Pulpiteer's grow log 2012

I thought I'd do a grow log this year, since I've enjoyed reading the ones that other folks do. I'm up in Michigan and last year was able to get the plants in the garden in mid-May, but that isn't a sure thing. I'm starting a bit early, but I want the plants to be a good size when I do get them in, so that I don't have to wait until later in the Fall to harvest. If we would've had an early frost last year, I would've been in trouble. The grow log puts a bit of pressure on. If this is a tremendous failure, then it'll be public. I've been gardening for awhile, and had great luck with my peppers last year, but I'm taking a giant step up this year, so we'll see.

Here is my grow list:
1. Douglah x4 Ajijoe
2. Scotch Bonnet (Y) x4 Pepperjoe.com
3. Cherry Bomb x4 Farmers market
4. Bhut Jolokia ® x4 Dshlogg
5. Trinidad Scorpion (Red)x6 Ajijoe
6. Trinidad Scropion (Peach) x6 Ajijoe
7. Chocolate Congo Habanero x6 Ajijoe
8. Caribbean Red Habanero x6 Ajijoe
9. Aji Pineapple x4 Ajijoe
10. Peach Bhut Jolokia x6 Ajijoe
11. Naga Morich x4 Dshlogg
12. Scotch Bonnet (Y)x8 Refining Fire
13. Jamaican Red Mushroom x8 Refining Fire
14. Jamaican Chocolate Habanero x8 Refining Fire
15. Thai Dragon x4 Dshlogg
16. 7 Pot (Yellow) x4 Masschilehead
17. Avery Island Tobasco x4 Masschilehead
18. Aji Limon x4 Dshlogg
19. Devil's Tongue x4 Dshlogg
20. Fatali x6 Totally Tomato
21. Red Rocoto x6 Totally Tomato
22. Scotch Bonnet (Red)x4 Hotstuff
23. Jalapeno x4 Dshlogg
24. Bell (various) x20 (I'll buy the plants in the spring)

This website has been tremendously helpful. After some contact with MJDiamond83, I ordered some CFL bulbs. They are 100 watt bulbs that put out the equivalent of 400 watts of light, 6500 on the light temperature, I believe. I get a shelving unit on sale last year from Lowes, some pvc this year from Menards and ordered some mylar emergency blankets off of Amazon (10 for $8) and put up a cheap frame that gives me two levels, with the CFL on top and some florescent strip lights on the bottom. With the lights on, it gets to about 84, and with them off its in the mid 70's. I hope that's enough to get the seeds to pop.

Here's a shot where you can see the three lights and the mylar around the three sides. For the front cover I just have a mylar sheet that drapes down and it's all basically enclosed.

Here's a shot of everything planted. For the most part I have at least two seeds in each cell, sometimes a few more than that. I figure I can cut down if I have too many that germinate.

 

[romy6]

I sum up what Greg said with just utter jaw dropping superb grow. The chili gods have been kind to you my man. That is a ton of powder. Looks like many years worth. Might be time to set up at the old farmers market and pay for next years grow

That brianstrain jelly looks lethal. I bet that would make a mean spicy PB&J .

The srirachi looks perfect. Might have to duplicate that .

Great see package from Greg . Gonna be a Bonnet fest at Handy Andy's next year for sho

 

[Sanarda]

Your pods are gorgeous and I too love the garden shot. The peppers have a wonderful color on the plant that look just like fall. That srirachi sauce looks delicious. Sorry if this is an obvious question or if I plan didnt see where you posted, but what peppers did you use? I tend to speed read and miss stuff.

 

[Pulpiteer]

Mmm, homemade Sriracha, sounds tasty. Sriracha is still one of my favorites, and I need to either make some or buy another bottle soon!

Thanks Karl! It did turn out tasty! Definitely make your own - I think a lot of the peppers you grew would be perfect for this sort of thing.

Andy,
Nice job with the Sriracha sauce. Thats where the food mill comes in handy. I like the
wide angle shot of your home and garden. Beautiful autumn colors on the background trees.
You're probably going to find peppers that you didn't realize were there. If you have any
"Thai Bird's" or similar you can let them hang on the plants and sun dry. The skin is thin
and they won't mold up like a juicy thick walled pod......they're also easier to spot once the leaves have fallen from the plants...
It was a great season for you, go back to page one and see where you started. Success!

Thanks Greg! The autumn colors are in full force here. Fall is my favorite season, but this fall I've been busier than usual with the extra large harvest. I think I'll have quite a few pods on the vine that I won't get to or that had spots so I left or one thing or another. But yeah, I bet those thai's that i have will hang in there even after a frost. I had some aji lemons that were around a long time after the first frosts last year and they just ripened on the vine.

It was a great season - thanks! I was blessed!

I sum up what Greg said with just utter jaw dropping superb grow. The chili gods have been kind to you my man. That is a ton of powder. Looks like many years worth. Might be time to set up at the old farmers market and pay for next years grow

That brianstrain jelly looks lethal. I bet that would make a mean spicy PB&J .

The srirachi looks perfect. Might have to duplicate that .

Great see package from Greg . Gonna be a Bonnet fest at Handy Andy's next year for sho

Thanks Jamie! Just trying to keep up with you guys! I've been blessed this year. It's been a great year and a fun one. I should check out the farmers market thing, but I might be too late for up here.
The brain strain is pretty lethal, but also pretty tasty, and I'm pleased with the sriracha. This is a great website - I've learned a lot from it. That recipe is pretty easy. It's a good one.

Yeah, I'm psyched about that package from Greg. I've not really been able to grow a true bonnet - although this year I did get the Trinidad SB's to grow, but the other few times I've tried it has not worked. So I'm pretty excited to grow all those out. I loved the taste of the Trinidad SB's. I have a goal of growing more edible pods next year, but then the superhots keep sneaking in... I've got to get this under control...

Your pods are gorgeous and I too love the garden shot. The peppers have a wonderful color on the plant that look just like fall. That srirachi sauce looks delicious. Sorry if this is an obvious question or if I plan didnt see where you posted, but what peppers did you use? I tend to speed read and miss stuff.

Thanks Pia! The colors are wonderful to see. Like I said, I do love the fall. You should try the sriracha, it's easy enough. I used mostly Thai peppers - both orange and thai dragons, and a couple cayennes to get it up to 2 lbs of peppers. I think any thin walled red pepper would probably work well. The Thai's taste great in it.

 

[stc3248]

Great season Andy!!! Your harvest shot was well done once again, and the sauce looked amazing! Hope you got your overwinters all done!

 

[BigCedar]

WOW. Andy, I have some spare time and figured I'd check out some glogs, I'm glad I checked out yours! I went through the last 3 pages, amazing! Loving the big harvest shot, the horned melon is very cool as well. You and I have the same sort of idea with the powders, I'm planning on keeping everything seperate as well and making spice jars for each variety. They all have such a unique flavor I figured why not. Your hot sauce looks incredible, I might have to try that out Your garden sure did take off, that tabasco plant is freaking huge. The garden itself is probably quite the attraction for anyone walking by. Very cool. Way to grow buddy.

Brandon

 

[DocNrock]

Love the garden shot. Great layout. Shrubs that produce edible heat!

Another +1 on the peach powder. And agreed, years worth of powder!

Brain/strawberry jelly looks killer, literally and figuratively.

And great call on the home-made Sriracha. I tried some store-bought recently and my tolerance must be up, because all I tasted was garlic. Didn't seem hot, at all. Home-made and you can dial up the heat!

 

[Pulpiteer]

Great season Andy!!! Your harvest shot was well done once again, and the sauce looked amazing! Hope you got your overwinters all done!

Thanks Shane - it has been. I got the overwinters done - pictures below. Now it's a matter of drying, freezing and making sauces. I'm going to try fermenting and I'm a bit nervous about that...

WOW. Andy, I have some spare time and figured I'd check out some glogs, I'm glad I checked out yours! I went through the last 3 pages, amazing! Loving the big harvest shot, the horned melon is very cool as well. You and I have the same sort of idea with the powders, I'm planning on keeping everything seperate as well and making spice jars for each variety. They all have such a unique flavor I figured why not. Your hot sauce looks incredible, I might have to try that out Your garden sure did take off, that tabasco plant is freaking huge. The garden itself is probably quite the attraction for anyone walking by. Very cool. Way to grow buddy.

Brandon

Thanks so much for stopping by! Yeah, I think the separate powders allows me to mix at a later point for specific flavor and heat. Glad we're on the same page. I encourage you to try that sriracha - easy and good. The garden is known around town now - we've got a small town. My wife was somewhere and being introduced and someone asked her, "are you at the house with the garden?" So I feel like I've arrived.

Love the garden shot. Great layout. Shrubs that produce edible heat!

Another +1 on the peach powder. And agreed, years worth of powder!

Brain/strawberry jelly looks killer, literally and figuratively.

And great call on the home-made Sriracha. I tried some store-bought recently and my tolerance must be up, because all I tasted was garlic. Didn't seem hot, at all. Home-made and you can dial up the heat!

Thanks Doc! Yeah, I probably do have years worth of powder. I'm planning on giving away lots for Christmas. Should be fun. That Brainstrain strawberry jelly is a killer and tasty.

Once I saw how easy the sriracha recipe was, I just had to make my own.



Ok - project overwinter was completed on Saturday and we had a frost last night, so I think my timing was good. Here are pics:

Step one: choose the plant that will survive (hopefully) the winter. In this case a Red Rocoto.

Step two: prune it all back, then dig it up.

Step three: Get all the dirt out of the roots, then spray it down with a good organic pesticide/mite killer. I did not do this last year and paid for it.

Here is a yellow 7 pot that received the same treatment. The root structure is awesome, but it's sad because I know I still left a lot of it in the ground. Hopefully this is enough for it to live.

Step fourish: A new dirt mix, sanitized pots and put the cleaned, trimmed, sprayed plant in.

Finally, here they are. Safe in the basement to go dormant.

I think this will be the last big harvest. I'm up to my ears in peppers.

My youngest wanted to pose again - here with some 7 Pot Jonahs

Some close ups of some peppers - they really are a beautiful fruit.

Brains:

Bishops Crowns:

Thanks for stopping by!

 

[romy6]

Beautiful harvest pics Andy but your daughter is beyond beautiful. She is amazing

 

[ajijoe]

Beautiful harvest pics Andy but your daughter is beyond beautiful. She is amazing

im with romy on both

thanks your friend Joe

 

[Pulpiteer]

Beautiful harvest pics Andy but your daughter is beyond beautiful. She is amazing

im with romy on both

thanks your friend Joe

Thanks guys. I'm a blessed person.

 

[Sanarda]

Gorgeous peppers and gorgeous kid. Who can ask for anything more. Congrats on that great harvest.

 

[stc3248]

Great final harvest Andy! Now for a season finale you should eat another Brain and see how it compares to the first! I wanna go back and re-watch that first vid, so funny. The description was even better! Keep us posted on the overwinter progress.

 

[DocNrock]

Looking great. Awesome final harvest and nice attention to detail on the overwinters. Hoping they all bush up for you come Spring.

 

[Spicegeist]

Very nice, good luck with the overwinter this year.

 

[nimoff]

Great harvest Andy!
What can you say about Cherry Bomb?

Vit.

 

[Pulpiteer]

Gorgeous peppers and gorgeous kid. Who can ask for anything more. Congrats on that great harvest.

Thank you! It sounds like your harvest went well this year too, nice work!

Great final harvest Andy! Now for a season finale you should eat another Brain and see how it compares to the first! I wanna go back and re-watch that first vid, so funny. The description was even better! Keep us posted on the overwinter progress.

Part of me is almost tempted to do that. But part of me isn't. Namely my stomach part.

Looking great. Awesome final harvest and nice attention to detail on the overwinters. Hoping they all bush up for you come Spring.

Thanks, I hope so too. I figure even if a couple of them do then I'll be ahead of the game.

Very nice, good luck with the overwinter this year.

Thanks!

Great harvest Andy!
What can you say about Cherry Bomb?

Vit.

Thanks! I love the Cherry Bomb. Sweet and fleshy with a nice little kick. Great for stuffing. Definitely recommend. I'll be growing them again next year.

 

[highalt]

That Tobasco plant is gorgeous! I didn't realize that one was so ornamental. May have to consider that one for next year.

On the Srirachi, did you refrigerate it, or was it shelf stable? I really wanted to make my own sauce this season, but without a ph tester, I'm kind of nervous about it.

I started out with plans of making separate powders of each variety, so that I could spend the winter comparing flavors, haha! Yeah, well, the reality was that I didn't always have enough of one variety to fill a tray in the dehydrator, so I'd put a couple of kinds together. Once the pods were all dried and shrunken up, I had a hard time tellnig one variety from another. I did manage to keep the ones I could positively identify separate, but some went into blends of peppers with a similar heat level. Maybe if I had more pods of each variety ripe at the same time, I could have made that plan work better ...

 

[Sanarda]

Once I have a nice harvest of ripe thai's I think I will try the srirachi. It looked absolutely delicious and seems easy to make.

 

[Pulpiteer]

That Tobasco plant is gorgeous! I didn't realize that one was so ornamental. May have to consider that one for next year.

On the Srirachi, did you refrigerate it, or was it shelf stable? I really wanted to make my own sauce this season, but without a ph tester, I'm kind of nervous about it.

I started out with plans of making separate powders of each variety, so that I could spend the winter comparing flavors, haha! Yeah, well, the reality was that I didn't always have enough of one variety to fill a tray in the dehydrator, so I'd put a couple of kinds together. Once the pods were all dried and shrunken up, I had a hard time tellnig one variety from another. I did manage to keep the ones I could positively identify separate, but some went into blends of peppers with a similar heat level. Maybe if I had more pods of each variety ripe at the same time, I could have made that plan work better ...

Thanks - I didn't either until I saw it. They are hot little suckers.
I did refrigerate my sriracha. I didn't do a pH test on it or get stuff to seal it up and since it was just a couple of bottles I figured it wasn't a big deal. I do have a pH tester for my other sauces though.

I did have enough to do the powder separate, and I think in the long run it will be easier for what I want to do. I did have to keep them separate in the dehydrator, because you're right, they shrink up and it's tough to tell which is which. Hope things are going well for you!

Once I have a nice harvest of ripe thai's I think I will try the srirachi. It looked absolutely delicious and seems easy to make.

Yep - two important things for me with a recipe - delicious and easy


Alright, I've been up till all hours of the morning for two nights in a row again. Last night I was out grinding peppers into powder. It just hurts. Open ventilated, gloves, turned away when removing the lid, but it still got in the air and on my skin and lit up my face like a Christmas tree. I felt like I was glowing in the dark by the time I went to bed. But it was worth it - here are most of them:

Tonight I finally tried starting a ferment for a sauce. I'm nervous and excited to see if this works. I've read quite a bit of this thread for prep: Fermenting your own hot sauce.

I decided to do two different sauces for fermenting, since I had two large jars and two airlocks. I fermented a tabasco sauce and a Trinidad Scotch bonnet sauce. I decided to use whey from yogurt as a starter, so I went to the store, bought plain yogurt and some cheese cloth. Cheesecloth goes over a strainer and those into a bowl so the yogurt would drain its juice (the whey) through the cheesecloth, strainer, and into the bowl.

And after 30-45 minutes I had this:

I began with tabasco - picking tons of tiny peppers, enough for two bowls:

I ground them in a food processor. My goal is a straight tabasco ferment and then add vinegar later for the sauce. So - time to make the brine. I used canning salt so I could have it without the iodine. As the thread on fermenting says, you should figure the amount of salt by weight, not by tablespoons - since different grinds, etc, will weigh different. So, for a gallon of water I used 68 grams of salt

With it all ground and into the jar:

I bought the airlocks on ebay, btw.

Next,one I am excited about. I loved these peppers - the Trinidad Scotch bonnets. So I'm doing both yellow and red in the sauce:

After adding the chopped up scotch bonnets, I added two carrots (ground up below), then roasted some garlic on the grill - a whole clump - and chopped that up and added it too.

And finally, the finished product:

Now to let them set for at least 30 days. I'm excited to see how it will turn out.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

[PIC 1]

Nice job with the ferments Andy. You sure picked some tasty peppers to expierment with. 30 days should give you a well balanced flavor with the ingredients that you chose. The salt will preserve the ferment if you chose to run the longer route of 90+ days. Don't remove the lid until you're ready to process. Some folks tend to take the lid off and "stir" their product up during the process, I still can't figure that one out. Good choice with the air locks...........they do work out nicely with the longer processes as well. Wait til you try the finished product, it brings the sauce making to a new level. By the way, save some of those Bonnets for pickling whole. The vinegar can be used towards some sauce making and the pods are a great addition to the "Jerk" marinade. They're better with age...