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JJJ Glog 2014.....in summary

Whew!
2013 Swirling down the Drain of Time.
 
Washing the 10x20s for a New Year.
 

 
 
By last October I was so peppered out  -40 some superhot plants and over twice that many mild and sweets. Didn't think I'd ever see the end of it. But, an early surprise freeze caught me off guard and I lost several mild and sweeties. I did get almost the entire superhot crop, dried, smoked, fermented, frozen or pickled. so I should have no dearth of heat to see me through to 2014 harvest.
 
I owe most of my pepper success in 2013 to YOU.
All the folks here at THP helped me from seed, to advice, to encouragement, to inspiration.  Couldn't have done it without y'all.
 
Some changes for 2014:
 

 
I'm moving my Cappy 1000 Pepper Incubator into my  basement utility room. Last year I had it in a minimally heated out building and the night times often dipped into the 50s or lower. And come to find out, baby peppers don't much care for that. They survived, they were just slow growers.
 
 
Dirt:
 
Fox Farms Ocean Forest will be my potting mix. It's organic and hopefully will be as good as the Miracle Grow Moisture Control and it can't be any worse than my home-brew last year which wasn't horrible but coulda been better.
 
Timing:
 
Instead of putting most of my seed in the ground in early February, I'm going to hold off until later on the Annums. The Chinensis at least some in early - mid January and some Manzano seeds earlier than that if I can find them. :rolleyes:
 
How Many for Plant Out?:
 
Not 140.
I'm devoting 2 raised beds -a 4x30 and a 4x16 to Sweet Peppers -Jimmy Nardello, King of the North, Gaint Marconis, Aji Dulce. About 26 plants. 
100' in my row garden. Probably 40 plant's. Haven't decided on the balance, Bhuts, 7 pot, Habs, Bonnets, Jalas, the usual suspects and a few odd balls.
66 plants +/- total. I totally neglected my maters last year(which given the season didn't make much difference), but this year I vow to do better by tomatoes. I hope to do 50 or so -all heirlooms, mostly paste.
I'll start several more of both than needed for selling and give-aways.
 
 
 
In related news....
 
My buddy up in Richmond grew a lot of peppers last year. He has a geodesic dome greenhouse. At the end of season he just dug up several of his pepper plants and moved them in inside.
 

 
They're looking pretty good for late December.
 
My last "harvest" of 2013 was 12/22/13; some Thai Chilis that I'd pulled the whole plants in October and just laid up on a table outside. Most had dried leather-hard.
 
I pulled, cooked, seasoned, ground and strained them into a sauce for Pad Thai for this winter.
 

 
 
Everything subject to change without notice.
(But I'll keep you posted)
 
Thanks for reading,
JJJ
 
 
 
Happy New Year Again.
 
I did my seed inventory this AM and right off the bat I can see how limiting to < 70 pepper plants is gonna be tough.;
Trouble is the dang sweet peppers. I like to use them fresh, in my hot sauce base, and fresh-pickled for winter use (to me, a pickled slab of a sweet red on a hamburger in January is better than any tomato from my grocer then (now)). So they're a big budget buster.
 
The MAIN REASON I'm posting this INVENTORY (NOT GROW LIST) is to see if any of you guys need any of these.
Most of these I'll have several extra seeds, or even many severals, to share.
Don't be shy, just ask. The season's young. And most of these seed came from THP members (many thanks) anyways. The Selfsaved came from unbagged blossoms.  
 
A few like the Padron   (I love this pepper scorched in olive oil and salted)  (and Jimmy Nardello) I'm actually short on seeds and need a few more (hinthint). 
 
1= mostly likely I'll grow this year
 
5 = leastly likely this year
 
RE = more research needed to intelligently ponder
 
If you are a strong advocate for any of these "down the list" varieties, chime in. I appreciate persuasion.
 
[SIZE=large]Seed Name[/SIZE]                                                                    [SIZE=large]Source[/SIZE]              [SIZE=large]Likelihood I'll Grow[/SIZE] 
7 Pot, Madballz                                                            Annie                                  1 
Aji Dulce                                                                         SelfSaved                         1 
Bhut Jolokia, Red                                             Durham Bull                1
Bhut Jolokia, White                                                    WalkGood                    1 
Bonda Ma Jaques                                              Annie                                 1 
Brainstrain, Yellow “Einstein”                                Annie                                 1 
Carolina Reaper                                                            5thSeason                        1 
Cheiro Fidalgo Roxa                                                    5thSeason                    1 
Ecuador Yellow Not                                                     SelfSaved                     1 
Fatalli                                                                SelfSaved                         1 
Habanero, JA                                                                 WalkGood                     1 
Inca Red Drops                                                               Annie                                   1 
Inca Red Drops                                                               BethBoyd                      1 
Jimmy Nardello                                                              Highhalt                             1 
King of the North                                                          Baker Creek                      1 
King of the North                                               SelfSaved                           1 
Manzano, Yellow/Orange Mix                                   Smokemaster                    1 
Nagabon                                                                            Hippy Seed Co                  1 
Padron                                                                RichmonDave                1 
Red Congo                                                                        Unknown                       1 
Red Marconi                                                                     Baker Creek                  1 
Scotch Bonnet, JA MoA                                               WalkGood                           1 
Thai Dragon                                                        Grimmpepper                 1
 7 Pot, Jonah                                                                   Durham Bull                         2
Anaheim                                                                            Scarecrow                            2 
Scorpion, Chocolate                                                     WalkGood                       2 
Thai Chili                                                                           SelfSaved                       2 
7 Pot, Yellow                                                      Durham Bull                    3 
Butch T                                                               Durham Bull                        3 
Naga, Black                                                         Durham Bull                        3 
Naga, Black                                                         SelfSaved                             3 
Naga, Dorset                                                       SelfSaved                             3 
Scotch Bonnet, Market                                                 SelfSaved                            3 
Bishop Crowns                                                                  Scarecrow                      4 
Cherezo                                                              SelfSaved                             4 
Habanero, Caribbean Red                                           Baker Creek                    4 
Habanero, Chocolate                                                    Chefconnie                          4 
Trinidad Scorpion, Morouga                                        Durham Bull                   4 
Trinidad Scorpion, Yellow                                            Durham Bull                  4 
Aji Chinchi Amarillo                                             Highhalt                               5 
Alma Paprika                                                                      Highhalt                               5 
Alma Paprika                                                                      SelfSaved                            5 
Chilhuacle Amarillo                                              Highhalt                        5 
Chiltepin                                                                              Unknown                      5 
Fresno                                                                                   Highhalt                       5 
Tabasco                                                                                SelfSaved                     5 
7 Pot Barrackpore                                                            Romy                                  RE 
Aci Sirvi Cayenne                                                             Scarecrow                   RE 
Aji de la Tierra                                                                  BethBoyd                         RE 
Aji Gusanito                                                                       Judy Hamdan                  RE 
Aji Lemon                                                                            Romy                                 RE 
Arledge                                                                                 Scarecrow                       RE 
Beni Highlands                                                                   BethBoyd                         RE 
Bradley's Bahamian                                               Unknown                         RE 
Buran                                                                                     SeedSaversEx                RE 
Japones                                                                                Tradewind Fruits          RE 
Pri Kee Noo Suan                                                              Unknown                         RE 
Rooster Spur                                                                       Scarecrow                  RE 
Yatsufusa                                                              Grimmpepper             RE
 
 
Thanks for pondering
JJJ
 
On your list you have TS yellow listed as a 4.  I can't see not growing this pepper ever.  I love this pepper diced fresh and put into eggs.  Wonderful flavor and heat.
 
I must also lobby for some habanero types.  Jaques, Bart, Mustard, and peach are all excellent choices.
 
If you are short on Jimmy, pm me your address and I will ship you off some seed.  You didn't mention the patio red Marconi.  Awesome sweet pepper.
 
No one can argue with your own tastes and preferences, but I'd agree with Jeff on the TS Yellow.  I'd also move the 7Pot Yellow up the list, but maybe that role is filled by the Einstein.  The yellows are just such useful all-around supers.  Just sampling the various purees with friends (just now starting sauces), the yellows generally get the highest marks.
 
Thanks Hillbilly, Yes, come to think of I don't think my TS yellow  didn't germ or make it to ground last year (my first pepper year). I'm going to test germ several things real soon to make sure my ducks will line up later. And I'll re-try those. I'm gonna stay focused on the Ramon's JA Habs but next year I may branch out.  PM coming to ya for some Nardellos, Thanks!
 
I'm with you, Saw. '13 turned me into a yellow pepper lover. And yes, the Einstein is doing 7 Pot duty. I dried it whole pod (risky), and  tore into it this morning -it looked good. It burned my tongue and scorched my eyelids. That's gotta be a good sign. :P
 
As Incubator space allows, I'll probably raise plants of some of  those  2-5 for giving and trading.
 
jjj
 
Happy new year. Nice list of peppers. My son likes to grow the arledge because they point up and they are a little hotter when I make jalapeño poppers. They are a little small though. We are still looking for a hotter/bigger stuffing pepper. good luck in 2014
 
Manzano help request.
 
Well, I'm in  a small quandary right off the bat. I soaked 8 Manzano seeds and after 22 hrs 7 are still floating. Is normal for the Manz? They are a whiole new game for me. Wouldn't be a tragedy if they don't make, but looks like a unique and potentially tasty pepper.
 
I realized I'd not calculated in a 4x10 bed that is undercover crop now, but needs to be leveled and walls built, so I'm officially bumping  my pepper ceiling to 77 which puts the pressure on to but get to digging (but that's my favorite part :D )
 
Scarecrow, I believe I'll give that Arledge a try. I never made a popper so here's my chance.
 
Grow List 2014 2nd edition abridged
 

 
Items in blue are new varieties or ones I just forgot to include in the first edition. If the source is blank, it means I don't have seeds yet.
Also my target number of plant-out for each variety.
 
 
Started some germ tests soaking today.

 
And showing 2 of my 2013 Pure Ferments cause I knew you'd like the fancy bottles and labels.
 
Rick said he didn't soak his manzano's and they sprouted. I soaked mine and got 0% germ. My friend puts them in a blender to nick the seeds then plants them. I might take a file to some and see if that works. I'll keep you posted.
 
Nice looking list! Can't help much on persuasion for most of your lower down the list varieties as I haven't tried most of them. The bishop's crown is a favourite for me and my wife though. Makes a great substitute for bell peppers in dishes we cook that have bells in them. Also great stuffed. 
Best of luck for your grow!
 
Like Jeff, I soaked some Manzano seeds last year and got 0% germination.  Then I planted more and got some germination, though I don't remember the exact percentage.  The seeds were from different sources in the two cases, so it may have been due to that, but after reading similar accounts in another thread, I've decided not to soak them this year.
 
Rick sent me quite a few Manzano seeds, I tried the full deal, paper towels in bags, soaking, and just sticking them in the dirt. 2 or 3 came up, don't know which of the before mentioned is which. One had a helmet, I removed it and am still on the fence as to whether it will make it. And the Red Rocotto's 4 for 10 sprouted, 3 helmet heads, they died, the one that came up grew 3 true leaves and damped off.
 
So in my book, so far..the pubes pose more of a challenge to get going. But I'm not giving up ;)
 
The rest of my seeds just get put in the Jiffy pellets and are kept moist. No heat mat, guess I'll get one for next season. Had better germ percentages last year, but this year has been cooler. Using the heat versus the AC, which means rooms are below 70°...it is what it is..
 
Good luck this season!
 
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