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Silver_Surfer's season starts

my trinidad scorpions look like your 7pot primos. Wonder if I somehow was given the wrong seed. Given so I am not arguing. As always your pods look wonderful.
Thanks. Some of my Primos have long really skinny tails, while the scorpion tails are much thicker and none of my scorps are as pimpled as the Primo pods.

Nice pods :D

What does the SR mean in 7 Pod SR Strain?
Thanks Megamoo. SR are the initials of a generous lady from Trinidad who first supplied the seed for this strain to members here.

Really nice work there...
Thank you SS, I'm planning on making the plant spacing more generous next season so the harvests will require much less effort.

OKAY......does " W O W !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" qualify as good reply?
cheers-
DJ
Howdy gnslngr. :) Appreciated.

That's what keeps us coming back year after year my friend.
That, and the pleasure derived from watching the growth from such tiny seed. :)

Wow

Great pic's of an amazing harvest SS

I wish I had that table full :)
Thanks Timmy, I'm sure you'll have plenty soon enough. ;)
 
Temps have been dropping into the mid 40's lately and time is running out for this season so I decided to grab a few more pods yesterday.
Harvest10-01-11_1.jpg


Table 2
Harvest10-01-11_2.jpg


I've never seen one of these before and when I spotted it on a pod I'd pulled I at first thought I had found a piece of gold.
GoldBhut.jpg


My camera doesn't really catch the brillance of this bug.
GoldBug2.jpg


In the sun it gleams with a golden sheen like highly polished jewelry.
GoldBug.jpg


This is what I found on the web about this shiny golden beetle:
The golden tortoise beetle is a stunning, vibrant metallic gold color. It has a magical quality, not only because of the brilliance of its color, but also because the brilliance isn't permanent. Metriona can alter color within a short time period, turning from brilliant gold to a dull, spotty reddish color. The gold color also fades when the insect dies. What controls the color while the insect is alive is an intriguing question. The gold color is caused by a thin layer of moisture between the cuticle and an inner layer of the elytra. Apparently the insect is able to "voluntarily" squeeze this layer, reducing its thickness and eliminating the gold color. This change also occurs involuntarily when the beetle is under moisture stress and when it dies.

A bit smaller than the more familiar ladybird beetles, the golden tortoise beetle is configured somewhat like a safari hat with a narrow "shelf" skirting the outside of the wing covers and thorax. This "shelf" causes the resemblance to a tortoise, hence the name. Tortoise beetles are plant eaters, like most Chrysomelids [leaf beetles]. The golden tortoise beetle in particular feeds on morning glory.
 
Wow , another spectacular harvest....what are the white/ivory colered pods?

Hope that bug doesn't get any bigger...
 
Good god SS, what will you do with all the pods!

That beetle is really awesome looking. It would nice if they ate other bugs instead of leaves, can you imagine an army of golden warriors keeping your garden safe!?
 
Wow thats some nice pictures! Love that bug!

You are up for some hot winter :)
Thanks Oscar, that bug really catches the eye. It's a love bug! :lol:


Wow , another spectacular harvest....what are the white/ivory colered pods?

Hope that bug doesn't get any bigger...
They are labeled as PI 441598. The bug is fully grown and about 70% the size of a lady bug.


Good god SS, what will you do with all the pods!

That beetle is really awesome looking. It would nice if they ate other bugs instead of leaves, can you imagine an army of golden warriors keeping your garden safe!?
An army of those would be a welcome site since morning glories are prolific bothersome weeds here and their leaves are the bugs preferred diet. :)
 
Looks like the season went very well. You also determined what row- width will work best for you next season. Add to that the dehydrator and you are more than ready for the next sowing season. Only thing that can't be accounted for is our friends- the deer.
 
Just Wow S_S! The size of your harvests and the healthy looking pods you deserve a gold medal let alone a gold bug. :clap: Expert gardening done right. :cheers:
Thanks Cappy, you supplied many of the seeds that got me started down this hot road.


Looks like the season went very well. You also determined what row- width will work best for you next season. Add to that the dehydrator and you are more than ready for the next sowing season. Only thing that can't be accounted for is our friends- the deer.
Yeah, hopefully next season the plants won't be such a pain to pick. I'm thinking of spraying the plants with a spicy mixture next season to deal with the deer.


You're sure you didn't dig that bug out of an egyptian tomb?
:)


Pick a few more pods he says. Like Warren Buffett has a few bucks. Dang SS.
It's all relative P. ;)


Yeah makes it sound like it wasn't a couple hours of crawling through heaven.
More like a couple of hours crawling through fire ants. :lol:


Haha wow cant believe you waited this long to get a professional dehydrator! That is an awesome looking beetle!
This hobby certainly has a way of sucking you in deeper every season. :)
 
I'll never be able to grow in your league, but just by sheer luck got a dehydrator like yours. Was determined to get a steel one and seemed like the best deal around. Would be interested to hear any tips and tricks you use, cutting methods, time frames to dry, etc. I've been going through the other forums for info, also. Thanks in advance.... :cool:
 
I'll never be able to grow in your league, but just by sheer luck got a dehydrator like yours. Was determined to get a steel one and seemed like the best deal around. Would be interested to hear any tips and tricks you use, cutting methods, time frames to dry, etc. I've been going through the other forums for info, also. Thanks in advance.... :cool:

Yeah, best bang for the buck I'd found and since I'm a member at the site it's branded after I recieved a 10% discount, had a $20 off coupon code + a $15 gift certificate to burn. Total cost with shipping was $180.46. A hard deal to pass up for a stainless steel unit with 15.5 square feet of drying area.

The first thing I did while the dehydrator was in transit was buy a 4 foot length of this polypropylene screen for $3.97 per foot and after the unit arrived and measuring the shelves, cut it into nine 14.25 x 16 inch pieces to place atop the racks when needed for the smaller chilies. Note: The pic on that page is of a coarser mesh (75865A61) and not the .160" X .100" mesh (9265T49) I purchased. (The same stuff Excalibur sells)

The 12 hour timer will come in handy when drying jerky at the higher temps, but since I dry chilies at around 110F (125F on my units dial) it's usless and a bothersome reset when slow drying thick skinned pods as it can take up to 3 days when the humidity is high on a rainy day. That's the only fault I've found with it, no constant on setting. I'll drill and mount a toggle switch before next season that allows disabling the timer.

For large or thick walled pods like congo, poblano, pimento or jalapeno I cut them in half lengthwise or even wide strips for the larger pods to reduce drying time. Thin skinned pods like Bhut, Naga, Fatalii or Lemon Drop just get a quick slit down one side.

The only other tip I can think of would be to load your racks from the bottom up as it's easier when drying larger pods that may slightly exceed shelf gap.

Your drying time will vary with the humidity, thickness of pods and dehydrator load. You can't overdry a pod at low temps and I just pull them out when they're ready and will easily crumble when pinched.
 
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