I set up the seed-starting equipment today: a set of wire shelves, 2 100W LED grow lights, a heating pad, a temperature-controlled switch for the heat pad, and a timer switch for the grow lights. I filled one 1020 tray with potting mix (Pro-Mix BX) and planted 11 rows of seeds w/ about 6 seeds in each row.
I ordered 4 bunches of onions from the Texas-based Dixondale farms, which are known for having excellent quality onions. I was impressed with how fresh the plants looked.
It took 4+ raised beds of space to get them all planted. I can’t wait to see how well these do.
I harvested all the remaining jalapenos this afternoon. Many were not big in size but the volume of peppers was big. I filled up 3 large containers. I have 3 varieties, TAM, mild, and regular.
I’m going to make fermented Louisiana hot sauce out of these. I filled a half gallon jar with green ones. I think I’ll do one jar of only red peppers. And I think I’ll try to roast some on the smoker for another batch.
UPDATE: (11/9/25)
I separated out all the red jalapeรฑo peppers, and added in the Red Corno Di Toro and one or Two of the sweet bells that were red, next I chopped them up and removed most of the seeds, and packed a quart jar with salt brine (5%) using distilled water. I’ll let it sit for 2 weeks to ferment then blend it and mix with vinegar to make hot sauce.
I chopped up 8 pints of smaller jalapeรฑos packed into canning jars, and pickled them. I used a combination of white and apple cider vinegar, and added some honey, garlic, salt, black pepper, and oregano for the brine to make it special.
I couldn’t leave it alone! I want the new blackberries to do well, and it bothered me that the oak tree 50ft away was stealing nutrients from my raised beds. So I started digging. Glad I did, more roots than I imagined. The pic shows the trench I dug to break the roots. I have to go back and cut back the roots seen here so I can install root barrier
some of the roots were almost 2 inches in diameter.
this is the root barrier I’m going to use.
most interesting to me is the amount of energy the tree uses to grow horizontal roots near the surface. I would think growing roots deeper would be beneficial, but the tree chooses to burrow under concrete more than burrow down. I didn’t find any root below about 12″ of depth.
I welded pieces of steel angle to make more trellis supports. These are nice and strong and don’t look bad either. Next, I dug up 2 bushes that weren’t in an ideal location.ย I was pleased to seeย that were easily separated in to multiple plants.ย So now I have 6 more blackberry bushes along the eastern fence of the font garden.
The way plants work is amazing to me! I realized our oak tree is growing roots all the way to the raised beds. The oak tree is 12 ft from the driveway. The driveway is 16 ft wide and its roots are growing all the way across. I was able to pull one of the roots up and it was 14 ft long and running just below the surface under the wood chips. I think I found tree roots in every hole I dug!
Of the 3 new blackberry plants I added in February, 2 lived and were growing very large and in an uncontrolled way. I’ve been stepping around them (and on them) enough to finally encourage me to build a trellis for them. They are planted near the entrance gate of my garden, so this was becoming a big problem for me.
This is probably the 4th iteration of different blackberry trellis solutions I’ve tried out in my garden. This one uses metal brackets to hold a stiff wire 6 inches away from the fence line.
Almost 10 years ago, I planted 16 different blackberry bushes, all in a big row. Adding a trellis wires like in this Texas AgriLife publication is the typical method of raising blackberries, and similar to what I did. But the long trellis wire became an obstacle and proved hard to use and I wound up removing them. The layout of where I had all this located wasn’t ideal for the trellis and it was constantly in the way of other things.
I seeded beets, some lettuce mix, and 2 varieties of snap peas tonight. I’m not sure the beets will make it before the first frost, but I’ll see how it works out!
Place beets in a large stockpot with water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook until tender, about 15 minutes.
Drain beets, reserving 2 cups of beet water. When beets are cool enough to handle, peel and discard skins. Fill each sterilized jar with beets.
Combine 2 cups of sugar, 2 cups of beet water, 1 quart of white vinegar, and 1 tablespoon of salt in a large saucepan; bring to a rapid boil.
Pour the hot brine over the beets in the jars, and seal the lids.
Place a rack in the bottom of a large stockpot and fill halfway with water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then carefully lower the jars into the pot using a holder. Leave a 2-inch space between the jars. Pour in more boiling water if necessary until the water level is at least 1 inch above the tops of the jars. Bring the water to a full boil, cover the pot, and process for 10 minutes.
I waited too late to harvest the carrots, so they are bitter, but it is still interesting to see the difference between the two groups of plants. The carrots planted in old soil are nice and big, but the carrots planted in new soil are tiny. See https://gallistead.com/2025/04/14/comparison-of-new-soil-with-old-soil/
