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Stickman's 2015 - That's All She Wrote...

Hi All! It's been an incredibly busy winter dealing with one thing and another, and it's only about half over here. :rolleyes:  Still, it's time to get on the stick and put my seeds in the dirt in preparation for plant-out in another 12 weeks or so. I have a Manzano over-wintering inside that's going on its third year. It's next to a sliding glass door with a great southern exposure but the light it gets here this time of year is pretty paltry... I expect it'll start to perk up sometime in March. I have a couple of MoA Scotch Bonnets over-wintering at a friend's house because there wasn't space in front of the sliding glass door for them and my wife's indoor plants... the deal is that if they both survive the winter, we'll split the plants. If not, he'll keep the one that lives. That seems fair since he did all the work. ;)
 
The rest of the list is looking like this...

Pubiscens Varieties
Total bust this year... nothing that germinated survived.

Baccatum:
Ditto

Frutascens:
Tabasco
Hawaiian Bird chile
 
Chacoense:
Ditto

Chinense:
7-pot Yellow Turned out to be a red "Not"
MoA Scotch Bonnet
Beni Highlands... Also turned out to be a "Not"... maybe a Mako Akokrosade cross?
Ja Hab
Trinidad Perfume
Zavory

Annuum:
Cabe Rawit (mouse turd pepper, in Singapore where the seeds were collected they're called Cili Padi)
Red Thai
Biggie Chile Anaheim

Poblano Gigantia
Jalapeno Ciclon
Jalapeno Tormenta
Serrano Tampiqueno
Hungarian Hot Wax
Almapaprika
Ethiopian Brown Berbere
 
I'll also be planting a sweet Criolla de Cucina plants and about 20 sweet Kurtovska Kapijas. The Kapijas have the longest growing and ripening times of any Annuum I know, but they're big, meaty sweet peppers that average around a half a pound apiece... just the thing for making that eastern european condiment called Ajvar.
 
Too tired to say more now, but will pick up later... Cheers!
 
roses are popular here but the season is very short. its basically ended by now, its just too humid. they thrive for just a few months in the later part of srping - april-june 
my mother in law has a huge white rose that covers half the side of her house. its still there, but too hot to flower now
p.s plants look fantastic! in ground it the way to be!
 
My 7 Pot Orange looks right but it is the only plant out of 100+ that is not lush green, kind of pale and it is in the same soil at 37 others happy plants. I'll let you know if it is worth growing...not so sure at this point.
 
Everything is looking great!
 
As usual Rick your glog is full of great food and gardens. I will have to mine your knowledge once I have a few chillis to harvest later in the year/early next year about cold pickling etc ... I have a few milder varieties to grow which will lend themselves to it. Keep on growing!!
 
georgej said:
roses are popular here but the season is very short. its basically ended by now, its just too humid. they thrive for just a few months in the later part of srping - april-june 
my mother in law has a huge white rose that covers half the side of her house. its still there, but too hot to flower now

p.s plants look fantastic! in ground it the way to be!
 
Cheers G... I'm convinced that I get bigger plants and harvests with an in-ground garden rather than in pots. Not everybody has that luxury though.
 
JoynersHotPeppers said:
My 7 Pot Orange looks right but it is the only plant out of 100+ that is not lush green, kind of pale and it is in the same soil at 37 others happy plants. I'll let you know if it is worth growing...not so sure at this point.
 
Everything is looking great!
 
The video review GeorgeJ gave the Orange 7-Pot last year convinced me to grow it this year. It's a minor disappointment that it didn't grow true, but maybe it crossed with something interesting like a Fatali or Bhut. Thanks for the good vibe. :)
 
oldsalty said:
Man brother you have serious green thumbs!!!!!!! :)
 
Cheers Grant! The weather we've been having lately sure helps... :)
 
Trippa said:
As usual Rick your glog is full of great food and gardens. I will have to mine your knowledge once I have a few chillis to harvest later in the year/early next year about cold pickling etc ... I have a few milder varieties to grow which will lend themselves to it. Keep on growing!!
 
You got it Tristan! By then we'll be in the winter doldrums and will need your shot o' green... ;)
 
maximumcapsicum said:
Great update Rick! How long is the turnaround on the green manure? Wondering if I could get a planting in before winter when I pull the zucchini and beans.
 
It shouldn't be a problem for you Adam, but you might want to talk to your local extension agent to find the blend that's best for your climate. I think Scott down in Texas used Red Clover and either oats or rye. The grasses are scavenger crops that take in and fix macronutrients so they don't leach away during the winter. The clover or field peas are nitrogen-fixers that add more N to the soil when they break down after being tilled under.
My cover crop was planted about 20 days ago, could be be tilled under now, but I'm gonna wait until the weekend before July 4th to cut it down and spade it in. The following weekend I'll sow the Napa Cabbage.
 
stickman said:
 
S'ok Randy... we can deal... ;)
 
 
Cheers Ronan! We had another hard rain last night, and the Thais have nearly doubled in size. The raised bed out  back is looking lush this morning too
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Here's another salsa recipe you might like to try. I fired up the hibachi this morning to grill a dead-ripe pineapple. I could tell it was because when I sniffed the bottom where they cut it from the stem it smelled decidedly like ripe pineapple.
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Chopped it up with a couple scallions from the garden, half a red onion, a teaspoon of minced fresh ginger, a fresh Habanero pod, a Fresno pod I had kicking around, a dollop of good olive oil, the juice of a lime and seasoned it with a bit of kosher salt and a few grinds of  black pepper.
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Cheers Josh, and if I haven't said so before, welcome to the zoo!
 
It's still hit or miss with chile blossoms setting pods. Overnight lows are doing a yo-yo loop between the 50s and 60s. The Annuums usually don't care, but the Fruts and Chinense varieties don't usually really kick in until the nights are consistently in the 60s or better. Here are some spent blossoms I found this morning.
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The Manzano seems to have met its goal though...
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The herb bed has never looked this good... I'd say setting up the soaker hose for it was the best thing I could have done. This is sage, summer savory, Greek oregano, Italian parsley, sweet mint, za'atar and thyme for making jerk marinade when the Bonnets ripen.
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I have loads of volunteer epizote! I only planted it once from seed, and now it'll always be with me... Basil's looking nice too.
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The six sesame plants all look about like this... they've put out their 4th node and are starting to ramp up.
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One last "non" pic... the Rose Campion I started from collected seed last year is beginning to blossom. I love the color on this... a really vibrant reddish-purple that got a bit washed out by the flash in this picture.
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Have a great weekend all!
looking great my friend !    :onfire:
 
maximumcapsicum said:
Boy that is fast. I will ask about what they use at the neighboring farm too, though I suspect the answer will just be more compost.
 
:)
 
moruga welder said:
looking great my friend !    :onfire:
 
Cheers Frank, hope they're the same for you. :dance:
We've been getting rain from last night 'til now, which the plants love! We had a really dry early spring here so it's doubly sweet the rain we've been having the last month.
 
Here's some pics from today's Dawn Patrol...
 
The OW Manzano has filled in nicely and set a half a dozen pods already, with many more flowers queued up...
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The raised bed out back as a whole has bushed out incredibly in just the last week.
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The star players...
 
Bhut Jalokia
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The King Naga was pretty small for a while but is catching up quickly now. It's nearly as tall as the rest if not as bushy.
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Both JA Habs are looking like this and setting pods now.
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With the exception of one runt, the other five MoA Bonnets look pretty much like this one. They're all flowering but need warmer nights to set pods.
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Out in the veggie garden, I've had my problems with grubs in the soil chewing up the roots on some of my plants. I think I've only got myself to blame though... I got lazy last fall and didn't pull up all the frost-killed chiles and it encouraged them to stick around. I've pulled up the plants that yellowed and failed to thrive, and without exception I found grubs around the roots. After dealing with them, I replanted with new stock and things seem to be proceeding well.
 
"Bangkok" hybrid Thai chiles
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Fatali
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Tabasco and Prik Kee Nu chiles
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That's ten... more for a bump. Hope y'all are having a great solstice weekend!
 
Pepper Ridge Farm said:
Bump for more pics...great looking plants Rick!
 
Cheers Cappy!
 
More from the veggie garden's pepper row...
 
Criolla de Cucina
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Yellow Marconi
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Poblano "Tiburon"
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Red Marconi
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Hungarian Hot Wax
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Leutshauer Hot Paprika
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Jalapeno Ciclon
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Hawaiian Bird Frutascens beginning to kick in now too
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Ethiopian Brown
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Trinidad Perfume
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... and that's another ten. A few more pics... mostly sweets and "nons" though.
 
tctenten said:
Looking great Rick.
 
Cheers Terry!
 
Almapaprika looking better
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Red Squash Pepper... maybe another type of Pimiento?
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These two are definitely Hungarian Pimientos
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"Biggie Chile" Anaheims
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Serrano on the right and a sad-looking Zavory on the left. I should probably dig up the Zavory as gently as possible and root out the grubs I'm sure are grazing on its roots. Today would be a good day...
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This Zavory looks better
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Tomatoes are all flowering and setting fruit. The Orange Russian slicers are still too small to show, but the Black Trifele looks good
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... and the Sungold cherry tomatoes
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Tomatillos are going full-goose bozo! The plants are up to my armpits and beginning to set fruit like crazy
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That's all for this Father's Day... hope all you Dads have a great time with family and friends!
 
Hello Rick I need to get catched up on your glog hope things are doing well for you it has been bug wars here seems worse this year cause of all the rain plus I have more already planing next year grow lol
Taking master gardener classes fixing to start some bronze smokey fennel .
Transplanted my moa reds moved one to the middle of its container & gave the other one a new home.
I also transplanted my Hawaii Beach into a permanent home.
I am convinced its some type of bonnet or close cousin enough rambling good vibes sent your way may your plants be a beautiful green & there roots run deep & produce lots of tasty pods
 
Everything is looking great Rick!! Hope you get on top of those grubs ASAP!! Lots of milder varieties this season Rick... Lots of pickling planned?
 
Plantguy76 said:
Hello Rick I need to get catched up on your glog hope things are doing well for you it has been bug wars here seems worse this year cause of all the rain plus I have more already planing next year grow lol
Taking master gardener classes fixing to start some bronze smokey fennel .
Transplanted my moa reds moved one to the middle of its container & gave the other one a new home.
I also transplanted my Hawaii Beach into a permanent home.
I am convinced its some type of bonnet or close cousin enough rambling good vibes sent your way may your plants be a beautiful green & there roots run deep & produce lots of tasty pods
 
Thanks for the good vibe Jason, and good luck with your grow. Master gardener classes sound interesting...maybe I'll take them myself sometime.
 
Trippa said:
Everything is looking great Rick!! Hope you get on top of those grubs ASAP!! Lots of milder varieties this season Rick... Lots of pickling planned?
 
I've got enough heat put by from the last couple of years that I can afford to grow more mild varieties this year Tristan. I also have the loan of two additional plots in the community garden this year to do it in. I've still got 3 Fruts and 10 Chinense plants for serious heat and the usual run of Thai, Mexican and Hungarian mid-range heat. I'll pickle the spicy Hungarians and Jalapenos, make ajvar with the Kapijas and any spare Pimiento pods, dry the Mexican, Thai and Chinense varieties for powder and eat the rest fresh during the growing season. I have a ready market for my hots in a couple of local restaurants too, and I trade them for credit or gift certificates so I can occasionally treat my wife to dinner out.
 
randyp said:
   You stuff has exploded Rick.Keep the pics coming.Hope ya had a great PA day. ;)
 
Cheers Randy! I had to work a full day on Saturday so Sunday was a chores day here. I'll give the MoA Bonnets a few more days but it looks like they've finally set a few pods. If they don't drop them I'll post pics then. Meanwhile, I got a pic of some Chickadee chicks in our nesting box in the back yard. They have some down and pin-feathers so I'd say they're about 2-3 days old. It typically takes them 16-17 days to fledge, so they'll probably fly the coop in about two weeks.
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The Rose Campion is in full flower now. The plant has a dense fuzz of white hairs on the stalks and leaves that gives it an interesting appearance in contrast to the hot reddish-purple blossoms. My wife and I saw some Yellow-Jackets land on it, gather up balls of the fuzz and fly away. I can't think what they'd want it for unless they use it in nest-building.
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I see there's a squall headed this way that should be here by noon. Good thing I have the taller plants staked up...
 
Have a great week all!
 
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