My real start of the season is still months away but I couldn't resist to put something in the soil already - Tasmanian Black! 
2022 - too early to get started...
- Thread starter MarcV
- Start date
MarcV
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I am not really in favor of chunks in my jam unless the chunks are soft enough by themselves so I just put everything in the blender first
. Also, with this jelly sugar it only needs to boil for a couple of minutes, not enoug to make the fruit soft....I have too much already and I know too few people that can appreciate the heat. I think I will make powder of most of the harvest, enough for a couple of years
...
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MarcV
eXtreme
Funny how one night can make such a difference... the first pod of the HSH SB is now completely ripe and two more are starting to color. I'll soon be able to do a taste test! But I prefer to test a larger pod so I'll have to wait a couple more days. The small ones usually contain relatively more placenta compared to the larger ones. That is not a good thing for the taste in my opinion...
But I prefer to test a larger pod so I'll have to wait a couple more days. The small ones usually contain relatively more placenta compared to the larger ones. That is not a good thing for the taste in my opinion...
MarcV
eXtreme
A couple of larger pods of the HSH SB have now ripened. Going to wait a little longer to give them a taste test...
The red scotch brains from WHP is ripening also. It's clearly not red though... too bad, I had hoped to get some red pods too in my harvest...
And the TFM scotch bonnet is changing color also...
The red scotch brains from WHP is ripening also. It's clearly not red though... too bad, I had hoped to get some red pods too in my harvest...
And the TFM scotch bonnet is changing color also...
MarcV
eXtreme
Tasted a couple of pieces of the not-red scotch brains this morning. It had a very nice and clean citrus smell when I cut it open, much nicer than a scotch bonnet actually. Then I ate a couple of pieces without placenta. I expected more heat than I get from a SB but heat was actually very low. Taste was excellent, no chinense skunk at all, wife liked it too! Took another piece, this time with some placenta. Still very pleasant taste and just a little more heat that builds very slowly. This is actually a very good pepper! This plant may be a keeper! 
I wonder if all scotch brains are like this, but my "ordinary" scotch brains is still not giving me ripe pods...
I wonder if all scotch brains are like this, but my "ordinary" scotch brains is still not giving me ripe pods...
MarcV
eXtreme
Also got to test a ripe TFM scotch bonnet yesterday. It was different in the way that I detected a certain acidity in the taste that I haven't tasted in any other scotch bonnet.
As it happened my mother-in-law was at our place yesterday. The old lady (almost 88) isn't shy of tasting pieces of my peppers, so I handed her half of a TFM SB. She picked pieces of it for tasting with her bare fingers. I warned her to go wash her hands and certainly not touch the eyes. Of course, 5 minutes later it happened! Eyes on fire!
She's been suffering for at least half an hour before she could open her eyes again...
As I had been playing around with that pepper with my bare hands also, I did the heat test to my eyes also. That was the worst eye burn I have experienced so far!
Better not repeat that test...
As it happened my mother-in-law was at our place yesterday. The old lady (almost 88) isn't shy of tasting pieces of my peppers, so I handed her half of a TFM SB. She picked pieces of it for tasting with her bare fingers. I warned her to go wash her hands and certainly not touch the eyes. Of course, 5 minutes later it happened! Eyes on fire!
She's been suffering for at least half an hour before she could open her eyes again...As I had been playing around with that pepper with my bare hands also, I did the heat test to my eyes also. That was the worst eye burn I have experienced so far!
Better not repeat that test...
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Mexican remedy: rub the eyes with hair. If your hair isn't long enough, call a family member. Funny sight, but effective.
How does that help?
I'm not absolutely sure, but I think it has to do with the lipophilicity of capsaicin. Hair is lipophilic, but so is the eye surface - perhaps hair is more lipophilic? They have helped me with this trick a few times already, and it is quite effective if you step in quickly at the onset of the burn.
MarcV
eXtreme
Little harvest of today... Schneider farms on the left, HSH SB on top right, overwintered Papa Dreadie bottom right.
Close-up view of the HSH SB. Pods are larger than my other SBs. I did a proper taste test this time. Taste is good, reminds me of citrus/pineapple (but maybe that's because I've been cutting pineapple this morning?). There are no unpleasant (to me) aromas present. Heat is comparable to other SBs. This is a variety that I consider worth growing.
Close-up view of the HSH SB. Pods are larger than my other SBs. I did a proper taste test this time. Taste is good, reminds me of citrus/pineapple (but maybe that's because I've been cutting pineapple this morning?
). There are no unpleasant (to me) aromas present. Heat is comparable to other SBs. This is a variety that I consider worth growing.
MarcV
eXtreme
OUCH! That doesn't look good!
After months of near constant drought we are now (finally) getting some decent rain. But the weight of the rain water, probably in combination with some wind, has seriously damaged my Papa Dreadie G3 2021
. Two of the 3 main branches broke off. There were lots of unripe pods growing on those branches but they were not at their mature size yet, so I decided to discard all of it. I hope my other plants stay intact...
After months of near constant drought we are now (finally) getting some decent rain. But the weight of the rain water, probably in combination with some wind, has seriously damaged my Papa Dreadie G3 2021
. Two of the 3 main branches broke off. There were lots of unripe pods growing on those branches but they were not at their mature size yet, so I decided to discard all of it. I hope my other plants stay intact...It's always something. We are having 30+ mph (48 kph)
for a couple of days. Lots of knocked over plants, leaves
and little branches everywhere. Yuk. Nothing like Marc,
though. Knock on wood.
MarcV
eXtreme
This is all that's left of the Papa Dreadie G3 2021...
I do have the impression that the rains of the past days have made the branches much more brittle... I was just picking some fruits from another plant an one of the branches came off like nothing even though I'm always careful...
I do have the impression that the rains of the past days have made the branches much more brittle... I was just picking some fruits from another plant an one of the branches came off like nothing even though I'm always careful...
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Tree branches loose elasticity during periods of (prolonged) drought. The first storms of the rainy season are always dangerous here because of easily toppled trees and falling branches. Fatalities every year...