HM's Second Attempt for 2020

OK,
 
Last grow was decimated by broad mites. It's been 3 weeks since I got rid of all the plants, so that should have been long enough to kill any remaining stragglers that might have fallen off the plants in the grow room. Now, since I'm WAY behind in 2020, I'm starting plants that are good producers - nothing fancy, nor too ambitious - I just want a decent harvest to get some redemption.
 
Here's the list:
 
Lemon Drop (superhotchiles.com) - always been interested in this one, never had a chance to grow it.
Jalafuego (tomatogrowers.com) - our favorite Jalapeno. We only tried a sample of pickled jalapenos earlier this year, we want more.
Pepperoncini (tomatogrowers.com) - Another one for pickling
Chichimeca Jalapeno (tomatogrowers.com) - I've had these seeds for a while and never grew them. Wanted to compare these to the Jalafuego.
 
My wife also wanted some tomatoes, so I'm going to be growing a determinate variety in a 5 gal kratky, along with some basil. We'll see how that goes.
 
All seeds were pre-soaked for 24 hours in a 0.15% H2O2 solution.

 
 
They are now in rockwool cubes on the heating mat.

 
Now the waiting game begins...
 

 

[CaneDog]

Great batch of jalapeños HM.  Looks like you'll be enjoying those for at least a little while.

 

[Downriver]

 
Thanks for the tip DR! Do you have any specific sriracha recipe you recommend?
 
I've been brainstorming recipes with my wife and we're settling on a sauce with grilled pineapple, lime, cilantro and possibly garlic. We eat tons of fish and pork so the sauce should go well with those.

 
Just remembered this. Here's a simple recipe that I use. Works out nice. ymmv
 
Homemade Sriracha by Joshua Bousel
 
About This Recipe
Yield: Makes 1 1/2 cups
Active time: 15 minutes
Total time: 5-7 Days
This recipe appears in: How to Make Sriracha from Scratch
 
Ingredients
 
1 1/2 lbs red jalalpeños, stems snipped off, leaving green tops intact
6 cloves garlic, peeled
4 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
 
Procedures
 
1) Place jalalpeños, garlic, sugar, and salt in bowl of a food processor fitting with steel blade. Pulse until chilies are very finely chopped, stopping to scrap sides of bowl as necessary. Transfer mixture to a clean jar, cover, and let sit at room temperature.
 
2) Check jar each day for fermentation, when little bubbles start forming at bottom of jar, about 3-5 days. Stir contents each day, continuing to let ferment until chilies are no longer rising in volume, an additional 2-3 days.
 
3) Transfer chilies to jar of a blender, add in white vinegar, and puree until completely smooth, 1-3 minutes. Transfer to a mesh strainer set atop of a medium saucepan. Strain mixture into saucepan, using a rubber spatula to push trough as much pulp as possible, only seeded and larger pieces of chilies should remain in strainer.
 
4) Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until sauce thickens and clings to a spoon, 5 or 10 minutes. Transfer to an airtight container and store in refrigerator for up to 6 months.

 

[HeatMiser]

Great batch of jalapeños HM.  Looks like you'll be enjoying those for at least a little while.

 
Thanks CD! We'll have some pickled jalapenos for a little while, but maybe not that long. My wife, who initially found the jalafuegos too spicy, has now built a tolerance for them, so we are going through them like candy! Definitely worth the grow though. I think I'll always grow at least 1 Jalapeno.

 

[HeatMiser]

 
Just remembered this. Here's a simple recipe that I use. Works out nice. ymmv
 
Homemade Sriracha by Joshua Bousel
 
About This Recipe
Yield: Makes 1 1/2 cups
Active time: 15 minutes
Total time: 5-7 Days
This recipe appears in: How to Make Sriracha from Scratch
 
Ingredients
 
1 1/2 lbs red jalalpeños, stems snipped off, leaving green tops intact
6 cloves garlic, peeled
4 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
 
Procedures
 
1) Place jalalpeños, garlic, sugar, and salt in bowl of a food processor fitting with steel blade. Pulse until chilies are very finely chopped, stopping to scrap sides of bowl as necessary. Transfer mixture to a clean jar, cover, and let sit at room temperature.
 
2) Check jar each day for fermentation, when little bubbles start forming at bottom of jar, about 3-5 days. Stir contents each day, continuing to let ferment until chilies are no longer rising in volume, an additional 2-3 days.
 
3) Transfer chilies to jar of a blender, add in white vinegar, and puree until completely smooth, 1-3 minutes. Transfer to a mesh strainer set atop of a medium saucepan. Strain mixture into saucepan, using a rubber spatula to push trough as much pulp as possible, only seeded and larger pieces of chilies should remain in strainer.
 
4) Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until sauce thickens and clings to a spoon, 5 or 10 minutes. Transfer to an airtight container and store in refrigerator for up to 6 months.

 
Thanks DR! We will definitely be trying out this recipe... I'd assume it comes out tasting much better than store-bought sriracha.

 

[HeatMiser]

Just to close on the Jalafuegos, I'll give you guys some root pics:
 
Topped:

 
Untopped:

 
And well, when I see roots like that, I can't help but think of good ol' ZZ Top:

 
Here's the Lemon Drop. Probably the last picture in its full glory. It definitely liked the HLG100:

 
We really liked the flakes we made from the Lemon Drop, but I'll need the bucket in another week or so. Since it's hard to get rid of this plant, we are going to give it another shot at life as a bonchi. Last week I got a set of 3 bonsai pots, so the Lemon Drop and 1 lucky Jalafuego will have to downsize their living quarters in hopes of one day turning into cool ornamental plants. We'll see how well I can tame the lanky growth of that lemon drop!

 

[Mildfruit]

Im glad to see the lemon drop made into some great powder, its really something else dried

 

[Tybo]

 
Ha!  Good comparison with the roots and beards!  My wife and I saw these guys a few years back in Richmond, VA.  I've seen them in concert several times over the years.  Definitely a good show.
I wonder why Frank Beard never grew a beard like Billy and Dusty?

 

[Downriver]

We really liked the flakes we made from the Lemon Drop, but I'll need the bucket in another week or so.

 
Man, I think I'd buy another bucket lol.
 
What a gorgeous plant!
 
Ya done good with that one HM.

 

[HeatMiser]

Im glad to see the lemon drop made into some great powder, its really something else dried

 
Thanks MF, what really got me was the 
 
 

 
 
Ha!  Good comparison with the roots and beards!  My wife and I saw these guys a few years back in Richmond, VA.  I've seen them in concert several times over the years.  Definitely a good show.
I wonder why Frank Beard never grew a beard like Billy and Dusty?

 
They make good music Tybo, and they're one of those rare bands that have managed to stick together for decades. There's an good documentary on Netflix about them, I really recommend it - here's the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNkb8be3wlA 
 
They actually go over why Frank Beard never grew a beard! haha.
 
 

 
Man, I think I'd buy another bucket lol.
 
What a gorgeous plant!
 
Ya done good with that one HM.

 
Thanks DR!
 
Yes, that was the dilemma, and I've mulled it over and over. The bucket is the easy part - it's the light that's tricky. With more plants almost ready to go in the grow room (that I'm also excited to try), I'd have to find a way to provide proper lighting to the smaller plants next to it. It is a lot easier to deal with plants that are similar in size. Anyway, this one will get to live as a bonchi for the time being - if it makes it to spring I might decide to put it in a big pot outside. Might also put it back in hydro if a plant doesn't make it or we simply don't like those peppers. 

 

[PaulG]

+1 Rasmus!!
 
A sentiment expressed by many!

 

[HeatMiser]

Well, I haven't posted here in a while and I think it's time to officially end this glog.
 
I have to say I still have one Jalafuego that is living in my kitchen as a bonchi:

 
It's going to take a while to grow back its foliage, but it seems to be doing OK in that little pot.
 
Compared to the first grow I did in 2020, this one was a big success. I finally got to try the Lemon Drop (which I will be growing again in the future), got a good harvest of Jalafuegos and got to be a bit more hands-free with the plants in Kratky. I was no longer checking Ph/EC every 2-3 days, but changed the nutrient solution every couple of weeks. This definitely reduces the maintenance overhead of this system, which is a big plus for me.
 
Thanks everyone who followed along! Make sure to stop by my 2021 glog...

 

[PaulG]

Bonchi looks great. Nice ending to your 2020, HM!