Pulpiteer 2013 Grow Log

Pulpiteer · Sep 17, 2013

I just want to pop in quick to throw up a video I did tonight. I'll add more of an update later. It's been crazy busy again.

Trinidad Morovas. Turns out they're hot.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnXHd-bLbRU[/media]

Pulpiteer · Sep 18, 2013

meatfreak said:
Wow, those are some beautiful looking SB's! Nice harvest over all, is it me or do those Cili Goronong look very big?! On the picture they look even bigger then most pods on it. How was the flavor/aroma on them?

Thanks! I'm so pleased with them - exactly what I hoped for. Those Cili Goronongs are pretty big. Cool looking pepper. I still haven't gotten a chance to check out their flavor - I'll have to get back with you.

KiNGDeNNiZ said:
beautiful harvest.. your jelly has made me want to make some later today

Thanks!

PIC 1 said:
Cool photos Andy !
The Bonnets are a beautiful yellow...and HUGE !
I've been finding more of the true bonnet shaped pods from my Jamaican mkt pods than the MoA's that I'm growing. One consolation is that I ended up with a red MoA. I hope your enjoy the flavor of the Jamaican c.chinense, although not a super hot, I like the fact that they're tasty and you can eat them like an apple...lol

Great harvest photo...and close-ups !
I'm going to have to stop back here when I have a crave to look at some beautiful Bonnets !

It's been fun to see how each of those varieties have turned out. I've loved seeing them turn out. Great pods. I'm thinking of drying most of them out and making a jerk seasoning dry rub.

WalkGood said:
Boonoonoonous looking peppers mon, now pass da fish & bammy and I’m set ^_^

Thanks!

Alright, so I threw a video up last night. I realize that I'm not the most exciting reviewer - as I tend to suffer silently. This is due in part because I cannot think through the pain enough to talk.
I got to try a Trinidad Morova last night. Here's another page where Judy (pepperlover.com) introduces them.

I was expecting habanero level heat. From what I've read, it is closer to superhot level heat, although maybe not quite. All I can say is that it destroyed me.

Here is one shot:

And here is the inside - you can see the oils

I ate half. Last night I couldn't really sleep all that well. I was up every couple of hours with excruciating stomach pain. I had to sleep in the recliner, and when I woke up I'd walk around to ease the pain, then try antacids or milk, but the peppers was down in my intestine, so it couldn't really be reached. And it was then that I decided that this was my last review. It beat me up too bad... It was an awesome pepper though.

On another note - I made some mango salsa!

I use moonglow tomatoes that I ordered from totally tomato. I love that variety. They have grown pretty well in this climate the past two years, and they are sweet and juicy. I had maybe 20 of those with 4 mangos, all peeled and chopped in the food processor:

Add the garlic, red onion, and scotch bonnets:

Then the pineapple sage and lemon verbena:

Cook and bring to a boil for 5-10 minutes. Hot pack them in jars, then water bath for another 30 minutes.

And I'll have something to get me through part of the winter.

And some "nons" - I tried growing a few melons late in the season from Baker Creek Heirloom seeds. Here is one called the Hero of Lockinge. It grew to a softball sized, very sweet melon. I'll be growing it next year.

And I am not sure what this is called, but it's fresh sliced tomato, fresh basil, some good mozzarella, and balsamic vinegar. Yum.

Alright, bed time.

Thanks for stopping by!

chsy83 · Sep 18, 2013

Pulpiteer said:
Thanks! I'm so pleased with them - exactly what I hoped for. Those Cili Goronongs are pretty big. Cool looking pepper. I still haven't gotten a chance to check out their flavor - I'll have to get back with you.

Thanks!

It's been fun to see how each of those varieties have turned out. I've loved seeing them turn out. Great pods. I'm thinking of drying most of them out and making a jerk seasoning dry rub.

Thanks!

Alright, so I threw a video up last night. I realize that I'm not the most exciting reviewer - as I tend to suffer silently. This is due in part because I cannot think through the pain enough to talk.
I got to try a Trinidad Morova last night. Here's another page where Judy (pepperlover.com) introduces them.

I was expecting habanero level heat. From what I've read, it is closer to superhot level heat, although maybe not quite. All I can say is that it destroyed me.

Here is one shot:

And here is the inside - you can see the oils

I ate half. Last night I couldn't really sleep all that well. I was up every couple of hours with excruciating stomach pain. I had to sleep in the recliner, and when I woke up I'd walk around to ease the pain, then try antacids or milk, but the peppers was down in my intestine, so it couldn't really be reached. And it was then that I decided that this was my last review. It beat me up too bad... It was an awesome pepper though.

On another note - I made some mango salsa!

I use moonglow tomatoes that I ordered from totally tomato. I love that variety. They have grown pretty well in this climate the past two years, and they are sweet and juicy. I had maybe 20 of those with 4 mangos, all peeled and chopped in the food processor:

Add the garlic, red onion, and scotch bonnets:

Then the pineapple sage and lemon verbena:

Cook and bring to a boil for 5-10 minutes. Hot pack them in jars, then water bath for another 30 minutes.

And I'll have something to get me through part of the winter.

And some "nons" - I tried growing a few melons late in the season from Baker Creek Heirloom seeds. Here is one called the Hero of Lockinge. It grew to a softball sized, very sweet melon. I'll be growing it next year.

And I am not sure what this is called, but it's fresh sliced tomato, fresh basil, some good mozzarella, and balsamic vinegar. Yum.

Alright, bed time.

Thanks for stopping by!

Looks tasty. Now I am hungry . . .

PIC 1 · Sep 18, 2013

Andy, nice processing photos..........your appetizer or salad dish in normally called a Caprese Salad, the Balsamic puts the spin on it.
Looks very tasty, especially with fresh picked tomatoes.

Pulpiteer · Sep 19, 2013

chsy83 said:
Looks tasty. Now I am hungry . . .

Thanks, I do what I can.

PIC 1 said:
Andy, nice processing photos..........your appetizer or salad dish in normally called a Caprese Salad, the Balsamic puts the spin on it.
Looks very tasty, especially with fresh picked tomatoes.

Thanks Greg. I see now that olive oil is a normal topping for that. I liked the bite of the vinegar, but a mix of vinegar and olive oil sounds good too.

I checked the mail yesterday and to my surprise received a package from Karl (Hendrix1326)! Wonderful! I've tasted the green jelly already - it is made from green aji lemons and it has a very nice flavor. And it's a fun little collection of peppers he sent. Karl is one of the first people I really connected with on this website about two years ago now, so it's cool to receive that from him.

I was out in the garden tonight snooping around. I've done a lot of pictures of my scotch bonnets, so I'll try to have pictures of some of the other plants I'm growing. The garden finally looks good, and it's fun to wade through. Again, I'm like 6 weeks behind where I was last year. If the weather holds, these green pods will change. I've got a lot coming along, so we'll see. Anyway, here's a shot of the whole garden.

I've got some red bhut jolokias (pepperlover) coming in and they look huge. I'm sad these didn't take off earlier. I'll definitely have to grow them from this seed next year.

And some white bhuts (pepeprlover) in another spot. I hope they ripen. I'm curious what they'll look like.

Here's a Bahamian Goat (Aji Joe) that I really hope ripens. Very curious about the taste of this one.

Harold St. Bart's Habanero (Aji Joe) - my favorite habanero

Peach Lantern Habanero Small (Aji Joe) - this one I thought was a "not" that crossed with an ornamental. However, it appears to go through the purple stage on its way to peach. Very unusual and cool.

Once again, I have to mention that the Trinidad Morova (pepperlover) destroyed my gut. I tried just a couple of pieces of slices on some food today, and am amazed at how hot it is even with my food (stirfry, then bbq pork). Amazing. And here are some more on their way...

Yellow 7 Pot (pepperlover). I really like the shapes and most everything about these...

And I did get a couple HP22B's or Carolina Reapers going (pepperjoe). They are growing true to form shape wise. I hope they ripen up in time. They look mean...

And that's my 10 pictures for the night.

Thanks for stopping by!

chsy83 · Sep 20, 2013

Lookin good!

romy6 · Sep 20, 2013

Great review on the Moravas. That Pepper was huge.

Your Garden looks amazing Andy. Really filling in nicely.

Love the food shots even mo!!!!

Hendrix1326 · Sep 25, 2013

Nice pepper shots, Andy! Glad to see your pepper patch is loaded up. I had the same problem up here, too, with cold August, and the peppers are about a month or more behind in ripening. Still way too many unripe, including all of my C.Baccatum, Frutescens, Pubescens, and most Chinense. Oh well, 20 overwinters should fix that for next year, ha! Take it easy!

Sawyer · Sep 26, 2013

My white bhuts, also from pepperlover, look about like yours in shape. I have one plant where they are turning a bright yellow-orange, but most of them are a good creamy white color. Haven't tasted one yet. Most of my reapers look more or less like the picture you posted. I have one plant that I think looks like Scott's Funky Reaper, though I haven't confirmed that with a taste test yet. (Not sure what to look for in taste, anyway.)

Pr0digal_son · Sep 26, 2013

Nice updates Andy. It makes me happy to see your season turn around.The weather was tough this year,we have been close to frost a few times already this season. Hope some of those pods ripen up for you.

RocketMan · Sep 26, 2013

Andy, I've never heard of those melons but they look really good and the Caprese salad is fantastic. Good to see those pods coming along. Do you have enough time left for the green ones to ripen? I'll be praying for some extended grow time for all y'all growing north of here. I'll PM you my address, I'd love some of those Ground Cherry seeds. Been crazy busy with work and the move, still unpacking boxes (where did they all come from?) and with them locking down on internet use at work I'm just not on as much as I would like to be. I figured it out though, Pics on the phone and post on the puter

Take care Brother, and lets see some pic of that new young'un sometime.

Pulpiteer · Sep 26, 2013

chsy83 said:
Lookin good!

Thank you!

romy6 said:
Great review on the Moravas. That Pepper was huge.

Your Garden looks amazing Andy. Really filling in nicely.

Love the food shots even mo!!!!

Thanks!
Yes it was huge. And it hurt.
Yeah, the garden is looking nice now. The frost is holding off for now. Hopefully I can get some more peppers to ripen.

Hendrix1326 said:
Nice pepper shots, Andy! Glad to see your pepper patch is loaded up. I had the same problem up here, too, with cold August, and the peppers are about a month or more behind in ripening. Still way too many unripe, including all of my C.Baccatum, Frutescens, Pubescens, and most Chinense. Oh well, 20 overwinters should fix that for next year, ha! Take it easy!

Thanks Karl! Have you guys had a frost yet? You must have. That cuts your season a bit shorter than ours down here. Good luck with the over winters.

Sawyer said:
My white bhuts, also from pepperlover, look about like yours in shape. I have one plant where they are turning a bright yellow-orange, but most of them are a good creamy white color. Haven't tasted one yet. Most of my reapers look more or less like the picture you posted. I have one plant that I think looks like Scott's Funky Reaper, though I haven't confirmed that with a taste test yet. (Not sure what to look for in taste, anyway.)

Good to know Sawyer, hopefully I'll get some with color. Frost is still holding off, so fingers crossed...
The reapers are taking forever to ripen.

Pr0digal_son said:
Nice updates Andy. It makes me happy to see your season turn around.The weather was tough this year,we have been close to frost a few times already this season. Hope some of those pods ripen up for you.

Thanks John - it finally took off. Just a bit late, but at least I'm not depressed when walking in the garden anymore. The plants are looking nice. We've been really closes to a frost, but one benefit of living in town is we tend to make it through the first few light frosts without any damage. Something about all the buildings creates micro-climates.

RocketMan said:
Andy, I've never heard of those melons but they look really good and the Caprese salad is fantastic. Good to see those pods coming along. Do you have enough time left for the green ones to ripen? I'll be praying for some extended grow time for all y'all growing north of here. I'll PM you my address, I'd love some of those Ground Cherry seeds. Been crazy busy with work and the move, still unpacking boxes (where did they all come from?) and with them locking down on internet use at work I'm just not on as much as I would like to be. I figured it out though, Pics on the phone and post on the puter

Take care Brother, and lets see some pic of that new young'un sometime.

Those melons are really good - fun to try. I imagine you can really grow melons down in Florida. You should checkout Baker Creek seeds. I hope I get a few of those green ones to ripen. I was out there today and I've got a few more coming in. They're hanging in there. I do not envy you with the unpacking. Feeling unsettled is tough. You're on the upswing though.
I got your PM and picked some ground cherries today to send you.

Ok, I've got some pictures...
When we pick ground cherries, it's a race. It's dusk here, so I'm wearing my awesome headlamp. Anyway, when we remove the husks, I try to do a lot of them really fast, because my daughter tries to do a lot of them to eat them. It's pretty funny. She loves them.

Here's my daughters in the pepper patch, holding up some yellow peppers.

I harvested some jalpenos and serranos and got them in the smoker, which I purchased this past winter thanks to the influence of this site...

And my harvest shot. This will probably be the biggest one this year, which stinks because last year's dwarfs it, but it's a harvest, so I'm not complaining too much.

I've been picturing and labeling different varieties for my records for the future. Here are a few:

Here's a yellow CARDI Scorpion - Romy6 - this one turned out very nice!

Peach Lantern Habanero small - Aji Joe

Scotch Bonnet (Trenton Farmer's Market) - Pic1, these look very similar to the FDA's.

And Scotch Bonnet (FDA) - Pic1

Fatalii - pepperlover

Cili Goronong - Aji Joe

Alright - thanks for stopping by!

chsy83 · Sep 26, 2013

You have gotten me really interested in ground cherries!

Pulpiteer · Sep 26, 2013

chsy83 said:
You have gotten me really interested in ground cherries!

I'm really enjoying them. They'll be a garden staple from here on out, I think. I found a recipe online for a pie that I want to try. I've saved up and frozen enough of them to do it.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/ground-cherry-pie-ii/

RocketMan · Sep 27, 2013

Thanks Andy, just noticed the Lemon Verbena, man my Grandmother used to grow it and put it into Sachets she made to put in her closets and clothing drawers. Great stuff.

I have a hot sauce I made that used Ground Cherries. I'll take a look for it and PM you a copy to try out.

PaulG · Sep 27, 2013

Wow - your garden and pods look great, Andy. My grow is going to produce less this year, too. If we get some decent Fall weather, I think we will get a couple of more harvests. Next year.... Third season is a charm, right?

Wanted to share this with you. I started some Scotch Bonnet seeds, from pods you sent, late (May 19) just
to see if they would grow here, and they did very well. Of course, with the late start, there wasn't much hope
for any ripe pods. The two remaiing SB's are great bushes, but will not ripen up any pods. Here's the Yellow
SB your sent last season:

Pulpiteer · Sep 30, 2013

RocketMan said:
Thanks Andy, just noticed the Lemon Verbena, man my Grandmother used to grow it and put it into Sachets she made to put in her closets and clothing drawers. Great stuff.

I have a hot sauce I made that used Ground Cherries. I'll take a look for it and PM you a copy to try out.

That recipe was very interesting! Did not even know what some of the ingredients were - crazy. Thanks for sending that!

PaulG said:
Wow - your garden and pods look great, Andy. My grow is going to produce less this year, too. If we get some decent Fall weather, I think we will get a couple of more harvests. Next year.... Third season is a charm, right?

Wanted to share this with you. I started some Scotch Bonnet seeds, from pods you sent, late (May 19) just
to see if they would grow here, and they did very well. Of course, with the late start, there wasn't much hope
for any ripe pods. The two remaiing SB's are great bushes, but will not ripen up any pods. Here's the Yellow
SB your sent last season:

Looking great Paul! Maybe you'll get a couple to turn for you. And yes, there's always next year, right?

I wanted to share my weekend cooking project. My cousin and his family visited for dinner on Sunday, so I decided to try to smoke some meat for them. I got the smoker this past winter in large part due to this website. This is my third time trying to smoke meat on it, and I think I finally got it right.

I got a pork shoulder, picnic cut. It was 8 lbs - only .99 a pound.

Here is the recipe for the rub I used:
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. Bishop's crown powder
3 tbsp sea salt
2 tsp dry mustard
1 tbsp onion powder
1/2 tbsp thyme
1/2 tbsp allspice

I applied the rub, wrapped it in plastic wrap, and put it in the fridge overnight.

Here it is going in the smoker:

A closer shot:

I tried to do a bunch of other things while that was cooking. I tried to keep the temps steady - but still ranged between 220 and 250. It didn't spike too badly, just slowly climbed as the meat heated up.

Meanwhile, back in the kitchen - jalapeno poppers: cream cheese, wrapped in bacon:

And a homemade bbq sauce - inspired by a Wayright post.

Blackberry bbq:
2 c. Blackberries - smoked
1 white onion - smoked
3 serranos - smoked
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. apple cider vinegar
1-2 tbsp ground black pepper
Tomato paste - from 2 medium slicing tomatoes and 12 roma tomatoes

I made the paste first - peeling the tomatoes, running them through the seed mill, then reducing them to a sauce/paste consistency. This was not a lot of paste - maybe 1/2 cup.

Here's the ingredients:

I put the blackberries, onion, and serranos in the smoker. Here they are and here is the pork almost done:

The onion really holds the smoke smell and taste, which is cool. Throw everything into the food processor and blend. Then cook for awhile. Then blend again.

Then the pork finished.

This was the first time I really got it right. I finally gave it enough time with the right temps and the fats and everything melted in - and now I get what all the fuss is about.

The bottom part stuck to the grate just a bit and the meat was falling off the bone so much this is what I got:

And here it is pulled:

The bark on it was so tasty. Never had that before. It's the fat and juices and spices all come together in a tasty coating... yum!

I didn't get processing shots of this, but you'll see the end shot here in a second - I also did stuffed cherry bombs. I stuffed them with a mixture of cream cheese, bleu cheese, and pork sausage.

Ready to serve:

Thanks for stopping by!

PaulG · Sep 30, 2013

You outdid yourself Andy!

Hey, one of your Yellow SB's is starting to show a yellow spot :woohoo:

Did you put in a good word

?

Pulpiteer · Oct 3, 2013

PaulG said:
You outdid yourself Andy!

Hey, one of your Yellow SB's is starting to show a yellow spot
Did you put in a good word ?

Thank you very much Paul! Enjoy that Trin. SB when it ripens - those are good ones!

Ok, I'm going to try to throw these up quick.

Wide shot of the garden:

Here are some Bahamian Goats (Pic1)

A couple of shots for Spicegeist

First, the plant from the seeds he sent. These were supposed to be yellow 7 x fatalii:

And the pods:

As I've mentioned before, from what Charles said, I think this is a Brainstrain cross, because these suckers are hot! The plant is healthy and produces well.

And more selections from my labeling process. These are some that I picked in the last couple of days:

Trinidad Morova (pepperlover)

Yellow Manzano (Hooda)

7 Pot Brain Strain Yellow (pepperlover)

7 Pot Congo SR Gigantic (pepperlover) This really is a big pod!

Here it is on the inside:

Finally, a 7 Pot Orange (pepperlover). I have two plants of these and they produced two different pods. The ones on the left are more yellow. The ones on the right turn orange, but begin with purple on the shoulders and then move into an orange. Interesting.

That's what I've got - thanks for stopping by!

Jamison · Oct 3, 2013

Oh man, what an awesome glog! Wish I would have caught this sooner!