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PeriPeri's Grow Log 2012: South Africa

Hi All,

So I'll give it another try this year. God knows I love chillies and I would love nothing more than to have a bumper harvest... but I suspect the truth of the matter is I do not have green fingers. In fact, give me a chilli and I will be pretty guaranteed to kill it lol That's not negativity talking, that's reality based on last years experiences lol

Last year it was pots. This year its a farm east of Pretoria, here in South Africa. My reasoning for this madness is pretty much like a hunter hunting with a machine gun... out of the thousand seedlings I plant... I must walk away with something lol (I hope).

So I have a pice of land. Good soil down by a river in the african sun.

The planting area has been divided into two sections. An enclosed area (±40mx40m) with shade netting and an open area (±40mx40m). Water is limited, but there is borehole water.

Outside Area:
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Inside Area:
inside.jpg


Temps this time of the year are in the mid to high 30ºC. It's the rainy season, so there is rain and it comes in buckets and hail-stones!

So here are the pics I took of the inside and outside areas Saturday 6/10/2012. It was 37ºC that day. I have a video as well which I took last Sunday when I started the planting (to come). Luckily we have a cold front at the moment, so since monday it has been overcast, cool and we have rain (magic). I think its about 23/25ºC at the moment. I planted on Sunday (36ºC) early morning (24/25ºC) and late afternoon and pretty much watered for the rest of the day. Didn't look like rain at all... but it's here and could not have come at a better time really!

As you can see I have laid out the beds in rows. Planting is at 45-60cm intervals. I am doing a little experiment also with double planting and single planting. I suspect the yield will be lower with the bushes that have been double planted... but who knows. A different climate... maybe results will show different.

On the grow list:

Bishops Crown
PeriPeri (naturally)
Hotazel
Hot Pixie
Thaibo
Thai Dragon
Baby Belle
Cal Wonder
Yellow Scorpions
ButchT
Black Pearl
Naga Viper
White Hab
Orange Hab
Brown Hab
Red Hab
Big Jim
Long Thai
Cayenne
Cheyenne
Jalapeno
Carolina Reaper
Serrano
Pasilla Bajio
7 Pod
Bhut Jolokia
Naga King
Scotch Bonnet
Hungarian Sweet Wax
Cherry Bomb
Boriya Mirch
Brain Strain
Ring of Fire

Still to come...

Angkor Sunrise
Devils Tongue White
Barrakpore
Douglah
Jonah
JonahxButchT
Primo
Naga Morich
Infinity
Goronong
Devils Tongue Choc
Hab Choc

One or two other... but I can't remember.

First lot I planted on Sunday 7/10/2012.... details will follow...

Over and out for now!

PeriPeri
 
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WalkGood said:
Lourens they need to come up with an "awesome" button for your glog \o/ and allow multiple presses of dat button, hehehe ... keep da faith heat going!
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Thank you my friend. Now for some reason I am craving ribs lol wonder why??? At 6am in the morning - really? Ramon, that is your fault my friend!

KiNGDeNNiZ said:
Nom nom. You sure looked like you enjoyed it :) Great updates and don't worry it'll ripen eventually
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Thanks KINGDeNNiZ, man that pod was the gift that kept on giving. That was one mean sob... had me chewing Rennies all night lol

GA Growhead said:
Glad to hear your transplants are doing well! And best of luck at the chili fest!
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Thank you GA Growhead... nervous as hell about that. Still have so much to do! I will take pictures and post them when I am done!
 
Good luck at the chile festival Lourens! I hope you make lots of positive contacts. Nice video taste test... you should get either multiple purple hearts for throwing yourself on the grenade that many times or  a section 8! Lol! Stay crazy you nut! :onfire:
 
Wow,man!!!!! I JUST finnished reading your awesome glog Lourens!
I don't have ANY words to describe the awesomeness! Haha man,that was an awesome read! :P keep it going,mAy next season have even MORE ! Make it 50 by 50 instead of 40 by 40! Haha :P well done!
Wow,man!!!!! I JUST finnished reading your awesome glog Lourens!
I don't have ANY words to describe the awesomeness! Haha man,that was an awesome read! :P keep it going,mAy next season have even MORE ! Make it 50 by 50 instead of 40 by 40! Haha :P well done!

Can't wait till I get those seeds ;) then I'm gna be busy,all day :D
Wow,man!!!!! I JUST finnished reading your awesome glog Lourens!
I don't have ANY words to describe the awesomeness! Haha man,that was an awesome read! :P keep it going,mAy next season have even MORE ! Make it 50 by 50 instead of 40 by 40! Haha :P well done!

Can't wait till I get those seeds ;) then I'm gna be busy,all day on the farm! Whoop whoop! :D
Wow! Just finnished reading your glog! Was AWESOOOME! can't wait till my seeds come,then you can see how I do too! Hope to have a valcano pack. Well done,that was the best read,can't wait till next season's read!
Sory,had a stupid prob wth this phone :/ :|
Sory,had a stupid prob wth this phone :/ :|
 
Phew, that has been a long time away from THP. Apologies folk, but I was at a chilli festival and was busy launching my website and FB page. It's great to be back with my friends and to catch up on what some of you have been up to. I didn't quite make all of you, but I will. So much to read, so many fantastic images. Looking forward to it.
 
Hey Rick. I stopped making sauce at about 100 litres. I ended up making just a small batch of sauces for the chilli festival due to a time constrain. So I had about 400 bottles. Limited 2013 Vintage Chilli Sauce and Salsa. 66 of the bad boys in the sauce. All gone ;) The main focus of the festival was the launch of the website though. Loads of interest in chilli seeds and the sauce. It was a awesome!
 
Small beginnings, but a start!
 
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salsa.jpg


sauce.jpg
 
Awesome bro. Best of luck with the new business ventures .... I like it ... Very clean and professional looking. Onwards and upwards!!
 
Awesome presentation Lourens! It looked like you hit all the right angles, and having a sellout at the onset has got to feel good! Continued success my friend. :dance: :clap:  :dance:
 
EDIT: I went back to look at the pics again and caught the warning label on the bottom of the bottles/jars... did any of the people who tried your samples comment on that? ;)
 
:) Thanks Stickman! Yea, it did feel good. What was better was that when you talk to people with passion about something it is very very easy to sell stuff.
 
You know, the SA market has been so secluded from the rest of the world. The hottest sauces here are made from Savina's or Habanero's, but most sauces are PeriPeri sauces. The average South African thinks the Habanero or the PeriPeri is the hottest chilli in the world. So I decided to put it out there that this sauce was exceptionally hot. Made from a blend of 66 of the chillies I have grown last season, including the worlds hottest chillies. I could have made it very hot, but I had to tone it down for the milder South African palate.  It would be classified for our palate as mild (I didn't want any lawsuits given the milder South African palate) so I thought exceptionally hot was good. The terminology really worked for most people. The fact that I actually made a point of telling people and warning them before they tried my sauces, that the sauces were exceptionally hot - just made people want to try it even more lol Especially the Indian customers. "Oh you know, we Indians, we can take hot.... oooh man THAT IS VERY HOT.... but nice" was the general feedback. It's crazy... warn people and that just makes them want to try it even more.
 
I also brought a whole stash of my last remaining superhot pods. So when I had a chillihead at the stall, I did an impromptu taste test for those customers I knew could take the heat. Which was just funny man... that expression on a face when they realise "oh sh!t, what have I just eaten... omg!!!" They go clammy and pale before they go fire engine red and dash for the nearest cool drink vendor. Must be the scorpio in me, but man, I just loved that :D
 
Agree...........way to follow through with the dream ! 
 
I'm sure there's a lot of chili folks  out you're way and appreciate the great products from right out of your garden.
 
I like the labeling......it doesn't hide, but shows off the product...........cool !
 
Good luck with the future ventures !
 
PeriPeri said:
:) Thanks Stickman! Yea, it did feel good. What was better was that when you talk to people with passion about something it is very very easy to sell stuff.
 
I've noticed that too...
 
You know, the SA market has been so secluded from the rest of the world. The hottest sauces here are made from Savina's or Habanero's, but most sauces are PeriPeri sauces. The average South African thinks the Habanero or the PeriPeri is the hottest chilli in the world. So I decided to put it out there that this sauce was exceptionally hot. Made from a blend of 66 of the chillies I have grown last season, including the worlds hottest chillies. I could have made it very hot, but I had to tone it down for the milder South African palate.  It would be classified for our palate as mild (I didn't want any lawsuits given the milder South African palate) so I thought exceptionally hot was good. The terminology really worked for most people. The fact that I actually made a point of telling people and warning them before they tried my sauces, that the sauces were exceptionally hot - just made people want to try it even more lol Especially the Indian customers. "Oh you know, we Indians, we can take hot.... oooh man THAT IS VERY HOT.... but nice" was the general feedback. It's crazy... warn people and that just makes them want to try it even more.
 
That's why I'm saying you hit all the marketing angles but sex... which in the context would have been overkill... ;)  I would think most people have become so jaded by constant bombardment with advertising that when they see the marketer trying to use sex to sell, I think they recognize that (s)he is desperate to make the deal and sheer off. At least I know that's my reaction.
 
I also brought a whole stash of my last remaining superhot pods. So when I had a chillihead at the stall, I did an impromptu taste test for those customers I knew could take the heat. Which was just funny man... that expression on a face when they realise "oh sh!t, what have I just eaten... omg!!!" They go clammy and pale before they go fire engine red and dash for the nearest cool drink vendor. Must be the scorpio in me, but man, I just loved that :D
 
Every job should have its perks... I just love watching somebody who really enjoys their work! :rofl:
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PeriPeri said:
What was better was that when you talk to people with passion about something it is very very easy to sell stuff.
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Try turn it upside down. As a customer buying something special, you very much prefer the sales guy to passionate about the product. It's a win-win.

With the dedication and passion you've shown here, I'm sure you'll do good business (despite the scorpio traits)  ;)
 
HAJ said:
Try turn it upside down. As a customer buying something special, you very much prefer the sales guy to passionate about the product. It's a win-win.

With the dedication and passion you've shown here, I'm sure you'll do good business (despite the scorpio traits)  ;)
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lol Thank you HAj... luckily the Scorpio lives a more subdued lifestyle as a designer lol I think lol
 
Thank you for the feedback, it feels great to be on the glog again.
 
How are things in Denmark? Are you growing this summer? Will catch up some more tonight. Lovely glass of whisky and brilliant grow logs... what could be better?
 
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