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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)
 
I had some horseradish for a couple of years, several years ago, but it died out, too.  I never did anything with it, but have been thinking of trying to get some re-established.
 
Sawyer said:
I've been inconsistent with my winter (cover-)cropping, but I'm a big believer and proselytizer.  A long time ago, I mentioned my various winter grains projects, several varieties each of rye, oat, wheat, barley, along with vetch, canola, flax, and several root crops I've selected for cold tolerance.  I've long since missed optimal planting time for these, but I think I'll start some indoors now for plant-out when/if we get a warm spell in a few weeks. 
 
Reading up some more on hairy vetch, I find the optimum germination temperature to be between about 60ºF and 70ºF.  Turns out, though, planting now is a thing, called "dormant planting".  The idea is that the seeds remain dormant until the ground warms in the spring, then germinate and grow even if the ground is too wet to work.  That's often the case here, so maybe I didn't waste the seed.
 
Heck yeah, DJ, PM to follow shortly.  That White Fatalii sounds interesting.  And, yeah, a balanced diet and proper exercise are the key to a healthy metabolism.  Not that I'm aces on either.
 
Okay, I've made possibly the last batch of marmalade for awhile, a Scorpion Lemon Ginger Marmalade.  Here's some of what I started with:
 
John,
 
I planted crimson clover between the cold spells after I pulled the last plants out of the garden, watered a few days and it came up in the cold nasty weather we've been having. I already had the rest of the garden planted. So I'm thinking you'll be OK with the vetch, just need a few warmer days.
 
Loving the Marmalade recipes, need to give that a whirl. Perhaps next weekend.
 
Stay warm!
 
Hail to the Marmalade King!  I have an intense desire for toast all of a sudden.
Thanks for posting those, John - duly bookmarked for further reference!
 
Cool snow pix, BTW.
 
Thanks, guys.  The marmalade is good.  I'm thinking one more batch, or maybe a batch of straight jam or jelly, then time to try some sauces.
 
The snow fell last Thursday night through Friday day, basically a week ago.  This is what my garden looked like yesterday:
2pql10z.jpg

It's somewhat unusual for us to get this much snow here, and rarer still for it to stick around this long.  It got up to 40ºF today for the first time in a week and yesterday was the first day above freezing.  You can see the remnants of this year's in-ground grow, starting in the center middle ground and going off to the left, stopping a few rows short of the white-tipped t-post in the far left distance.  Everything else has been fallow for at least a year, but except for two patches, is now mowed, tilled, and planted to rye and vetch.  Not all of that "new" space will go to peppers next year, but quite a bit will.  And the garden actually extends a bit to the left and right of the field of view in the photo.
 
The tree a little to the right of that far left t-post is mulberry that is, for now, providing shade in the garden.  The clump in front and to the right of the mulberry is a blackberry patch that has been expanding a bit every year.  It's big enough now that before spring I'll cut a path into the center of it and have access both inside and out this next season.  The tree in the center background is a catalpa that is just outside the far NW corner, diagonal from where I'm standing in the SE corner.  The patch in front of it is weeds growing and brush piled inside an old out building stone foundation.  I'll burn that before spring and plant possibly tobacco there next year (for insecticidal purposes).  It doesn't show well in this photo, but there is room between the far end of the foundation and the catalpa for a good four or five north-south rows. 
 
I've been trading some seeds and got this in return from Paul (PaulG):
rtde00.jpg

A nice, reasonable exchange, I thought.  (Note to self:  buy eggs to scramble with powder.)
 
Then I got this from Jason (GA Growhead):
2aien4m.jpg

s10syc.jpg

qnk4ev.jpg

Now granted, I sent Jason more seeds than Paul, but holy cow, talk about throwing a wrench in my 2014 grow list!  Though in this case, it's wrench I'm happy to have.
 
Thanks, guys! 
 
Had my last harvest for the year a couple of days ago.  These pods set before bringing the plants in for the winter are from plants in the front room where they get enough light to go ahead an ripen.  The Jigsaw, 7P Brown, BJ Brown, and the "nots" are from larger plants.  Everything else came from plants in 3.5" square pots that never got potted up.
20a9tdx.jpg

Clockwise from the lower left:  A couple of orange BJs (cut off in the frame), 4 orange Habaneros, some red TS, a bunch of White Bullet Habs, a single yellow 7P, some brown 7P, yellow TS, a bunch of two different kinds of "nots" on the far right, then some Jigsaws, and finally some brown BJ.  For some reason my camera does a very poor job rendering the Jigsaw.
 
I'll probably have a few more things to say here about the 2013 grow, but for the most part, I'll be moving on to the 2014 log.  Thanks to all for stopping by now and again.  I look forward seeing how everyone's efforts pay off in 2014.  Happy New Year!
 
I'll retire this thread soon but since this post relates to the disposition of last year's harvest and references the picture above, this seems a more appropriate place for it than the 2014 thread. 
 
I finished my first sauce (as opposed to purée) yesterday.  Not feeling particularly creative in the naming department, I'm calling it Brown Sauce #1.
2hqt7ih.jpg

 
Total amount was about 5 bottles, but some is in a jar in the fridge and I took one bottle to the bar for sampling (more about that in a moment).  The peppers are 6 each of the Brown Ghost and Brown 7 Pot peppers shown in the picture in the previous post.  That works out to more than two peppers per bottle, and the heat level is commensurate, but not overwhelming.  Other ingredients include red onion, raisins, quince purée, water, apple cider vinegar, garlic, cinnamon, liquid smoke (couldn't get it together to fire up the grill for a real smoke), lime juice, coffee, bourbon, and salt to taste.
 
This was just an experiment, so there will be recipes #2, #3, #4, etc., but this one turned out much better than I could have hoped for.  It's savory-sweet (more savory) and about as hot as a typical Habanero sauce, I think, maybe a little hotter.  I kept tasting and adding ingredients, all the while wondering what it would go well with.  Well, during all this, on an adjacent burner I was cooking some black-eye peas.  (I wasn't going to do anything this year, but then I remembered I didn't last year, either, and considering how bad the market was to me last year, I decided I better cook some peas.)   I thought, well, heck, let's give it  a try.  Unfortunately, I only made enough peas for one large bowl.  I started with somewhat less than a tablespoon of sauce (knowing it was going to kick), tasted, added another spoonful and wolfed down the bowl.  The stuff is addictive.  I may have to cook some more peas.  My nose was running and eyes tearing, but I couldn't stop eating it.
 
As I said, I took a bottle of it to the local bar last night for sampling along with a box of saltines.  The bottle was empty and the crackers gone by the time I left.  Everyone that tasted it, loved it, and I'm pretty sure they weren't just being polite.  I could have sold a case of bottles on the spot at $5 a pop.  One guy is opening a new chicken-themed restaurant and wants to offer my sauces there.  (I think a white sauce I'm thinking about will be better for chicken.)  Another guy is planning a neighborhood market near the University (why no one has thought of that before is a mystery) and wants to stock the sauce there.  Guess I'd better plant more browns.  Hope this wasn't just beginner's luck.
 
Looks great John! 
 
     I know it's a nice feeling when the accolades are sincere and not forced.  Empty bottle's speak well too!  I love making the small batch sauces to give to friends,  family, and, coworkers.  I'm not sure I am the kind of person that could do it for a living.  I'm not quite sure if I need to even contemplate that though.  It's fun now and thats all that matters to me.
 
Good luck with the sauces!  The more under your belt the more confidant you'll be.
 
Mike
 
That recipe with the coffee and boubon sounds like a winning combo.
Call it Razorback Drool on the label with a sprinting razorback and flames coming out the corner his mouth :D
Congrats on a successful 2013 season.
 
capsidadburn said:
Looks great John! 
 
     I know it's a nice feeling when the accolades are sincere and not forced.  Empty bottle's speak well too!  I love making the small batch sauces to give to friends,  family, and, coworkers.  I'm not sure I am the kind of person that could do it for a living.  I'm not quite sure if I need to even contemplate that though.  It's fun now and thats all that matters to me.
 
Good luck with the sauces!  The more under your belt the more confidant you'll be.
 
Mike
Thanks, Mike.  I also took a jar of the sweet pickled jalapeno rings and a couple of jars of the marmalades.  It was all well-received (and mostly consumed).
 
I wouldn't want to do it for a living long term.  I'm more of a project-oriented person.  I could see getting things set up and running and then handing the operation over to someone more so inclined.  In any case, the direct processing of peppers into food products is just one aspect of a larger vision that's been developing over the last couple of years.  Stayed tuned for more on that in the coming season(s).
 
JJJessee said:
That recipe with the coffee and boubon sounds like a winning combo.
Call it Razorback Drool on the label with a sprinting razorback and flames coming out the corner his mouth :D
Congrats on a successful 2013 season.
Thanks, JJJ.  Coffee is the "secret" ingredient in a lot of tasty recipes.  (I put some in my brownie recipe, too.)  The bourbon just added that little extra "something" I was looking for.  Naming and labeling was an amusing topic of discussion the other night.  A lot of booze-inspired suggestions were made, not all bearing repeating.  I don't know about the Razorback idea, though.  The University plays hardball with their brand; I'd have to look into what the licensing fees are.  Funny you bring it up, though.  I forgot to mention yesterday, but one of the guys at the tasting manages the sky-boxes for the football games and was really interested in getting some goodies for game day spreads. 
 
Penny said:
Nice looking sauce and bottles. :dance:
Thanks, Penny.  I recycle all the bottles I can get my hands on.  For a while I had several friends and acquaintances saving their empties for me, but that's slacked off recently.  Guess I need to entice a renewed effort with gifts of full bottles.
 
It's chilly here this morning, 12ºF at Drake Field, the old airport.
 
Wow, sauce looks nice. Very similar to what I did with Bevo/Squealer except fermented. (Need to get you on the ferment bug, John--set and forget with good starter and airlocks. Fermenting helps ya unload more peppers in a sauce with a "call me mellow yellow, brown, red" whatever, feel.) Coffee, bourbon, raisins, and those particular peppers work! Nice sauce! No; they weren't playing with ya: people tend to be brutal when it comes to hot sauce, which I like. Congrats!! :clap:
 
Marmalade: yum!
 
Thanks for the kudos, Annie.  I keep planning to try some ferments; I've got starter, airlocks and containers.  I guess it will have to wait for the new season's harvest, although, I had left a couple of sample jars of purée, one red, one yellow, at the local bar for them to experiment with making drinks.  I brought the red one back home when it popped upon opening and gave off a little puff of vapor.  Still smells okay, but it's definitely doing some sort of fermenting.
 
I've got more color-coordinated sauces coming up, but I'll probably post those in the 2014 log.
 
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