Pulpiteer 2013 Grow Log

I've been meaning to get to this for quite some time. I've put off planting about as long as I can stand it, so in the next week or so I'll get seeds in the soil. Until then, I wanted to get the glog started for this year. I've been reading and learning about an alternative agriculture system called "permaculture" so I'm playing around with that. I hope to show not only the growth and cooking in this glog, but also some permaculture inspired stuff to share what I've been learning because it's pretty awesome.

I looked over my 2012 beginning and I was way ahead last year, but then I ran out of room, so I've waited about a month in hope that will pay off.

So a couple of things. First, I produced a bit of pepper jelly, hot sauce, and powder last year, most of which I gave away as Christmas presents. Here's a shot of most of it.

And here is a close up of the sauces. I made the labels at home and had them printed at Staples. They turned out pretty good, and I learned some things doing it all.

As far as hot sauces, if you have not tried fermenting, you need to. Amazing. It's hard to describe how it fills out the flavor of the pepper as opposed to mixing it with just other flavors. Anyway, I really enjoyed doing that and hope to improve next year.

Here's a shot of the garden at rest (about a month ago). It's been pretty cold here, I think we're under 15 degrees as I type.

Ok, on to the plans for beginning things here. I got some help and some scrap wood from a parishioner and constructed a grow area in our basement for the pepper starts. It's a 6 foot by 6 foot square with 5 foot high walls. The bottom looks like a pallet, but that was all done by us. I put some mylar emergency blankets up for walls and a ceiling. They should hold in heat and reflect light. I also had to put in chicken fence to keep the stupid cat out. I pig tailed some vanity lights I bought from Menards, and have 4 105 watt cfl bulbs and some 26 watt cfl's. All of them are 6500k in color temp. This gives me daylight, basically, but not as powerful. I also have 2 shop lights on the top - one a T8 and one a T12. Here's the pics:

And here is my current grow list. I'm trying to cut back a few from last year, but I got so many awesome varieties that it was hard and the cut back was small. Anyway, the plan is for 142 plants, about 60 varieties. Here they are:

Peppers for 2013

Bell Local Greenhouse
Bhut Jolokia Red pepperlover
Bishop's Crown pepperlover
Canary Bell totally tomato
Carolina Reaper pepperjoe
Cherry Bomb mine
Corno Di Toro Red totally tomato
Red Rocoto mine (totally tomato)
Trinidad Scotch Bonnet Red pepperlover
Trinidad Scotch Bonnet Yellow pepperlover
7 pod Congo SR Gigantic pepperlover
7 pot Jonah aji joe
7 Pot Yellow mine
Aji Lemon Peru pepperlover
Bahamian Goat (cappy) pic1
Bahamian Goat aji joe
Burkina Yellow aji joe
Chocolate Cherry Sweet mine (aji joe)
Cili Goronong aji joe
Douglah (w/stinger) mine (aji joe)
Fatalii pepperlover
Giant Mexican Rocoto pepperlover
Golden Treasure Totally Tomato
Harold St. Bart's Habanero aji joe
Jalapeno pepperjoe
Naga Morich pepperlover
Nagabon (THSC) pic1
Orange 7 Pod pepperlover
Orange Manzano stc3248
Orange Thai aji joe
Peach Australian Lantern Hab aji joe
Peach Bhut Jolokia aji joe
Peach Bhut Jolokia mine (aji joe)
Peach Habanero aji joe
Peach Lightning Hab aji joe
Poblano pepperjoe
Purple Bhut Jolokia pepperlover
Saint Barts Marche Market 2012 pic1
Scotch Bonnet (Anguilla Farmer's Mkt Red 2012) pic1
Scotch Bonnet (Belize City 2011) pic1
Scotch Bonnet (FDA Red) (AJ) pic1
Scotch Bonnet (FDA Yellow) (peppermania) pic1
Scotch Bonnet (Jamaican 2007) pic1
Scotch Bonnet (Jamaican Montego Bay 2012) pic1
Scotch Bonnet (P. Dreddie) (cmpman) pic1
Scotch Bonnet (Papa Joe's Mkt) (cmpman) pic1
Scotch Bonnet (St. Marteen, Marigot Mkt, yellow 2012) pic1
Scotch Bonnet (TFM) (peppermania) pic1
Serrano pepperjoe
Tobago Scotch Bonnet pepperlover
Trinidad 7 Pod Brain Strain Red pepperlover
Trinidad 7 Pod Brain Strain Yellow pepperlover
Trinidad 7 Pod Brown pepperlover
Trinidad 7 Pod Primo pepperlover
Trinidad Morovas pepperlover
Trinidad Scorpion - Original Strain pepperlover
Yellow 7 Pot x Fatalii F2 Spicegeist
Yellow Cardi Scorpion romy6
Yellow Manzano hooda
Chinese 5 Color aji joe
Peach Lantern Hab (small) aji joe


Alright, I'll add more info as I go, thanks for checking this out!

 

[PIC 1]

Great update Andy !
Thanks for the shoutout on the OW process.
I see you're having an issue with a plant or two. It appears to be bacterial leaf spot, defoliage of older leaves (laying on the soil), leaves with green veins but blotchy oval spots, discoloration on the stems...sure signs of the problem. If you had some localized issues outdoors, those could easily have spread to the OW's and can be contagious from seed/soil/plant. You may want to isolate the two plants at best, but be aware that BLS can be spread or transferred but touch from plant to plant indoors.

Nice harvest photo! very colorful...
Ah...kids birthday parties, great memories ......children grow like......plants...too fast

Awesome food processing shots, lots of chop-chop on the cutting board. You'll have plenty of spice to last through our mild midwest winter......yikes, if only it would stay mild.

AhA......I like Stefans "Art in the Vase"...that would look nice as an "Andy Warhol" neon still life image....with the wood tone fence in the background.

Andy have fun with the OW's and the seed startup...and enjoy the upcoming Holidays !

be safe,
Greg

 

[Pulpiteer]

Good stuff, Andy. OW's looks fine, I would just remove the leaves that have those spots and keep an close eye on those plants. I found another trick to ripen of the unripe or halfripe pods at the end of the season. I cut the entire branches of, strip all the leaves and put it in a vase with water. That way the pods stay firm and even the seeds will be viable once the pods have ripen. Not only will you get ripe pods, it also looks pretty neat The wife liked it a lot so it's a win-win situation A member on the dutch chili forum came across this trick by accident. These pods were entirely green and like this after almost 2 weeks.
 

I love that idea Stefan! It looks awesome too!
 
 

Great job, Andy! White Bhuts are definitely a tasty pod, I tried 2 different ones (both Pepperlover ) one from my garden and one from Mike (pepperchronicles on YouTube), and they were pretty good. I also tried the Giant White Habanero for the first time this year from Robert Slade Russell, and it was awesome! I am developing quite a love for white tinted pods this year, got a chance to try a few good ones. Can't wait to see the progress headed into next year!
 
 
Hey, Stefan! Great tip on the pod ripening procedure, next year I may implement that to give it a try, as I am thinking about 75 varieties next year for mine, so a new experiment would be a welcome addition to the garden endeavors!

Thanks Karl! I was definitely pleasantly surprised by the white bhuts, very nice taste.
 

Wow Andy I have been neglecting this awesome glog for far too long. Amazing how you turned a mediocre start to the  season into a outstanding finish . The Birthday shot with your beautiful kids was priceless. Thank you for sharing that. The spicy pickles look to die for. And the nice harvests you had  are always colorful and prolific. Really digging the white bhut berry jam. That has to be a tasty treat on some fresh hot banana bread smothered with butter. Oh my 
 
Have a safe and wonderful Christmas with the Family. 

Thanks Jamie! The garden did pull through in the end. I hope to have a better spring next year, that will get me going better. Also, I'll start the seeds earlier indoors next year. The pickles turned out great for me, which was awesome because I haven't done them before. Good to hear from you! 

Great update Andy !
Thanks for the shoutout on the OW process.
I see you're having an issue with a plant or two. It appears to be bacterial leaf spot, defoliage of older leaves (laying on the soil), leaves with green veins but blotchy oval spots, discoloration on the stems...sure signs of the problem. If you had some localized issues outdoors, those could easily have spread to the OW's and can be contagious from seed/soil/plant. You may want to isolate the two plants at best, but be aware that BLS can be spread or transferred but touch from plant to plant indoors.

Nice harvest photo! very colorful...
Ah...kids birthday parties, great memories ......children grow like......plants...too fast

Awesome food processing shots, lots of chop-chop on the cutting board. You'll have plenty of spice to last through our mild midwest winter......yikes, if only it would stay mild.

AhA......I like Stefans "Art in the Vase"...that would look nice as an "Andy Warhol" neon still life image....with the wood tone fence in the background.

Andy have fun with the OW's and the seed startup...and enjoy the upcoming Holidays !

be safe,
Greg

Great to hear from you Greg - and yeah, that OW process really seems to be working. It's gone better than anything I've done before. Thanks for the diagnosis on BLS. It looks like that stays in my soil too. Ugh... I hope it doesn't affect my garden too much. I'll need to do some reading I think.

Lots of food processing, yeah, late nights, but good stuff. It was nice to have a good sized harvest to deal with in the end.

I hope you have a great holiday season as well!

 

[Sawyer]

Outstanding finish to your season, Andy.  I love the jams and jellies.  I've been experimenting with marmalades, myself.

 

[gnslngr]

Hey Andy-
1) "What Greg said"....saves me a lot of pokin at the keyboard LOL
That vase shot ref'd above.....I usually snag a branch or two when I leave to let a few turning pods ripen that I don't want to leave behind...I have a Bhut x Giant White cross and some Moruga Satans up in my stateroom right now.I get a few funny looks.....which   I just laugh off, or offer one up, they are usually smart enough to know better.
2) Great Vid with the Morovia, I did see that oil initially , and thought "surprise time".A very similar pepper is the Trinidad Treasure, very sweet, then surprise when you get to anything with placenta on it.Medium heat , big pods ....lotta oil!
3) Cut back next year.....Good One!hehehehehe
4) Another pork roast ambush...my,my, but I feel sorry for the first pork roast that crosses my path...I will show No Quarter!! My hunger pang is almost painful right now!
Have a good one-
DJ

 

[PaulG]

What an awesome finish, my friend!  Your garden really came through
for you, and you have lots of wonderful products to enjoy!  I like your
recipe/instructions a lot - have bookmarked several!.  Your glog is small
but wiry   and contains a lot of useful information.  Good on ya for
keeping it to 15 pages   
 
Have a great week, Andy, and kudos to your boss for all the great
harvests I've seen on your glog and in the forum in general!  He's the man!

 

[Penny]

Adorable looking kids, and great recipes and pictures too.

 

[RocketMan]

Andy, had to let you know, my son made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for us this weekend and without thinking he grabbed your pear St Barts jelly. Now, I'll tell ya that it was a pretty good combination and my son took one bite and his eyes just lit up like a Christmas tree. I'd already taken a couple of bites of mine and knew he'd be ok but maybe a bit surprised. He made it through about half the sandwich and said he was full but wanted more milk  
 
We both laughed about it later. 
 
so glad to see your garden pulled through for you Brother. Warm wishes for a joyful Christmas. I gotta get some seeds going so I can get Pepper Row out after the first of the year.

 

[PaulG]

+1 Penny
 
That's a funny story, Bill!

 

[Pulpiteer]

Outstanding finish to your season, Andy.  I love the jams and jellies.  I've been experimenting with marmalades, myself.

Thanks Sawyer! They're a ton of fun to play around with. I just had some hot spiced pear jelly tonight on french toast.  
 

Hey Andy-
1) "What Greg said"....saves me a lot of pokin at the keyboard LOL
That vase shot ref'd above.....I usually snag a branch or two when I leave to let a few turning pods ripen that I don't want to leave behind...I have a Bhut x Giant White cross and some Moruga Satans up in my stateroom right now.I get a few funny looks.....which   I just laugh off, or offer one up, they are usually smart enough to know better.
2) Great Vid with the Morovia, I did see that oil initially , and thought "surprise time".A very similar pepper is the Trinidad Treasure, very sweet, then surprise when you get to anything with placenta on it.Medium heat , big pods ....lotta oil!
3) Cut back next year.....Good One!hehehehehe
4) Another pork roast ambush...my,my, but I feel sorry for the first pork roast that crosses my path...I will show No Quarter!! My hunger pang is almost painful right now!
Have a good one-
DJ

Great to hear from you Dave! That's funny that you caught the amount of oil on that Morova. That thing nailed me good. I think it's even worse when you are expecting like a Habanero heat and you get drilled. I wasn't in the right mindset. Yeah, I'm trying to cut back, but we've all heard (and said) that before, I know...
Here's hoping to some pulled pork stumbling into your path! 
 

What an awesome finish, my friend!  Your garden really came through
for you, and you have lots of wonderful products to enjoy!  I like your
recipe/instructions a lot - have bookmarked several!.  Your glog is small
but wiry   and contains a lot of useful information.  Good on ya for
keeping it to 15 pages   
 
Have a great week, Andy, and kudos to your boss for all the great
harvests I've seen on your glog and in the forum in general!  He's the man!

 
Thank you Paul! I ended up getting a nice harvest. I still had some varieties that either gave me just a couple pods or were just about to take off when the cold came, but considering the late start, I'll take it. Glad to help with the recipes - and glad to add to the treasure trove of knowledge that this glog section is. You can pick up so much from this place!
 

Adorable looking kids, and great recipes and pictures too.

Thanks Penny! Glad you stopped by! 
 

Andy, had to let you know, my son made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for us this weekend and without thinking he grabbed your pear St Barts jelly. Now, I'll tell ya that it was a pretty good combination and my son took one bite and his eyes just lit up like a Christmas tree. I'd already taken a couple of bites of mine and knew he'd be ok but maybe a bit surprised. He made it through about half the sandwich and said he was full but wanted more milk  
 
We both laughed about it later. 
 
so glad to see your garden pulled through for you Brother. Warm wishes for a joyful Christmas. I gotta get some seeds going so I can get Pepper Row out after the first of the year.

 
Awesome story! When people ask how I use the jelly, I usually mention pb&j among other things. They don't really believe me, but it's good stuff that way. That jelly will get you that way though. Good burn...

Merry Christmas to you and yours as well! Can't wait to see how the new property shapes up for you next season!
 


A quick update:

Here is a shot of the wonderful gifts I received from Paul and Bill (Rocketman). Some amazing powders and seed from Paul and tasty sauces from Bill.  I just enjoyed some of the cannon fire this afternoon on tacos.  
 

It occurred to me that next season will be my third glog - and my third season interacting with some of you kind folks. It's been such a pleasure and blessing. I've learned a ton and really enjoyed being a small part of your lives. I'm just feeling thankful, I guess. This glog experience ended up being so much more than I anticipated, which is really cool.

Alright, I keep forgetting to add a shot of one of my reapers - it turned out picture perfect:

And here is a shot of the garden today - resting under a layer of snow. It won't be too long and I'll be starting seeds indoors.

Finally, I was messing around with google maps and found a nice overhead shot of our house. So I did a screen shot to capture it and added the dimensions for the pepper garden and tomato garden. I did not include the herb garden (northwest side) or ground cherries which were between the driveways.

Alright, it's late again. I will work on catching up on some glogs asap. December is a crazy month around the church, so I'll do my best.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

[Pinoy83]

that reaper looks meannnn and gnarlllyyyyy ...awesome gifts will keep u warm in your cold nightsss

 

[PaulG]

+1 Jericson - that's one of the gnarly-est  Reapers I've seen, Andy!

 

[RocketMan]

Andy, you really did catch that perfect Reaper look, great stuff.