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Capsidadburn 2013 Less is more

Hello everybody!
This year I will be growing much less than previous season's. I have been reducing my pepper growing for a couple years now. I am germinating under 20 varieties and a month later than last year. I have between 25 and 28 overwintered plants that are out currently, but not to far from the back door. I think I put the first plants in the ground last year late Feb. and early Mar. I do not expect to exceed 50 to 75 new starts this season. Along with my daughter I am growing some veggies, herbs, flowers, and a few fruit trees. I will do my best to keep the grow log lively and entertaining. As always lots of pictures of plants and pods, but also some cool nature, and a few extra distractions from time to time.

Hope everyone has a great season!

Germinating:

All from saved seeds except store pods and Mini Mini from Finland THP member

Cumari do Para iso
Yellow 7 pod (Brain like)
Douglah cross F2 (small red uniform)
Chocolate Hab
Yellow Scorpion CARDI
7 Pot White
7 Pot Barrackpore
Chocolate Bhut Jolokia
Douglah cross F2 (red)
Quintisho
Douglah cross F3 (Brownish- maroon with bonnett-habish shape)
Chocolate Trinidad Scorpion iso
"Funky" orange habs from HEB
Manzano from Fiesta pods
Super Chilli
Trinidad Congo Red
Purple Flash
Smiter Q pequin like pods
Mini Mini

I will list my overwinters soon, can''t remember.

Here are some pics;
Germinating began Feb. 3rd. The three cells in the corner were all up on day 6. Douglah cross F2 small fat red pointy. I might post a pic from last year to show their shape. All my crosses are accidental nature.
IMG_0813-Copy_zpsd22c186d.jpg

Meyer Lemon bloom smells a lot like Jasmin
IMG_0810-Copy_zpsa5a1bae8.jpg

Coming out of hibernation, overwinters
IMG_0786_zpsa1c8e3dc.jpg

Found this guy in a Mountain Laurel by my driveway. Western Screech Owl I believe
02761fe0-3bfe-483a-9a65-57bc2922b900_zpsfb18433f.jpg


Owl be back!
 
Sorry about your summer head cold...no fun...
 
Very interesting bottles Mike!
 
I could see where collecting could be addictive. I've found some old bottles along the way but none have any embossing.
 
Devv said:
Sorry about your summer head cold...no fun...
 
Very interesting bottles Mike!
 
I could see where collecting could be addictive. I've found some old bottles along the way but none have any embossing.
Thanks Scott, It certainly can be and without impulse control can get out of hand. A lot like growing peppers!


Only a couple garden pics today; Some recent jam I made which has no sugar to speak of. All of these dragonfly pics were taken by my daughter.
Rosette Skimmer male

Red Currant and Raspberry Jam made with Stevia (both powdered and liquid) instead of sugar. The bulk of the lost sugar was made up with applesauce which gives it the opaque color. I left it just slightly on the tart side. I can elaborate on the exactness if needed. Also visible in the pic is a new ferment which looks nearly identical to the bottled sauces opposite but it is totally different. Smoked jalopenos and cayennes with red chinense, carrots, onion and garlic. Should be ready in November


Dual posing dragonflies; a male Swift Setwing and a male Blue Dancer


Fruit on the Naranjilla (Bed of Nails) This pic is a week old so it's a little bigger now.


Grumpy dragonfly

Later folks

 
Nice update! Your daughter has your eye when it come to photography, tell her what a good job she did!
 
I saw my first D-fly in the garden yesterday, I was picking and the camera was in the house, so the shot was blown... He, or she had it's wings folded along it's back....but it was there!
 
Devv said:
Nice update! Your daughter has your eye when it come to photography, tell her what a good job she did!
 
I saw my first D-fly in the garden yesterday, I was picking and the camera was in the house, so the shot was blown... He, or she had it's wings folded along it's back....but it was there!
Thanks Scott, she has seen your reply. She just got braces yesterday so she's not quite motivated to go shoot any d flys. I try to remember to take my camera with me whether I plan on using it or not. Plenty of times I have not had it with me when I needed it. I saw another green dragonfly today but it was uncooperative. I did manage to shoot a new kind today. pic later

Some new pods forming on a few chinense plants;
T. S. Cardi

Douglah Cross

7 Pot Primo thinking hard about podding

Chocolate habs

Douglah Cross

Nine Tepins fully loaded with green pods. These are in 75-80% full sun and they never wilt. Maybe I can fill a quart jar, not sure

Small harvest

Later everybody
 
nice pics i had friend back in the early 80's that skateboarded never was one myself we had a local legend KEN ZIGANFUSS im not sure that's how you spell his last name?
i love aji amarillo :drooling:
was the 7 pot white from me i dont remember?
 
thanks your friend Joe

Spicegeist said:
Oh yes, I was and am growing it again this year.
yummy my top fav that and of course WILD BRAZIL WHICH I GROW FAITHFULLY EVERY YEAR!!
FABULOUS FLAVOR !!
 
thanks your friend Joe
 
Nice haul and pics Mike!
 
I've seen those lizards up in the plants working, cool critter to watch!
 
How's everything hanging with this heat?
 
Hey Mike

Most of your dragonflies have much thicker tails and many different color patterns than the ones we have here. I live right next to a large canal. On the other side of the canal is a levee that keeps the marsh/Gulf of Mexico from re-entering our homes (hurricane Katrina 12 feet in my house).

Anyway, the fresh rainwater in the canal provides a hatchery for MILLIONS of dragonflies. And the brackish marsh provides the dragonflies with GRILLIONS of gnats, mosquitos, sand flies and whatever else hatches in this primordial goo down here. I wish there were enough dragonflies to eat every stinkin gnat and mosquito around here!

Your photos, and the photography of others here, have got me determined to try taking some "picktchas". I need me a camera that is capable of capturing photos like y'alls!

I have diabetes and would like to use stevia. I bought some about 6-7 years ago and it tasted like some waste-product I might've extracted from sour-crude! It was the most horrible stuff I ever tasted. Just recently I read that not all stevia is created equal in regard to taste. Do you prefer a particular brand?

Like we used to say in the 60s "Those plants are boss". Or maybe "That is some jewel plants maaan".

Great job with your grow log Mike! Really good stuff to be had here. Ray
 
ajijoe said:
nice pics i had friend back in the early 80's that skateboarded never was one myself we had a local legend KEN ZIGANFUSS im not sure that's how you spell his last name?
i love aji amarillo :drooling:
was the 7 pot white from me i dont remember?
 
thanks your friend Joe

yummy my top fav that and of course WILD BRAZIL WHICH I GROW FAITHFULLY EVERY YEAR!!
FABULOUS FLAVOR !!
 
thanks your friend Joe
Thank you Joe.  I got the 7 Pot White from Eric/ Eephus Man
 
Devv said:
Nice haul and pics Mike!
 
I've seen those lizards up in the plants working, cool critter to watch!
 
How's everything hanging with this heat?
Thanks Scott, I think we are at the halfway point in the summer heat and most plants are not doing much but some are which is hopeful.  Bring on September!
 
Bigoledude said:
Hey Mike

Most of your dragonflies have much thicker tails and many different color patterns than the ones we have here. I live right next to a large canal. On the other side of the canal is a levee that keeps the marsh/Gulf of Mexico from re-entering our homes (hurricane Katrina 12 feet in my house).

Anyway, the fresh rainwater in the canal provides a hatchery for MILLIONS of dragonflies. And the brackish marsh provides the dragonflies with GRILLIONS of gnats, mosquitos, sand flies and whatever else hatches in this primordial goo down here. I wish there were enough dragonflies to eat every stinkin gnat and mosquito around here!

Your photos, and the photography of others here, have got me determined to try taking some "picktchas". I need me a camera that is capable of capturing photos like y'alls!

I have diabetes and would like to use stevia. I bought some about 6-7 years ago and it tasted like some waste-product I might've extracted from sour-crude! It was the most horrible stuff I ever tasted. Just recently I read that not all stevia is created equal in regard to taste. Do you prefer a particular brand?

Like we used to say in the 60s "Those plants are boss". Or maybe "That is some jewel plants maaan".

Great job with your grow log Mike! Really good stuff to be had here. Ray
Thanks Ray, I like the Nu Naturals brand.  It is a taste that requires getting used to but not offensive to me.  In that reciepe I replaced about 4 cups of sugar with 4 Tblsp powder Stevia and 1 1/2 teaspoons liquid Stevia.  The liquid really goes a long way.  I am growing a Stevia plant and have been surprised by how well it tolerates the heat.  I stripped some leaves for drying and a lot of new growth has appeared.  I will overwinter it.  The best use for the home dried stuff is for tea so far.  I'll get a pic of my plant here soon.
 
Here is a new species to me.  Pantala hymenaea  Spot-Winged Glider female

 
I am now at 99.5 percent full of storage in Photobucket.  Time to upgrade.  It's taken me 4 seasons and a couple of vacations to fill up the free 2 gigs.  I've been editing down just to load more.
 
Tepins, green and plenty

I am planning on bottling a ferment this weekend (Yellow Chinense) and I bought some Hatch green chiles for starting a new ferment.  I am itching to start but I don't want to wake the family with hot simmering chinense on the stove top.
I finally got a pic of a green d fly.  This is a female Pondhawk either Eastern or Great not sure.  males are mostly blue.

Since green is the theme it is a sign that I need to ferment Hatch green chile
In this raised chicken wire and hay lined bed I have Spicy Globe Basil on the left, Amarillo Chiltepin front corner, tall unknown cross in the center, and Kashmiri chili on the right

male Blue Dasher with salvia in the background, pic by my daughter which I thought I posted already but don't see it.

Have a great weekend!
 
As always great photography Mike!
 
September is just around the corner! And with it come around the 15th will be cooler weather! I'm so ready!
 
Gonna plant pickles come the 25th of this month, along with the cool weather plants starting the 15th of Sept.
 
I always love to stop in your GLog Mike, you never disappoint in the photography department!  I am lovin those jams and sauces, I need to get my tail in gear and process some pods.  My last ferment failed miserably, we want it living bacteria, not living worms....lol!
 
And nice harvest too! About how much longer do you have this season?  When does the TX weather turn no bueno??
 
Devv said:
As always great photography Mike!
 
September is just around the corner! And with it come around the 15th will be cooler weather! I'm so ready!
 
Gonna plant pickles come the 25th of this month, along with the cool weather plants starting the 15th of Sept.
A rain shower threatened pretty good today but not much bite.  I'll probably not grow much next season cause I want to move out this house.  I'll be sorting my overwinter candidates for sure.  Love me some pickles!
Thanks Scott
 
MGOLD86 said:
I always love to stop in your GLog Mike, you never disappoint in the photography department!  I am lovin those jams and sauces, I need to get my tail in gear and process some pods.  My last ferment failed miserably, we want it living bacteria, not living worms....lol!
 
And nice harvest too! About how much longer do you have this season?  When does the TX weather turn no bueno??
Thanks Matt!  I lost a ferment too this season.  It was beet red and just a waste of Barrackpore pods.  Bummer for certain!  We can go to late Nov. early Dec.
 
Here is my Stevia plant.  It is about 3 feet tall and a single spire.  I cut lower leaves to dry and it made a lot of new leaves higher up.  Will cut it back for overwinter and hopfully it will bush out.

Naranjilla bloom

1 inch diameter fruit now.  The fussy stuff wipes off to touch

Syrphid fly or Hover fly on Spicy Globe Basil

Ferment cookdown, Yellow 7 pot, Yellow Scorpion CARDI, onion, garlic, squash, Tindora, Pears, Pineapple added Papaya, Mango, Tomato, and spices



I will start my Hatch ferment tommorow.
 
Good evening people!
 
Here is the Douglah cross F3's that were unripe in post#209. I have two plants and I think the color is going to be true to the F2 also pictured in post#209.
The bright sun is not helping my pic color much. Two pics same plant



Another plant with dark reddish pods


In the future when I want a green sauce I will not use Yellow Red and Orange bell peppers. Hatch green chile ferment. I used double the amount of hatch chiles in the pic and did not use the Fresno's.



A new dragonfly. a male Slatty Skimmer, Libellula incesta


Have a great day!
 
Hey Mike

I have some seeds for the Hatch pepper. Is that typical for how large they get? Do they make a lot? Do they ripen to another color or, are they best when used green?

Sorry for all of these questions but, I've been looking for some not-so-hots to help with volume when making my hot sauces. I don't want to use thickeners and of course, I want as much pepper-flavor, as I can get, in my sauces. Your sauces look fabulous!
 
Devv said:
As usual great pics Mike!
 
Beautiful Naranjilla bloom!
 
Excellent Slatty Skimmer pic as well.
 
Come on cooler weather!
Thank you very much Scott. I think I will at least get a chance to taste the fruit this year. I doubt that I have very much. I've read that the plant does not like over 85 F. I had a much larger plant a few years ago with tiny fruit. This smaller plant might make a couple full size (2 inch) for taste. I will over winter it if I can.

Bigoledude said:
Hey Mike

I have some seeds for the Hatch pepper. Is that typical for how large they get? Do they make a lot? Do they ripen to another color or, are they best when used green?

Sorry for all of these questions but, I've been looking for some not-so-hots to help with volume when making my hot sauces. I don't want to use thickeners and of course, I want as much pepper-flavor, as I can get, in my sauces. Your sauces look fabulous!
Ray, I tried to grow some last year with seeds given to me from store pods. Of course I did not produce anything like the picture. These pods are trucked in from Messila Valley New Mexico. Something about the soil there that makes this unique flavor. I'm far from an expert on growing the non hots for mass but surely an Anaheim of some sort would help you out with your saucing if the Hatch seeds don't.

Thanks a bunch for the sauce comments! I like to try to keep it interesting and good luck with yours.
Mike
 
Devv said:
Looks great Mike!
 
Have a great weekend, it's here!
Thanks Scott!  It is here.  We've had minor little showers and overcast for a few days.  Dropped below a hundred and broke the 19 day streak we had going.
 
Here is the pic of the meat pie that was awesome.  I can't even begin to do it justice with an accurate description.  I feel compelled to go to work and make a computer solid model so I could show the geologic strata of goodness going on here in a cross section.
 
In the end, it was called "Meatstrosity".  There is a bacon weave on top and bottom.  Inside the is delicious sirloin steak cubes, cheese, chili laced with Torchbearer Sauces "Zombie Apocolypse" , green bell peppers, some kind of breaded chicken and more cheese of course.
 
I did not participate in making this but I did have a slice of pie.  Yummm!  I got lots of Chutney love from everybody there.
 

 
Great weekend everybody!
 
Mike fantastic updates, pictures and love your harvest shots! That “Meatstrosity” is awesome mon, just reading the description has my mouth watering and the bacon weave is pure genius mon! Keep up da awesome work and have a great weekend ^_^
 
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