Hey Fellow Floridians - Year 2

[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by maxjohnson

Too excited not to post this. Sungold growing in Dr. Earth potting soil and part shade.

Sun Gold grows well here in he summer, but getting blossoms to set fruit- not so easy. Great good luck to you Max.

[efisakov]

home made guac...
What is the recipe? I make my semi-home made with Concord Foods mix (powder/spices).
All the salsa looking good. Love garlic and cilantro in it.

Thanks everyone for sharing.

[Fiishergurl]

Originally Posted by efisakov

home made guac...
What is the recipe? I make my semi-home made with Concord Foods mix (powder/spices).
All the salsa looking good. Love garlic and cilantro in it.

Thanks everyone for sharing.

I dont have a recipe but can tell you sort of what I do. lf I'm in a hurry then it's one avocado, a tablespoon of salsa, and some cumin (more or less to taste after you stir it) and salt and pepper and thats it. But any of the following ingredients just make it better. So if I have it I also add chopped fresh cilantro, about a half teaspoon minced garlic (out of the jar or fresh), and squeeze of lemon or lime. The main thing is the avocado, salsa and cumin if you are in a hurry because those ingredients give it the guac taste with little fuss in less than 5 minutes and the other ingredients are bonus if you have them. The salsa is a shortcut instead of chopping up fresh tomatoes, onions, etc. I dont measure any of it but know about how much we like. Its really just mix them to your tastes... :-)

But today we had Barbs fresh salsa so i mixed a few tablespoons of the fresh crunchy salsa in with the avocado, added some cumin, minced garlic, chopped cilantro, and a squeeze of lime juice and it was yummy yummy! Salt and pepper too to taste if you like.

Ginny

[Fiishergurl]

What's the process to start tomato seeds that are stubborn? I have some seeds from England and I have tried to start them twice with my normal method. The other seeds started but not the England seeds.

I googled but I trust you guys more than all the various things on google.

Thanks,
Ginny

[Zone9b]

Originally Posted by Fiishergurl

What's the process to start tomato seeds that are stubborn? I have some seeds from England and I have tried to start them twice with my normal method. The other seeds started but not the England seeds.
I googled but I trust you guys more than all the various things on google.
Thanks,
Ginny

One way that you seem to already have tried is simply plant more seeds. You might want to google Tomatoville.com Carolyn137 followed by various text such as "wake up old seed", "germinate old seed", etc. Carolyn in my mind is the master of many things related to tomatoes and one of them is germinating old seeds.
Larry

[Barb_FL]

I read it on TV: Put a little of the liquid Miracle Grow (I used Foliage Pro) in a cup with the seeds. I think if you did that and THEN also did the paper towel method, that would enhance your odds even more.

I would try with a limited # of seeds.

I also found the paper towel method total eliminated helmet heads on peppers.

[Fiishergurl]

Larry - yes I planted about 10 seeds this time. Every other type of tomato plant that I dropped seeds for sprouted the majority of the seeds. I tried these particular seeds in the spring and they didn't start then either. They came via my neighbor from her sister in law in England and she really wants to see them grow. I will read Carolyn's posts about this!

Barb - I don't have MG, but will try tonight with a few in diluted TTF and a few in Neptune's Harvest.

Thanks!
Ginny

[Barb_FL]

Ginny - I would just use Neptune's Harvest. On one of the bottles it touts seed germination.

Kay - the Buena Mulata plants are Beautiful. One has > 10 peppers; all bright purple. and lots of flowers. I think every flower resulted in a pepper. The longest peppers are similar to the rareseed picture. The other plant is shorter and busher.

Also the Albino Bullnose plant has a pepper too. Maybe more under the bushy.

Both of these are really nice plants. They seem to love the Florida humidity.

How is your AJI Grande doing? Mine are way later than these two types; but tons of flowers - only 2 peppers so far.

[kayrobbins]

I am glad you like the Buena Mulata. I love that pepper. The Albino Bullnose dissapointed me at first because the peppers are much smaller than other bells I have grown but once I had it ripen to that brilliant orange I became a fan. My Aji Grande has not done great becaue I planted it pretty late and that has caused it to struggle but I am very taken with Ajvarski pepper you gave me seeds for. It has such a good taste. I set up 2 isolation tents so I can save seeds from Buena Mulata and Ajvarski.

You should make the hot sauce that Baker Creek posted for the Buena Mulata. It is so good I have started taking a bottle with me when I go out to eat.

[Barb_FL]

Kay - do you pick them purple? Is it the longer you wait, the hotter the pepper?

I agree AJVARSKI is the bomb! They all are perfect form and color; fire-engine red. I've saved tons of seed if anyone wants any. I don't think I will ever grow red bell peppers again.

[kayrobbins]

It depends on how I am going to use them. If I am going to make the Salsa Morada I pick them when they are purple. But since they are a cayene pepper if I want to dry them and make crushed cayene or powder I let them turn red. I had this bright idea to dry some purple and some red and have a pretty mixed color. Sadly, they lost their pretty purple in the dehydrator.

Bell peppers can be hard to grow. I grew Lipstick which has a similar shape to Ajvarski for a couple of years and thought it was just fine until I tired your recommendation. It is on my permanent grow list.

[Fiishergurl]

You both are killing me!! Giving me pepper feaver. The plants I tried to grow here over the summer never set any peppers. Just not enough direct sun wnywhere on the property. Boo hoo.

Ginny

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[ginger2778]

Kay, Barb, anyone: i have 15 Enjoya striped bell pepper seedlings, would love any hpelpful tips about what to put in the 3 gallon pots, like how much fertilizer( tomato tone) and how often since it will be top watered. For a 3 gallon pot with Promix BX, how much dolomite do I add? Any other tips would be great too, since I admit, I stink at growing peppers.

[Barb_FL]

Originally Posted by ginger2778

Kay, Barb, anyone: i have 15 Enjoya striped bell pepper seedlings, would love any hpelpful tips about what to put in the 3 gallon pots, like how much fertilizer( tomato tone) and how often since it will be top watered. For a 3 gallon pot with Promix BX, how much dolomite do I add? Any other tips would be great too, since I admit, I stink at growing peppers.

So Cool that you have Enjoyas. I looked couldn't find the actual peppers anywhere.

Kay is the real expert but here's what I do:

I use re-mix in the container so I don't add any dolomite. I only add some new promix around the seedling. I think growing peppers as tomato light. Less of everything. I actually think they are easier to manage the water from top. I elevate them so their roots can't stay wet.

If you stink at growing peppers, I would think the only problem is keeping the mix too wet. I think this would be really easy to do in an auto-filled EB (speaking from experience spring '15). What do the roots look like when you pull them?

For tomato tone, I use 2 of the bigger coffee scoops - probably about 1/2 c.

Then after a long producing season, I will add more tomato tone (2 TBLS) to the top before it rains (it forgot how to rain so no extra TT this summer) and let the rain soak it in. I don't even scratch it in, just dump it on the top.

I find growing peppers so forgiving. Your Enjoyas will be great; is it known if they produce bi-colored fruit?

[Barb_FL]

Originally Posted by Fiishergurl

You both are killing me!! Giving me pepper feaver. The plants I tried to grow here over the summer never set any peppers. Just not enough direct sun wnywhere on the property. Boo hoo.

Ginny

Maybe they didn't have enough time yet? How are the plants themselves? I have some plants AJI Grande that are taking forever. I sowed other types long after (the 2 from Kay), some test plants that I was giving away, that have fruit almost ready to pick.

Did you grow your shi★★★★os? They are really fast.

If you love peppers as much as tomatoes, you can do it. So much less room too. Plus the cheapo cages work fine.