BPWilly's 2014 grow

OCD Chilehead · Nov 25, 2014

bpwilly said:
Thanks Chuck, You have a great one as well. Going to be a small one this year with only a few couples at the house, but that just means I get to relax more and watch the games.

Well, I have not been very active on this forum lately. Getting distracted by all the items needing to be done before we get to far into winter here. I pulled the last of the dead plants from the garden today and noticed that the plants that did not do as well as I expected seemed to be root bound in some cases and in others, the roots system was very small compared to the plant height or width. On the plants that did well this year, the roots seem to be just about as wide or as long as the plant is tall or wide. The plants that did not do so hot had roots that were about 1/10 the size of the plant. In some cases, they were root bound as they cam out of the ground in the same shape as the pot they were in before I planted them in the ground. Guess I needed to do a much better job in loosening them up next year. Plus I think I will start some of the Annuums (Jalapeno's and Fresno's) a bit later as they were the ones that got mature and started flowering while I still had them in the starting room.

Any way, lesson learned, now to make sure I follow through!

Got to share some pictures. Lately we have been getting plenty of rain, so I was kind of stuck in the house. I decided to make some jam to replace last years stash as well as have plenty available for gifts at Xmas time.

Since I was in the process of finishing up this years crops, I used Congos, Bahamian Goats and Scotch Bonnets (MOA).

Here are a few shots of what happens when I get bored and alone in the kitchen!

I made 4 different types of Jam and with one of them I made 3 batches with 3 different type of peppers. I started with the Habanero Gold recipe that is out there and made a batch with some Big Sun Habaneros that I grew from some seeds from Judy.

Then I made a batch with some Bahamian Goat peppers because they have a great color.

And finally I made a double batch using some Scotch Bonnets (MOA)

Then I made a version of the Cranberry pepper jam that was posted on the forum this year and I used Red Congos for the peppers.

Then I made a Fatalli-Pineapple jam that I had made last year also. This batch had promlems as it did not set up for me, so I will need to do some tinkering and redo it.

Then finally I made my Blackberry - Black Congo jam. Last year I made this and I just love it and was a bit stingy about sharing it, so this time I made plenty.

And last I read about someone making and canning some Jamaican Jerk sauce so I tried that as well. I normally just make a batch or two and freeze it, but my freezers are packed with peppers, so canning it was a great option. I have not tried it out yet, but I have it available for the next time I get bored in the kitchen!.

Stocked well for the winter. now to make a buch of home made bread and make some great toast!

I will be working on my 2015 grow list. It is always hard to whittle the list down, but I really need to as I have so darn many peppers in the freezers as well as dried.

Was trying to use up some powder and decided to grind some yellow brain strain and mix with some salt. This goes great on popcorn! Plus no one else will want to have any from your bowl!. They only try that once!

Chuck,

I forgot to ask, how is the job going? I know you had to be out of town a lot, so was wondering how things are doing for you?

Thanks for asking Bill. It's going well. Lots of work and little time. I've been home only 2 days total in the past month. Looking forward to going home for the holiday. I usually only have one day off. Don't know what to do with 4 days. LOL.

Those canned goods look fantastic. I can't wait to start another jelly project. I will have to pick your brain on recipes, when I get to that day.

Thanks again

bpwilly · Nov 25, 2014

Chuck,
Good to hear things at work are doing well. Not much fun living out of a suitcase or only having one day a week at home. Hope you get to see your son this holiday and have a great time!

Let me know when you want to chat on Jams, I got plenty of recipes off the web and have had success with some of them. My problem is I like to modify the ingredients as I go, and forget to write anything down. When ever something turns out excellent, I wonder if I can ever recreate it!

Take care

Devv · Nov 26, 2014

Enjoy the holiday and don't eat too much!

Roguejim · Nov 26, 2014

Damn it, Bill! You've absolutely inspired me to start making pepper jam. Thanks!

bpwilly · Nov 27, 2014

Devv said:
Enjoy the holiday and don't eat too much!

Devv,

Will do. Since we are hosting the dinner, I can only blame myself this time around!

Roguejim said:
Damn it, Bill! You've absolutely inspired me to start making pepper jam. Thanks!

Jim,
Well it is a great way to use up some of that treasure we have been growing all summer, and a good excuse to take a break, read the newspaper, have a coffee and some toast with hot jam! My idea of taking it easy on a rainy day!

I spent a lot of time in the past few years trying to make a great sourdough bread, but I have a ways to go before I am happy there, but a great Ciabatta is easy and makes a great toast!

Let me know if you need some ideas! :onfire:

Bill

PaulS · Nov 27, 2014

Those jams look fantastic, well done! I need to be a bit more adventurous with my flavours. Fatalii-pineapple sounds awesome

bpwilly · Nov 28, 2014

PaulS said:
Those jams look fantastic, well done! I need to be a bit more adventurous with my flavours. Fatalii-pineapple sounds awesome

It is great tasting. The recipe sounds weird, because to also have onions in it, but it really does taste great.

I did break out the Congo-Cranberry Jam today for Thanksgiving, and it sure did go well with Cream Cheese on Crackers, while my team was wining!
"Go Hawks"

The heat surprises most folks who think they will not like it. It goes great!

There is a recipe Video of how to make Ghost Pepper/Cashew brittle. The fellow who goes by the handle Tmudder. The brittle looks great and I definably have to give it a try one of these days.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhYLWe3QvGk&list=UUik0FEmz-NmFbClLsFmlB7g

Check it out.

PaulG · Nov 28, 2014

Oh, dude! Those jams look great!

Roguejim · Nov 28, 2014

bpwilly said:
It is great tasting. The recipe sounds weird, because to also have onions in it, but it really does taste great.

I did break out the Congo-Cranberry Jam today for Thanksgiving, and it sure did go well with Cream Cheese on Crackers, while my team was wining!
"Go Hawks"

The heat surprises most folks who think they will not like it. It goes great!

There is a recipe Video of how to make Ghost Pepper/Cashew brittle. The fellow who goes by the handle Tmudder. The brittle looks great and I definably have to give it a try one of these days.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhYLWe3QvGk&list=UUik0FEmz-NmFbClLsFmlB7g

Check it out.

Bill, did you make this brittle? I've made tmudder's (Todd) recipe a few times. It's good, but frankly, I like this English Toffee recipe below better. More simple, and more buttery. If you decide to try it, read the review below the recipe by a Brooke Elizabeth. I took her advice. The toffee is murder. I sprinkled sliced almonds on mine, too.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/English-Toffee/Detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Thumb&e11=toffee&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Recipe&soid=sr_results_p1i9

bpwilly · Nov 28, 2014

Roguejim said:
Bill, did you make this brittle? I've made tmudder's (Todd) recipe a few times. It's good, but frankly, I like this English Toffee recipe below better. More simple, and more buttery. If you decide to try it, read the review below the recipe by a Brooke Elizabeth. I took her advice. The toffee is murder. I sprinkled sliced almonds on mine, too.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/English-Toffee/Detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Thumb&e11=toffee&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Recipe&soid=sr_results_p1i9

Jim

No I have not tried it. It just sounded good. I am always ready to defer to someone that has actually tried it out, so I will surely check out the toffee. Thanks for the feed back. My poor overweight body can only take so many unneeded calories trying out all the good sounding recipes. :rolleyes:

Bill

Roguejim · Nov 28, 2014

bpwilly said:
Jim

No I have not tried it. It just sounded good. I am always ready to defer to someone that has actually tried it out, so I will surely check out the toffee. Thanks for the feed back. My poor overweight body can only take so many unneeded calories trying out all the good sounding recipes.

Bill

Or, you could just have a couple of celery sticks... :mope:

Devv · Dec 9, 2014

Thanks Bill!

That powder for popcorn looks like it will kick things up a notch!

bpwilly · Dec 9, 2014

Scott,

Glad you like it. Just felt like sharing since I have had such good luck growing the past few years. Hope you like them, let me know what you think. It is always hard to judge your own stuff.

Bill

PaulG · Dec 10, 2014

Bill, this package is over the top awesome! Thanks for thinking of me, my friend.
The powders are very nicely prepared; I'm eager to give them a good sampling.
Your generosity is much appreciated, indeed:

bpwilly · Dec 12, 2014

Spreading the heat one letter at a time! Besides, it tis the season for giving!

Glad you like them. This is a great group of people on this list who have helped me learn as I go.

bucdout57 · Dec 17, 2014

bpwilly said:
OK so here are a few pictures of my indoor grow area. Last year I had it in the house, and had T8's all over the place. This year I have a room down in my garage so I sort of cleaned it out a bit and managed to get a 8x8 area to grow these as a start until it warms up enough to plant them outside.
When I originally set this up I got a real bad bloom of gnats or some thing like them. A few days of spraying with Azomax and some whitefly sticky traps seems to have taken care of them, as I have not seen any since thenSince this is a unheated garage, I have been having fun keeping it warm enough as I only have the germinating mats going.

Once I added the HID lights, the warmth problem was fixed, but now I need to watch the heat as when it warms up, this place will get pretty warm.

I will be adding some fans/vents in the ceiling soon or I will be having some problems

Here is how it looks today. UIt is fun to be able to look back and see how much they have grown in 10 or so days

Wow now that looks amazing. How much did that cost to set up. Truly my dream set up.

bpwilly · Dec 22, 2014

bucdout57 said:
Wow now that looks amazing. How much did that cost to set up. Truly my dream set up.

bucdout57, Sorry for the delay, been out of pocket lately working on the property. I am not sure I ever tallied up the cost. The lights were pretty cheap T8's from Walmart, and bulbs in bulk from Home Depot, helped keep that cost down. The racks the plants are one were some shelving that I picked up cheap several years back when there was a Boeing Surplus store here in Kent. Close now which stinks as that wa a great place to find all sorts of tools, metals, etc, that you could use in the garage/shop. The HID lights have been a progression. originally I picked up a few 400 watt lights that were originally made for warehouse lighting. Craig's List buys. Then I got some digital HID lights that were on sale when one of the local grow shops had a opening special sale. It is one of those works in progress. The basics were really all I needed to start with, the rest came as I kept the plants indoors till it was warm enough outside, but there is nothing that says I could not have keep the plants under the original T8 lights till then. Guess the cost depends on what you want, versus what you really need, versus what you can afford at the moment.

Lots of used growing equipment on Craig's list, but you need to be careful that you are not buying someones old used-up equipment.

Just my 2cents

bucdout57 · Dec 22, 2014

Okay thanks. Looking to get a better set up myself. But wife is not cool with me using up more space so I need to clean up my projects and condense it to one complete set up. Happy wife happy life. Thanks again.

bpwilly · Dec 22, 2014

I hear you there. The first year I filled up the front formal dining room for 3 months with shelving, lights, plants and fans, etc. She was very happy when I got them in the ground, but not happy when I also took up half the outside deck with the 5 gallon bucket planters! Had to cut that down to 1/3 of the deck last year, but got the ultimatum that I need to rebuild the deck this year, so it will be off limits to planters till I get that one done. Trying to figure out what new power tool I will need that I do not already have!

Going to reduce the list this year a bit, as I found I was spending all my time on the peppers (which is fun) but at the cost of ignoring some of my other hobbies, so need to find the balance somehow. First I need to finalize my grow list for 2015 and see how big my first cut at the list becomes.

Dang, I need to bet busy!

If you are only going to have the plants indoors for 2 months or so, you might be able to just get some multi-shelf units and hope the plants do not outgrow them before you are ready to plant outside. If you can get shelves that are around 16-18 apart, you should be able to get plants up to 8-10 in tall before you run out of room to raise the lights. The trick is being able to cover the shelves/lights with something like Mylar, so you don't have this bright shining light in your house all the time. You will need some small fans in order to keep the heat under control as well as to help strengthen the plant stems.