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]

I decided to make some jalapeno powder, because I have so many pods right now they were starting to go a bit soft. I had room on the very top tray, so I added a few paprikas and a bunch of aji lemondrops. I guess this will be my first powder blend
 
My jaw drops every time I look at how big my brain strain is getting. This plant was a stick under 2 inches tall with one tiny leaf on it in mid June. Now it is massive, and is probably the single biggest pepper plant I have ever grown.

 
The pods are also huge. I took the pics in the AM so there is some weird lighting here.

 
I honestly believe I will have brain strains this year, even though I put it into the "no hope" category in mid summer. I can't wait to see what all of the fuss is about. 
 
I hope you all have a great weekend!

Oh, and I forgot ot mention that this is the first plant I've had where I can smell the heat of the pods when I get to within a few feet of it. Sometimes when pods are ripe plants will have a stronger aroma, but with this one it just smells evil hot. 

 

[Devv]

Nice looking plant Stefan! Gnarly looking pods on that baby too!
 
Hope the weather hangs for ya!
 
Have a great weekend!

 

[Stefan_W]

Nice looking plant Stefan! Gnarly looking pods on that baby too!
 
Hope the weather hangs for ya!
 
Have a great weekend!

 
The overnight lows are definitely below where you want them to be for pods to ripen, but at least we are still above freezing. I think we have another week at least before I have to shut it all down. As long as a few start to ripen before I have to pull them they will ripen fine inside. I find if I take them too green and try to ripen them myself it never tastes right.

 

[Stefan_W]

We are attending a get together tomorrow for oncology families, and I agreed to bring some pepper sauces to share. I made a cool one with no heat out of sweet peppers I roasted this evening, and it turned out well. I asked the group if anyone likes hot food. A couple of people do. I asked how hot. One lady said really hot, and that I should "bring it." Talk about waving a red cape in front of a bull.
 
I decided that this was a good opportunity to try some Jonah pods that recently ripened. The pods themselves are not particularly large in my eyes, which reflect how I chose gigantic strains whenever possible to save space. 

 
When I cut it open it had the classic chinense scent, and I was suprised that it was not particularly overpowering. I cut a sliver out to try, and to be honest I expected the worst. As soon as the flesh of the pepper touched me I could feel the heat racing all across my tongue. My thought at this moment was "us oh, here we go!" But then it ended up being different from what I expected. There was no lip burn, and I found the heat stayed on my tongue, went a bit to the back of my throat, and was pretty manageable by the time it hit my gut. This shocked me because I expected an in-your-face heat like I got with the Butch T and 7 Pods, but this was a lot more subdued. Having said this, the heat lasted longer. In fact, I can still feel it an hour later. It is fairly pleasant except for the dead centre of my tongue, which feel as though someone put a cigar out on it. This was a very different pepper from what I expected, which is not a bad thing. The big downside to this pod is that I am registered a lot of heat, but the flavour is fairly hidden. I am hoping it comes out more in the sauce.

 
So, seeing as I was asked to "bring it" I decided to use all five of the  Jonah pods I had handy, with another 5 Butch-T pods tossed in for good measure.

 
I am always conscious of smoking out the house when I am cooking the hotter sauces, so I decided to try to just blanch the peppers for 3 or 4 minutes rather than cooking them through. This shot is of the peppers waiting in the blender bowl and soaking in blasamic vinegar, lemon juice, and sea salt.

 
I decided to use the gnarliest carrot I have ever pulled out of my garden to make the sauce complete. This is my version of pixie dust. 

 
I ended up making too much, which diluted the batch. No matter, because it is a very very hot sauce that is exceptionally tasty. You can see the roasted sweet pepper sauce in the large jar in the background. 

 
I hope everyone's weekend is going well!

 

[stickman]

Nice looking sauces Stefan! With Butch T and Jonah pods in the hot sauce I'm sure it'll have plenty of heat. Did you make Ajvar with your roasted red peppers or a sauce of your own creation? I got about three 5-gallon pails of Kapia pods this year. I've roasted, peeled and frozen the first 2 pails... when the last one has finished ripening, I'll do the rest and process all of them together to make the Ajvar. I fell in love with the stuff when I made it for the first time last year.

 

[GnomeGrown]

Great color on that sauce
 

 

[WalkGood]

Stefan,
Almost nothing needs to be said when you see da pics mon. Dem Brain Strain pods look wicked, love the gnarly look your girls display and wait till you bite into her … exotic sweet fruit taste with super picante (heat), a nice fruity floral aroma to them too.
 
Enjoyed da read of your Jonah experience, keep up da great work and hope you have an extended grow season … hopefully the heat will hold out for you.
 
Killer looking sauce with a beautiful color!
 
Have a great day mon!

 

[Stefan_W]

Nice looking sauces Stefan! With Butch T and Jonah pods in the hot sauce I'm sure it'll have plenty of heat. Did you make Ajvar with your roasted red peppers or a sauce of your own creation? I got about three 5-gallon pails of Kapia pods this year. I've roasted, peeled and frozen the first 2 pails... when the last one has finished ripening, I'll do the rest and process all of them together to make the Ajvar. I fell in love with the stuff when I made it for the first time last year.

 
It was a sauce of my own creation. Because this was made for a get together with other oncology families in the area, I wanted Sofia to be able to say that she grew everything that was in the sauce. That meant keeping it very straightforward. I do want to experiment more with things like Ajvar, because those things always look so good when you post pics in your glog, but I doubt I will be able to this year. I have had very few ripened bell pepper pods, and this was the first time I have had more than one or 2 of them at a time. The shortened growing season really hit them hard, because the thick walled bells are really long season for our climate. 

Great color on that sauce
 

 
Thank you very much! The dark red sweet sauce took on the colour of the red bells, and the very hot sauce adopted the colour of the carrots. I love Earthy tones in sauces.

Stefan,
Almost nothing needs to be said when you see da pics mon. Dem Brain Strain pods look wicked, love the gnarly look your girls display and wait till you bite into her … exotic sweet fruit taste with super picante (heat), a nice fruity floral aroma to them too.
 
Enjoyed da read of your Jonah experience, keep up da great work and hope you have an extended grow season … hopefully the heat will hold out for you.
 
Killer looking sauce with a beautiful color!
 
Have a great day mon!

 
Yeah, I can't wait to try the brains! The Jonah was quite the experience, and I am still  processing about it. I think it will all become more clear to me when the sauce mellows a bit and I'm able to taste the full flavour. I hope you have a great day as well

 

[Devv]

Nice review on the Jonah Stefan!
 
I'm sure the individual who asked for the hot, hot sauce will be enlightened! This might be fun
 

 
The overnight lows are definitely below where you want them to be for pods to ripen, but at least we are still above freezing. I think we have another week at least before I have to shut it all down. As long as a few start to ripen before I have to pull them they will ripen fine inside. I find if I take them too green and try to ripen them myself it never tastes right.

I've read but never tried this, take the plant with the pods and hang it upside down. It's supposed to aid in the ripening.
 
Have a great week!

 

[Stefan_W]

Nice review on the Jonah Stefan!
 
I'm sure the individual who asked for the hot, hot sauce will be enlightened! This might be fun
 
I've read but never tried this, take the plant with the pods and hang it upside down. It's supposed to aid in the ripening.
 
Have a great week!

 
I have tried most of the methods for ripening pods once the frost hits. I have found that hanging the plant, or bringing the pods inside and cover with newspaper, etc, all work best if the pods are slightly ripened already. If they are really green they will still ripen, but they will never taste right. Also, I found the heat does not build in the same way as it does on live plants that are still in the ground. There are all sorts of different opinions on that topic on these boards, but I will always follow what my taste buds tell me
 
I hope you have a great week too!

 

[Devv]

Makes sense!

 

[JoynersHotPeppers]

Plants, pods and sauces are looking awesome!  I need to stop talking about it and do some more sauce before the season winds down and I don't get enough yield.

 

[Stefan_W]

Plants, pods and sauces are looking awesome!  I need to stop talking about it and do some more sauce before the season winds down and I don't get enough yield.

 
I just freeze pods and make sauces all winter, but you are in a different spot because you make all of those fine powders. I am definitely getting some heat already for the amount of refrigerator space the sauces are already taking, and I am just warming up so to speak. 

 

[PeriPeri]

Nice one Stefan... looks like you are going to be fully stocked for the winter!

 

[Stefan_W]

Nice one Stefan... looks like you are going to be fully stocked for the winter!

 
Definitely! I have 5 large sized freezer bags stuffed with peppers, and I plan to thaw and use them throughout the winter. My wife bought me a great Ph tester for my birthday, so once the grow is over I'm going to start experimenting with making sauces that I can store outside of the fridge. 

 

[stickman]

Nice score on the pH tester Stefan... I guess your wife must approve of your hobby...  After scorching her with the "kitchen sink" powder, to have her come back with this is a heartening sign...

 

[Stefan_W]

Nice score on the pH tester Stefan... I guess your wife must approve of your hobby...  After scorching her with the "kitchen sink" powder, to have her come back with this is a heartening sign...

 
Yeah, I think I'll keep her
 
She does pretty well with trying out different hot sauces, and the only things I get flack for too many sauces in the fridge at once and overwintering plants. I get my way with the overwintering for the most part, and I think the Ph tester is her way of saying that it is time to start storing them on the canning shelves I built a couple of years back into of on the fridge shelves. She has a point. 

 

[annie57]

Sauce looks wicked, Stefan! I'd say the pH meter is a definite hint. Very nice of her! Processing sauce is fun. Hope you do get some ripe brains because absolutely true pods, huge, gnarly, distinct--growing the yellow or red? Both are pretty fruity and am in love with the yellows. Hope it hangs warm for you!

 

[Stefan_W]

Sauce looks wicked, Stefan! I'd say the pH meter is a definite hint. Very nice of her! Processing sauce is fun. Hope you do get some ripe brains because absolutely true pods, huge, gnarly, distinct--growing the yellow or red? Both are pretty fruity and am in love with the yellows. Hope it hangs warm for you!

 
I'm growing the yellow brains because so many people rave about their flavour. We are past a cold snap where the overnight lows were pretty close to freezing, but it looks like the supers just shrugged it off. Gotta love established plants! We have a few nice days now, so hopefully the brains start to ripen. If they do, I will make my first batch of processed sauce with them.
 
Thanks for stopping in

 

[Devv]

I'm glad the wife bought you a PH meter, and although it may be a hint (probably) it will go a long way towards helping you make long term sauces.
 
I've been looking for one locally, none to be found. I would appreciate the make and model number so I have a baseline to search on.
 
We made it past the hump...LOL even the students who do the announcements asked "do you know what day it is", seems that video had a huge impact!
 
Enjoy the rest of the week!