filmost 2014 - Year of the Pepper Podding Up!

--- In case just stumbled on to this, my 2015 glog is here ---
 
Hey all, figured it was time I started my glog. I will be managing it off site since I plan to translate the content later in hopes of connecting with the locals here in Japan. I will post short blurbs here with links back to my site; feel free to comment here or on the individual posts. Since updates will be in the comments of this thread, I will also post a link to the specific comment entry here as well. And on we go!
 
Blog Posts:
 
2014 The Year of the Pepper
 
Keep Calm and Grow On (3/6/2014) - (forum post here)
 
How do you harden your plants? (3/13/2014) - (forum post here)
 
2014 Glog Update #4 (3/23/2014) - (forum post here)
 
2014 Glog Update #5 (4/30/2014) - (forum post here)
 
2014 Glog Update #6 (5/27/2014) - (forum post here)
 
This is my second year with a garden. Never in my mind (or any one close to me) did I imagine I would get so into it. Last year I got started late and most of my plants never got anywhere. The only ones that took off were an unknown annuum my parents gave me, jalapenos, and a bell pepper. Even still,  I didn't really get any pods until fall.
 
This year I started my seeds in January with the majority of them fully sprouted by about the 3rd week. I followed up later with additional plantings after I received new seeds. Among the more interesting of my grow list this year (and the ones I am most interested in) are Rocoto de Seda from Semillas.de, Giant Mexican Rocoto from PepperLover, and some unknowns from Gotrox; if interested hit the link for the full list.
 
I'll end this here with the latest pic I have of my windowing facing grow space where the overwinters spend their time and the seedlings get to go when the weather is nice and sunny. Cheers!
 

 

[filmost]

So I don't remember why I looked it up (perhaps it has been showing up in my feeds lately, not sure), but I was thinking this morning what if the "superbush" is a Cumari do Para. How awesome would that be? After looking it up this morning the plant below does seem to exhibit the the same growth characteristics. Not to mention the buds are TINY which leads me to think the flowers will also be tiny. Hmm, crossing my fingers b/c Cumari do Para sounds like an awesome variety to grow out!
 
And on the topic of tiny flowers, are Fatalii flowers supposed to be as small as I have been getting? I'd wager the flowers I have been getting on my Fatalii's are between 6-8mm in diameter?
 

Quick update since the weather has been keeping me out the garden. Snapped these this morning right before I left for work.
 
The "superbush" has started budding, FINALLY.
 

 

[filmost]

Need more pics for a proper update, so here's a couple I have taken recently.
 
Gotrox mystery seed podding up, I think this will be a TSMB
 

 
Fatalii was the first of the new plants to put out pods.
 

 
Tepin X Lemon Drop (courtesy of Mike Hess aka smileguy697) looks beautiful. Love the flower! The other plant has a pod or two, looking forward to trying them!
 

 

[filmost]

Turns out we were all wrong! The super bush is a Baccatum!
 

 

[JoynersHotPeppers]

You fair OK from the storm, glad it weakened!

 

[filmost]

Yup, we got out light. Hopefully nothing comes along while we are gone for the summer. *knock on wood*

May have to train my plant sitter in case of emergency.. Hmm

 

[georgej]

looking brilliant despite the slow start!
those fabric pots work great, huh?

im hoping and it should be the last typhoon until september when i'll be begging for a typhoon to bring cooler weather.

its damn hot today! humid too. probably some pretty epic thunderstorms to come in the next week or two before summer is in full swing

 

[Shurbryn]

Awww yiss! Hooray for super bush! Now to wait for pods!

 

[filmost]

Awww yiss! Hooray for super bush! Now to wait for pods!

 
Gotcha covered there! Looks we are starting out yellow!
 

 

[filmost]

Since I am away from my plants for awhile (hoping they are doing alright!) here's a pic of some pods I got from Cappy (Pepper Ridge Farms) today. I have already tried the Cumari do Para and they are freaking awesome! Now just gotta figure out what the others are lol.
 

 
Also received sauce I won in True North Reptiles drawing contest today! His jerk sauce is freaking delicious. If he ever produces it commercially then you NEED to get it!
 

 

[filmost]

Received an awesome box from [member='GA Growhead'] this week! Totally unexpected as I had originally asked for a few seeds. You rock buddy! Pepper people are the best!
 

 

[filmost]

Quick update. Came back from our three week vacation on August 13th and ALL my plants were fine. Gotta thank the in-laws for that! Have since had a couple of small harvests.
 
This was the day we got back to the house. The red ones are the result of [member='Gotrox']'s mystery seed. I'm guessing a red TSMB? Big one is a Corno di Toro. Small red one is smileguy697's Tepin x Lemon Drop, yellow are Fatalii and the ones on the left are ripe Jalapenos.
 

 
My super bush that everyone thought was a Fatalii was actually a Baccatum and I eventually IDed it as PI441560 from Semillas.de. The pods all start off white, ripen to an orange color, then finally to red. Very tart, not too hot but warm enough.
 

 
This is from tonight, not counting the tons of De Arbol I still have to pick. Top left is supposed to be a Poblano but looks more like a bell pepper, the one other pod on the plant looks true though so assuming this was crossed. Bottom left are the PI441560. Everything else is the same as the first pic.
 

 
My first experience with a fresh Fatalii pod was not pleasant. There was no citrusy undertone as people claimed. As I chewed and chewed, all I got was bitterness and flowers. However! Tonight I threw some pods into a Mango & Pineapple sauce and it was freaking awesome. I did nibble a piece of Fatalii tonight and was finally able to detect the citrus.
 
I actually only used three Fatalii in the end, and the heat is just right! Should be fine for most everyone I know.
 

 
To this I added a half cup of rice vinegar, 1 tbsp cane sugar, 1 tsp sea salt, and about 3/4 cup water.
 

 
Pureed in a blender and into a pot to heat up.
 

 
Weeeeee yummy yummy goodness! Sorta.... Taste is pretty concentrated, it tasted better freshly pureed. PH be damned! (really need to get some test strips)
 
Next time I will stick with my plant to use a quarter cup vinegar or perhaps find an alternative. Reduce cane sugar to 1 tsp and season with salt to taste.
 

 

[PIC 1]

Nice color on the sauce......almost an emulsified salad dressing look to it.
Was it tart tasting ?

 

[filmost]

Nice color on the sauce......almost an emulsified salad dressing look to it.
Was it tart tasting ?

 
I only pureed everything and heated up, no straining at all so perhaps thats why it looks the way it does. It was perfectly sweet with just barely a hint of tartness when I first pureed it. Just the mango, pineapple, and fatalii together was perfect. Then I added vinegar which necessitated some sugar and a bit of salt. >.< Going to have to reduce vinegar or find a replacement next time.

 

[PIC 1]

I'd use less vinegar next time.....Rice wine is bold in flavor....and I like the taste of that with Ginger and Bird chili's.
Let the sauce mellow for a week, that usually make s big difference in flavor.

 

[filmost]

Been awhile since I did a grow update, will need to do that soon. In the mean time, I have been collecting seeds. Need to start figuring out what grow for next year and get things rolling. September isn't too early right?! 
 

 

[filmost]

Moar seeds and plants doing their last final push for pods! My first big update in a long awhile. Pods are all still green but I should still have 4+ weeks before things get considerably cold (knock on wood!)
 
Seeds from ikeepfish and teejay. Thanks guys!

 
First pod forming for pepperlover's Giant Mexican Rocoto

 
PI441560 aka 'superbush' has been pumping pods since early summer. This bastard does NOT stop.

 
Sames goes for smileguy697's Tepin x Lemon Drop (F2). This bad boy is so prolific, both plants are leaning to the side from the weight of pods.

 
Reaper!!!

 
Naga Jolokia has been podding up steadily.

 
The stronger of my two Fatalii plants just went BOOM with pods after temps dipped earlier this month.

 
TSM Red Scorpion aka 'mystery' has started podding again too.

 
Two of the four branches of one Jalapeno plant that I topped this year. Buds are noticeably bigger and nicer looking than the ones from the plant I overwintered.

 
My overwintered Jalapeno is loaded withpods, though they are noticeably smaller than the one I grew and topped this year.

 

[RocketMan]

Great looking grow filmost. You have a nice variety going not to mention all the pods coming in. Good on ya!

 

[filmost]

Great looking grow filmost. You have a nice variety going not to mention all the pods coming in. Good on ya!

Thanks RocketMan!

 

[filmost]

Been awhile since my last update. A LONG while. My 2014 season ended with a pretty decent harvest. More than I expected and way more than I can use. I ended up selling some and giving others away. The rest are packed in the freezer and waiting to be used. Here are some pics of the end of the season.
 
Red Scorpion Moruga -- Gotrox mystery seed

 
Carolina Reaper -- from a trade I can't remember who from though
I had another pic of the whole plant, but can't find it. Put out a decent number of pods given I germinated it really stinking late.

 
Fatalli -- Had two of these bad boys and they put out a shit ton of pods despite being grown in 3 gallon fabric pots.

 
Naga Jolokia

 
PI441560 -- older pic, but this plant lasted so freaking long. I didn't cut it down until early or mid-December if I remember correctly. Of all my plants this one single plant was probably the most productive.

 
One of my earlier harvests. Actually divided this up and sold most of them.

 
Very last harvest was heavy on the Fatalii!

 
I also cut it several Rocoto, but of all my plants they did the worst this year. I decided to try and overwinter them outside just to see what will happen, and also b/c I didn't really have any place to stick them. The only two I kept (outside) were my Giant Mexican Rocoto from Pepperlover and the PI355812 from Semillas La Palma. Although temps have been dipping down as low as -4C, they have hung on pretty well, especially the GMR. I might actaully trim it back a bit and throw a semi-clear garbage bag over it as a make shift green house to help it along.
 
Over all I think I did pretty decent last season despite my many early mistakes. I learned a lot this year and going forward into 2015 I hope to have an even better grow. Actually got started on the 2015 season back in October. Pics and a new thread to follow!
 
Hope everyone had an awesome holiday and happy near years! Here's to a fiery 2015! 

 

[grantmichaels]

Was checking out your grow ... very nice!
 
But the reason I am posting, is, that oddly enough we have similar handwriting (print in all caps) ...
 
Interesting.