Smokenmirraz Melbourne Miracle

Hi, I'm Smokenmirraz and I live in Melbourne, Australia.  The miracle part of the topic title is getting weather warm enough to grow super hots!  I'll try to add updates once a month or so.
 
I've grown chillies from seed in the past, but these days I'm not that motivated.  At the moment, most of my focus is on growing super hot chillies in 10 gallon pots purchased as seedlings from a local hardware store.  The garden bed has habaneros, jalapenos, and some kind of thai birds eye, tomatoes, herbs, eggplants, and lots of dwarf beans.
 
Currently growing:
 
- Chilli Trinidad 7-Pod Yellow in it's third year of growth and a fantastic producer.
- Chilli Trinidad 7-Pod Pink in it's second year.
- Chilli Carolina Reaper x 2.
- Chilli Trinidad Scorpion Butch T x 2.
- Chilli Naga Bhut Jolokia Red x 2.
 

 

 
 

 

[D3monic]

plants are looking great, I agree that looks like a 7pot brainstrain. Maybe it got cross pollinated. Mouth just burning looking at that vodka

 

[smokenmirraz]

Some more photos from this afternoon.  Getting a bit cold here now with overnights expected to get as low as 9 deg C during the next 7 days.
 
Got myself a dehydrator couple of weeks ago and I finally fired it up today with some frozen Jalapenos, Habaneros, and Yellow/Pink 7 pots:
 

 

 

 

 

 

[turbotvl]

Nice patch. Will they survive through winter done there?

Sent from my SM-T815Y using Tapatalk

 

[Thegreenchilemonster]

Harvested a zip bag full of yellow and pink 7 pots, plus another bag of the Not-Butch-T's, a half bag of reapers, and a few Jay's Red.  Also started up another bottle of pepper infused vodka, this time with a Reaper pod.
 
A few ripe Carolina Reapers:
 

 
A not so freaky looking Jay's Red:
 

 
Carolina Reaper infusing some vodka.  Note to self: stop making pepper infused vodka, because you don't drink it:
 

Reaper infused vodka hurts!!! I made some last year, and I can say that drinking it is a good way to ruin your day. It will punish your gut! Nice healthy plants you have there BTW.

 

[smokenmirraz]

Plants are still pumping out pods... ridiculously long season by normal standards.  I'll try and collect the remaining pods over the next couple of weeks when I get time and overwinter the best plants. 
 
After reading over smokenfire's fermented sauce recipe, I decided to make some fermented hot sauce today with a kilo of the yellow 7 pots.  All ingredients were roughly chopped then run through a cheapo blender.  Anyone care to run over the below recipes and let me know if I'm likely to die from not enough salt in the recipe?
 
Yellow 7 pot and carrot sauce:
 
- 500g yellow 7 pots
- approx 1kg carrots
- approx 1kg brown onions
- approx 30g garlic
- 250ml white vinegar
- 500ml water
- 100g iodised salt
 
Yellow 7 pot and red capsicum sauce:
 
- 500g yellow 7 pots
- approx 750g red capsicum
- approx 150g red naga bhut jolokia
- approx 1kg brown onions
- approx 30g garlic
- 250ml white vinegar
- 500ml water
- 100g iodised salt
 
The ingredients are now hopefully fermenting in large 3L glass and small 500ml glass containers:
 

 

[turbotvl]

looks nice

 

[Bumper]

Agree, super long season - not complaining though!!
 
I have mine in a courtyard, we had a -4c a week ago and the plants took a burn to their tips and that was it. still loaded with pods ripening.  With the heavy rain I will pull another couple of kgs before they are done.  

 

[smokenmirraz]

Last harvest from the red naga bhut jolokia's for the season: 1kg early Winter harvest of a combination of ripe red and not quite ripe orange colored pods.
 
Also decided to make another hot sauce with the 1kg red naga bhut jolokias:
 
- 1kg red naga bhut jolokia
- approx 1kg carrots
- approx 1kg brown onions
- approx 60g garlic
- 1L water
- 150g iodised salt
 

 
3L and 500ml glass containers with the new mash:
 

 

[Jase4224]

If that mash is meant to be fermented then there needs to be a way for the CO2 to escape.. From your pics it appears your jars are sealed.

Looks good though!

 

[smokenmirraz]

If that mash is meant to be fermented then there needs to be a way for the CO2 to escape.. From your pics it appears your jars are sealed.

Looks good though!

 
 
I'm looking forward to the results in a month or so
 
The mason jars aren't on too tightly, so I think they'll be ok.  The large jar has a rubber gasket that I think will let co2 out, otherwise I'll occasionally burp it.

 

[smokenmirraz]

Another couple of batches of pepper mash.  Recipes as follows:
 
Batch 1:
- 250g yellow pot 7
- approx 1kg red capsicum
- approx 1kg brown onions
- approx 100g garlic
- 250mL water
- 150g iodised salt
 
Batch 2:
- 500g Jay's Red
- approx 1kg papaya
- approx 1kg brown onions
- approx 100g garlic
- 500mL water
- 150g iodised salt
 
Image below is of the 2 batches in 3L glass jars:
 

 

[smokenmirraz]

Just wrapped up the season.  Very long by Melbourne standards.  Usually my chillies would be dead sticks if I left them out till now.
 
I've moved all the plants I want to keep into 20cm pots for overwintering and given them a good drenching in seaweed concentrate (hope that helps):
 

 
Last pick of the crop today bagged up and put in freezer till I can work out what to do with it.  I'm thinking of a cooked sauce of some variety but I have nfi.  Also picked up 60 x 250ml bottles with fancy spigot and lid from Costante Engineering in Preston for $1.65 each:
 

 

[karoo]

Jip, crazy long season. Congrats.
And now for a very short "off" season.
I had my first hooks this morning , so cheers on the new Southern Hemisphere season.

 

[smokenmirraz]

Spring time has arrived here in Melbourne and I've moved to a new property.  Not ideal for chilli growing, but whatever... first photo of the season shows 4 of last season's overwinters, each in a 15 gallon pot, a 7 pot yellow, 7 pot pink, naga jolokia red, jay's red:
 
 

 

[Jase4224]

Looks like my plants atm. Getting some new growth on Anuums but not Chinenses. This September seems to be dragging winter out as long as possible in WA so hope Melb is a bit warmer for your sake.

7pot pink sounds interesting.

 

[RaelThomas]

Good stuff, SM.
 
Have you put in any seeds for this season?
 
I've just moved to Ocean Grove, hoping the weather here is a bit more permitting... (Shouldn't be hard, as I was in Daylesford, previously).
 
Edit: Where'd you pick up the grow bags?

 

[smokenmirraz]

Good stuff, SM.
 
Have you put in any seeds for this season?
 
I've just moved to Ocean Grove, hoping the weather here is a bit more permitting... (Shouldn't be hard, as I was in Daylesford, previously).
 
Edit: Where'd you pick up the grow bags?

 
 
Thanks, Rael.  I haven't put in any seeds for many years... I'm too lazy to do that these days, especially so when Master's Hardware were selling all the super hot chillies you see in my grow for $5 each
 
Ocean Grove sounds alright.  Hopefully the ocean breeze will help out the chillies.
 
I bought the grow bags from an ebay seller.  They sell a few different sizes, but I bought a pack of 5 x 15 gallon for $39: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/191645910197?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&var=490702485989&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
 
I can only hope to get some massive yields like our kiwi cousin, swampy: http://thehotpepper.com/topic/54322-35-kg-harvestpod-yield-vs-pot-size-comparison-and-thoughts/

 

[RaelThomas]

 
 
Thanks, Rael.  I haven't put in any seeds for many years... I'm too lazy to do that these days, especially so when Master's Hardware were selling all the super hot chillies you see in my grow for $5 each
 
Ocean Grove sounds alright.  Hopefully the ocean breeze will help out the chillies.
 
I bought the grow bags from an ebay seller.  They sell a few different sizes, but I bought a pack of 5 x 15 gallon for $39: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/191645910197?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&var=490702485989&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
 
I can only hope to get some massive yields like our kiwi cousin, swampy: http://thehotpepper.com/topic/54322-35-kg-harvestpod-yield-vs-pot-size-comparison-and-thoughts/

 
Thank you for the links! I'll be picking some of those up. 
 
I can't believe you picked up the aforementioned varieties in a hardware store... I've never seen anything more exotic than a habanero plant for sale in Melbourne. Awesome! 

 

[smokenmirraz]

Finally got around to bottling some of the fermented sauce.  This was from the very first mash I made in July and I ended up with 9 x 250ml bottles of the 7pot and carrot recipe.  Next time I'll make sure to use the fine mesh on the mouli thingy, because after using the middle mesh and stick blender, the product was still very thick.
 

 

[PaulG]

Looking good, Smokey, sauces look great!

Good luck getting your new location whipped
into chili growing empire...