag of garlic that I need to do something with, I pulled them out of the center bedroom and placed them on the counter, but it has rained about all day, so they are still setting there.

Merry Christmas to all my gardening friends. Thank you for the best gift of knowledge and wisdom being poured into me and each other. I wouldn’t even have a garden if it wasn’t for this group.

Jen I have Tom’s temp list permanently pulled. I use it all the time which is why I should have known how long the onions would take to come up. Jennifer I will look in my herb container tomorrow and make my lists. Do you have problems with some herbs from seed? It seems like I always have trouble with cumin marjoram and oregano. We got rain too. About 1 1/2”. Is so soggy right now. I had high cholesterol until I went on the aip diet. Lots of meats and bacon. I was just fine until I quit that diet. That is so wonderful to have Ethan home. I stayed home alone today. It was just what the dr ordered

It’s raining again. I did not unload the car so I will need to do that in the morning. I never did get that new pkg off cilantro sowed. I guess it will go in winter sowing container. Tomorrow I am being taken out for the day by my sister in law. We are going thrifting. She driving so I don’t care where we go. I need to collect at least 50 more jugs. This year I am not mixing varieties in one container. I did that last year and it got so mixed up as some of you know. I feel like I’m talking to myself here but it’s OK. I consider this my online journal. I know somebody will chime in at some point. This rain makes me feel so lazy. I need to get to town and get some tea and a few other things so that my days at home can be enjoyed pleasantly. My onion seed are coming up fantastically and I think my onion plants should be delivered today.

It is raining here also. I did go out and plant 60+ garlic. I cleaned up the center bed room, I needed the garlic out of the house anyway. I don't need the garlic, I have 500+ already up. The garden was a muddy mess, but I am glad to get the garlic in the ground anyway. I filled in skips where I had plant garlic several week ago, as I was poking the cloves into the soil, I push into a gopher tunnel, so I expect that is where my missing garlic went.

I got my light shelf cleaned and flats and six packs ready. I will do a little more clean up and sorting out seeds. I found some seeds that I saved from a couple of years ago that I want to plant, they are from a tutone hybrid bell, so I have no idea what I will get.

I am going to try hard this year not to plant so many seeds. There is no good reason why I can't get by on 8 flats of plants.

Larry, are those the 72 cell flats?

Hey Kim. I am here. I usually read the posts every day (usually) even if I don't have time to post.

Tom got me a new laptop for Christmas. Ethan set it up for me. He likes Firefox and removes the "bloatware" that comes on the newer computers. ANYWAY, the new laptop won't keep me signed into Houzz on their forums. I'm on my old laptop now because he removed my stuff from this one and is going through it on my new one. Pictures and all.

It's been damp here, but I'm not sure how much rain we've gotten.

Kim, have fun on your day out tomorrow.

Apparently, my cholesterol goes down when I eat without thought. lol Instead of eating strictly either Whole 30 OR vegan--two very different diets.

But, again, science is now showing that high cholesterol isn't necessarily tied to heart disease. It all depends on the type of LDL, triglycerides, and a high (good) HDL. The last thing I read on it was that the triglyceride / HDL ratio will tell you if you have the small dense or the soft buoyant kind of LDL. Without paying for the expensive test.

Good job getting your light shelf cleaned up, Larry.

My Mom gave me pots and a tray from Bootstrap Farmer for Christmas. These pots are huge, which makes me feel like I could start my tomato seed a little earlier than March 1. Maybe mid-February. These new pots will be great for up-potting....and able to keep the plants until planting time.

I only have one more day with Ethan. I'm trying not to be sad. Part of me wants to ask him to come back here. Really push for it. But, I can't.

He and Stella are parting ways when he gets back. His new apartment is in another part of Portland. He moved his stuff over last Thursday. A week ago.

He doesn't have any furniture, but does have an air mattress.

I'm not really ready to start thinking deeply about the garden yet. Part of me feels dread. Maybe because I didn't get it all cleaned up and ready. Perhaps February will renew my excitement for the garden. I need to winter a bit more.

Kim, I have some 72 count inserts (cell), which I use often, but I like the 36 count better. I plan on playing around with some, 105 count cells also. I have not checked to see if the 105 will fit in my flats yet, they were given to me , and look like they should be used with some type of hydroponic set up.. Unless I modify my grow shelf the 36 count is about as large as I can go. No matter how large your cells are. if you don't have the clearance the plant are going to grow into the light. I can get up to 12" clearance on the bottom shelf, and up to 11" the top shelf. Each shelf holds (4) 10x20 flats, and I run (6) 4 foot light tubes per shelf, and I run them 24 hours a day. I can start switching out flats and let them take turns under the lights, but it gets to be too much work. If I would stop giving so many plant away I would have more space than I need with the shelves I have.

I would like to buy some heavy duty flats, its too easy to mess up the light duty ones that I have. I use to have some frames that they sat in, but it looks like they walked off.

Larry, I think I would like to have some 36 count trays it seems like the 72 count only last about four or five days and they need to be potted up. As rough as Christmas was it was polar opposite amazing for my birthday. I’m not used to really getting gifts of money, but I now have enough to order a green stalk and my seeds. I’m so thankful.

I'm sorry your Christmas was rough. Any particular reason? BUT, I'm so happy your BD was amazing. And happy that you get to buy a Greenstalk. I really like mine.

We dropped Ethan off around noon and went to the grocery store. It was only 1:38 when we left the grocery store and I had a real thought of calling him because he didn't board until after 2. Call and ask him to just stay. Stay here. At home.

But, didn't.

He just landed in Portland.

I feel such grief. I'll always feel it. But, everyone has grief. In some way and for some reason. And we just deal with it.

He's becoming a true adult and I don't really get to see it happen. He changes some with each visit.

I've put Christmas decor away tonight. And will start painting soon. Got Ethan's nutcrackers put away and the Christmas sheets put away. And his room reset.

If I can get this painting done in two weeks or so, I'll be free for the rest of the winter to rest. And then can focus on seed starting in February.

Kim, I saw your calendula pic on FB. I'll come back with a picture of one of my calendula plants. They're loving this weather.

As we were moving pictures over to my new laptop, I came across pictures from 2019. That was a really good year. My mom, nephew, Ethan and I took a trip to Colorado in June. The garden was amazing that year too. It's really fun to look at the garden pictures from that year. The crazy amounts of pumpkins for one. So many other good things about that year. I need a repeat of that. lol

Maybe it was the covid shut-down or the virus itself, but it made gardening stressful to me in some ways. Not light and fun. It's still enjoyable but not in the same light, fun way. It's more of an expectation thing. And I don't know why or who expects things. So strange and I really want to get back the ME from before 2020. Although 2020 wasn't hard for me or my family. In some ways, it was really nice--being home so much.

Anyway, once I get the main living rooms painted--ceiling and walls and the large TV cabinet thing, I'll get back to planning the garden.

Calendula

Jennifer, there’s just something extra special about flowers that bloom around Christmas. My calendula and White Alyssum have never slowed down.

We had wild Merry Christmas with Madge's family yesterday. Madge always tries to pull funny jokes on her grand kids. Instead of hanging stockings by the fire place, Madge had diapers hanging on the fireplace, with candy in the bottoms, this was just for the grand kids that were here, if she had diapers for all the grand kids, we would have to hang diapers all over the wall. The great grand kids had medicine bottles hanging on the Christmas tree with money in them. Some of the bottles was short of some of the money, and the kids had to look for the rest of their money, I think that most had the lost money taped to the inside of the lid. Madge is always playing, and joking with the kids, no wonder they love her so, but they all know that Mamaw always has their back, and will do anything for them.

I had to move my plants out of the cented bedroom for a few day while company is here, but when the company is gone the plants are moving back, and I will start planning on seed starting. The grand kids had such good luck with the plants I gave them this year, I know they are going to want more this year. I have such a good feeling when they show me pictures of how well their plants are doing, and how good the produce taste.

The stuffed dog on the mantle is a present one of the great grand kids got me a couple of years ago, and every time he comes to see me, he expects me to hold and rock that dog. One year the same great grand child got me a bunch of seeds, which I am still trying to use up. I have such great memories of being in the garden with the kids, grand kids, and great grand kids. I hope I am not ruining them.

Larry, that is so funny. Your wife is a hoot.

Larry, that's funny! I'm glad you all have such a good time with your family.

And, I'm really happy that your grandkids are enjoying their plants. That's gotta feel great.

I watered the hoop house yesterday. The cabbages are still there and a couple need to be pulled soon. Garlic is still there.

I think I mentioned by plan of putting a few onions in there in a couple of months. Then, try a few fall potatoes in that same bed.

The other bed that is currently holding the cabbages, I want to try a few sweet potatoes. See what happens.

I threw a jack-o-lantern pumpkin to rot in the native garden patch. I'm hoping to get at least one pumpkin. Often that happens and it's the only way I've ever been able to grow Halloween types of pumpkins--volunteers.

I did a walk-around of all the garden yesterday (What a beautiful day!) and pulled a few henbit that is trying to take over all the beds. Other than the calendula, there's chamomile looking really healthy. It's not flowering, tho. And if we get as cold as what they're predicting next week, it will knock it back.

Tomorrow, I'm going to take down all the pictures and knickknacks and get the house ready to paint. Then, on NYD, the plan is to paint the ceiling (hall, living room, dining, and kitchen). On Thursday I'll start on the walls and will need to take a break on Friday to visit my dear friend who is mostly homebound. But, maybe I can finish it up on Saturday.

The other project is painting our large TV/entertainment cabinet. I know those are considered out of style, but I like ours and I like the way it fills up a wall. I painted it with white chalk paint about 8 years ago and it's going to become a sage green.

Does anyone have experience with Beyond Paint? I'm going to use that on it.

It's supposed to be another pretty day--maybe the last pretty day for awhile. I sure wish I wasn't stuck at work. Although, I've gotten a lot of stuff done because it's really quiet here.

I threw several winter squash out. See if they will do something. There are also lots of roselle seed pods so they might do something. I put all my roselle in the old dog pen behind the house. I plan on planting the pen next year in winter squash and pumpkins. It’s a good size pen and I have gray water that I can drain into the area. Jennifer I love hearing about all your projects. It motivates me. I worked in the garden for 4 hours. I have been a little croupy but I think the sunshine helped.