Today's harvest

[bbqcoder]

That’s a great looking curry tree, Dave! Glad that you are sharing the harvest with the local Indian grocery.

I’m thinking of my garden while we are away in SF. Hope there is not a lot of work for me when I get back.

 

[blissful]

Pepperhead, great curry tree! It looks amazing and so fun you can use it in your cooking.

 

[pepperhead212]

Thanks blissful & bbq. There's nothing like having those fresh herbs, but I hate wasting, so it's great that I found places to share the trimmings with, of the curry tree and epazote. I have even more kaffir lime trimmings, since I have two plants - only because I tried air layering a branch on one, to see if it would work, and that was 8 years ago! I have to try to sell it to someone in the area, maybe on Craig's list.

Why would you use such a toxic chemical in your vegetable garden? Organic doesn't mean safe - it never has. It just means the pesticides used are derived from natural sources as opposed to being synthesized in a lab. But copper is especially bad, since it builds up in the soil.

Some organic producers are even giving up their organic certification because the pesticides they want to use are prohibited by organic standards, like this French vintner: https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/...-organic-status-for-better-treatments-289349/

GG, I only use copper soap, which is much less concentrated, and safer to use, and I only use it at really bad times, like this, and only once a season, if necessary. The copper has not built up in my soil - the latest level in my soil test was at 24mg/kg, which is well within the acceptable range. And it has tested from 22 to 26 mg/kg, since I first tested in '91, and every 3-4 yrs. since. I can tell nothing toxic is building up in my soil, when I see all those earthworms, every time the soil is turned over!

I agree that excess use of copper is a major problem, but not in organically certified farms, as they are required to have regular soil testing done, and not just for copper. They can't just be using that, or other "organic" chemicals at random, as some will show quickly. Some non-organic farms start spraying copper early, and continue through the season - citrus and vineyards are some of the worst for this. They realized that this is reducing their output, it has gotten so bad in some places, so maybe that will stop them! But then, what will they switch to - something worse, like an organophosphate?

 

[larry_stewart]

Here's something else that loves this heat, which makes sense, as it's from southern India! I trimmed this curry tree to about 2/3 this size, about 2 1/2 weeks ago, as it had grown way off to the left, and last week I cut another large branch off of it, to make a new batch of sambar masala (1 oz of curry leaves is a lot of leaves!), yet, you can't tell anything was cut from it, unless you look closely.
Curry tree, 8-6 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I went to my favorite, family run Indian grocery store when I trimmed it, and the guy knew what I had when he saw the bag! He always gives me samples of the foods he has there (he has a small take out business there, too), and they are sooooo good, and they are HOT! He was surprised that he didn't get much of a reaction the first time I tried one, but I told him that was the way I make food! The things I get there are mostly things I don't make - deep fried, and Indian "street food", STS. I told him I'd bring them some of the hotter peppers when they start ripening (hadn't started 3 Saturdays ago). When I'm hungry for one of those snacks I'll take a trip over.

Your curry plant looks great,
Mine has its ups and downs, struggles to make it through the winter inside, and regains consciousness during the warmer months outside., it as far fewer leaves than yours. Any specific thing you do to keep yours so healthy ?? mine is more tree like, it has a main trunk and kinda Y's at the top with 2 branches . Each branch has maybe 6 clusters of leaves and thats it. I wish it would branch out more and become more bushy

 

[pepperhead212]

Larry, That curry tree I have I got back in spring of 2004 or 5, and I got a small, 6" rooting, which grew very quickly, and by fall was well over 2', in a 4 gal bucket. When brought indoors, it grew well in front of a south facing window, but grew so tall, that I wanted to cut it, to see if it would branch out. I found out that this does work, so I cut the top 6 inches off, and it worked - it branched out, and this also seemed to trigger those little shoots coming up from the roots, which later form new trunks. Most I cut off, but have left a couple.

In the beginning was about 5 years before I had to re-pot it, but now it took only 3 years until it needed re-potting. I could tell, because it seemed stressed, as it succumbed to those scale insects, which it was free of the last two years. I trimmed it way back, then sprayed with an orange oil solution - the best thing I've found for killing those things, though it scars the leaves. That's the only problem I've ever had with this plant, and just 3 times.

Last time I re-potted, it was from a 5 gal fabric pot to a 4 gal SIP. It grew even better, but only lasted 3 years again, though this time, the soil mix got sort of "muddy", due to the organic substances substances decomposing - worm castings, and the coir. This is why they figured out that coir doesn't last as long as peat moss I earthboxes - peat doesn't quickly decompose!

This time I went back to the fiber pot - a 7 gal one - with a severe root pruning, as always. And this time I used Promix BX (which has a peat base) with mycorrhyzae, and some extra perlite, as well as granular diatomaceous earth, for drainage and aeration. I also put some DE powder in the mix, and extra in the upper 2" or so, to help against insects. To fertilize, I moistened the mix with a fish fertilizer - 5-1-1 - figuring that by the time it comes inside, the smell will be gone! After that, I will fertilize with one of my hydroponics fertilizers, designed for greens, which I also use for seedlings, since they have all micronutrients needed. For watering, I have a drip line, hooked up to one of the timers.

At first, the curry tree was slow to start up, compared to the lime trees, which I re-potted at the same time, but it has taken off, as you can see!

When I bring all of those inside, I'll trim them WAY back (I seal the cut stems with pruning paint, or liquid electrical tape), and well above the soil, then put some tanglefoot on the first 2" or so of the trunks, to help stop any insects crawling onto the plants. Before bringing them in, I always make a solution of H2O2, and soak the upper few inches of soil, to hopefully kill any of those pests, though I don't know if this does any good.

 

[pepperhead212]

Here's a good video on pruning curry trees. I wish I had known this early on!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3VxuYl-wAc


My only harvest today was this - some coriander, from 6 cilantro plants, that bolted early, so I just left them out there for the bees, until the dried up. Only got about 1 tb - the reason I wouldn't try to grow all that coriander seed I use!
Coriander from 6 plants, about 1 tb. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Oh yeah - I also harvested 13 okra today - most in a day, so far, and more than one per plant. Those things are starting to grow some new branches - something I always liked about Emerald, and now this new one - Little Lucy - does the same. Most justs send one stalk up, and stop growing when I snip them, trying to get them to branch out.

 

[larry_stewart]

Thanks for the Curry tree info. Hopefully I can get it to branch out.

 

[pepperhead212]

Today I harvested the end of my scallions (much longer, and they would have been bulbing), for that Szechwan eggplant dish I made. I only had 13 scallions, but that's all I needed, despite needing 24, if I went by the recipe. They are huge, at this stage. I cut them about 3/4" above the roots, and replanted them, so in several weeks, I'll have them again!

 

[pepperhead212]

Larry, I had to take a photo of that curry tree today, to show you the growth in just 3 days since the last photo. I had to back up farther, to get the entire thing in the photo, but you can see how much wider it has gotten.
Curry tree 8-9 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Here are the Aji dulce peppers ripening bigtime!
Aji Dulce, loaded with ripe peppers 8-9 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

 

[larry_stewart]

You're curry tree puts my curry " weed" to shame. Im almost embarrassed to take a pic of it, but I will tomorrow when its light out.

Its literally a y shaped twig with a few leave clusters at the very tip of each " Y" branch.

It reminds me of the Charlie Brown Christmas tree, Its amazing ive kept it alive this long.

 

[larry_stewart]

Just ordered another one, Ill try pruning this one the right way from the start

 

[pepperhead212]

Good luck with the new one, Larry. It should take off, with that trimming.

 

[pepperhead212]

I knew I had taken a photo of this thing, when it looked horrible, but I was looking too far back. Here it is on June 1, showing the new growth, about 3 weeks after re-potting. That yellowish brownish area in the center is what was left when I re-potted. Can you believe it came back like that, after looking this bad?
Curry tree, finally filling in after re-potting, with a large amount of new growth. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

It really is hard to destroy these things.

 

[pepperhead212]

More peppers today! I really am getting more than even I can use. lol

The Jyoti is sort of like the Thai peppers, but not producing as much, though this is only from 2 plants, while the Thai Vesuvius is 4 plants. And all these Aji Dulce are from just 1 plant, which is loaded with many green peppers.
Jyoti (L), and Aji Dulce 8-11 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

More Thai Vesuvius 8-11 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

And another one with dozens of peppers on the plant is the Chocolate habanero, which is just beginning to ripen. It gets a huge number, which I why I only grew one, which I don't like to do with favorites, because if something destroys it, I have none! Even this one had about 1/3 of it destroyed by wind in a storm, and you wouldn't know it to look at it!
More Gold Bullets and Red Savinas, plus the first ripe Chocolate Habanero 8-11 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I got a couple more bottle gourds, but still, it's not as productive as when I had two growing at once. It's not considered self-incompatible, as with tomatillos, but when two were growing, both produced large numbers - so many I could not come close to using them all, so I grew only one.
Bottle gourds 8-10, about 12 inches by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I'm starting to get some tomatoes, despite most being totally stopped by the heat a month ago. I pulled a number of plants that wouldn't make it, and planted bush beans, something that will produce, by the end of the season.

I also got a bunch more okra to freeze, but the last couple of days it has slowed down, only because it got cooler - down in the 60s at night. Okra really loves heat!

 

[pepperhead212]

And even more peppers! I went out to get a few more jalapeños, for the escabeche I'm making today, and found more peppers. You can hardly see the jalapeños now!
A few jalapeños, Hanoi Markets, Aleppos, and Longhorns 8-11 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

 

[larry_stewart]

Im just about to mill some tomatoes. Last year I got 47 quarts. I don't expect to get as much this year as last unless I have an end of the season surge in tomatoes. Although, I did grow a variety ( not sure which) that is larger than a cherry tomato yet smaller than Roma. I use that to dry, so I have a decent amount of ' sun-dried' tomatoes . U usually just toss them in a zip lock and right into the freezer they go. lasts a solid year that way. Cuke vines starting to show there age. Im guessing I got another week or two out of them before I rip them up. Second planting of cukes are about 3 feet high and just starting to flower. As long as we have decent weather , I should get a late crop to harvest ( same with string beans)

 

[larry_stewart]

Spaghetti squash, potatoes ( some of them, still some in the ground and my sad curry tree.

 

[pepperhead212]

Larry, too bad you didn't get some "baby trees" off that curry tree. You could have let them grow, then just cut that off.

I can't grow spaghetti squash here, due to SVBs. They look nice!

 

[larry_stewart]

Every time I purposely tried to grow spaghetti squash , they failed . A few years ago I started burying some of my compost directly in the garden, and I got a surprise spaghetti squash plant ( which I didn't know at the time what it was, but I let I grow to see what it would turn into). So this year, after we had spaghetti squash ( about march or April). I just tossed the seeds in an area where if they germinated wouldn't crowd anything, and sure enough they took off again. I figuered mother nature would do a better job determining if and when it should sprout than I would, and it worked out ,so that will be my new go to method for planting them.

Saw far as the curry tree goes, never sent up any additional shoots other that the original trunk. AThe tree is a few years old. One year I almost killed it, so the fact that it came back is amazing in itself. It flowers every year and after flowering has some kind of seed pod or whatever. I tried planting one of the seeds but didn't germinate ( I didn't have high hopes, but figure it was worth a shot)

 

[pepperhead212]

The guy on California Gardening has an episode about growing curry trees from seed, too. Not really for us - more for a nursery, to sell them, but it was interesting. I did note that the seeds have to be fresh, not dried out, so they have to be plucked when black, and planted right away.

Strange thing about mine - it had 2 clusters of seeds, and I snipped off the larger buch, and left the others, just to see (not sure what,however!). But the seeds are still immature, and not at all enlarged. Usually, they'd be mature, and I'd pull them off way earlier than this, so the tree could grow more. Maybe it is because the tree was repotted, and it's just growing at such a furious rate.