Blisters 2016 LED Coco grow

Back for yet another year! I've had two modestly successful grows with coco so far. I'm hoping to build on the knowledge gained and have an improved season (weather permitting) this year. At this point I've limited myself to a few basic peppers. I've got

- Red Bhut - paper towel/baggie started Dec. 24th
- Yellow Bhut - paper towel/baggie started Dec. 24th
- Reaper - paper towel/baggie started Dec. 24th - though this one dried out while I was away and I'm not sure if the seeds are still viable
- MoA Bonnet - yet to be started

The paper towel and baggie method seems to be the most successful way for me to get seeds going so far. I've had very little success with rockwool. I still have some nutrients left over from previous years grow and will use it before buying anything new. I have three nutrient brands on hand:

- Canna Coco A and B
- General Hydroponics Flora Grow and Bloom
- CNS17 Grow and Bloom

All three nutrients are simple to use. Of them all I'd say I've had the most success with GH Flora series. Simple to use, affordable and it's available just about everywhere. This may be the nutrient I start the season with because it's so easy to measure and mix.

The Yellow Bhut's were the first to sprout this year. I had to remove the helmet head on all of these, but things worked out ok.



Once big enough, the seedlings went into coco filled plastic shot glasses. I drilled holes in the bottom, filled with coco and pushed a small hole in the coco with the end of a paint brush. After dropping the seedling in, I give them a good watering with plain water and placed them back under the heat dome to keep them warm at night and help reduce the transplant shock.



I've got a few red jolokia's that have shot out a tap root, but I'm going to wait a bit before putting them into coco.

Neil

 

[stickman]

The MOA bonnets are a staple in my grow. I grow them specifically for jerk pork and chicken. So delicious! I only ended up with one bonnet plant this year, though it is producing nicely.

I have apple from the list of the hardwoods you mentioned. I also have alder and hickory too. How long do you smoke peppers?

Neil

 
Not long Neil... I put the peppers on one end of the barrel grill and about a dozen charcoal briquets on the other. Add a soaked wood chunk or two, cover with the lid and smoke at low temperature for about an hour. Then dry and grind.

 

[Devv]

You've done really well this season Neil!
 
I would say you got it down
 
That's an impressive haul you made too.

 

[SichuaneseFoodFan]

Nice job blister, what kind of coco do you use?  where do you get it?
 
Thanks

 

[Blister]

 
Not long Neil... I put the peppers on one end of the barrel grill and about a dozen charcoal briquets on the other. Add a soaked wood chunk or two, cover with the lid and smoke at low temperature for about an hour. Then dry and grind.

 
Ah ok. That's about what I was thinking. I have one of the idiot proof bradley smokers and was going to cut the pods in half, then put them into the smoker with just the burner on so I could keep the heat down. I figured about 1/2 hour to 45 min so I get some of the smokey flavor, but not too much.
 
 
 

You've done really well this season Neil!
 
I would say you got it down
 
That's an impressive haul you made too.

 
Thanks Scott! Things kind of all came together for me this year. Early start, lots of heat. Got the nutes dialed in too! One more harvest to go then winter will be here. Then it's only 6 more months before it all starts again...
 
 
 

Nice job blister, what kind of coco do you use?  where do you get it?
 
Thanks

 
I've been using Botanicare CocoGro. I expand it, let it dry a bit then sift if through a metal strainer to remove most of the large particulate. It gives you fantastic drainage and plenty of room for roots. I've used other coco in the past like Royal Gold Coco Fiber and Canna Coco. In each case I found that I had better results after I ran the coco through a strainer.
 
I imagine most coco's would work well, just make sure you get quality coco. The best bet is to get it from a hydro store.
 
Neil

 

[Blister]

Another modest harvest tonight. I have a few pods selected for seed harvest too

My assistant helped pick 7 or so pods before saying it was too hot. He then ditched me.

The only MOA pods I've had that actually resemble what they are supposed to.

A few Jolokias that clearly have crossed with Carolina Reapers I grew last year.

Finally the main booty!

I'm going to smoke the jolokias up like Rick described and see how they turn out.

Neil

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[Blister]

Halved the peppers and got them ready to put them in the smoker.

Noticed tat they had a crazy amount of oil in them. It was literally pooling in the peppers. These are the hottest peppers I've grown to date. I licked some of the oil of the knife and it felt like hot razor blades on my tongue.

Finally 4 racks in the smoker with apple wood. I ran out of space so there's a bunch of peppers that I'll have to do up later.

After an hour of smoke at 130-140f the peppers filled 5 trays in my dehydrator. 130f set for the night.

Thanks for reading.

Neil

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[stickman]

Harvest and drying chiles are looking truly excellent Neil... I can just imagine the smell!  Keep up the good work!

 

[karoo]

Looking good!
Give that assistant some gloves!

 

[Blister]

Thanks guys. The smell is surprisingly smokey sweet. I gave them a poke this morning and figure they have about an hour or so more time to go before they're dried. I'm hoping that the rest of the peppers on the plant will ripen up before the frost hits and winter sets in. If not I guess I have enough dried to keep me in hot wings until past next season.

Neil

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[SichuaneseFoodFan]

beautiful job

 

[stickman]

Thanks guys. The smell is surprisingly smokey sweet. I gave them a poke this morning and figure they have about an hour or so more time to go before they're dried. I'm hoping that the rest of the peppers on the plant will ripen up before the frost hits and winter sets in. If not I guess I have enough dried to keep me in hot wings until past next season.

 
S'right brother! Most of my harvest gets stored as powder too. I split it with my brother-in-law and it usually lasts us until the next harvest. When is your first frost date? Ours is usually around Canadian Thanksgiving.

 

[Blister]

1st frost here is Sept. 11-20th so my season is near its end. I can bring them in at night, but if the peppers aren't turning color by now there's not much hope for them now. Can't really complain because I did get a great harvest so far though.

I usually share my powder with my brother and a few people at work. I should have enough to last through to next harvest and then some.

Funny how fast the year whether by. I'll be starting my next year's grow in about 5 months.

Neil

 

[Blister]

This is just about it. At the end of the day I have 3/4 full large ziploc bag of dried jolokias. I MAY get a few more, but this is about it. I have also frozen a full bag of bonnets.

The dried jolokias.

The bonnets

Thanks for reading.

Neil

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[Blister]

Final harvest of the year! A bunch of red and Yellow jolokias as well as some yellow MOA bonnets

Got a few days of drying ahead of me.


Neil

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[juanitos]

looking good

 

[Blister]

5 trays full and I'm out of space. I still have a bowl and a bit to go

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[stickman]

It's been an education following your glog Neil... I think my next major investment in pepper growing will be LED lights when I can afford it.   Nice harvest at the end of your growing season! Will you grind your dried Bhuts for powder? What are your plans for your Bonnets? Good on ya for this year's grow, and wishing you good luck for the next. Cheers!

 

[Blister]

Thanks Rick. The I don't know if the LED is any better/worse than a MH or HPS light, but it seems to work in my system. I keep the house pretty cool at night and could probably use the heat from a MH to keep the plants warm at night when I get the early starts going. Just don't know how much it would run my electic bill up.

We usually grind the bhut's and use them for wings. I freeze the MOA's exclusively for Jerk recipes. I guess I should broaden my reptoir a bit, but man I loves me some wings and jerk pork!

Neil

 

[stickman]

Thanks Rick. The I don't know if the LED is any better/worse than a MH or HPS light, but it seems to work in my system. I keep the house pretty cool at night and could probably use the heat from a MH to keep the plants warm at night when I get the early starts going. Just don't know how much it would run my electic bill up.

We usually grind the bhut's and use them for wings. I freeze the MOA's exclusively for Jerk recipes. I guess I should broaden my reptoir a bit, but man I loves me some wings and jerk pork!

Neil

 
That's cool, I'm a freak for Jerk too! I've found that if I make puree like in Alabama Jack's recipe, I can substitute 2 tablespoons of puree for one fresh Scotch Bonnet pod and it doesn't take up any freezer space. My wife likes that!