Highalt's 2012 Grow Log

I haven't made it to the super hot level yet, so not sure how interesting you guys will find this, but I like having one place to post all of my pictures throughout the season, so here goes.

2012 Preliminary Grow List:

Aji Yellow
Alma Paprika
Ancho Gigantia
Ancho San Luis
Barker (NuMex)
Big Jim (NuMex)
Black Hungarian
Chile de Arbol
Chile Hidalgo (don't actually have seeds for this one yet)
Chilhaucle Rojo
Chimayo
Cosa Arrugada
Costeno Amarillo
Fish
Fresno
Georgia Flame
Giant Szegedi
Habanero Chocolate
Habanero Peach
Hawaiian Sweet Hot
Inca Red Drop
Jalapeno 'Biker Billy' (The only hybrid on the list)
Jaloro
Japone
Jimmy Nardello
Lemon Drop
Melrose
NuMex Espanola Improved
NuMex Pinata (don't have seeds for this one yet either)
Patio Red Marconi
Piment 'd Espelette
Rain Forest
Rocotillo
Sante Fe Grande
Serrano Tampiqueno
Tollie's Sweet Italian

*Disclaimer - this list is subject to change ... hourly

I host an annual group pepper seed swap on another site, so I'm sure I'll probably add to this list once that gets going, but this is the bulk of what I plan to grow anyway. The problem with adding to this list isn't where to plant them, it's finding enough cat-free space indoors to start them all!

If you check out my post on early season Serrano substitutes you'll see I'm still looking for information on a few of the peppers I"m thinking of growing. It's so much better hearing from someone that has actually grown a variety, rather than going by a description on a seed vendor's website!

The habaneros may get started in the next couple of weeks, but I'll probably wait until February to start the rest. I'll be back with pictures once the seeds are in the dirt.

 

[PaulG]

That dessert looks too good, Bonnie. How about a habanero or two for flavor
Sorry to hear about the frost. Gads, this is getting ridiculous! We're back to cloudy,
but with temps in high 40's low 50's at night, so can't complain. Keep on truckin, Bonnie!

 

[highalt]

okay...a pepper log that makes you hungry,.....some people might want to trade home made hot sauce for strawbarb jam..REALLY...I'm just sayin.Didn't check your location-but now I'm really impressed...if your near Aspen.I used to live in Winterpark....and I would've never suspected pepper growing successfully up there(please note that practically everywhere is up there for me now...at a towering 8' above sea level-so that is one thing I can't be wrong about!)....and I really meant REALLY!
AND YOU SAID:[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Even though you have kids that are older than mine, I got you beat on the # of years married! [/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]I got you both beat!....but you win at the youngest married angle [/background]

[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]oh..yeah- the plants look great![/background]

Haha! Actually, I have been known to trade canned goods for pods, powders,and seeds, so not out of the question. If you give me a couple more months, I'll have some pepper jellies going.

Aspen is a couple thousand feet higher in elevation than us, so don't be too impressed, but I'm not gonna lie, the early part of the growing season can be pretty frustrating around here!

That dessert looks too good, Bonnie. How about a habanero or two for flavor
Sorry to hear about the frost. Gads, this is getting ridiculous! We're back to cloudy,
but with temps in high 40's low 50's at night, so can't complain. Keep on truckin, Bonnie!

It looks like the Peach Habanero will survive. It will probably just be really short and stocky! Even if it doesn't bounce back, I have three more of them, so not too worried. I may have lost a few of the bean plants, but they grow really fast, so probably have time to start a few more.

 

[stc3248]

Glad everything's OK!!! Scary stuff, just when you think you're in the clear too. That really could have been horrible, but with the jump start your peppers have it would take a pretty good frost to do anything but a little leaf damage. Fingers crossed no more curve balls are coming your way!

 

[gnslngr]

Hope you are far away from that fire...especially after the late (WHAT!) frost.

 

[highalt]

The wildfire is on the other side of the state from me this time, but with the lack of rain this spring, and the crazy winds, and now temps around the 90 degree mark, there will be some fires on this side of the state before the season is out. There's already been some smaller ones around here that haven't made national news. Our home is in a new subdivision up on a mesa with no mature trees, so the fire danger is pretty low. We had a small one visible from here one year, maybe a mile away, which kind of made me nervous, but we were never evacuated.

Tried to get some pictures this morning, but should have gotten out there earlier. The sun was already too bright for any decent shots, so I only have two worthy of posting. Maybe I'll try again this evening. My cheap little point and shoot can take a pretty good picture, if the lighting is just right and there's no wind ...

Chimayo. This thing is loaded with buds and blooms.

Black Hungarian. The first pod of the season is coming along nicely. It will turn purple/black once it gets closer to full size.

The plants always seem to just sit there the first couple weeks in the ground, but today I finally noticed new growth on the ones here at the house. They should be getting bushy and full of pods before long.

 

[Pinoy83]

looking nice those will explode soon feed them with tea

 

[romy6]

Nice pod action Bonnie. You deserve it . I can see some yummy jelly in the not so far future. And tell Dave(gunslinger) that I got dibbs on the jams and jellies too

 

[highalt]

looking nice those will explode soon feed them with tea

Thanks, Pinoy! I know everyone's doing the tea thing, but I don't have the aerator thingy. I probably will hit the plants with some Peak Harvest Bloom later today. It stinks pretty bad, but it's got a lot of the same stuff people are using in the teas = Fish hydrolisate, cold process kelp, and molasses.

Nice pod action Bonnie. You deserve it . I can see some yummy jelly in the not so far future. And tell Dave(gunslinger) that I got dibbs on the jams and jellies too

Okay, I've seen Shane's videos, so you're going to have to send something less hot than those Barrackpores and Brain Strains to get some!!!

Haha! Seriously though, I can't wait to try some new flavor combinations this season, but the hottest thing I'm growing are habs, so not sure it will be hot enough for you!

 

[PaulG]

Nice, Bonnie, pods! How big do the black hungarians get?

 

[highalt]

Glad everything's OK!!! Scary stuff, just when you think you're in the clear too. That really could have been horrible, but with the jump start your peppers have it would take a pretty good frost to do anything but a little leaf damage. Fingers crossed no more curve balls are coming your way!

Yeah, I dodged a bullet there for sure! It's a good thing they had been in the ground for over a week, so they were thoroughly hardened off.

Nice, Bonnie, pods! How big do the black hungarians get?

Paul, they get about the same size as a jalapeno, but are more tapered and pointed on the ends.

Here's a shot of them taken during the 2010 season. Let me know if you'd like some seeds : )

So you know you live in a windy place when the gusts are up to 36 mph, and the weather folks don't even list it as breezy!

 

[PaulG]

You know, Bonnie, the wind was the one thing I didn't like about
the weather in eastern Ore. Always so hot and parchingly dry; just
seemed to suck the water out of your skin. An in the winter so cold
it knifed to the bone.

You deserve kudos for every pod you get

 

[highalt]

You know, Bonnie, the wind was the one thing I didn't like about
the weather in eastern Ore. Always so hot and parchingly dry; just
seemed to suck the water out of your skin. An in the winter so cold
it knifed to the bone.

You deserve kudos for every pod you get

Thanks! I agree with your signature that Every Pod's A Victory!!!

Luckily, the wind is actually not as bad during the winter months. Plus, the lack of humidity makes the cold seem less cold to me. When I lived in the south 40 degrees felt freezing cold. Here, if it's above zero, I'm usually just wearing a light jacket, LOL!

Okay, I know I've gone a little update crazy today, but I've got a couple of pics from the comm. garden.

First the ugly. Here's the Peach Habanero that got hit by the frost. If you look closely the entire top is gone. Will it develop another leader?

The first Aji Angelo pod, getting a little bigger.

This next picture is horrible, and I'm blaming it on the wind, but I wanted to show the pods on the Aji Chinchi Amarillo. One is pointing straight up, the other is growing out to the side.

Okay, I think I'm done for the day. Going to go harvest my first batch of lettuce to make a salad to go with tonight's spaghetti.

 

[Pinoy83]

Thanks! I agree with your signature that Every Pod's A Victory!!!

Luckily, the wind is actually not as bad during the winter months. Plus, the lack of humidity makes the cold seem less cold to me. When I lived in the south 40 degrees felt freezing cold. Here, if it's above zero, I'm usually just wearing a light jacket, LOL!

Okay, I know I've gone a little update crazy today, but I've got a couple of pics from the comm. garden.

First the ugly. Here's the Peach Habanero that got hit by the frost. If you look closely the entire top is gone. Will it develop another leader?

The first Aji Angelo pod, getting a little bigger.

This next picture is horrible, and I'm blaming it on the wind, but I wanted to show the pods on the Aji Chinchi Amarillo. One is pointing straight up, the other is growing out to the side.

Okay, I think I'm done for the day. Going to go harvest my first batch of lettuce to make a salad to go with tonight's spaghetti.

nice baby pods, and your peach hab will branch out were the stem got cut off i think that's what happen to mine when i prune them

 

[stickman]

Okay, I think I'm done for the day. Going to go harvest my first batch of lettuce to make a salad to go with tonight's spaghetti.

That's what I had here too... Linguine and shrimp Fra Diavolo. Picked Mizuna, Black Seed Simpson Lettuce and Asian radish leaves for a salad.

 

[stc3248]

Probably not a new top...more like a lot of sides! If it acts like mine that got topped it will put out a ton of side shoots and stay pretty low and bushy. Pay no attention to my videos most of the drama was just me trying to exercise some artistic license. Those Habs you got going are about the same as the Barrackpore...trust me! :

 

[stickman]

Probably not a new top...more like a lot of sides! If it acts like mine that got topped it will put out a ton of side shoots and stay pretty low and bushy.

That's what happened to the chile of mine that got frosted this spring. It lost all but one of its leaves and came back on side branching alone. It's maybe six or eight inches shorter than the chiles around it, but looking good now. Hope that helps.

 

[highalt]

If mine ends up looking half as good as yours, Rick, than I'll be pretty happy!

The weather here is pretty much the opposite of what the FL growers are dealing with. Can't remember the last drop of rain we had, and today was the first time all week that I there was actually a cloud or two in the sky. So of course I took advantage, and ran out with the camera before the sun came back out! Wind gusts are in the 25 - 30 mph range, but I still managed to get a few decent shots.

Here is one of the largest fullest plants I have right now. Last year, it was a heavy producer, and made a nice mild powder for everyday cooking for the family.

Sandia

It's even sporting its first pod!

A comparison of Chilhuacle Rojo, 1st year vs. overwintered:

Earthbox #1 -Not sure if you can tell from this distance, but lots of side shoots developing.

Earthbox # 2 - the Guajillo in the back left corner has really shot up this past week!

Fresno, blooming like a madman.

... and a couple of non-pepper pics, just because.

Rovado Red Currants, almost ripe

This was an 'Irish Eyes' Rudbeckia, but came back the 2nd year as a regular brown eyed Susan

Last but not least, Geum 'Mrs. Bradshaw'. Got a couple of these last year for my birthday, and they are finally blooming.

Another busy weekend ahead for our family. Hope everyone has a good one!

 

[stickman]

Hi Bonnie
If I could, I'd send you some of our rain. I'm not complaining... just we seem to have gotten it in abundance while others didn't. I'm sure Paul would say the same. Boy, I'm amazed at how well the plants are doing that I got from your seed swap this spring. I didn't start them 'til the middle of March and they're doing as well as the ones I started the beginning of February. Your own are looking happy too now that they're in the ground. Cheers

 

[stc3248]

The peppers are starting to pod up...greening up nicely and smoothing out all their cold weather wrinkles, plus your nons are starting to show you some color! Great time of year isn't it?

 

[romy6]

Very nice pics Bonnie. Beautiful flower shots to boot