Bike808 getting Dirty in Jersey

Well, it's that time of year where old fashioned folks are making resolutions, and I want to resolve to work on my GLOG consistently in 2019. 2018 was a great year, despite some considerable setbacks. I managed to grow far more chiles than I could ever hope to eat, so I gave tons away. In the end, a few disappointments aside, it was an overall successful season.

The same cannot be said for my GLOG. I neglected the fark out of my 2018 GLOG. This year, I want to post at least once a week, no matter what.

At this point, I don't want to post lists or anything because I have a herculean season ahead of me. See, I intend to overhaul my yard, build some beds, order up some topsoil and compost to fill then, amend the soil with all kinds of other Bullshit, and have all that done before it's time to plant out. Of course, before then, I'll need to have started all my plants and I'll need to know what I'm looking at in terms of density and (dis)organization. Hmmmph.

But, long story short, I'm learning from past mistakes. Only using the right kind seed starting soil. Going to be more diligent with my seeds as I sow them, to avoid leggy-azz seedlings. Harden off early but slowly, and methodically. Try to figure out fertilizers, and maybe develop and enact a strategy as far as that goes, rather than randomly dumping Alaska Fish Ferts on my plants whenever the whim hits me. In summary, take another step towards becoming a real gardener.

So, yeah, I plan on planting less densely this year, so I need to figure some shit out, but a GLOG ain't a GLOG if the first post doesn't include some name-dropping as far as intended varieties. This year will be my usual: far too many Yella Bonnets, a bit too many red, orange, and chocolate Bonnets, various Superhots of the Seven Pot and Ghost/Naga groups, some low heat Habs, many Jalapeños (strictly Zapotec this year), mild to mid Mexican kitchen staples, random other shit, and I have some baccatums to try out this year. (I bought a Bishop's Crown plant from CCN in 2018 and I'm stoked to try others now...)

Oh, and Fataliis. Plenty of those little yellow treasures. The best.

Thanks for reading. Oh, and if anyone wants to be my accountabili-buddy on this one, i'd appreciate it. Just making reminders in case I neglect my GLOG again, LOL...

-rob

 

[Ghost Pepper Revolution]

 
I can probably throw up some mtb/klunking footage at some point during this season.... but nothing good just yet.  Mild to mid Mexican kitchen staples will ABSOLUTELY include Serranos.  I love Serranos, I really do, but I could probably live without them if I had to.  However, my friends/family enjoyed the Serranos so danged much last season, they'd probably never stop punching me if I left them out.  But, yeah, the mild to mid Mexican staples would be Jalapeños, Serranos, Guajillos, and Poblanos for sure.  Really good chance there'll be de Arbols and Pullas (Puyas?) as well, and i'm pretty close to ordering some Pasilla Negra/Pasilla Bajio seeds, too.  I went too hard on Supers and >/=Hab-level stuff these past 2 years, but my wife and I found the tamer stuff to be far more useful for, like, day-to-day cooking.  There is also greater potential for gifts to friends, but most all my friends/family who require milder chiles have already lost their trust in me.  Too much "it's not that hot; I swear" in instances where they ultimately didn't believe me....
Oh, wow.  Yeah, you were really close to where I am at.  I grew up in Maple Shade, and went to Lenape Regional High with a bunch of y'all MtLaurel cats.  Definitely know Clementon and Williamstown well; we used to always do a bike ride along the railroad tracks (Atlantic Avenue) until we popped out by Clementon Park, then we'd climb the hill and turn around in the employee parking lot behind that super-exclusive golf course/country club at the top of Pine Hill....
 
I've been in NJ for most of my life, and the brief times I spent in other states (TN, VA) coincided with times in my life when I didn't give 2 shits about produce, gardening, or good food.  So, I guess I take the ol'Garden State's natural gifts for granted.  I think it's funny b/c I know a lot of local small-time gardeners who curse the South Jersey sandy soil, but I have never had any real problems with it.  My Mom has been a Jersey gal her entire life (excepting a brief stay in Phila); she can grow ANYthing, no problem, at every spot she's ever grown in.  She mostly grows herbs and ornamental stuff, but I successfully passed her a few extra seedlings last year, and scored extra pods out the deal.
 
South Park is the best thing since Yella Fataliis.    

Lol definitely know those railroad tracks, the wife grew up loving water ice so we spent a lot of time at the water ice factory on evesham before we moved to S.FL. I enjoyed SJ more than North Jersey, people are better and I was at home in eagles territory lol. Some people have the green thumb, my mom has the brown thumb, she can even kill a plastic plant hahaha. The sandy soil did well for me with some minor adds that were cheap, actually I still havent grown a banana pepper like the ones I grew up there lol

 

[Ruid]

People don't trust my food either. I only know a couple of people who like it the same way.

 

[Trident chilli]

Rob all the very best for this forthcoming season

 

[Bicycle808]

Yo Rob my mom says hi she said she paged you lol

Aw, she's so sweet!!!  But tell her to stop beeping me all hours of the night; my wife is becoming suspicious.
 

Lol definitely know those railroad tracks, the wife grew up loving water ice so we spent a lot of time at the water ice factory on evesham before we moved to S.FL. I enjoyed SJ more than North Jersey, people are better and I was at home in eagles territory lol. Some people have the green thumb, my mom has the brown thumb, she can even kill a plastic plant hahaha. The sandy soil did well for me with some minor adds that were cheap, actually I still havent grown a banana pepper like the ones I grew up there lol

The WIF is awesome.  My ol'lady is a huge fan.  Way back, I lived like a block away from the Mongolian WIF.
 
 

People don't trust my food either. I only know a couple of people who like it the same way.

Most ppl have learned to trust my food, but not my pods.  I think I'm better at gauging what meals normal folks can handle, as compared to what pods the same normal folks can handle.  Like "oh, try it!  You'll be fine; it's just a Naga!"
 
 

Rob all the very best for this forthcoming season

 
Thanks, John.  I couldn't have done it without help from you and other generous THP members, who are always willing to spare some seeds and advice to us rookies.... I appreciate ya!
 
In other news, I solved my Pasilla Negra debacle; this morning, I placed an order with Juanito's, as he now offers that variety on his site.  And, despite my intense need to downsize the shear volume of varieties i'm growing this year, I also picked up some Mulato Poblanos (which I'd wanted for a while) and some Biquinhos (purely on a whim, but should be fun to grow in a container on the deck or some such...)  So, assuming my Pulla and de Arbol seeds are viable, I should have all my bread'n'butter Mexican varieties figured out.....

 

[PaulG]

Hey, Rob.  I grew some Mulato Isleño seed from Pepper Joe's in 2017.  
They did very well. Nice brown pods. They made a great powder
blend with some Chocolate Bhut Jolokia powder.
 
Sounds like you are making progress getting your season together!

 

[Ghost Pepper Revolution]

Nice but what is Mongolian WIF? Weve had polish water ice and such but not Mongolian lol

 

[Bicycle808]

JaJa, I understand the confusion....

WiF = Water Ice Factory
Mongolia= What my ppl call Magnolia, the town where the WIf at Evesham and Atlantic is located.

 

[Ghost Pepper Revolution]

JaJa, I understand the confusion....

WiF = Water Ice Factory
Mongolia= What my ppl call Magnolia, the town where the WIf at Evesham and Atlantic is located.

Magnolia, now I understand. WIF I knew off the bat cuz the wife lol. Sorry to hijack your thread with SJ reminiscence. Keep it dirty

 

[Bicycle808]

the only thing dirtier than South Jersey is North Jersey.....

 

[PtMD989]

So how did your 2018 Bishops Crown turn out? How would you rate the peppers on taste and heat?
I’m going to grow BC this year thanks to Bhuter for the seeds.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ruid]

I got a couple Bishop's Crowns in an SFRB and I'm amazed they haven't exploded into popularity. I wish stores kept them right next to the jalapenos all year long.

 

[Ghost Pepper Revolution]

I got a couple Bishop's Crowns in an SFRB and I'm amazed they haven't exploded into popularity. I wish stores kept them right next to the jalapenos all year long.

Are BCs that good? They look like theyd be interesting in flavor
Sounds like my wifes kind of pepper based on the heat profile

 

[Bicycle808]

So how did your 2018 Bishops Crown turn out? How would you rate the peppers on taste and heat?
I’m going to grow BC this year thanks to Bhuter for the seeds.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The plant started out kinda slow, both in terms of growth and production, but alluvasudden the thing just became more like a hedge, just a wall of leafy branches, quite suddenly.  Like, I kinda remember one week thinking "Jeez, I hope the BC plant doesn't die" and then the next thinking "Jeez, I hope my BC plant doesn't smother all the other plants in that bed."  It grew out, rather than up.  Not tall at all, and very difficult to keep tamed with stakes and such.  It popped out two early pods, which fairly quickly achieved full size, and then took forEVER to ripen.  I didn't time it, but I remember thinking "this is stupid.  I'll be lucky if I get 2 ripe pods from this thing, this year."  Then, the second wave set, and there were plenty of pods.  The plant was a fairly heavy producer, not to the extent that a lot of chinense were, or even my more belligerent annuums.  But, yeah, tons of pods, and that second wave ripened up a lot quicker once the nights started getting chilly.  
 
The Bishop's Crown pods are thoroughly rad.  As a guy who grows a lot of Bonnets, I tend to obsess over the shapes and sizes, and it's an emotional rollercoaster b/c for every "perfect" phenotype you get, you get at least one that's totally off-pheno, and most look more-or-less close to the perfect bonnet, but they most often have imperfections.  (Doesn't matter b/c they all taste really good.)  The BC pods, on the other hand, are all identical looking.  Each pod looks like it was built at a factory that makes little red toy spaceships for children to play with.  They were all very close in terms of size, with the exact same shape: three lobes sticking out like tongues, at pretty much the same angle.  The heat is there; it is noticeable.  It is also very mild.  Ppl who love heat will likely be disappointed; granma and toddlers will still find it unbearably hot, I reckon.  For me, I thought they were good snackin'peppers.  Now, I noticed that some were hotter than others, even on my solitary plant, and from what I've read online, I've seen them described as zero heat, and I think I've read up to 30,000SHU?  That's a pretty big spread.  Speaking directly out of my ass, I'd guesstimate that mine clocked somewhere between 8,000 and 12,000 SHU.  Flavor was good; really nice.  From what I gether just from killing other ppl's SFRBs, the flavor is typical baccatum. Not so boring and grassy as the typical annuum, but not so overtly obnoxious as the typical chinense. That's my theory, anyway.  I'll be growing some baccatums this year, and i'll see how that theory holds up.  But yeah, everyone who tried my BC pods praised the flavor, and (more often) the lack of searing heat.   
 
 

I got a couple Bishop's Crowns in an SFRB and I'm amazed they haven't exploded into popularity. I wish stores kept them right next to the jalapenos all year long.

 
Yeah, I think these things could be commercially viable.  The plants were productive.  They were somewhat late producers; late to ripen, anyway, but so are Habs and Habs are ubiquitous at supermarkets.  I think, more than anything, they look cool as fark, and would present well on shelves.  But, I think that the chile-novice would associate the red color and exotic shape with high levels of spice, so the signage would be crucial..  I think the flavor is outstanding and, considering what most of the Jalapeños offered at the typical supermarket taste like, the flavor would be incredibly good by comparison.

Are BCs that good? They look like theyd be interesting in flavor
Sounds like my wifes kind of pepper based on the heat profile

I think they're very good; I intend to grow at least one plant in 2019.  I have read that Brazilian Starfish are better, so I am growing those, too....along with a few other baccatums. They were definitely a pleasant surprise for me in 2018, but they didn't blow my mind or anything like that.  More so than the culinary experience, I was into the plant's growth habits.  The way that the spurts pulsated, the fact that it wanted to grow out and cover ground more than it wanted to grow up and kiss the sky, the weirdly long stems on most of the pods.  And, being a baccatum, the flowers were quite pretty.  
 
HTH
-rob

 

[Bicycle808]

Hey, Rob.  I grew some Mulato Isleño seed from Pepper Joe's in 2017.  
They did very well. Nice brown pods. They made a great powder
blend with some Chocolate Bhut Jolokia powder.
 
Sounds like you are making progress getting your season together!

 
Those are exactly the seeds Juanito is selling: Mulato Isleño.  I had purchased his Poblano Gigantico or whatever he was calling them earlier this year.  I've never grown Mulatos, but I've used dry Mulatos from commercial sources in cooking, and it is amazing how they are so similar to an Ancho, yet the subtle flavor differences are immediately noticeable, at least to my palate.  I use both Ancho and Mulato powder in my chile con carne recipes.....

To be utterly honest, the more seeds I take on at this point, the more damage I am doing to "getting my season together."  I have more seeds than I have room for, unless I rent a bed (or 2 …. or 3) at the community garden again.  This is especially true b/c I insist upon growing ridiculous numbers of Scotch Bonnet and Jalapeño plants.  Superstupid move on my part, b/c I can purchase both types of pods cheaply and locally, but nothing beats the freshness of homegrown chiles, plus you seldom find nice, ripe, corked, and delicious Jalapeños at markets. 
 
I am realizing now that my ultra-dense planting strategy is probably not a good thing, so that means I'll need more space to plant the same number of plants.  But, in planting 3 rows per bed last year, I definitely noticed that the inner row didn't get enough sun and/or wind and/or attention from pollinators, so those rows yielded far fewer pods than the other rows.  So, I need 33% more bedspace to accommodate the same number of plants, which last year was something like 125 plants?  Sounds like a lot, but I'm a shitty grower so....yeah, it was still a lot, but not nearly as much as you might expect.
 
As I make cuts, though, I have found the wisdom this year to hold practical varieties like Pasillas and Mulatos over Superhots and esoteric strains I'm growing for shits'n'giggles.  One of the most voracious consumers of my excess pods was the local Mexican Bar'n'Grill; I  dumped pounds and pounds of Serranos and Jalapeños on them, and a few gallons of sauce.  If I grow too many Mulatos, they can help me find homes for orphaned pods. But they cannot do nearly so much with excess Seven Pots....

 

[Ghost Pepper Revolution]

Oh wow, very thorough review Rob
I might give them a try this growing season

 

[PaulG]

Great commentary, Rob.
 
The Bishop's Crown is an awesome plant. I grew one in the
dim past, and it grew next to a big Aji Amarillo. Both plants
grew huge, as is the baccatum way, I'd say 6-7 feet tall. The
BC was loaded with pods. I'd describe them the same way
you did, Rob. The only downside is the time to ripeness. With
our cool Fall weather, I only harvested about fourth of the pods.
The rest were green. So, I haven't grown it again.
 
You get Bonnets at the store? The most we get here are orange
habs. I've never seen a Bonnet in any market here. Not that I'm
a great shopper. 

 

[Bicycle808]

Great commentary, Rob.
 
The Bishop's Crown is an awesome plant. I grew one in the
dim past, and it grew next to a big Aji Amarillo. Both plants
grew huge, as is the baccatum way, I'd say 6-7 feet tall. The
BC was loaded with pods. I'd describe them the same way
you did, Rob. The only downside is the time to ripeness. With
our cool Fall weather, I only harvested about fourth of the pods.
The rest were green. So, I haven't grown it again.
 
You get Bonnets at the store? The most we get here are orange
habs. I've never seen a Bonnet in any market here. Not that I'm
a great shopper. 

 
I wonder if my Bishop's Crown might have gotten that big, if it had been started better and if the transplant hadn't been so stressful for it.... My BC plant was under 4 foot tall at it's peak, in part b/c it was falling all over  itself, especially as the pods set in.  And, yes, there were plenty of green pods on the plant when the frost hit, which was a bummer, for sure.  Such are the perils of growing in zone 7, i guess.  But, i refuse to weep over frozen green pods.  With two notable exceptions (Chocolate Brainstrain and Windchicken's Forbing Naga), i got plenty of ripe pods from all of my plants before the frost hit.  Even those two very late exceptions, i got to sample a few ripe pods, enough to form an opinion of the varieties....
 
I'm a pretty lucky guy... I can (and do) buy Scotch Bonnets for like $4/pound at the Trenton Farmer's Market.  It's, like, 45 minutes from my house?  They're growing them in Lawrenceville NJ, so obviously they aren't available year-round.... but when i've got ripe Bonnets on my plants, the Sandy Acres Farm guys have far more at their table.  

 

[Bicycle808]

Stay tuned: tomorrow, I'll put up pics of my used as it is now (only 3 beds; probably going to change the entire layout) plus musings on planting density, and first draft of my list....

I hope. There will at least be musings on planting density, and a very rough first draft.

 

[Bicycle808]

I promise I didn't forget. I just wasnt able to take any pics before sundown, and I'm still working on that list LOL. Trying to regulate, find that balance between fantasy and realism.

 

[MarcV]

I think this Glog doesnt have enough Hashtags double 8s

 
I didn't read those tags until just now... made me laugh!