Stefan_W's 2013 Pods A-Ripenin'! Glog

I am going to start the new glog for my upcoming growing season on a bit of a personal note. One year ago tomorrow (January 3rd) is the one year anniversary of the day that my daughter was diagnosed with a tumour that is lodged in the middle of her brain. The past year has involved treatments and hospital stays, and there were at least three different points when we were pretty sure she was not going to make it. But she is a fighter, and nothing could keep her down for long.

Sofia has personally planted every pepper and tomato seed that I have started in the past three growing seasons. She beat the odds last year to help me, and once again she is defying what medicine has to say to help me out this year.

We started a jalapeno plant about a week ago just for the sake of watching it grow, because we both love it so much. One of the jalapenos grew to the point that it had its firt couple of leaves, so we transplanted him into a bigger pot. While we were at it I decided to put in some aji lemondrops, partly because they take a long time to fruit up and I wanted to give them a huge head start.

This is the jalapeno plant. I pulled the second one out because we did not need it, and discovered that the roots had grown all of the way down to the bottom of the cell.

My daughter personally doing the transplant.

Her aim is better than mine, and so it turned out perfectly.

Next up was taking out the lemondrop seeds from peppermania.

I need a few extras of this type, so I asked Sofia to plant two seeds in each of the four cells. Two plants will be for us, and whatever else grows will be given away to good friends.

Two of the three tiers in my lighting stand are currently being used as toy shelves, which is cool for now. The lights are adjustable, and moved down to get close to the seedling.

The heating pad works extremely well, and once the cells are covered the top clouds up in no time.

A happy early jalapeno seedling in his new home. I thought I heard "feeeeeed meeeeee" coming from that direction, but I'm not sure.

That's it for today, folks! Welcome to my new glog

 

[Stefan_W]

Nice to see the loaded up Bhut!
 
Prayers said

 
Thanks a lot! I think the prayers helped a bit. 

Your tri-fin not 7 yellow reminds me of dis guy
 
Great looking pods, I can see you’ll be having a major pull soon ^_^ Keep up dis awesome work mon!

 
Hahahahahaha! Yeah, I think you are right about that one.
So today was the day I have been waiting months for. I made my first superhot salsa of the season, and because I taste every pod raw before cooking with it I got a chance to finally try out a 7 pod and a Butch T Trinidad Scorpion. 
 
I used extra God's Love cherry tomatoes and Graham's Keeper tomatoes as the base, along with garlic from the garden. The peppers included seven 7 pods, 7 bhuts, and a Butch T. Not shown was the cilantro and onion. No extra spicing was added, because I wanted to focus on the blend of flavours from the peppers and tomatoes. I also tossed in a Dixie Golden Giant tomato when I realized it was starting to get a bit soft.

 
This is everything but the peppers. I love blending colours when I cook.

 
I sampled the not yellow 7 pod first. To be honest the heat did not blow me away. It had a classic chinense smell when I cut it open, and although it was hot it was well below the bhuts I had at the end of last season. I am not sure if this is because of whatever was crossed with it, or if it is just a matter of pods being mellow early on in the season before they have the chance to be properly stressed.

 
Next up was the Butch T. The flavour was 10 times better than the 7 pod, and I loved the richness. Even though this was the first pod from the plant, and I only ate half of the tail part, the heat really really powerful. At the five minute point I was pacing back and forth really fast, and the burn was over my entire mouth instead of just a section of it. The heat stuck around for a good 20 mins, but then died down quickly. I really REALLY liked this pod. 

 
So everything went together, and I ended up with 3 smallish jars and 3 medium jars of salsa. I plan to give three of these away tomorrow, and keep the rest. I sampled a bit before putting it into jars, and it was already scorching hot.

 
Last year discovered that salsas made with superhots get a little hotter every day for about 100 days or so, and so I wrote Nov 30 on each of the jars so people know when to open them up. These are not canned, so they will be taking up some fridge space. But patience is a virtue, and there is definitely a huge reward at the end for those who wait the 100 days.

 
Thanks for coming by and having a look!

 

[stickman]

Hi Stefan,
   The Bhut and Yellow 7 pods are looking good my friend, likewise the canned salsa. I don't know if I could wait 100 days before cracking the jar and tucking in!
   My Yellow 7 is just a bit more yellow than yours, and by your description, a bit more hot and fruity as well. If you'll pm me your addy I'll send a few out your way as soon as I get a few more ripe ones. So far, I've been getting a ripe pod every few days, but I think they're about ready to kick up into higher gear. If you're interested, I'll throw in some Aji Omnicolors and some Alphanerdz Doughah and Hungarian Sweet Paprika seeds as well. Cheers!

 

[Devv]

Thanks for posting your thoughts on the peppers.
 
The hot sauce looks amazing!
 
I made some this weekend with garden tomatoes. It comes out completely different than when store bought are used, It think it's a whole lot sweeter.

 

[WalkGood]

Stefan, that superhot salsa looks amazing, love how you took the prelim pics with all dat color, how beautiful!
 
Cut pods photographed look tasty, was a little surprised about the heat level on your “Not Yellow 7” but not completely as the one's I ate were hot but not super hot. Not surprised at all on the Butch T heat levels as I expected it. Butch T pod looks great too … not sure I could wait the 100 day mark either, hehehe.
 
Keep up the great work mon!
 
 

 

[Stefan_W]

Hi Stefan,
   The Bhut and Yellow 7 pods are looking good my friend, likewise the canned salsa. I don't know if I could wait 100 days before cracking the jar and tucking in!
   My Yellow 7 is just a bit more yellow than yours, and by your description, a bit more hot and fruity as well. If you'll pm me your addy I'll send a few out your way as soon as I get a few more ripe ones. So far, I've been getting a ripe pod every few days, but I think they're about ready to kick up into higher gear. If you're interested, I'll throw in some Aji Omnicolors and some Alphanerdz Doughah and Hungarian Sweet Paprika seeds as well. Cheers!

 
Thank you Rick, that is very kind. The main issue with getting fresh pods across the border through mail is that things from the US are commonly delayed by 3 weeks or more, which means the pods probably would not be good by the time they got here. I would hate to see your pods go to waste. I do appreciate the offer though.

Thanks for posting your thoughts on the peppers.
 
The hot sauce looks amazing!
 
I made some this weekend with garden tomatoes. It comes out completely different than when store bought are used, It think it's a whole lot sweeter.

 
Yeah, there is a huge difference between store bought and home grown tomatoes. Sometimes the home grown is sweeter, but each and every time it will have much more flavour and they will always taste fresher and better. I have grown to really hate store bought salsas since I started making my own. I look forward to seeing pics of your salsa up on your glog soon! 

Stefan, that superhot salsa looks amazing, love how you took the prelim pics with all dat color, how beautiful!
 
Cut pods photographed look tasty, was a little surprised about the heat level on your “Not Yellow 7” but not completely as the one's I ate were hot but not super hot. Not surprised at all on the Butch T heat levels as I expected it. Butch T pod looks great too … not sure I could wait the 100 day mark either, hehehe.
 
Keep up the great work mon!
 
 

 
I would definitely put the heat level at hot but not superhot, somewhere around the hottest habs. The heat did not disappoint me so much as the lack of flavour. Maybe the other not yellow 7 plant will turn out better, seeing as all oft hose pods are ripening to a very rich orange colour. 
 
It is worth the wait, as I found out last year. 

 

[GA Growhead]

A lot of yellow c chinense pods do turn slightly orange. Those look nore than slighty though. Those still look killer. The lRg yel 7s are not as hot as the reg or yel brains. So maybe that's why the red one is on the lower side.
Sauce looks killer too!

 

[Stefan_W]

A lot of yellow c chinense pods do turn slightly orange. Those look nore than slighty though. Those still look killer. The lRg yel 7s are not as hot as the reg or yel brains. So maybe that's why the red one is on the lower side.
Sauce looks killer too!

 
Thanks for the info, I have not grown them before. When I picked on of the not yellows that seemed orange outside, and brought it inside, it actually looked more yellow. Weird. But yeah, it is still way more orange that I would have hoped for.
 
Thanks! The salsa is actually pretty addictive, and it is hard to keep it tucked away while waiting for it to heat up. I blame the huge amount of garlic I added. 

 

[stickman]

 
Thank you Rick, that is very kind. The main issue with getting fresh pods across the border through mail is that things from the US are commonly delayed by 3 weeks or more, which means the pods probably would not be good by the time they got here. I would hate to see your pods go to waste. I do appreciate the offer though.

 
Yeah, there is a huge difference between store bought and home grown tomatoes. Sometimes the home grown is sweeter, but each and every time it will have much more flavour and they will always taste fresher and better. I have grown to really hate store bought salsas since I started making my own. I look forward to seeing pics of your salsa up on your glog soon! 

 
Where there's a will, there's a way... I'm gonna keep the Yellow 7 pods separate from the rest to make powder, so you'll be getting some powder when I've got them all processed. The taste won't be as fresh, but you'll still get some idea. What would you say to the seed varieties I mentioned?
 
Vine-ripened is the only way to go for Tomatoes! The California tomatoes we find in the supermarkets are picked green, since they travel better that way, and packed into the box of a truck or rail car and the box is filled with ethylene gas to make them turn red, but since they didn't ripen on the vine, they'll never be as sweet! Here's some interesting facts about Ethylene... reading up on it, it looks like it's the culprit in my chocolate habs leaf loss at the end of the season. http://postharvest.tfrec.wsu.edu/pages/PC2000F

 

[Stefan_W]

 
Where there's a will, there's a way... I'm gonna keep the Yellow 7 pods separate from the rest to make powder, so you'll be getting some powder when I've got them all processed. The taste won't be as fresh, but you'll still get some idea. What would you say to the seed varieties I mentioned?
 
Vine-ripened is the only way to go for Tomatoes! The California tomatoes we find in the supermarkets are picked green, since they travel better that way, and packed into the box of a truck or rail car and the box is filled with ethylene gas to make them turn red, but since they didn't ripen on the vine, they'll never be as sweet! Here's some interesting facts about Ethylene... reading up on it, it looks like it's the culprit in my chocolate habs leaf loss at the end of the season. http://postharvest.tfrec.wsu.edu/pages/PC2000F

 
 
It gets even worse for store bought tomatoes. A researcher in Wpg found that store bought tomatoes are typically genetically modified so that all of the fruit get to the same size at the same time. The gene they tinkered with that does that happens to be the same one that controls the sugars in the fruit, and the sugar production is inadvertently turned off in this modification. 
 
I have not picked out which plants I am growing next season, but I will definitely hit you up for seeds when the time comes.  Thank you very much for the offer And I definitely would not say no if you decided to toss some powder into the package. 

 

[Stefan_W]

At the end of May my yellow brain strain was a stick that stuck up about 3 inches from the ground. It was quite pathetic. I almost pulled it a couple of times, but I decided to let it be just to watch it grow. Well, the crazy thing became my largest plant by the end of July. It still had no pods though, so I figured no big deal. Now it is quickly podding up. I wonder if the pods can grow and ripen in a month.
 
A shot from my back door. The yellow brain is the dark green plant in the middle, just behind the tabascos. It is growing in a box that bottoms out into the ground, and I am quickly realizing how much of a difference it makes to be able to plant in the ground.

 
A shot from the opposite direction, toward the house.

 
A couple of the pods that showed up in the past day or so.

It has been pouring rain all day, and I took advantage of a small break in the rain to snap the pics.

 

[Devv]

I'm a die hard dirt grower, and this years experiments have proven that to me. The container plants and the dirt grow have been given the same watering and fert regimen. The dirt grow is the height of a 5 gal bucket ahead of the container grow. So this year dirt wins!

 

[Stefan_W]

I'm a die hard dirt grower, and this years experiments have proven that to me. The container plants and the dirt grow have been given the same watering and fert regimen. The dirt grow is the height of a 5 gal bucket ahead of the container grow. So this year dirt wins!

 
I hear you. I definitely would be doing nothing but dirt grows if I had the room, but as it is I only have space if I put my peppers out on the interlock. Putting dirt on that would defeat the purpose of having interlock there, so it is what it is

 

[Stefan_W]

Over the past few days Sofia and I picked about 40 aji lemondrop peppers, so I decided to make pepper jelly with them this evening.

 
De-seeding was a huge pain. The seeds were really stuck on the placentas, so I pulled the whole shebang out, pulled the seeds off, and then put the placentas back into the mixer.

 
The jelly looked really cool when it went in to the pot with the sugar, and I was hoping it would stay this colour.

 
Sadly, after boiling for a few minutes it started to go brown. The recipe I used warned of this and suggested adding food colouring, but I refuse to do that and I left it be. 

 
I ended up with way more than I was expecting (12 X 125 mL jars, plus 2 X 250 mL jars). Luckily I always sterilize more than I think I will need so it was all good.

 
I left some out to taste. I did not have any fancy crackers or cheeses handy, so it was what it was. I was surprised that all of the heat of lemondrops was still there, because usually pepper jellies don't hang on to full heat. On the down side the taste was a bit harsh, which is not surprising considering the amount of lemon juice in the recipe plus the taste of lemondrop peppers. I expect the jelly to mellow as it sits for a few weeks.

 

[stickman]

That's some good looking jelly Stefan! In future, if you want a more yellow color, you could use just a hint of Anatto color derived from Achiote seeds. It's used extensively in the States where coal tar derived food coloring isn't desirable.http://latinfood.about.com/od/seasoningmarinade/p/What-is-achiote.htm
   How cool that it kept its heat even after cooking with all that sugar. Cheers!

 

[WalkGood]

Stefan the Aji Lemondrop’s photograph is beautifully but I’m sure it’s da mon behind the camera ^_^  The layout and pepper jelly looks fantastic, sad to read first taste was a little harsh but it’s great to hear jelly has retained the picante. Plus I agree with your assessment that the harsh taste will mellow over time and disappear.
 
Sofia is an awesome helper and pass on that I say ... Hat’s off young lady \o_
 
Awesome job and don’t diss saltine crackers, lol, I use them for taste testing all the time as they are very neutral … da one’s without salt work best but like you said “it is what it is.” Have a great Sunday mon and keep up the great work!

 

[Stefan_W]

That's some good looking jelly Stefan! In future, if you want a more yellow color, you could use just a hint of Anatto color derived from Achiote seeds. It's used extensively in the States where coal tar derived food coloring isn't desirable.http://latinfood.about.com/od/seasoningmarinade/p/What-is-achiote.htm
   How cool that it kept its heat even after cooking with all that sugar. Cheers!

 
Thank you very much for the suggestion, I will definitely try it!
 
Yeah, the fact that the heat stuck around was a huge shock to me. I think a part of it was having loads of peppers in it, and the other part was taking the time to pull seeds off of each individual piece of placenta. I was swearing my face off when I was doing it, but now I get to enjoy the results for a good long while.

Stefan the Aji Lemondrop’s photograph is beautifully but I’m sure it’s da mon behind the camera ^_^  The layout and pepper jelly looks fantastic, sad to read first taste was a little harsh but it’s great to hear jelly has retained the picante. Plus I agree with your assessment that the harsh taste will mellow over time and disappear.
 
Sofia is an awesome helper and pass on that I say ... Hat’s off young lady \o_
 
Awesome job and don’t diss saltine crackers, lol, I use them for taste testing all the time as they are very neutral … da one’s without salt work best but like you said “it is what it is.” Have a great Sunday mon and keep up the great work!

 
Sofia is definitely the one with the magic touch! I just sit back and harvest the results of her green thumb. 
 
I am pretty sure the  crackers in the pic are salt free. We have pretty big limits with what we feed Sofia, and tend to stay away from salt added. Salt free is a different matter, because they sometimes replace salt with chemicals more harmful than salt ever was.
 
Thanks for stopping by!

 

[Stefan_W]

I have a short break so I decided to snap a few pictures of the current state of my pepper grow. 
 
The yellow brain is still plugging away. For some reason I think he will ripen, despite the odds.

 
I have picked about 80 aji lemondrops off of this plant already, and she is still loaded up and spitting out pods.

 
I was really worried about whether the tabasco pods would have enough time to ripen this year. The ones on the overwinter plant are starting to colour up, so I will end up with at least a few.

 
The bhut is really ripening quickly. Pictures from this distance show off the red, but do not show off just how many pods are on this plant. It is truly insane.

 
The first madame jeanette is almost ready to try. I have been anxiously waiting to check this baby out. The plant is a surprisingly heavy producer, and I will have dozens more in a short amount of time. 

 
My first peach scotch bonnet is showing some colour. This plant is vigorous, and I would definitely grow it again if the pods taste good. I'll find out within the week.

 
Butch-Ts. I loved the taste of these, and am happy to see so many ripening all at once. I see a wicked sauce looming in my horizon.

 
The yellow 7s have an orange tinge to them, but are close enough for me to remove the "not" from their name. I still have not tried these, but I will end up checking them out in the next couple of days because there are loads of ripe pods.

 
The other yellow 7 plant definitely still has the "not" in front of its name. It is a huge producer though, and the pods are getting hotter every time I taste one.

 
Peach bhut. It is pretty close, and should be ready by next weekend.

 
I've been picking jalapenos like crazy, and the plants are still going. Especially this one, which is the one that Sofia and I planted in January.

 
I'm out of time. I'll catch up with more glogs and things later on this evening. Thanks for having a look!

 

[WalkGood]

Simply breathtaking color and beauty, great job mon!

 

[Stefan_W]

Simply breathtaking color and beauty, great job mon!

 
Thank you, that means a lot to me. I pay a lot of attention to colour and shape when I am planning my grows.
Loads of ripe pods today, filled two baskets.
 
A handful of Butch-Ts. There is a lot of hurt in these pods.

 
The assorted yellow and not yellow 7 pods that Sofia and I picked today. 

 
I think it is time for my first superhot sauce of the year. I have been waiting for the Butch Ts to take off before giving it a try, and now seems like a good time.
 

 

[GA Growhead]

Sweet update! Pods are everwhere!