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TBG's First Chilli Blitz! (2017-18)

G'day G'day!
Welcome to my very first glog, I hope you like it: ;)
 
This is my first time growing peppers seriously. Last season was my first; I grew 3 Jalapenos, 3 Habaneros,  a Naga Viper, Thai Hot, Cap Mushroom Red and an Ebony Fire, all bought from the store at various maturities.
And then I found TheHotPepper around March this year, and if my grow last year sparked my interest, THP nuked it! I've been super keen for this season, and now its started!
 
I started a few seeds of Aji Amarillo for the SHGDTD on the 22nd June, and currently have 2 seedlings, awaiting the third and final to pop.
 
This year, I'm thinking that I'm attempting to kinda try to limit my grow to roughly three dozen plants (even I'm not convinced), but we'll see what happens.
I don't really have much of a grow list, just a list of varieties that I have at the moment and I'd like to grow. 
So here's something that resembles a Grow List, its not set in stone; I'll end up not growing some on here, and I'll end up growing some that aren't on here.
 
-- The Grow List --
 
- Aji Amarillo
- Carolina Reaper
- Naga Viper Purple
- Aji Lemon
- Brazilian Starfish
- Jay's Peach Ghost Scorpion
- MoA Scotch Bonnet
- Scotch Brain
- Aji Jobito X BBG7 Choc (Shorerider's)
- Choc 7 Pot
- Malih-helow
- Peter Pepper Yellow
- Rocoto
- Bahamian Goat Pepper
- Cayenne X Bhut (Shorerider's)
- Red/Green Bell
- Habanero Mix (Red Savina & Tiger Paw)
- Prik Kee Nu Suan
- Bhut Jolokia Red
- Corno Di Toro Rosso
- Aji Pineapple
- Trinidad Scorpion CARDI
- Jalapeno
- Trinidad Perfume
- Trinidad Moruga Scorpion
- Tabasco
- 7 Pot Jonah Red
- Bishop's Hat
- Cap Mushroom Red
- Sugar Rush Peach
- Yellow Bell
- Goat's Weed
- Rocoto Aji Largo
- Trinidad Scorpion Butch-T
 
So yeah, that 36 plant limit is very dubious.
 
But before I go on, I'd like to send out a HUGE THANK YOU to Blitz527, as well as everyone who got on board the Aussie Seed Train, my grow is substantially due to your generosity!
So THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
And now its time to get down to business, The Grow!
 
I started 9 varieties on Saturday (1st July), giving them a chamomile bath and then into the paper towel in the incubator (which only fits 9 varieties)
 
The Bath Tub:


 
The Incubator:




 
 



So the first batch for this season is:
- Naga Viper Purple
- Scotch Brain
- Aji Jobito X BBG7 Choc 
- Choc 7 Pot
- Carolina Reaper
- Jay's Peach Ghost Scorpion
- MoA Scotch Bonnet
- Bahamian Goat Pepper
- Bhut Jolokia Red
 
And not forgetting the Aji Amarillo that have already started.


 
You'll notice a few other seedlings in the background, they're from seed I kept from last season's grow, but they all got mixed up. So I decided to sow some of the mixed up stuff back in April to make sure that they were all okay and would actually grow. Three of them have purple foliage, so they must be Ebony Fire. The rest are either Jalapeno or Thai Hot. (There's 6 all up)
I've had them slowly growing on a windowsill since April, but I got my growbox set up yesterday (writing this on the 4th July) and chucked them into it. They're looking happier already!

 
But anyway,
When this lot pops, I'll start the next, and so on and so forth till I declare that I have sufficient Varieties!
 
Here's to hoping for a great season and a great glog, I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I will!!!
 
:cheers:
Thanks for stopping by, I'm looking forward  to sharing my progress with you, I'm aiming for at least weekly.
 
4/7/17 EDIT: Replaced the dodgy photo links, and added some info about some seedlings I've already started.
 
 
Sweet updates! I either had a seed mix up or one of my Borg's is purple.

KIMG1104.JPG


These are the three I sprouted
 
Teaks said:
Beautiful pictures, jelly of your tomato mine only has 2 on it so far and is about 7ft tall! Haha.

Keep it up, great work as always TBG
 
Ha! Thanks! Give it a couple of months and it'll come good.
 
Walchit said:
Sweet updates! I either had a seed mix up or one of my Borg's is purple.

attachicon.gif
KIMG1104.JPG

These are the three I sprouted
 
Cheers! That's interesting, I only sprouted the one, so could be a 'borg", or a mix up...
 
Things are really coming along now!
 
A couple more of the Goats Weed X
 

 
With some nice hot days, we're getting colour showing on a fair few plants!
 
Cayenne X Bhut
 

 

 
 
Malih-Helow
 

 
 
Tabasco
 

 
 
Aji Jobito X BBG7 Choc
 

 
 
D3's El Scorponero 
 

 

 
 
Trinidad Scorpion CARDI (blurry pic)
 

 
I pulled a couple of half ripe Scorpions because they had been munched on by someone... I'd appreciate it if the locals would let me try some of my produce before they spoil it! 
 
Now, the Mystery plant is still in a Solo Cup, but its chugging along. Originally, I thought that it might be a Baccatum because it was growing like the Brazilian Starfish and Aji Amarillo, and then when it flowered I was able to confirm that it is a baccatum. And now the pods look like this:
 

 

 
Not sure what it is exactly, looks a bit like a starfish and a bit like a Bishop's hat/crown. Should be interesting how it turns out!
 
Short update for now, next time we should hopefully have a few decent pull pics! :woohoo: (Touch wood)
 
All The Best, TBG. :party:
 
Not so much an update as a News Flash!
 
13/2/2018 - First Haul of the season!
 

 
:woohoo: :dance: :metal:
 
There's two Trinidad Scorpion CARDI Yellow on the left, a "short yellow" pheno of D3's El Scorponero F2 at the top, below it is an Orange Wild Brazil, and on the right are three Cayenne X Bhut. And the best part is, there'll be more to come in the next few days! :woohoo:
 
Also glad that I've finally got a Scorpion or two that is edible, after sacrificing the first 4 pods to the bug gods.
 
 
All The Best, TBG. :woohoo:
 
ThatBlondGuy101 said:
Things are really coming along now!
 
A couple more of the Goats Weed X
 

 
With some nice hot days, we're getting colour showing on a fair few plants!
 
Cayenne X Bhut
 

 

 
 
Malih-Helow
 

 
 
Tabasco
 

 
 
Aji Jobito X BBG7 Choc
 

 
 
D3's El Scorponero 
 

 

 
 
Trinidad Scorpion CARDI (blurry pic)
 

 
I pulled a couple of half ripe Scorpions because they had been munched on by someone... I'd appreciate it if the locals would let me try some of my produce before they spoil it! 
 
Now, the Mystery plant is still in a Solo Cup, but its chugging along. Originally, I thought that it might be a Baccatum because it was growing like the Brazilian Starfish and Aji Amarillo, and then when it flowered I was able to confirm that it is a baccatum. And now the pods look like this:
 

 

 
Not sure what it is exactly, looks a bit like a starfish and a bit like a Bishop's hat/crown. Should be interesting how it turns out!
 
Short update for now, next time we should hopefully have a few decent pull pics! :woohoo: (Touch wood)
 
All The Best, TBG. :party:
 
bishops crown, starfish, champion, I think even aji fantasy sort of start out like that but they are a bit longer. 
 
Okay, time to hear about some pods!
 
(No video sorry... :mope: )
 
So, first up, Orange Wild Brazil!
 
As D3monic pointed out (I think that was another thread), it is quite hot. And it sure is! I spent most of the time eating it trying to figure out whether or not it was hotter than the Goats Weed X. The two are very, very close, but I'd say that the Goats Weed was a smidgeon hotter than the Wild Brazil. It took me a bit to pick up on its flavour, which was a bit faint. It was good, but I can't really describe it. Will have to try to figure it out with the future pods. All up, a good one, I reckon it would go well in a salsa, but it would add a fair bit of a kick. Which isn't necessarily bad.... 
 
Next, was the Trinidad Scorpion CARDI.
 

 
Which is fantastic! First up, you really do get the flavour here. Its got that Citrus flavour that I've noticed in Scorpions I've had previous, but not as strong, and mixed with fruity hints, that I'll once again compare to Habanero. Had a slight bit of that Chinense, floral-ish flavour, but no where near as much the citrus and fruity. Wonderful flavour! And then the heat is also something special. At first, there is zero. None at all. But then about 20 seconds later, it starts building. And then after about 1 minute, you've got some full on heat hitting you, mostly front of mouth I found. Very sharp on the tip of your tongue. Now, it was very hot, I'd say super hot no doubt, but it wasn't unbearable. If you crank it up to awfully hot, then turn it back down a bit, thats where it is. The flavour really makes the heat more bearable too. Definitely would go great in a sauce, as you can see in the picture, its fairly fleshy, so would go well volume-wise. The flavour would be fantastic in a salsa, but i think the heat would be a bit too much. Will try it nonetheless I imagine...
 
Finally, the Cayenne X Bhut.
 

 
This one obviously inherited more Cayenne than Bhut. (Although it is only F1....) Heat is waaaay down the scale, but its there. Hard to pick up the flavour on this one, bu its considerably sweet, with some heat. Higher than Jalapeno for sure. Walls were a bit thicker than I was expecting, but still reasonably thin. I'm going to powder it fr sure, but I think that it would go well on a pizza. Not so much salsa. Should be interesting what F2 brings.
 
 
So I've kept on pulling pods, First Malih-Helow today, its on the left here.
 

 
Along with Orange Wild Brazil and Cayenne X Bhuts, plus a fiddy cent for reference. I can't wait to try the Malih-Helow, but apparently the flavour is best when its been left for a few days. Stay tuned to hear of the "Salty-Sweet"!
 
 
All The Best, TBG. :dance:
 
Glad to see the color and pods picked!
 
Also glad to see you're eating them. ;) The Cayenne is close to the Thai pepper, which we use in powders and fresh with Asparagus and Squash. We make all the peppers into powders, and use it in most everything. I'm sure you'll have make making your own seasonings very soon. Of course we make sauces etc. as well.
 
Well, I've been a bit absent, I come back, and the image hosting has gone to S#!t. Bloody annoying, I tell ya! 
 
Lucky for me I have all my pics saved on my computer, but that doesn't help my glog and its dear readers....
 
So looks like I'm gonna have to go back to the one that slows things up, so I apologise beforehand...
 
Update within the hour! (or so)
 
So everything's gotten mixed up glog-wise, so bear with me, may take a few installments to bring everything up to scratch.
 
So, hows everything going?
 
Crazy! Full speed ahead! Pulling in the BIG harvests (by my standards, anyway) I'm so very, very happy with how the plants are doing, even though its only 2/3rd of the plants I intended, and about 1/2 way through the harvest season, I'm happy with what I've gotten so far. I'd be happy to call it here. But I won't of course! (If I can help it, anyway)
 
Here's a harvest pic from yesterday, hadn't picked anything since Wednesday and this is what I pulled:
 

 
Far left is Malih-Helow (red) and Trinidad Scorpion CARDI (yellow). In from them, top to bottom, is D3's El Scorponero F2 "short" (yellow), Jalapeno (green), Tabasco (red). Nest is Goats Weed X (red), White Fatalii (:think:), Orange Wild Brazil (hmm...), Carolina Reaper (red). Next is Aji Jobito X BBG7 Choc (brown/greenish) and Trinidad Perfume (yellow). The final three are Cayenne X Bhut at the top, Albainian Red Hot on the right, and lastly, D3's El Scorponero F2, "gnarly pheno". 
 
Out of everything so far, I'd say the plant I've pulled the most off would be the Cayenne X Bhut, but no picture yet...
 
So 2nd most would probably be Trinidad Scorpion CARDI, which I do have one picture of...
 


 
 
Pods ready to go into the freezer, most of them have been going that way, after the season I think I'll either ferment most of them, or make them straight into a sauce, or powder/flake some, or do all of the above!
 
The Cayenne X Bhuts are all getting dried, to become either flakes or powder, or both!
 
I've only picked two Reaper pods so far, both were tailless runts, but no where near the scariest pods so far. That award goes to a semi-unlikely contender...
 


 
The Aji Jobito X BBG7 Choc! Never have I seen so much oil in the flesh! Absolutely terrifying! I dipped  a toothpick in one of the globules, licked it, and boy- oh boy! More heat in that tiny smidgeon of oil than in a cm2 of the Scorpion! Very thin walled too, but a sh!t tonne of placenta!!!! The entire inside is coated with placenta coated with oil! Fan-bloody-tastic! Any ideas on what I should do with them? I'm thinking flakes or powder?
 
Anyway, that's all for now, more to follow this week hopefully, sorry for my absence, but I hope to make up for it!
 
All The Best, TBG. :dance:


 
 
 
 
 
 
stickman said:
You've got some great pods going there Nev, glad you liked the CARDI Scorpion, it's one of my favorites as well. How much longer to your growing season?
 
Thanks, that's a good question!
 
First frost usually hits late April, last year was early May, some years its mid April, so who knows?
 
As long as I can milk out of it for sure! ;)
 
So, its been over a month between updates. And before that, they were pretty sparse. So I figured that I owe it to all you guys who were following along before to tell you what the hell has been happening.
 
Well, back in February, the 19th to be exact, I moved out of home. If you hadn't figured already, last year I finished high school, remember those weeks around September/October when I was really slack with updates? That was when I had my final exams. So anyway, after finishing school, I got accepted into university, and am now studying engineering down in Sydney. So I moved down here mid-February, and obviously haven't seen my chillies too much since, twice, actually. My family has been maintaining the garden, and picking lots and lots of pods. Seriously, its insane. When I went home for the easter break, the patch hadn't been picked in 3-4 days. I picked over 5 1/2 kg of pods!!!! Most of what's been picked is being frozen, some is being dried straight away (I've got several kg's of Cayenne X Bhut drying), and a small amount is being consumed - my family doesn't have much of a taste for heat, and have no intention of developing one, but they eat some of the milder varieties, and I take some of everything back with me when I visit.
 
So yeah, that's where I'm at. The garden is still going pretty well, most plants have stopped flowering for the season, but are still ripening the remaining pods. I only ended up planting the 40 plants in the patch, plus the 3 in pots. All the rest are still in solo cups, not doing much, but they are alive at any rate. Some have a runt pod or two, most are quite lanky. I don't really have any much photos, I'll try to get some for you all.
 
Although this is not the end, I'd like to thank everyone who has been a part of my wonderful chilli adventure - I've learnt so much from this fantastic forum, and can only hope to be able to share even a tenth of the wisdom and generosity that I have been shown. A special thanks goes out to all the other Southern Hemisphere growers, you know who you are, its been great sharing our seasons side by side, building off each other to make this season great. No where else have I known a community that is as helpful, friendly and open as The Hot Pepper, and it is a privilege to be a part of it. 
I have open pollinated seeds of every plant I harvested pods from, and a few isolated varieties. If anyone wants any, let me know, I will be more than happy to share with you!
 
 
All The Best, 
 
                         ThatBlondGuy101.
 
 
 
:dance:
:dance: :dance:
 
Figured something was up as you were really good with updates.
 
Congrats on starting Uni though and good luck with the long slog ahead. I'm sure you ace it. Glad to see another engineer join the fold.
 
Sounds like your season was a great success overall and hopefully you back in 2018 even if it's just for a container glog (maybe even an indoor tent grow ?)
 
Keep Aspirations On Studying !!!
 
 
 
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