Two weeks in the ground, and our little pepper army is still reporting for duty.
We’ve had more sun, a few maintenance waterings, some very welcome rain, and one discovery that made us laugh at ourselves a bit. Apparently, the soil had a few things going for it before we showed up with our cardboard and compost.
Previously: The Pepper Project: First Week. Or, start from the beginning of The Pepper Project.
We started the second week on Wednesday, May 20, looking pretty good. The root balls were still measuring in the moist range, and there was new growth continuing at the tops.
That’s encouraging. These guys weren’t just sitting there holding on to their original leaves. They were making more.
We also suspected we’d had a little rain the evening before. Nothing measured, just some puddles on the dirt road coming into the site. Hardly a scientific rain gauge, but we’ll take the hint.
By about 11am, the sun was higher and some leaves were pulling into their familiar defensive posture, but we weren’t seeing significant stem droop. So we decided to leave them until the next morning.
Which sounds simple enough, until you actually have to drive away.
Our site is about 23 minutes from home. Once we leave, we generally don’t come back until the next morning. There’s always that little voice asking, “Sure, they look fine now. What about at 2pm?”
For that day, at least, we went with our gut.
A drink, and a reality check
Thursday morning, May 21, brought a little early droop, and several root balls were reading low moist to dry. Time for another maintenance watering.
The first plants we watered were already starting to perk up by the time we finished the last ones. By late morning, everybody was looking much happier.
Meanwhile, our readings between the plants were still showing plenty of moisture deeper down, around five to six inches. Closer to the surface, things were drying a little, but underneath, our supposed moisture battery was still looking well charged.
Then we had a thought.
What if some of that moisture was there before we did anything?
We’d been checking our prepared rows and congratulating ourselves on how well they were holding water. But we hadn’t checked the soil beforehand. Fortunately, there were cleared areas right beside the rows where we hadn’t put down cardboard or compost overs.
So we stuck the meter in there.
Well, look at that. Moisture down there too.
Cue a slightly sheepish laugh.
That doesn’t tell us the cardboard and mulch aren’t helping. But it does mean we can’t give them credit for all the moisture we’ve been finding. The native soil already had a reserve of its own.
Our cheapo moisture meter had just interrupted our victory speech.
And fair enough. This is an experiment. If we’re going to document what happens, we also have to document when an observation makes us rethink the story.
Rain, and one day off
Some showers moved through Thursday afternoon, and Friday morning the plants looked perky. They were still holding up nicely when we left around 10:10am.
Saturday brought us back to the familiar watering decision. The stems were upright, but some root balls were approaching the dry-to-moist boundary. We gave them another maintenance drink.
Then came Sunday.
We stayed home.
After watering the day before, and with our pattern running roughly every two to three days, that seemed reasonable. It still felt a little like leaving a child at kindergarten for the first time.
Apparently, we were the ones having separation anxiety.
Monday morning, May 25, we approached with just a hint of nervousness.
The peppers looked pretty darn good.
Their canopies seemed to be spreading, the root balls were reading upper moist, and we had overcast skies and a passing sprinkle. Later, we got a proper rainy day, which was a welcome break from the beating-down sun.
The barrel keeps brewing
Our liquid fertilizer has been changing too.
Less material floating on top. Less resistance when stirring. Fewer flies. Still an aroma that nobody would pay to wear.
We haven’t fed it to the peppers yet. For now, we’re watching it change and letting it continue breaking down. The first application will be another step in the experiment when the time comes.
Two weeks, and new branches
Tuesday, May 26, arrived after that soaking day of rain, and the peppers did not disappoint.
Green, perky, and well watered. The root balls were measuring into the wet zone, so there was no question about adding water that morning.
By 10:54am, with the sun high again, they were still looking good.
And we noticed something else: close to half the plants were pushing little branches from low down on their stems.
We haven’t decided whether to keep those branches, but it’s encouraging to see them forming. Our little guys are starting to fill out.
Two weeks isn’t enough to declare the whole project a success. We haven’t used the liquid feed yet, and we certainly haven’t harvested anything.
But we’ve learned more about their watering needs, caught ourselves making an assumption about the soil, and watched them keep putting out new growth.
For now, that’s a pretty good second week.
Next up: One month in.