JJJ Glog 2014.....in summary

Whew!
2013 Swirling down the Drain of Time.
 
Washing the 10x20s for a New Year.
 

 
 
By last October I was so peppered out  -40 some superhot plants and over twice that many mild and sweets. Didn't think I'd ever see the end of it. But, an early surprise freeze caught me off guard and I lost several mild and sweeties. I did get almost the entire superhot crop, dried, smoked, fermented, frozen or pickled. so I should have no dearth of heat to see me through to 2014 harvest.
 
I owe most of my pepper success in 2013 to YOU.
All the folks here at THP helped me from seed, to advice, to encouragement, to inspiration.  Couldn't have done it without y'all.
 
Some changes for 2014:
 

 
I'm moving my Cappy 1000 Pepper Incubator into my  basement utility room. Last year I had it in a minimally heated out building and the night times often dipped into the 50s or lower. And come to find out, baby peppers don't much care for that. They survived, they were just slow growers.
 
 
Dirt:
 
Fox Farms Ocean Forest will be my potting mix. It's organic and hopefully will be as good as the Miracle Grow Moisture Control and it can't be any worse than my home-brew last year which wasn't horrible but coulda been better.
 
Timing:
 
Instead of putting most of my seed in the ground in early February, I'm going to hold off until later on the Annums. The Chinensis at least some in early - mid January and some Manzano seeds earlier than that if I can find them.
 
How Many for Plant Out?:
 
Not 140.
I'm devoting 2 raised beds -a 4x30 and a 4x16 to Sweet Peppers -Jimmy Nardello, King of the North, Gaint Marconis, Aji Dulce. About 26 plants. 
100' in my row garden. Probably 40 plant's. Haven't decided on the balance, Bhuts, 7 pot, Habs, Bonnets, Jalas, the usual suspects and a few odd balls.
66 plants +/- total. I totally neglected my maters last year(which given the season didn't make much difference), but this year I vow to do better by tomatoes. I hope to do 50 or so -all heirlooms, mostly paste.
I'll start several more of both than needed for selling and give-aways.
 
 
 
In related news....
 
My buddy up in Richmond grew a lot of peppers last year. He has a geodesic dome greenhouse. At the end of season he just dug up several of his pepper plants and moved them in inside.
 

 
They're looking pretty good for late December.
 
My last "harvest" of 2013 was 12/22/13; some Thai Chilis that I'd pulled the whole plants in October and just laid up on a table outside. Most had dried leather-hard.
 
I pulled, cooked, seasoned, ground and strained them into a sauce for Pad Thai for this winter.
 

 
 
Everything subject to change without notice.
(But I'll keep you posted)
 
Thanks for reading,
JJJ
 
 

 

[JJJessee]

Thanks OCD, if not my neck, at least my armpits.
 
I did a major pull on The JA Habaneros today.
 

 
After I located them. 6-8 plants I think.
 
The Gourd Interstate Transportation Commision, put in a by-pass over top of the Habs
 

 
The lower canopy of the Habs is producing about a gallon of fruit per plant  if picked clean. The upper canopy might make half that again before frost.
 
Today was my first taste too. I cut a small chunk from the very bottom of a super ripe pod.
 
No heat at all. Sweet like a bell.
 
I cut a square inch of real estate out of the side.  NOW there's some heat. Some, but not a lot more than the MoA, but enough to get my attention.  I tend to tire of a heavy Hab flavor, but this one is fruity and light enough to get more mileage from in my book.
 
So I pulled 4 gallons
 

 
I picked out the best to pickle.
 

 
And most of the rest to smoke.
 

 
Just an hour or two. I have a habit of over smoking.
 
They came out like this....
 

 
...but I soften them up considerably more with another hour @275° in the oven.
For the time being I'll store these in the fridge in a 4:1 vinegar water base with a little salt but no spices.
 
I've got two trays pieced out in the dehydrator now.
 
I saved a lot of seeds. I did notice one plant threw out a few pods with MoA shape. I Bagged a limb tip too but it was late and I don't know if it will ripen. Hit me up if  you want seeds.
 
The smoked and pickled ones I keep, will probably see action in sauces with bases of blueberries, carrot, and raspberries, whatever comes to mind.
 
 
Thanks for reading
 

 

[JJJessee]

Thanks OCD, if not my neck, at least my armpits.
 
I did  the major pull on my JA Habaneros today.
 

 
After I located them. 6-8 plants I think.
 
The Gourd Interstate Transportation Commision, put in a by-pass over top of the Habs
 

 
The lower canopy of the Habs is producing about a gallon of fruit per plant  if picked clean. The upper canopy might make half that again before frost.
 
Today was my first taste too. I cut a small chunk from the very bottom of a super ripe pod.
 
No heat at all. Sweet like a bell.
 
I cut a square inch of real estate out of the side.  NOW there's some heat. Some, but not a lot more than the MoA, but enough to get my attention.  I tend to tire of a heavy Hab flavor, but this one is fruity and light enough to get more mileage from in my book.
 
So I pulled 4 gallons
 

 
I picked out the best to pickle.
 

 
And most of the rest to smoke.
 

 
Just an hour or two. I have a habit of over smoking.
 
They came out like this....
 

 
...but I soften them up considerably more with another hour @275° in the oven.
For the time being I'll store these in the fridge in a 4:1 vinegar water base with a little salt but no spices.
 
I've got two trays pieced out in the dehydrator now.
 
I saved a lot of seeds. I did notice one plant threw out a few pods with MoA shape. I Bagged a limb tip too but it was late and I don't know if it will ripen. Hit me up if  you want seeds.
 
The smoked and pickled ones I keep, will probably see action in sauces with bases of blueberries, carrot, and raspberries, whatever comes to mind.
 
 
Thanks for reading

 

[PIC 1]

Nice haul on the JA Habs..........I 'm having similar problems..pleasures harvesting loads of those......nice photo of the smoked pods.

 

[stickman]

Nice pull on the JA Habs TJ! I'd be curious how they taste pickled, so I'll keep an eye out for your review.
 
I've got a Ho Bak squash that "escaped" too, but mine's looping through the carrots.
 
Nice work with the low row cover... did it help keep pests at bay for you this season?

 

[OCD Chilehead]

That's great, a cooler of Habs. Great pics. No heat. Interesting. It looks very prolific.

Have a good day.

 

[HillBilly Jeff]

Excellent pull of habs.  They sure are a nice looking pod.  Looking great smoked too!!!

 

[JJJessee]

That's great, a cooler of Habs. Great pics. No heat. Interesting. It looks very prolific.

Have a good day.

Thanks, OCD
Oh, the NO HEAT part was just the bottom tip. It was quite adequate as you move up the pepper.
 
 

............nice photo of the smoked pods.

Thanks, Greg. That's quite a compliment coming from The Master.
Harvest so wears me out, more than prep work by a long shot. Probably the heat talkin', I told my wife last night that I'm going to grow 2 pepper plants , 3 tomatoes, and maybe and eggplant.
 
 

Nice pull on the JA Habs TJ! I'd be curious how they taste pickled, so I'll keep an eye out for your review.
 
I've got a Ho Bak squash that "escaped" too, but mine's looping through the carrots.
 
Nice work with the low row cover... did it help keep pests at bay for you this season?

 
Thanks, Rick, that row cover made eggplants possible. I've still got it over the carrots sown in July cause I haven't taken time to swap it for net on hoops. And deer will sometimes eat what inevitably pokes through the net. It's worthless against slugs and cutworms
 

Excellent pull of habs.  They sure are a nice looking pod.  Looking great smoked too!!!

Thanks, Jeff. It is definitely head and shoulders above a Carribean Hab. It's not as productive as the MoA, but that could be the gourds talkin'

 
 
I pulled a few limbs yesterday, Here is some White Bhut.
 

 
The plants never got very large, but prolific. This is practically half of one plant.
The other plant, has some more Scorpion-looking phenotypes.
The white is brighter than I thought it would be, but definitely moves toward the yellow spectrum.
May have to try this one in an omelett.
 
Thanks for reading.

 

[Durham Bull]

WOW... that White Bhut is amazing!

 

[romy6]

Thanks, OCD
Oh, the NO HEAT part was just the bottom tip. It was quite adequate as you move up the pepper.
 
 

Thanks, Greg. That's quite a compliment coming from The Master.
Harvest so wears me out, more than prep work by a long shot. Probably the heat talkin', I told my wife last night that I'm going to grow 2 pepper plants , 3 tomatoes, and maybe and eggplant.
 
 
 
Thanks, Rick, that row cover made eggplants possible. I've still got it over the carrots sown in July cause I haven't taken time to swap it for net on hoops. And deer will sometimes eat what inevitably pokes through the net. It's worthless against slugs and cutworms
 
Thanks, Jeff. It is definitely head and shoulders above a Carribean Hab. It's not as productive as the MoA, but that could be the gourds talkin'

 
 
I pulled a few limbs yesterday, Here is some White Bhut.
 

 
The plants never got very large, but prolific. This is practically half of one plant.
The other plant, has some more Scorpion-looking phenotypes.
The white is brighter than I thought it would be, but definitely moves toward the yellow spectrum.
May have to try this one in an omelett.
 
Thanks for reading.

That is an amazing abundance of love . Master gardener for sho !!!

 

[JoynersHotPeppers]

WOW! Amazing on the WB and Habs! I'd love some of those hab seeds when you get around to sending them out.

 

[Sawyer]

That's astonishing density on those white bhuts.  What's the maximum number of pods per node on that branch?  The ones I had last year were the whitest pods of any pepper I grew.  Those never trended to yellow at all, but they may have been more shaded than yours, or maybe I didn't leave them as long.  I've got a variety of white pods this year, but I don't think they've started ripening yet.
 
I noticed the same thing with the first MoA I sampled last week, not much heat in the end or even sidewall without rib/placenta, but the pieces with rib/placenta were quite respectable in the heat department.

 

[Devv]

Nice haul on the JA's and that White Bhut is amazing. I think you'll like that pepper, it fits in nicely with the MoA's, and JA's
 
Keep it green!

 

[JJJessee]

Thanks, guys. I have another White Bhut plant to pull. I'll look at closer John to see how they are set.
 
The first batch of White Bhuts went into the drier
 

 
The peachy Bhuts are starting to get there. A nice color.
 

 
I planted 6 NuMex Hertiage 6-4 "Hatch" chilies. This is production from about 4.
 

 
I fired up Breadzilla to roast them.
 

 
I think I'll try a hotter oven next time. It took longer than 7 minutes to blister them just right. 
Especially toward the end. A wire mesh barrel on a spindle would be better but the inner door is only 12" tall.
 

 
These came out nice.
 

 
I may toast them and dehydrate most of them.
 
 
 

 
By 30qts of tomato juice I was already tired of canning maters and that was before the sauce maters came in.
So I switched to Roast and Freeze ---way, way quicker.
 

 
Pre-season with EVOO, whole garlic, onion powder, salt and some combination of oregano, thyme, marjoram, or rosemary.
Then 275° for 3-8 hrs.
I've went through at least 20 heads of garlic already.
 
And today I started fermenting
 

 

 
Also did a jar of pure Fatalii and a jar of mixed, with Nagabon, Fatalii, Moa, and some sweet peppers
 
I can hardly wait for killin' frost.
 
Thanks for reading.
 
JJJ

 

[HillBilly Jeff]

Everything is looking great.  Really like your roaster.

 

[Sawyer]

Looks like you need a bigger oven.

 

[stickman]

Boy, you're sitting in the sweet spot of harvest time now TJ!   I've still got a few things to do in the garden to get it ready for winter, but I hear ya 'bout waiting for the killing frost to open up some free time... Lol!
 
What did you put into your Bonnet ferment if I may ask? I've only made a cooked sauce with them so far, but may take a stab at a ferment if it looks good.
 
Cheers!

 

[JJJessee]

3% salt is all I've put in in it, Rick

 

[stickman]

Very cool... thanks TJ! Have you done this before, or is it a pilot project?

 

[Devv]

Good stuff going on here JJJ!
 
I hear ya about ready for the season to end. I could go till December, but both myself and the soil need a break!
 
Cover crop is already growing!

 

[JJJessee]

Scott, I hope to get some or all of my cover on by Friday, but I've got my first grand-baby due any day now  (i'm guessing a week from tomorrow) up in Baltimore so, Priorities could delay me a few days.
Grounds a bit damp now and I've got to get my taters out too.
 
 
I did, at long last, get my future bee yard cleaned  and sown in red fescue.
 

 
Maybe this next spring i'll get a couple of stands in there. It was a bad honey year around here they tell me.
 
 
My Bolivian Rainbows? are good comparison for soil quality.
 
My container plant, and possible bonchi candidate, did fine in re-amended soil using Ganga Girl's direction.
 

 
 
The plant set plenty of fruits, but the foliage is no where near as pretty as these two in-ground plants.
 

 
You can't beat Mother Nature.
The container soil is missing something and I even gave it a few shots of fish emulsion along the way.
The fruit is not as ripe even though they were set out about the same time or even earlier.
 
 
 
Just a lark, but it's back.
 

 
The Royal Bastard, that I cut back to 4-6"  'cause  it got busted up in some weather 3 week ago in now a solid 3' again. 
 
 
 
One of the manzano porch dawgs.
 

 
It had a color break about a week or two ago, but I think I'm seeing the beginning of some actual yellow.
They better hurry.
 
 
 
The row garden 
 

 
I've barely touched the peppers cause the maters have just kept me too busy.
But these tomatoes are kaput. I'll take them down tomorrow or next day.
 
 
My sauce maters and odds and ends in the raised beds are still going.
 
Jersey Devils ready to slice and roast.
 

 
 
 
a mess of Marzanos
 

 
 
Piennola del Vesuvio
 

 
 
Yellow Brandywines
 

 
 It is in the hugelgrave bed and took a break after a few early fruit, but it has come back with a few late ones to go.
And it is a really nice mater. I didn't care for yellows before this plant. 
The later fruit is not so cat-faced as the early batch.
 
Thanks for reading.