Stefan_W's 2013 Pods A-Ripenin'! Glog

I am going to start the new glog for my upcoming growing season on a bit of a personal note. One year ago tomorrow (January 3rd) is the one year anniversary of the day that my daughter was diagnosed with a tumour that is lodged in the middle of her brain. The past year has involved treatments and hospital stays, and there were at least three different points when we were pretty sure she was not going to make it. But she is a fighter, and nothing could keep her down for long.

Sofia has personally planted every pepper and tomato seed that I have started in the past three growing seasons. She beat the odds last year to help me, and once again she is defying what medicine has to say to help me out this year.

We started a jalapeno plant about a week ago just for the sake of watching it grow, because we both love it so much. One of the jalapenos grew to the point that it had its firt couple of leaves, so we transplanted him into a bigger pot. While we were at it I decided to put in some aji lemondrops, partly because they take a long time to fruit up and I wanted to give them a huge head start.

This is the jalapeno plant. I pulled the second one out because we did not need it, and discovered that the roots had grown all of the way down to the bottom of the cell.

My daughter personally doing the transplant.

Her aim is better than mine, and so it turned out perfectly.

Next up was taking out the lemondrop seeds from peppermania.

I need a few extras of this type, so I asked Sofia to plant two seeds in each of the four cells. Two plants will be for us, and whatever else grows will be given away to good friends.

Two of the three tiers in my lighting stand are currently being used as toy shelves, which is cool for now. The lights are adjustable, and moved down to get close to the seedling.

The heating pad works extremely well, and once the cells are covered the top clouds up in no time.

A happy early jalapeno seedling in his new home. I thought I heard "feeeeeed meeeeee" coming from that direction, but I'm not sure.

That's it for today, folks! Welcome to my new glog

 

[Chaosbites]

Looking good there! Wonderful plants, pods & buds. Just like you, I am hoping I can find some folks who would want to buy my little plants to help me break even.

I am loving the plant tags done by your daughter. I have promised my two eleven year olds their own 4x4 foot garden. They will have some of my pepper, basil, and tomato starts for their space. We'll add in a few more things to round it out. Then they can sell what grows and keep the money. They got really into the growing last year when I tried out a pumpkin plant. That thing grew like a monster! They would check each morning to see how many inches it grew. I think garden is great for kids. I remember mine fondly.

Michelle

 

[Jandek]

You have a good soul and great glog. Thank you for sharing

 

[Stefan_W]

Looking good there! Wonderful plants, pods & buds. Just like you, I am hoping I can find some folks who would want to buy my little plants to help me break even.

I am loving the plant tags done by your daughter. I have promised my two eleven year olds their own 4x4 foot garden. They will have some of my pepper, basil, and tomato starts for their space. We'll add in a few more things to round it out. Then they can sell what grows and keep the money. They got really into the growing last year when I tried out a pumpkin plant. That thing grew like a monster! They would check each morning to see how many inches it grew. I think garden is great for kids. I remember mine fondly.

Michelle

Thanks Michelle! Yes, gardens are fantastic for kids. Once things get going I have ours timed so that she can see the peas flower, then she picks strawberries, then the raspberries, then the peas, then cherry tomatoes, then carrots, etc. Last year the two of us each planted a group of kale seeds, and hers took off like crazy while mine stalled out for a while and only got half as big. She loves the fact that she has the magic touch when it comes to gardening.

Two 11 year olds, wow! I have always wondered what raising twins would be like. Do you find that it is tougher, or do they entertain each other most of the time?

Thanks for stopping by!

You have a good soul and great glog. Thank you for sharing

Thank you so very much for your kind words. I do my best, but I'm far from perfect. I just pray that my best is enough each day.

 

[Stefan_W]

As you all know, I'm all about the nachos. I decided to try out one of the giant jalapenos this evening even though they are not so giant at the moment. I justified it be telling myself that the plant needs to focus more energy on the roots after the transplant, but in reality I just suck at waiting for things.

These are the two larger jalapenos. I picked the one of the right.

It was still pretty small, so it did not take much to chop it up. I ate a piece off the end raw before chopping the rest just to get a sense of the flavour.

And off to the plate it all goes.

90 seconds in the microwave and I have something that definitely looks like a plate of nachos.

Yup, definitely nachos.

I have to admit to being impressed with the flavour. Yes, it was still definitely green. But when you get past that there was a very peasant taste, and it was far better than the taste of anything I would be able to buy at the supermarket. I'm really looking forward to the jalapenos this year, and this made me crave them even more. I grow an extra jalapeno plant, now that I have room after axing some of the habs.

 

[Chaosbites]

Thanks Michelle! Yes, gardens are fantastic for kids. Once things get going I have ours timed so that she can see the peas flower, then she picks strawberries, then the raspberries, then the peas, then cherry tomatoes, then carrots, etc. Last year the two of us each planted a group of kale seeds, and hers took off like crazy while mine stalled out for a while and only got half as big. She loves the fact that she has the magic touch when it comes to gardening.

Two 11 year olds, wow! I have always wondered what raising twins would be like. Do you find that it is tougher, or do they entertain each other most of the time?

Thanks for stopping by!



Thank you so very much for your kind words. I do my best, but I'm far from perfect. I just pray that my best is enough each day.

I could say a lot about raising twins. My older set are identical boys- they turned nineteen a couple of months back. They hardly ever fight or squabble. Well not since they were about two. As babies they were easy since they had very similar schedules and needs. Clothes and the like were always the same size. They showed up with a seizures at the same age and out grew it at the same age. My younger set are girl/boy 11yo twins. Very different right from the start. Kyle the boy, was 8-3 when he was born. Zoe was 5-2 (my smallest baby by almost 2 lbs). They were delivered at 37 weeks on the nose. Zoe sailed through the delivery while Kyle caused problems. Zoe is now taller by a couple inches. When they were tiny they had very different schedules. They do bicker quite a bit. Even with all the problems they (and the two singleton girls) gave/giving us I would never trade it for a minute. As you said above all we can do is pray that our best is enough each day.

Mmmmm, the nachos look yummy. I had some today. I chopped up 6-8 Habs for them. I wish I had a camera on me to photograph the look on my husbands face when he saw my pile of chopped peppers.

It's been a while since I have had a veggie garden. Back when we lived in Maryland one of our beds was 16 x 4 and all strawberries. I never got to eat one from that garden!!! The older kids were mostly preschoolers then. They spent hours searching and eating my berries. A great memory of mine. I am hoping the youngest two get some enjoyment out of their garden this year.

Michelle

 

[Stefan_W]

Thank you for sharing, Michelle! I love the strawberry bushes in my garden, and I wish I had room for more of them. There is nothing like the look on a kid's face when they get to experience what real food tastes like!

I've been very busy lately, but hopefully I'll have time to take some pics when I water my plants tomorrow evening.

 

[WalkGood]

Apologies that I’m just catching up from pages back ... but I was away. I love all the pictures, getting better every time and mine going down hill over time, lols. The peppers, all dem look great, when will they be going ouside?

I totally agree with your statement “even with great grow lights I think the natural sunlight does wonders for plants,” I don’t know what I would do living in the great white north. A few years back I spent a few weeks in Seattle and was so depressed, took me a few days to figure out it was all the clouds and lack of sun. People kept asking me where I was from as I could not stay inside, I had to keep going outdoors, I think the sun does the same for me and my spirit.

So I’m mad at you, I read you say “the root system on the jalapeno is actually quite impressive.” I’m surprised you didn’t admit it was due to Sofia’s help and her golden touch … Maybe that’s why your yellow moruga scorpion, red moruga scorpion, yellow 7 gigantic, tabasco and others are doing so great! Did she help with the Butch T? I love the size of the leaves and the look to it, awesome mi brethren ^_^

… Last year the two of us each planted a group of kale seeds, and hers took off like crazy while mine stalled out for a while and only got half as big. She loves the fact that she has the magic touch when it comes to gardening.

She also is the maker and keeper of the wonderful pixie dust, she probably sprinkled hers and not yours

Fortunately for me I had just finished lunch before I saw the Nachos, killer job and your right, everything is so much better when you grow and make it yourself! I hope you know I jest above and it’s all in fun, love the updates, pictures and keep up the great work mon!

 

[Stefan_W]

This is a rather large set of photos, so if someone can give me a bump I'll continue.

The plants have been growing well overall. I gave up on 3 that I felt were stunted and would take too long to turn around in the garden. That is not bad, considering I had more than 200 plants in total. I've kept a few for the garden, and sold or gave away the majority. At this point I'm down to about 5 or 6 extras which should be gone by the end of the weekend.

First up is the giant jalapeno being watered. He has 5 pods, one of which is pretty big. We will probably have another nacho night in a couple of weeks.

The bahamian goat pepper and the peach bhut (which Sofia labelled "peach beach by accident).

Mr aji lemondrop. He has a couple of flowers, and looks as though he is really going to flower up in the next week or so. This plant surprised me. I started the lemondrops really early because they have such a long growing season, and I did not expect flowers and potentially pods prior to setting them out.

Moruga red scorpion. He is doing great, but appears to have a bit of discolouration on the undersides of the leaves. I'm not sure what this is about, but it doesn't seem to be doing any harm so I'm not concerned at this point.

Some people like to see shots of the tomato plants. I have 7 varieties on the go, and this is about half of the 15 plants that I have. They love the spot on the floor by the back door, and are much bigger than the ones that are under the grow lights.

The tobago treasures are really taking off. They look like they are going to be evil, and I'm sure it will be a brain screw when I bite into one and find no heat.

Yellow brain strain. He was a bit stunted so I up potted him on Sunday, and now he seems to be growing again.

Butch T, doing great except for some yellow that appeared on a couple of leaves when he was little.

The madame jeanette. It is still a beautiful plant, and I still cannot wait to taste the pods.

This mother is the absolute scariest plant I have grown this year. The yellow moruga scorpion started at the same time as the other supers, but it grew twice as big twice as fast. I up-potted into a huge 12 incher when it was obvious that the rapid growth was not going to stop, and less than two weeks later it is already outgrowing the new pot. I don't like to make predictions this early on as a general rule, but I think it is safe to say this plant is going to be a holy terror once it gets out into the garden where it can really stretch its legs.

That is my limit for now, so bumpity-bump if you want to see some more.

 

[WalkGood]

bump

 

[Stefan_W]

Thank you

This is an aji lemondrop flower. Unfortunately I did not have the time to snap pictures a few days ago when it looked better. It is about ready to start closing up, so we'll see if I get a pod out of it.

The one plant that I have had the most difficulty with is my 7 pod jonah. I gave away a couple of these and kept the one that looked the nicest, but he stalled out and turned yellow. Really weird, because he was treated exactly the same as the other plants. I up potted him last night to see if that would get him back on track. In this picture he is next to a mako akokosrade that was planted a couple of weeks after he was.

A paprika forest! I kept 8 paprikas because I need to replenish my powder stock.

Of all the sweet peppers, the Sofia peppers are going the absolute best. They are growing up and out like crazy, and would be ready to go into the garden tomorrow if it wasn't for all the snow on the ground.

This is a shot of the plants I up potted last night: Scraggly jonah, a giant jalapeno, and early jalapeno, a firecracker chili, and a mako. Once again, you can see how tiny and yellowed the jonah is.

This is one of 5 tabascos of the same size that I have on the go, but I considered selling off a couple. I love them because they are versatile, but I have mixed feeling about putting three of them into one pot.

Yellow 7 pod gigantic loving his spot by the window.

This is not a double post. I kept 2 of the yellow 7 pod gigantics for no other reason than I really love the look of the plants.

There are a few other plants that did not make it into this set of pictures, but you get the gist of where everything is at. Thanks for having a look!

 

[stickman]

Good Job Stefan! I'm lovin' all that green. I've got Aji's podding up now too... I guess they might be a better choice for northern growing than the Chinense varieties... we'll see.

 

[Stefan_W]

Apologies that I’m just catching up from pages back ... but I was away. I love all the pictures, getting better every time and mine going down hill over time, lols. The peppers, all dem look great, when will they be going ouside?

I totally agree with your statement “even with great grow lights I think the natural sunlight does wonders for plants,” I don’t know what I would do living in the great white north. A few years back I spent a few weeks in Seattle and was so depressed, took me a few days to figure out it was all the clouds and lack of sun. People kept asking me where I was from as I could not stay inside, I had to keep going outdoors, I think the sun does the same for me and my spirit.

So I’m mad at you, I read you say “the root system on the jalapeno is actually quite impressive.” I’m surprised you didn’t admit it was due to Sofia’s help and her golden touch … Maybe that’s why your yellow moruga scorpion, red moruga scorpion, yellow 7 gigantic, tabasco and others are doing so great! Did she help with the Butch T? I love the size of the leaves and the look to it, awesome mi brethren ^_^


She also is the maker and keeper of the wonderful pixie dust, she probably sprinkled hers and not yours

Fortunately for me I had just finished lunch before I saw the Nachos, killer job and your right, everything is so much better when you grow and make it yourself! I hope you know I jest above and it’s all in fun, love the updates, pictures and keep up the great work mon!

You speak the truth when you say that Sofia has the magic touch, and she has spread the pixie dust around this year!

Good Job Stefan! I'm lovin' all that green. I've got Aji's podding up now too... I guess they might be a better choice for northern growing than the Chinense varieties... we'll see.

I have absolutely no idea how the aji will turn out once it gets outside, but I'm sure it will be a wild ride! I actually picked rocoto as my wild card choice because I figured it would do well in our climate, but I did not get the chance to find out. I noticed you have one on the go so I'll be keeping an eye on his progress this year.

 

[WalkGood]

whoa ... I love that PEACH BEACH name!!!

Don't change the name back ... that is so insightful. You need to take her to the beach this summer and maybe you'll find some seawead there \o/

 

[PeriPeri]

Hey Stefan... wow man, that is really coming along nicely. Great pics of the plants and the food... that is making me hungry... although it is breakfast here now and I'm not so sure Jalapeño would go with corn flakes!

 

[roper2008]

Your plants are looking great. I'll watch out for you Tabasco hot sauce recipe this summer, hint, hint.....

 

[Stefan_W]

Hey Stefan... wow man, that is really coming along nicely. Great pics of the plants and the food... that is making me hungry... although it is breakfast here now and I'm not so sure Jalapeño would go with corn flakes!

It goes with everything!

Your plants are looking great. I'll watch out for you Tabasco hot sauce recipe this summer, hint, hint.....

My tabasco sauce recipe is extremely simple. The biggest trick is making sure all of the pods are complete ripe. Then it is a matter of boiling the pods in vinegar with fresh garlic bulbs, blending, and putting it in jars. It is outstanding, and you will never want the store bought stuff again.

 

[Stefan_W]

We had a gorgeous day that got up into the mid teens. I went out back to start the process of sorting out garden stuff and preparing for when summer takes hold.

When I checked out the garden I had a pleasant surprise. The first garlic leaves have popped up above the straw! Summer must be just around the corner.

 

[WalkGood]

Wow that's exciting ... how much longer do you think?

 

[Stefan_W]

I figure another 4 weeks should do the trick, but it may be as long as 5. With spring coming around late this year the soil temp a few inches below surface will stay low for a while. That wont matter much for the plants in pots, but the ones in the garden may have to wait longer.

 

[stickman]

It's coming bro! The Iris andTulips are up here, and the Jonquils are starting to bloom. The Scallions I overwintered have grown tops about 15 cm long and I'm hearing peepers (Tree Frogs) at night.