Sawyer's 2013 Glog - Last Harvest/First Sauce

I haven't done a grow log before, but thought I'd give it a try this year. I'm growing mostly super hots, so I feel like I'm already behind schedule. Anyone know where January went? No pictures yet, I'll add some later when things (hopefully) start popping.

My setup is a basic home-made 2-tier 1" PVC plant stand. Each tier can accommodate 4 standard 1020 nursery flats and has three 2-bulb T-12 4' 40W fluorescent shop lights suspended above. The bulbs are a mix of Daylight, Wide Spectrum, and Power Twist. (I can't give you a K rating on these off the top of my head.) I use heater mats to try to keep the flats in the comfort zone for germination. They are wired to a dimmer switch so I can adjust the current. Even with the dimmer switch, in the past I've had trouble keeping uniform temperature, so this year I've put a layer of aluminum foil on top of the mats to spread out the heat and a layer of kraft paper on top of that. The flats go directly on the kraft paper. If anyone has any tips or tricks for controlling the temperature of heater mats (without purchasing an expensive thermostat), I'd love to hear about it.

I use standard 1020 nursery trays with 1206 (72-cell) inserts. I filled the inserts to planting depth with Sushine Mix #1 and planted anywhere from 2 (new) to 4 (old) seeds per cell. I then topped off the trays with some peat-based germination mix. I intended to use Fafard 3b germination mix, but didn't want to open a new bag for only four flats. I had a small bag of Miracle Grow and one of Ferry Morse left over from days past so I used one of those, I forget which.

The germination stand is in a back room in the warmest part of the house. As plants geminate and become established they'll be moved, either in whole flats, or potted out separately, to a 3-tier, 5 flat/tier stand in front of a bright picture window on the south side of the house. No lights on that yet and may not need them since the window gets direct sun for several hours per day. I'll be starting a lot of other seeds besides hot peppers, so I can't just leave them on the heater mats 'til plant out.

I started four flats today, one whole flat of self-propagated, pure-strain red Bhut Jolokia and up to 12 cells each of the following (note - I prefer the term 7 Pot to 7pod, but am keeping the 7pod nomenclature here out of deference to the vendor):

(First parenthesis is # of plants from first planting on 2/11, second is # plants/# soaked on 3/4)

Red Bhut Jolokia (my own isolated) (75)
Yellow Bhut Jolokia (PL) (0)
Brown Bhut Jolokia (PL) (1)
White Bhut Jolokia (PL) (8), (15/20)
Yellow Fatalii (RFC) (11), (6/10)
Giant White Habanero (RFC) (7)
Trinidad Scorpion Moruga/Moruga Blend (PL) (10), (28/35)
Trinidad Scorpion Moruga/Moruga Blend (RFC) (14)
T. Scorpion Moruga/Moruga Blend Yellow (PL) (6), (19/25)
T. 7pod Congo SR Gigantic (PL) (9), (2/7)
T. 7pod Large Red (PL) (4)
T. 7pod Large Yellow (PL) (1)
T. 7pod Brain Strain (PL) (10), (2/9)
T. 7pod Brain Strain Yellow (PL) (4), (11/12)
T. 7pod Brown (PL) (17)
T. 7pod Burgundy (PL) (8)
T. Douglah (PL) (5), (4/20)
T. Scorpion Butch T. (PL) (7)
T. Scorpion Yellow (PL) (18)
T. Scorpion Original Strain (PL) (1)
T. Seasoning (PL) (4)

New strains/sources started on 3/4:
Red Bhut Jolokia (PL) (45/50)
Scotch Bonnet Brown (PL) (22/34)
'12 7 Pot Yellow (RFC) (0/11)
'12 Bhut Jolokia Chocolate (PL) (0/14)
Datil (PL) (7/22)
Bhut Jolokia Orange (PL) (15/20)
T. Scorpion CARDI (PL) (7/20)
Tobago Treasure (PL) (8/20)

Started on 3/6:
Red Bhut Jolokia (own isolated) (>50)
Trinidad Moruga Scorpion (CPI) (13)
NuMex Pinata (CPI) (40)
White Bullet Hab (PL) (13)

Unrecorded plant date:
Orange Hab (PL) (2)
TS Cardi (PL) (7)
Dorset Naga (PL) (5)

Started on 3/25:
Yellow Bhut Jolokia (PL) - 8/?
Long Choco Habanero (AjiJoe) - 17/42
Pimenta da Neyde (PL) - 14/30
Giant Mexican Rocoto (PL) - 0/40
CAP 1144 (PL) - 0/21
(old) Yellow Habanero (Trade Winds) - 0/24
(old) Jamaican Red Mushroom (RFC) - 0/18
Trinidad Congo Red (PL) - 10/12
Datil (PL) - 9/22 (4 hh)
7 Pot Primo (PL) - 5/18
Early Jalapeno (PL) - 19/36
Cracked Jalapeno (PL) - 33/36
Large Hot Cherry (PL) - 33/36
Surprise Hot Mix (AjiJoe) - 97/144

Edit 4/3: add sources PL=pepperlover, RFC=Refining Fire Chiles, CPI=Chile Pepper Institute
Edit 4/3: (in blue)
Edit 4/29: Edit title (again)

 

[poypoyking]

Looking good Sawyer, bummer about the goats.  The turtle and fox were fun to read about, and I love how you got into the turtle's head.  Here's hoping the fence keeps those goats out.

 

[Sawyer]

Looking good Sawyer, bummer about the goats.  The turtle and fox were fun to read about, and I love how you got into the turtle's head.  Here's hoping the fence keeps those goats out.

Thanks, Ben.  Goats, deer, rabbits, it's always something.
 
Here are some pics of two 7P Congo SR Gigantics (pepperlover) I pulled yesterday.  I forgot to put in something for scale, but they are about 2" long, so not really "gigantic".

 
I ate the tiny sliver shown here.

 
When I cut the first pod, my first impression was that it smelled like a bell pepper.  They really don't have a lot of odor of any type.  I thought that might mean they wouldn't be hot, but they are.  I first licked the knife blade and didn't get any flavor at all, but an immediate burn in the back of my throat.  When I ate the sliver, again my impression of flavor was more like a bell pepper, maybe grassy.  Not at all impressive.  The heat was quick and intense, again at the back of the throat, but also on the sides of the tongue.
 
I just ate another piece, maybe two or three times larger than the sliver shown above.  It confirms the lack of flavor and the quality of heat I just described.  These were both from the same plant and I have other plants that haven't produced ripe pods yet, so my evaluation may change.  But as it stands now, this one is not likely to make my grow list for next year.  If all the plants turn out to be very prolific and the heat level is high enough, I might grow it for capsaicin extraction, but I don't see much culinary use for this one.  Shane (stc3248) and John (Pr0digal_son) definitely have a superior version of this one.
 

 

[capsidadburn]

Hello Sawyer, Your grow is looking great. I wanted to send you some links about the bug pic you posted earlier. I have photographed the same critter the last to seasons and have mistakenly referred to it as a baby dragonfly. They are generally called hoverflies or syrphidflies. They are beneficial. Here are three links, two different species and an info link.

Have a great day, Mike

http://bugguide.net/node/view/11596

http://bugguide.net/node/view/30016/bgimage

https://insects.tamu.edu/fieldguide/cimg232.html

 

[Sawyer]

Thanks for the links, Mike.  It's good to know the beneficials.  I like this from your third link, "Each larva can consume up to 400 aphids during development."

 

[JJJessee]

Thanks for the review on that Congo, Saw.
Another flavor test toward the end of the season might make a difference, if it doesn't, you saved me from growing it next year. 

 

[Sawyer]

Yeah, JJJ, you're right.  These are only the second and third pods off that plant.  Plus somewhere upthread I commented on the taste of the first pod, which I thought was reminiscent of an over-ripe habanero.  So we'll see.

 

[Devv]

Yo never know what they taste like until you try them!
 
I was disappointed in the Red Bhut, brought one to work, 4 of us tried it, one loved it. Us other three were like nah....had burn for sure!
 
Same thing first pods....
 
Thanks for the review and great pics!

 

[Sawyer]

Hey, Scott, ain't it the truth?  I picked another 7P Congo SR Gigantic and it has a little more flavor, but still nothing I can identify.  It seemed like it might not be quite as hot, but it's still plenty hot.  This particular plant is definitely not true to type, PL says it is a smaller plant, but this one is the biggest plant I have at chest height.  I have other plants of this variety, so I'll be watching to see how they turn out.  I noticed a bhut ripening on one of my first year plants, but didn't look closely at it.  It may be abortive.
 
I did look closely at this one, my first Brainstrain!

I'm going to leave it for awhile longer, to be sure it is dead ripe when I pick it.
 
These are supposed to be 7P Burgundy:

 
But they don't look much like these:

Which do look similar to the pics on PL's website.
 
I have a lot of these little guys flying around the pepper patch:

 
The row of isolated Moruga Scorpions is beginning to grow through and out of the cover cloth, so I guess I'll be removing that soon.  I can see a few pods through the cloth, so I should have at least some isolated seeds.
 
Something ate the three Giant White Hab plants I have in the garden.  Goats, rabbits, or deer, I'm not sure.  The plants were cut back to about 6"-10" high and are already putting out new leaves and limbs.  I have three more in pots, so hopefully, somewhere, I'll get some pods.
 
Lots of the potted plants are starting to put on pods.  I'll post pictures when they start ripening, or I notice something unusual. 
 
 

 

[WalkGood]

Saw, very nice review on your red 7P Congo SR and I love the pictures. Sad to read that she did not do the taste trick for you after all your hard labor, I’ve had that happen before with a pod :/ Hopefully your plants next pod yield will produce better taste results. If not, here's some of the things I’ve found that might make a taste difference ...

• Try testing the placenta, it holds more flavor & heat than the pod walls
• Allow the next pod to get softer or ripen longer
• Give her a big drink a day or two before you pick pods
• Try pods picked from different seasons

If you can think of any other reasons let me know and I hope your next one taste better ....

 

[stickman]

Hi Buzz,... bummer about the Congo 7-pot, but it's all part of the learning curve, eh? The Brainstrain should have more flavor if the one I got from Jamie last summer is any indication. Cheers!

 

[HillBilly Jeff]

Nice looking brain!!!  Do what I do to the deer that eat my garden...I eat them back

 

[Devv]

Nice looking brain!!!  Do what I do to the deer that eat my garden...I eat them back

 Now I like that! I'm really surprised I haven't had any deer in my garden, maybe it's the dogs.
 
Looking forward to your thoughts on the brain, I had just one ripen and it was the day before vacation, stuck it in the freezer, still waiting for more to set...
 

Saw, very nice review on your red 7P Congo SR and I love the pictures. Sad to read that she did not do the taste trick for you after all your hard labor, I’ve had that happen before with a pod :/ Hopefully your plants next pod yield will produce better taste results. If not, here's some of the things I’ve found that might make a taste difference ...

• Try testing the placenta, it holds more flavor & heat than the pod walls
• Allow the next pod to get softer or ripen longer
• Give her a big drink a day or two before you pick pods
• Try pods picked from different seasons

If you can think of any other reasons let me know and I hope your next one taste better ....

 Good advice! I have another Bhut turning, and am going to wait until it's really ripe, dunno about the placenta...danger zone...LOL
 
Have a great week!

 

[Dot Com]

Nice update w/ the critters and all. Pods look delicious.

 

[Sawyer]

Saw, very nice review on your red 7P Congo SR and I love the pictures. Sad to read that she did not do the taste trick for you after all your hard labor, I’ve had that happen before with a pod :/ Hopefully your plants next pod yield will produce better taste results. If not, here's some of the things I’ve found that might make a taste difference ...

• Try testing the placenta, it holds more flavor & heat than the pod walls
• Allow the next pod to get softer or ripen longer
• Give her a big drink a day or two before you pick pods
• Try pods picked from different seasons

If you can think of any other reasons let me know and I hope your next one taste better ....

Thanks, Ramon.  I think there is a very good chance the flavor will improve with subsequent pods.  Or maybe it's wishful thinking.  The plant is atypical of what PL describes on her website.  For one thing, as I said above, it's the tallest plant I have.  It's also very productive and an early producer as well.  Even if the flavor doesn't come around, it might be a good one for breeding purposes. 
 
I don't know about trying the placenta; it's plenty hot as it is.    I did pick another one today and almost without thinking about it, took a bite out of the side right there in the garden.  It was a small bite, but bigger than the pieces I tried before, which were all from the end.  It seemed to have a little more flavor than before.  But then I was standing there with a coffee cup in one hand, a pepper in the other, wondering, "Why did I do that?"
 
The very first pod I tried was very ripe (hence the "over-ripe habanero" impression, I suppose).  The one that didn't have much flavor was ripe, as in not having any green on the end, but not as ripe as the first.  The one I picked today still had a little green on the end.  There are three or four more just about ripe.  I'll be sure to leave them longer.
 
As much rain as I've had (8"-10" in July/August), moisture is not a problem right now.  (knock on wood)  I really think this one plant is just out-crossed or a throw-back or something, based on the plant size, if nothing else.  I do have other plants of this variety that I'll be anxious to test as soon as they have ripe pods.
 

Hi Buzz,... bummer about the Congo 7-pot, but it's all part of the learning curve, eh? The Brainstrain should have more flavor if the one I got from Jamie last summer is any indication. Cheers!

Hey, Rick, I keep eyeing that Brainstrain.  There are a few other pods on that plant not far from ripening and it's putting on a lot of blooms and baby pods now, but that is the only pod from the first bloom.  I want to let it get ripe, but I'm worried I'll go out one morning and it will be gone.  Strange things happen at night around here.
 

Nice looking brain!!!  Do what I do to the deer that eat my garden...I eat them back

Thanks, Bodeen.  Don't think I haven't thought about harvesting that deer (actually, there are two of them now, at last count).  I think the neighbors would freak at the sound of a gunshot, though.  I have access to a place about 30 miles out where I can hunt in peace, so I'll get venison there.  In the meantime, I just need to keep up with capsaicin spraying.  Nothing like using peppers to protect peppers.
 

 Now I like that! I'm really surprised I haven't had any deer in my garden, maybe it's the dogs.
 
Looking forward to your thoughts on the brain, I had just one ripen and it was the day before vacation, stuck it in the freezer, still waiting for more to set...
 
 Good advice! I have another Bhut turning, and am going to wait until it's really ripe, dunno about the placenta...danger zone...LOL
 
Have a great week!

Scott!  I keep saying I'll get a dog when I get the whole property fenced, but that hasn't happened yet.  Too close to the highway for safety and I won't keep one on a chain or in a small pen (and definitely not in the house).  I'm looking forward to tasting the brain.  Can't be too many days away.
 

Nice update w/ the critters and all. Pods look delicious.

Thanks, David.  I've seen several smaller critters in the last couple of days.  Lots of dragonflies that won't cooperate with the camera.  A big velvet ant that seemed determined to get under foot.  I got stung by one of those as a kid; I'd rather not repeat that.  It eventually wandered off and now I just watch my step a little more closely.  Found a black widow in the middle of the garden today.  Sadly, I killed that one.  I'd rather not, but I'd more rather not have to visit the doc.
 
I have plants still in 3.5" square pots that are blooming and setting pods.  I think in another few days, I should have them all in ground or bigger pots.  I'm making slow progress on recovering the part of the garden that hasn't been tended in over a year.  Johnson grass plus bamboo makes for a tough root mass to dig up.

 

[stickman]

 Don't think I haven't thought about harvesting that deer (actually, there are two of them now, at last count).  I think the neighbors would freak at the sound of a gunshot, though.  I have access to a place about 30 miles out where I can hunt in peace, so I'll get venison there.  In the meantime, I just need to keep up with capsaicin spraying.  Nothing like using peppers to protect peppers.

Maybe it's time for you to take up bowhunting... There's a show on the History Channel called "Chasing Tail" that you might be interested in... http://www.history.com/shows/chasing-tail/about

 

[Sawyer]

Interesting looking show.  I'll have to take a closer look when I find the time.  I used to bow hunt, but don't have any gear at the moment.  Problem with bow hunting is it's a lot more difficult to drop one in its tracks and the last thing I need is a wounded deer wandering through the neighbors' yards where the kids can see.  If I do take one, it'll probably be at very close range w/ a shotgun slug.

 

[stc3248]

I got a couple extra bows...be right there!!!
 
Do you plan to mark a few of the most developed pods that were isolated when you pull the cover? Or will you just be confident that the next round to ripen will be good?

 

[annie57]

Arksaw: am saving some of Shane's seed for Congo 7's--very sweet, great flavor. (If my "baby" ever gets on this site. "Wadya mean, his 'seed'!?") Would you like me to save you some seed of that strain? Also, early pulls can be deceptive . . . but ya know what ya like!
 
Also, I got that fly-wasp bug(s) too. Saw them (how could I not?) today. Tiny. What are they?
 
Groundhog was in mid-munch of a nearly ripe Black Krim yesterday evening. "Somebody" yelled, "There's that groundhog!" Before I could just pop it with pellet gun, sting it, scare it; it ran. Of course it did! Yelling does that, lol. Good luck with the creatures.
 
Including toms, have started pulling a lot when mostly ripe before bugs, creatures, with this rain? and putting in brown paper bag for day with apple to finish ripen. Toms no--in window sills, wherever can put them--but peppers before something eats them--bpbag with apple. Not saying you should do that. But I had a huge yellow BS and it didn't rot: it disappeared. Musta been the pterodactyls. You got those too? smh!

 

[Devv]

Oh I know about deer running into a neighbors place, had that happen just once...not cool!
 
My dogs are fenced in and they have enough land to keep them happy, now if Otis would leave a stray skunk alone....he's on his 5th time getting hit....I don't guess he'll ever learn. Yesterday it was a toad making him foam like he drank shampoo....silly dog....

 

[stc3248]

am saving some of Shane's seed--very sweet, great flavor.

FIFY!  Haha...The seed credit goes to cmpman1974 and Pr0digal_son for sending it to me. Really great plant and pods.