Pulpiteer's grow log 2012

I thought I'd do a grow log this year, since I've enjoyed reading the ones that other folks do. I'm up in Michigan and last year was able to get the plants in the garden in mid-May, but that isn't a sure thing. I'm starting a bit early, but I want the plants to be a good size when I do get them in, so that I don't have to wait until later in the Fall to harvest. If we would've had an early frost last year, I would've been in trouble. The grow log puts a bit of pressure on. If this is a tremendous failure, then it'll be public. I've been gardening for awhile, and had great luck with my peppers last year, but I'm taking a giant step up this year, so we'll see.

Here is my grow list:
1. Douglah x4 Ajijoe
2. Scotch Bonnet (Y) x4 Pepperjoe.com
3. Cherry Bomb x4 Farmers market
4. Bhut Jolokia ® x4 Dshlogg
5. Trinidad Scorpion (Red)x6 Ajijoe
6. Trinidad Scropion (Peach) x6 Ajijoe
7. Chocolate Congo Habanero x6 Ajijoe
8. Caribbean Red Habanero x6 Ajijoe
9. Aji Pineapple x4 Ajijoe
10. Peach Bhut Jolokia x6 Ajijoe
11. Naga Morich x4 Dshlogg
12. Scotch Bonnet (Y)x8 Refining Fire
13. Jamaican Red Mushroom x8 Refining Fire
14. Jamaican Chocolate Habanero x8 Refining Fire
15. Thai Dragon x4 Dshlogg
16. 7 Pot (Yellow) x4 Masschilehead
17. Avery Island Tobasco x4 Masschilehead
18. Aji Limon x4 Dshlogg
19. Devil's Tongue x4 Dshlogg
20. Fatali x6 Totally Tomato
21. Red Rocoto x6 Totally Tomato
22. Scotch Bonnet (Red)x4 Hotstuff
23. Jalapeno x4 Dshlogg
24. Bell (various) x20 (I'll buy the plants in the spring)

This website has been tremendously helpful. After some contact with MJDiamond83, I ordered some CFL bulbs. They are 100 watt bulbs that put out the equivalent of 400 watts of light, 6500 on the light temperature, I believe. I get a shelving unit on sale last year from Lowes, some pvc this year from Menards and ordered some mylar emergency blankets off of Amazon (10 for $8) and put up a cheap frame that gives me two levels, with the CFL on top and some florescent strip lights on the bottom. With the lights on, it gets to about 84, and with them off its in the mid 70's. I hope that's enough to get the seeds to pop.

Here's a shot where you can see the three lights and the mylar around the three sides. For the front cover I just have a mylar sheet that drapes down and it's all basically enclosed.

Here's a shot of everything planted. For the most part I have at least two seeds in each cell, sometimes a few more than that. I figure I can cut down if I have too many that germinate.

 

[stc3248]

Absolutely interested! First off though...you need to go to bed it's late there! Its even late out here in Cali! Take care brother!

 

[KiNGDeNNiZ]

Ok, more pod pics

7 pot Jonah's from Aji Joe

Also from Aji Joe, some red scorpions. They look 7-potish and mean. Very curious how these develop. These pods were some of the last to begin, but they look great now!

saw your post.,.,...this is my Kmart-"orange habs"

 

[Pr0digal_son]

Good to see you updating again Andy. That fatalii is pristine inside. Mid August and September is going to be very busy for you. Take care

 

[Pulpiteer]

Absolutely interested! First off though...you need to go to bed it's late there! Its even late out here in Cali! Take care brother!

Yeah, I couldn't sleep. Made this morning more difficult, plus that habanero did not sit well on my gut. Not good to do a test so soon before bed time.
I'll keep those fatalii seeds with the chocolate cherry ones for you, glad you can use them!

saw your post.,.,...this is my Kmart-"orange habs"

those look light and a different wrinkly for orange habs, don't they? I'll be curious how they turn out. They look nice!

Good to see you updating again Andy. That fatalii is pristine inside. Mid August and September is going to be very busy for you. Take care

Thanks for stopping by Pr0digal. You are right about mid August and September. Not sure what to do about that because my job will pick up again around that time,but I'm excited for the harvest! Should be fun and busy! You should be pulling in a ton as well - your grow is going awesome!

 

[PaulG]

Howdy, Andy! Glad to see that you have such great pod production
in your plants. I'm happy that your garden is taking over the whole
lot; it really looks great! Your hard work up front really paid off for
you, bud! Your grow has officially left mine in the dust for sure, now!

I'm not sure I will get any real super pods this season, they are all so
slow to even start setting pods. The Naga Morich has a few wimpy
pods, and one Ghost has set two bb sized pods. Actually, if it were'nt
for Spankycolts giving me some of his supers a while back, I wouldn't
even have grown them, so I'm not complaining. If I get one or two
pods for seeds, I'll be happy! The Habaneros are faring better. My yard
may just not be a great 'super pepper' growing climate!

Keep up the good work, my friend; your plants rock!

 

[Pulpiteer]

Howdy, Andy! Glad to see that you have such great pod production
in your plants. I'm happy that your garden is taking over the whole
lot; it really looks great! Your hard work up front really paid off for
you, bud! Your grow has officially left mine in the dust for sure, now!

I'm not sure I will get any real super pods this season, they are all so
slow to even start setting pods. The Naga Morich has a few wimpy
pods, and one Ghost has set two bb sized pods. Actually, if it were'nt
for Spankycolts giving me some of his supers a while back, I wouldn't
even have grown them, so I'm not complaining. If I get one or two
pods for seeds, I'll be happy! The Habaneros are faring better. My yard
may just not be a great 'super pepper' growing climate!

Keep up the good work, my friend; your plants rock!

Thanks Paul! Yeah, they're just growing like crazy now, it's awesome to watch. You've got the challenge of doing stuff in pots, which is just harder, I think, so I'm lucky to have a spot I can just till up and throw plants in the ground. Are you interested in any supers? Maybe a peach bhut? They're tasty and just a little hot, although with the way you cook and handle them you would have no problem.

Glad you stopped by!



Here's my video review of the Harold St. Bart's. Very good pepper. Hotter than I expected. Will be growing them again next year.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

[gnslngr]

You are the Tomato master-mine have long since exploded in the rain...bummer!
Great video-4rth one I've been able to catch on this trip-where as usually, they won't even load. I have some HSB seeds, they will go on my list for next year. I have to say Yellows are to favorites to eat for me...
I started the day(night) with a nice Fatalli x Cleo's Dragon cross- really good one from Grant's seed arsenal..

You have been at it hard -that is quite a garden you have growing-looking really vigorous man!
Have a good one -
Dave

 

[Pulpiteer]

You are the Tomato master-mine have long since exploded in the rain...bummer!
Great video-4rth one I've been able to catch on this trip-where as usually, they won't even load. I have some HSB seeds, they will go on my list for next year. I have to say Yellows are to favorites to eat for me...
I started the day(night) with a nice Fatalli x Cleo's Dragon cross- really good one from Grant's seed arsenal..

You have been at it hard -that is quite a garden you have growing-looking really vigorous man!
Have a good one -
Dave

Thanks Dave! Bummer about your tomatoes, sorry to hear it. If you like yellows, then I think the HSB will be perfect for you. It's one that the more I think about it, the more I like it. That cross sounds interesting - probably pretty warm too. I had half a fatalii and half a douglah yesterday and my stomach is angry at me thus far today.

 

[PIC 1]

Nice review Andy.......some folks will be looking for those HSB seeds for next season...

 

[ajijoe]

GOOD ONE PREACHA MON!!

the Barts is a very good hab and i like it,truthfully there are very few habs that i didn't like from one degree or another, they are top of the heap with me!!, but really you should make a sauce with just them(Bart's) it will blow you away, i use them as part of a sauce i make just once a year,KINDA OF A LIMITED EDITION its called "YELLOW STORM" my farmer friend and his family love it, they grow HAROLD ST BARTS every yearand offer them at the chili-fest/field excursion. i wish you could come up for it, your someone i would love to mee!!

if you like the Barts you should try a "CILI GORONONG" (Malaysian Hab) there very similar to the Barts except a little smaller and much more wrinkled, i also think they have more of a fruity appeal to them than the Barts, i have seeds from it if you wanna grow it next year(free) would love to see your review on it

great review!! great review indeed!!


THANKS YOUR FRIEND JOE

 

[Pulpiteer]

Nice review Andy.......some folks will be looking for those HSB seeds for next season...

Thanks Greg - like I said, I'd heard great things about them and was very pleased with how they turned out. I'll have to find a way to isolate mine...

GOOD ONE PREACHA MON!!

the Barts is a very good hab and i like it,truthfully there are very few habs that i didn't like from one degree or another, they are top of the heap with me!!, but really you should make a sauce with just them(Bart's) it will blow you away, i use them as part of a sauce i make just once a year,KINDA OF A LIMITED EDITION its called "YELLOW STORM" my farmer friend and his family love it, they grow HAROLD ST BARTS every yearand offer them at the chili-fest/field excursion. i wish you could come up for it, your someone i would love to mee!!

if you like the Barts you should try a "CILI GORONONG" (Malaysian Hab) there very similar to the Barts except a little smaller and much more wrinkled, i also think they have more of a fruity appeal to them than the Barts, i have seeds from it if you wanna grow it next year(free) would love to see your review on it

great review!! great review indeed!!


THANKS YOUR FRIEND JOE

Thanks Joe! That one was from your seeds - awesome plant! That sauce sounds great, I'll have to see if I can get enough from my plants to do something like that. It would be great to go to the chili fest! It would be fun to meet. We've got friends from seminary we visit in Pennsylvania occasionally; some on the west side of the state, and others near Harrisburg. Maybe next time we're out that way we can connect - that would be cool. When is the chili fest?

I'd love to try the Cili Goronong; sounds awesome. The fruity part sounds good. I tend to like that in a pepper. The HSB was great, but not really fruity - I'm thinking more "floral" which I've heard others use for some peppers, but the HSB was the first one I tried that made me think that. I'll have to PM you.
Thanks for stopping in - and thanks again for supplying so many wonderful seeds!

 

[Pulpiteer]

Time for another update after another busy weekend.

First, it's hard to get pictures to show just how tall some of these plants get and how full they are getting. I am losing my paths between the sections of 4. They are getting huge, it's awesome. Here is about a chest level shot of the pepper patch. On the right are the Bishop's Crowns that are almost as tall as I am now, and in front of them the Aji Lemons, which are chest high.

Next is a shot from about ground level in between two rows of plants - mostly Aji Lemons. When I'm crawling around on my hands and knees looking at things, it looks pretty cool, like a little pepper jungle.

Alright, some pod pics on the plants.

Chinese 5 color - looking nice. People love this one.

Bishop's Crowns. Still not ripe, but getting huge and lots of pods. I love this plant!

A ripening Douglah.

Brains! I'm in trouble...

A beautiful yellow 7 pot

Here are some harvest and pod shots. First, here is what grew out from the Scotch bonnet seeds from pepperjoe.com. It's a pretty pepper, very good taste, but mild heat. Does this look like a scotch bonnet to those of you who know?

Next up is a harvest shot I took today - I could pick a lot more right now, but this is what I just brought in:

Finally, I cut open one of the peach habaneros.

I ate the peach hab raw. It has a light and sweet flavor. It's not the hottest hab, but it's plenty warm. I really liked the flavor a lot, actually. So, between the Harold St. Bart's and the Peach Habanero, I know two things I'm growing again next year. They have wonderful flavors, and I'm excited to try the peach hab in some sort of peach and peach hab jelly. It should taste just right.

Alright, I hope things are growing well for all of you out there. Thanks for stopping by!

 

[stc3248]

Wow...I know things are ripening a couple at a time for you right now, but what in the world are you going to do when they're all loaded with ripe ones??? Oh yeah, let's not forget there are tomatoes to pick too! Good luck man! Your landscape is just about perfect! Awesome way to use your yard Andy. I think you're on to something, if were going to give the yard ferts, water and time, it may as well give us something back! I wonder what the landlord would say if I replaced the lawn out front with rows of lettuce, spinach and turnips this winter???

 

[KiNGDeNNiZ]

Hey Andy. Pod photos look. Nice. I have some chili goronong from tuca if ud like unless Ajijoe is already sending you some.
good job

Denniz

 

[compmodder26]

Once again, beautiful pods Andy!

 

[MGOLD86]

Looking great Andy! Those pod shots are great, and the photos are killer!

Gonna be pulling so many pods off those plants that you aren't gonna know what to do with them pretty soon!

 

[HabaneroHead]

Those Aji Lemons are insane!

 

[mjdiamond83]

Nice pictures Andy, the 'pepper jungle' shot is real cool! Looks like you're getting quite a few fatalii now. Going to make a sauce with them?

 

[PIC 1]

Wow Andy, you're really turning in a nice variety. Great harveat photo! I can see some sauce making in your future...

 

[Pulpiteer]

Wow...I know things are ripening a couple at a time for you right now, but what in the world are you going to do when they're all loaded with ripe ones??? Oh yeah, let's not forget there are tomatoes to pick too! Good luck man! Your landscape is just about perfect! Awesome way to use your yard Andy. I think you're on to something, if were going to give the yard ferts, water and time, it may as well give us something back! I wonder what the landlord would say if I replaced the lawn out front with rows of lettuce, spinach and turnips this winter???

People ask me often what I'm going to do with them all, and I give some answers, but truthfully don't know. I wasn't worried until now you, a person from a hot pepper website, now asks out of concern what I am going to do with them all... um... lots of jelly?
I think lots of canning actually. I hope I have the time.
In regards to your lawn: it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. Also, grass seed is fairly cheep. Plus you'd just be improving the soil.

Hey Andy. Pod photos look. Nice. I have some chili goronong from tuca if ud like unless Ajijoe is already sending you some.
good job

Denniz

Thanks Denniz! Ajijoe is sending me some - but thanks. They sound pretty good, I'm excited to grow them out. How do you like them?

Once again, beautiful pods Andy!

Thank you! It's fun to watch them come in.

Looking great Andy! Those pod shots are great, and the photos are killer!

Gonna be pulling so many pods off those plants that you aren't gonna know what to do with them pretty soon!

Thanks Matt - yeah, I'm going to be in over my head...

Those Aji Lemons are insane!

Thank you - they are a great plant. Nice and large, and a great producer.

Nice pictures Andy, the 'pepper jungle' shot is real cool! Looks like you're getting quite a few fatalii now. Going to make a sauce with them?

I'm not totally sure what I'll do with all the fatalii's. Last night I made a couple of fatalii burgers with three of them. They were pretty hot! I'm trying to think of a fruit I could combine them with for a jelly. Also, I am ordering some stuff so I can ferment sauce - a ph tester and airlock. So it'll all be a learning process. Thanks for stopping by!

Wow Andy, you're really turning in a nice variety. Great harveat photo! I can see some sauce making in your future...

Thanks Greg! Yep, I'm excited to see how the fermenting goes. Very interesting process and I love to learn, so this should be fun.




Alright - once again everyone thanks for stopping by - and I'll ask again: Do those scotch bonnets from pepperjoe look legit? Is that how they should look? Thanks!