Mezo`s "super hots" Glog including the 'big' solar dehydrator.

The is thread with the humungous solar dehydrator.

G-Day, im Mez or Mezo & im new to this part of Australia having come from Perth (Western Australia) where growing chili peppers is so easy (except the heat).

I live in the border ranges in northern New South Wales (bordering Queensland) and its a mixed bag of temperate & tropical conditions, the summers are very hot, wet & humid, the winters are dry & sunny.



Average daily temps.

And average monthly rainfall.

Aussies reading this will already know this, but people in other country's probably paint a picture of Australia as a hot dry/dusty land but this is far from the truth, up north its full blown tropics with a wet season & 100% humidity (yuck). Down south its freezing cold & snow during winter, out west its a dry heat like in the Mediterranean & in the middle of Australia is desert country.

So im now growing for the first time "Super hots" and for a very important reason, whilst working away in Perth i had a double heart attack wich has left me permanently disabled, sadly they are unable to operate on me (bypass/stent) as its to far gone, so having worked all my life (Electrician) im now at the age of 45 claiming a disability pension & i hate not being able to work.

Now i take shovel fulls of dam tablets to keep my heart pumping & id rather not be taking any but right now there no option i have to take them or ill drop dead on the spot. After much reading i found out that cayenne powder has all sort of benefits to your health & well being, especially to your cardio vascular system. I had read that cayenne powder can stop a heart attack in its track & i put this to the test (twice) and yes it does work where the medication (Nitrolingual) had no effect.

So anyone reading this who spots a friend having a heart attack just flick some chili powder in a glass of water as fast as you can & get them to drink in right down, fast. It works within 30 seconds of drinking it & it saved me from two more attacks already.

So there's my life story in a nutshell & some sound advice on how to save a heart attack victims life.
And this ladies & gentlymen is why im growing "Super Hots" to make high heat cayenne powder for cooking to improve my circulation/remove fats & as a "just in case of emergency"

OK on with the first of my "Hots" the Bhut Jolokia, the reason i chose this was simple i just Googled "whats the hottest chili" and up popped the result, however further reading on the interweb i found threads from this forum & names like the Butch T, the Douglah & Brain Strain.

So ive ordered them from pepperlover.com after so many people gave such great reviews, Bhut in the meantime lets look at my Jolokia`s.

Must admit i just love the shape & color of these babies.

More soon,

Mezo.

 

[Mezo]

Mezo, that looks like a really good 12 Gauge situation. Me and snakes get along real good so long as they stay at least a kilometer away from whereever i am.

Haaa, your not allowed to kill snakes (protected) big fine as well (if they catch you doing it), that particular snake has been here for years in the roof of the house, he wasn't very well so we took him to the vets but died last week, they did a postmortem on him & found parasites in his organs.

Mezo.

 

[Mezo]

Got my Hungarian hot Cherry Pepper seeds through from Ben on Friday (thank you Ben) i would have posted sooner but Photobucket was refusing to allow pic uploads? so i deleted the cookie from my browser & im up & running again.

Its been raining so much here, poor plants are totally waterlogged.

Oh well back in the tent & carry on potting up.

Mezo.

 

[3/5King]

dayum, that's a lot of seeds.....and knowing you Mezo, you're gonna plant them all Awesome find on those pots. You've got some good friends lookin' out for ya. I really want to try growing an Avo, once my chilies are outside I might try one in my grow box. Among the thousand other things I want to try. Your grow is going well and I love the read. Thanks for keepin' us on the up and up Mezo!

PS. You went backpacking there in the 90's and stayed? Crazy bastard! lol.

 

[Mezo]

You went backpacking there in the 90's and stayed? Crazy bastard! lol.

Well you have to leave after your visa is up & then come back, they don't let you come backpacking & stay forever (rules & regs, paperwork etc etc). plus you have to have something to offer Australia (a needed skill & no criminal convictions etc) takes a while but worth it in the long run.

No sign of life on your lot yet? im surprised i thought id have one or two by now but nothing yet, im learning to be patient with growing chilli`s.

Mezo.

 

[3/5King]

Very cool Mezo, I have the skills but I also have the convictions. Looks like I will have to take Aussie off the list. Damn. Canada too.

Yes be very patient, especially if the temps are low. I know everything I sent you sprouted for me, so soon enough M

 

[Mezo]

Very cool Mezo, I have the skills but I also have the convictions. Looks like I will have to take Aussie off the list. Damn. Canada too.

Dave your only on this planet once, its not a rehearsal this is it, and its a very very short time we get.



Off topic & not even chilli related, i run a motorbike forum & ive got member's from all corners of the planet & one lad in particular "Dunc" decide **ck it i want an adventure before i die, so stuck in his boring office job he wondered if the bank would give him an overdraft & yep sure enough they did (plonkers).

So Dunc (English lad) decides to buy a Tenere (that's my forum) and pisses off on his own on his wee adventure, here`s a picture of Dunc`s bike this week broken down in the arse end of nowhere (were helping him source the parts & giving him advice)

You can read Dunc`s story here,,,

An incompetent approach to motorcycle travel

And chilli`s, well im totally knackered out, ive been potting all day & ive got days more potting left, pics to follow.

Mezo.

 

[Mezo]

As promised some chilli related stuff, here`s a picture of yours truly holding a Butch T in his hand.

"Whoarr look me healthy roots"

I know i look old & f*cked but that's because im old & f*cked. (that's what two heart attacks does for you)

But look at me healthy roots, eh, eh.

So when they are this size (ten weeks old in this case) i re pot them in to larger containers & that's when i fertz them.

When they go in to the "big boys bed" i spend some time at this stage, firstly i cut bits of old fly net (mozzi net) in to small strips & block the big drain holes in the pot, like this,,,

Then i place them over the big arse holes in the pot.

Then i chuck a handful of mix over each bit of net to hold it in place, once its held firm & load the pot up with more potting mix.

Once the net is held firm i load the it with potting mix (adding tomato fertz along the way).

But the end result is these holes at the bottom of your container with a bit of gauze, it stops the roots from growing out,
it stops bugs & stuff from getting in & everyone's happy.

Oh that was such a shit picture (sorry lads) but you get the idea.

Ive got so much work to do, my own fault (like Dave said for planting everything i get) guilty as charged Dave.

So this is tonight in the tent, plants waiting for transplant.

Oh i wish this was all i have,,, but there are hundreds more waiting i the aisle.

And here of just a few, Orange & Red Habs,,,

Then there`s Conor`s Wiri Wiri & Piir Piri,,,

And as you can see the "most prolific`s" in the foreground (whew they can wait a few weeks)

But not forgetting my (Freebies from Judy) Amish Bush, which also needs a new home (pant pant)

More later,

Mezo.

 

[kiddc]

i see, you still have alot of pots spare.

 

[Pepper-Guru]

Looking good down unda! Love the greenhouse too, good job! As for the small pieces of screen over the drain holes, instead of gently applying soil over each when filling the pot, you could use a short piece of stiff wire, bend it into a U, then stick it through the screen and bend each end out and towards the sides of the pot. I use wire they sell as bonsai wire for shaping bonsai plants. They come in different thicknesses and stiffnesses. This is what I do for my pots drain holes and the screens stay forever!



Loving the broke down bike in the middle of no where! Looks like quite the adventure! My next trip is either Australia or South America !

 

[Mezo]

i see, you still have alot of pots spare.

Yep loads spare, well i say spare they will all be used very soon.

How did you make the "clicky" in your sig link to your Glog, mine wont allow it?

Looking good down unda! Love the greenhouse too, good job! As for the small pieces of screen over the drain holes, instead of gently applying soil over each when filling the pot, you could use a short piece of stiff wire, bend it into a U, then stick it through the screen and bend each end out and towards the sides of the pot. I use wire they sell as bonsai wire for shaping bonsai plants. They come in different thicknesses and stiffnesses. This is what I do for my pots drain holes and the screens stay forever!



Loving the broke down bike in the middle of no where! Looks like quite the adventure! My next trip is either Australia or South America !

Its all about money nowadays, i make do with what i have, that`s old screen (used) where in the days when i had a thing called money i used to buy new screen for my pots & didn't even cut it, i just put the whole thing in the bottom.

Thinking back it was a waste of money, but i had the money back then & i was just plain lazy.

Yep id love to see South America, very doubtful now unless i win lotto, Dunc is stuck in Chile right now & may tap him up for some seeds whilst he`s driving through that region.

Mezo.

 

[Peakey]

The Goanna`s spend there day raiding the chook house of eggs, when the dogs see one (and there big) they go nuts chasing it up a tree. Last time i saw a snake i came face to face with one, i was hunting in an esky bag in the shipping container for some part for the irrigation system, i opened the bag & looked in & there was a dam snake sleeping inside (inches from my face) i screamed like a little girl, dropped the bag & run out of the container like an Olympic 100m sprinter.

We have Carpet snakes here (boa`s) and here`s me prodding one with a stick.


Mezo.

Back home we only get brown snakes and tiger snakes and there is not a stick big enough for me to do that. Although I did accidently run over a carpet snake the other day but he still looked alive and kicking when i drove back the other way.

Haaa, your not allowed to kill snakes (protected) big fine as well (if they catch you doing it), that particular snake has been here for years in the roof of the house, he wasn't very well so we took him to the vets but died last week, they did a postmortem on him & found parasites in his organs.

Mezo.

I did not know this....I can't think of any people who live on acreage that wouldn't have a fine if this is the case

 

[Mezo]

Well i only found out myself when that snake that i met face to face in the Esky bag decided to have a go at me,
and the upturned shovel that was leaning against the shed suddenly fell over anciently severing his head clean off.

Mezo.

 

[Durham Bull]

"suddenly fell over anciently severing his head clean off"

Love it!!!

 

[gnslngr]

Great log Mezo, lovin the critter aspects....I'm sure they can be a pain in the ass, but they keep things exciting. I tend to bring the snakes home and let em go, the poisonous ones I catch and release elsewhere(I have a "bullet proof" in her own mind Jack Russell- so thats the reason to remove the poisonous ones).I like that solar dehydrator, and am very jealous of the fact that you can just grow the Avocado trees-it way to humid and too much clay in the soil where I live for them to grow successfully.

 

[jsschrstrcks]

I knew that there were benefits to eating cayenne, but I didn't know how beneficial!

My mothers father, and my fathers father both died of heart troubles.... I'll be doubling the cayenne s next year I think!

Awesome solar dehydrator... It has me thinking now... I have the lumber, and the time to build something like that. Maybe not as nicely... But something in the ballpark.

great looking plants!

I think your weather is pretty similar to mine here in central florida - its not quite as tropical as south florida (a couple hundred miles further south), but its not exactly arid either haha.

We have 5 varieties of Poisonous snakes... Some that look very similar to non-poisonous snakes... So we've decided that there are two types of snakes in our yard... good snakes, and those still alive. This way my3 year old nephew, or dogs, don't mistake one for the other. living on the water, the moccasin is the most common, followed by a couple variety of rattlesnake. Never in my memory has a year gone by where we didn't kill a snake a month during the Summer months.

we had a lot of gator in this area too... The animal control folks supposedly told my neighbor "do what you must to protect your kids, just don't tell us about it". While I don't have any first hand knowledge... I suspect there were a lot of accidental gun firings between the eyes of the monsters as its been a good decade since I've even heard of one being seen.

great looking grow by the way. Good health to you as well!

 

[Mezo]

"suddenly fell over anciently severing his head clean off"

Love it!!!

Great log Mezo, lovin the critter aspects....I'm sure they can be a pain in the ass, but they keep things exciting. I tend to bring the snakes home and let em go, the poisonous ones I catch and release elsewhere(I have a "bullet proof" in her own mind Jack Russell- so thats the reason to remove the poisonous ones).I like that solar dehydrator, and am very jealous of the fact that you can just grow the Avocado trees-it way to humid and too much clay in the soil where I live for them to grow successfully.

I don't think Avo`s mind the humidity, they hate the cold though, i should have posted this earlier,,,if you live in a place that has frost, the frost can make the plant sterile (no fruit) and it takes seven years before you see any fruit by the way..

I knew that there were benefits to eating cayenne, but I didn't know how beneficial!

My mothers father, and my fathers father both died of heart troubles.... I'll be doubling the cayenne s next year I think!

Awesome solar dehydrator... It has me thinking now... I have the lumber, and the time to build something like that. Maybe not as nicely... But something in the ballpark.

great looking plants!

I think your weather is pretty similar to mine here in central florida - its not quite as tropical as south florida (a couple hundred miles further south), but its not exactly arid either haha.

We have 5 varieties of Poisonous snakes... Some that look very similar to non-poisonous snakes... So we've decided that there are two types of snakes in our yard... good snakes, and those still alive. This way my3 year old nephew, or dogs, don't mistake one for the other. living on the water, the moccasin is the most common, followed by a couple variety of rattlesnake. Never in my memory has a year gone by where we didn't kill a snake a month during the Summer months.

we had a lot of gator in this area too... The animal control folks supposedly told my neighbor "do what you must to protect your kids, just don't tell us about it". While I don't have any first hand knowledge... I suspect there were a lot of accidental gun firings between the eyes of the monsters as its been a good decade since I've even heard of one being seen.

great looking grow by the way. Good health to you as well!

Thank you kindly (good health to you as well) if i could force feed the entire world with super hot chilli`s id be nominated for a Nobel prize im sure, but that's not going to happen only a few savvy people will know the benefits of eating these things, shame.

So back to the chilli`s, had a strong wind/storm last night knock a few pods off me plants so it was time for the next batch to hit the dryer, nothing special this time just top & slice in they go.

Whilst i was slicing one of these babies one squirted in to my eye.

I ripped of my gloves & quickly poured some Olive oil in to my hand in straight in to my burning eye, it works,,
says Mezo with one eye shut typing away.

I forgot to update Conor`s Black Prince Tomatoes, 300mm high now Conor.

Not bad considering its almost winter here, Conor showed me a pic of his plants 11ft tall.

Mezo.

 

[SocalChilehead]

Mezo you have awesome plants, pods, and tomatoes this season is looking great for you hopefully I can have the same success with my bhut.

 

[Mezo]

Mezo you have awesome plants, pods, and tomatoes this season is looking great for you hopefully I can have the same success with my bhut.

Im sure you will have a very successful butt.

Mezo.

 

[gnslngr]

[sup]oh man-thanks for that pod porn.....AWESOME! I just might have to borrow one of those shots for a screen saver. I meant to comment on the screen-I do the same- keeps the ants from setting up shop, and ranching aphids for the most part. I think the real barrier to avocadoes here is they don't like wet feet, and 12"down we sit on hard clay.[/sup]

 

[stc3248]

Great update Mezo! Your dehydrator is working overtime for you! I have to get sprayed in the face with pepper spray every year to stay "certified" to carry it...still don't understand that requirement, once in enough for anyone to remember the experience for the rest of their life.