Stetto-grow 2018: Takin' another run at it.

It's going to be a sweeter, milder year for me this time around. I've got myself Rocoto happy, and thanks to my new friends enablers here at THP I have a plethora (you go El Guapo!!) there will be no shortage. I plan a repeat of some winners from last year, if you recognize your penmanship/packaging style, well, you just pat yourselves on the back.
 
My seed-to-medium day will be on or about this Thursday, March one, 6 weeks early for zone 3 but 3 months later than the Aji Amarillo and a few other choice seeds I planted last year.
 

 
This is the bulk of the peppers, but not likely all. I overwintered a couple of PaulG's Aji Amarillos and a nummy Aji Mango from Geonerd, and they're already living la vita loco in a south facing window. I plan a backup seedling to both of those. 
 
Thanks to the damned Moruga Welder there's a lot of pepper stuffing in my future, and a special thanks to the Greenchilimonster for all these wonderful black seeds! We may have the Darlin' Bride weaned off those nasty bell peppers yet!

 

[Devv]

By the way, your dad is a better grower than you are.  Maybe you should get off the forum, and just listen to him.

 

Those of us born in the late 50's-early 60's never listened to our parents. Why should we start now?

 

[solid7]

 
Those of us born in the late 50's-early 60's never listened to our parents. Why should we start now?

 
Because they grow better tomatoes than you.
 
The trick is not to let them know that you listen to them.  Pretend to ignore them, or contradict them in speech, but then do what they do, anyway.  Make the believe it's new fangled science.  Or bloom boosters. 

 

[Devv]

 
Because they grow better tomatoes than you.
 
 

 
Evidently you've not visited any of my glogs over the last 4-5 years
 
This is late April this season

 
Sorry about that Eric

 

[stettoman]

Actually, this is the first year my Dad's been able to get a tomato plant to grow more than a couple feet. I'm gonna have to say that dirt was key, the mix I made for his container had a different ratio of primordial ooze-to-store bought soil & perlite. Both his and mine are equally healthy, but his are simply growing at warp 7 while mine are running on impulse power.
 
Meanwhile, mu PaulG Aji Amarillo overwinters are bloomin' up again!

 

[stettoman]

'Nuff sed on the maters. Here's my early July update, as little as there is to report.
 
We're getting a GOOD dose of rain so far this season, maybe a little too much, but at least I don't have to water. Most of these guys feedings are foliar. There are lots of flower buds and a number of blossoms and even some pods appearing, Paprika and Jimmy Nardello at point. I forgot that there are a chinense or two in here, an Aji Dulce and an Aji Arnaucho. I have five Antep Aci Dolma plants, courtesy of Frank the Moruga Welder, and I'm seriously thinking of digging one up for a container grow/overwinter candidate.
 

 
 
Jimmy is in the lead, I am excited!
 

 
Sorry for the fuzzy, I had to use full tele to get the shot, we had a half inch of rain last night and I'm not interested in losing a shoe in the muck...there's actually 4 nice ones hanging on the Nardello so far.
 
My trailer parked plants are so lush and healthy, I really hope to get a bumper this fall...The Monrovia pot in the middle is hosting a Jalapeno, all the rest are pubescens. These too are starting to blossom, though no pods yet.
 

 
 
A side note on planning for next season, Solid7 and a few local gardeners have convinced me that a no-till grow will be the flavor. I see that a LOT of you guys are using that method, and I guess anything that keeps your feet clean can't be an all bad thing...We'll see how the 8th acre does against the container plants with a couple rolls of landscape mulch in the mix....

 

[Devv]

Looking good Eric!
 
I went Broadfork this year, along with soil testing and amendments. It sure helped my soil..

 

[D3monic]

Weasel was so darn cute though. Im a huge fan of ff ocean forest now after seeing the difference in growth and vigor of my plants in containers vs my Garden. Your dads maters look great. Off to a pretty decent start.

 

[karoo]

Looking good,
What's the plan with the Jimmy Nardello peppers?
It's on my list this season, first time!

Sent from my FIG-LX1 using Tapatalk

 

[stettoman]

Weasel was so darn cute though. Im a huge fan of ff ocean forest now after seeing the difference in growth and vigor of my plants in containers vs my Garden. Your dads maters look great. Off to a pretty decent start.

 
Yeah, everyone agrees on cute except the other animals in the room...The little bastiges are VICIOUS!! And the smell? AI CARUMBA!!
 
Dad has had to trim his tomatoes back a full 2 feet off the top, they are apparently toppling the wagon. Mine (same breed, different dirt) are about 2 feet tall....
 
My idea with the trailer-as-garden is going to be tested today, we're going into a spell of high 80s-low-90s this week, it's time to move the trailer to some full shade....If this works out I'm gonna market a book on trailer plots!!
 

Looking good,
What's the plan with the Jimmy Nardello peppers?
It's on my list this season, first time!

Sent from my FIG-LX1 using Tapatalk

 
I'm a huge advocate of bottled Italian sauces, saves a lot of time so all I have to do when I cook is add fresh tomato and sausage. So my plan is to incorporate the Nardellos into that sauce...I'm told that they are very early to ripen, and where I live that's huge....
 

Looking good Eric!
 
I went Broadfork this year, along with soil testing and amendments. It sure helped my soil..

 
Pardon my ignernce, and I mean that sincerely, but terms like "broadfork" means pitching hay to me....

 

[stettoman]

Looking good Eric!
 
I went Broadfork this year, along with soil testing and amendments. It sure helped my soil..

Ok, I looked it up. Nevermind me....

Learn something new every 10.7 hours around here....

 

[stettoman]

Pubes in partial sun...
 

 
....A-a-a-a-a-a-a-and, VIOLA!! Pubes in full shade on a 90 degree day.
 

 
And a forthehellofit gratuitous photo of my overachiever Aji Amarillo at work....
 

 

 

[stettoman]

If these Jimmeh Nawdellas taste anything as gnarly as they look I'll be growing a whole row of them next year.
 

 
All these guys are doing well, the mystery Mexicans smuggled in are all fowering now, but no pods yet. These Antakes have the biggest blossoms I've seen yet!!
 

 
We've gotten past the point where pepper shoots taste good to the deer around here, but we have deer who taste good to critters like this guy. Pic is from right behind the 8th acre...
 

 
The trail cam is too far away for a good shot, not to mention this is a compressed pic file, but you get the basic outline, anyway. Varmint rifle is at the ready, our dogs are too old to need be messing with the 'yotes!!
 
It was feeding day today, fish guts for everyone!!    

 

[Devv]

If these Jimmeh Nawdellas taste anything as gnarly as they look I'll be growing a whole row of them next year.
 

 
All these guys are doing well, the mystery Mexicans smuggled in are all fowering now, but no pods yet. These Antakes have the biggest blossoms I've seen yet!!
 

 
We've gotten past the point where pepper shoots taste good to the deer around here, but we have deer who taste good to critters like this guy. Pic is from right behind the 8th acre...
 

 
The trail cam is too far away for a good shot, not to mention this is a compressed pic file, but you get the basic outline, anyway. Varmint rifle is at the ready, our dogs are too old to need be messing with the 'yotes!!
 
It was feeding day today, fish guts for everyone!!    

 

The Nardello's are a sweet pepper, and yours look great, really good stuff
 
At work, which is close to the wild nature, we've always had a ton of feral cats, birds and squirrels. We saw a mature fox in a tree last week and then we realized the cats, kittens, squirrels, and birds are not around anymore..
 
Mother nature doing her thang...

 

[stettoman]

 
The Nardello's are a sweet pepper, and yours look great, really good stuff
 
At work, which is close to the wild nature, we've always had a ton of feral cats, birds and squirrels. We saw a mature fox in a tree last week and then we realized the cats, kittens, squirrels, and birds are not around anymore..
 
Mother nature doing her thang...

Yah Scott, I'm excited for the Nardellos, I read up on their contribution to Italian cuisine.

The coyote will need dispatched with a lot better ID than this fuzzy photo. We also have a crew of timber wolves in the area, the difference being that a coyote is a pest, the wolves semi-protected and I don't make enough to pay the fine. I only shoot them in a case of imminent threat. Hasn't been an issue so far.

 

[karoo]

Portable pubes, now that is what we all want.

Great to be just 6 months behind, first time growing Jimmy Nardello myself.

Sent from my FIG-LX1 using Tapatalk

 

[stettoman]

Nice rain yesterday, temps really mild, fed the 8th acre the day before, so all is well with my pepper world for the time being. The pube trailer got moved into the open yesterday for a good drink of the good stuff, hoping for first pods to set and make the Poppa happy.
 
I thought this was noteworthy. Hairiest plant on the propity, an Aji Oro, first fork.
 

 
I grew 3 different pubes last year, not two; An Aji Oro and Rocoto Rojo out in the 8th acre, and a Rocoto Amarillo in a 5 gallon grow-bag. The Aji Oro was a ridiculously busy pod maker, I believe that this one will spend the winter indoors. I tried but failed to germinate any Rocoto Amarillos this year, they made an excellent jelly. I have a Rocoto Rojo around here somewhere, that was my chokecherry jelly mate last season....Ohhhhh, and speaking of which, we are just a week or two out on chokecherry harvest time. EGAD, but this this stuff is good!
 
This may wind up being the single best harvest I've ever had...
 

 
And they go so well with (the right) peppers!
 
 
By the way, you Canucks might douse some of those campfires you got going on, I'm 150 miles from the Ontario border and canardly breathe down here.

 

[stettoman]

And so it begins, two weeks early this year.
 

 
I've never seen a crop of chokecherries like this in the 9+years we've been on this grove, if I can beat the birds to them I may have to contemplate a commercial kitchen! If my Rocotos come in (I do have a lb of Aji Oro in the freezer from last season) this stuff may well be classified an ambrosia!
 
A side bar: This is my buddy Mo. He recently bought this 1952 Gibson Lester Paul from NO SHITE a farmer in rural Minnesota who bought it new in '52 and replaced the tailpiece in '55. A One. Owner. '52. Les Paul. And yes, he paid less than two grand for it. Some people's kids, I tell ya...I got to jam with him last weekend at a lake party, one sweet sounding guitar!
 

 
Smug bastige......
 
 

 

[stettoman]

An actual update! July twoenty and eight, nice quiet Sunday morning...Some of these guys have been workin' it, making the old man proud, lemme show ya one or two....
 
This is that "mystery Mexican" pepper I was given by a local farmer who says the seed was smuggled out of Mexico in a woman's sock. I was expecting Jalapeno, but this is definitely a different anuum. Maybe someone out there can help me. There are six plants and each have about 10,362 flower buds coming...
 
This youngun' is about an inch from calex to tip, I'm sure it will be much bigger when finished:
 

 
 
Aleppo. Very small right now, but there are many on the two plants I have in the 8th. I'm told they are great as a powder. Seed from Frank the Moruga Welder.
 

 
And Antakie peppers, also two plants, these are quite a bit bigger than Aleppo and Frank (Moruga Welder) tells me they are fantastic stuffers...
 

 
 
Jimmy Nardello. I thought I'd have a ripe one by now, much learn patience....These are from seed that Scott/Devv sent me last season. I couldn't get any to germinate last year, so I hope to cull mucho seed from these.
 

 
 
These are my Sulu Adana peppers, not making many but the few I'm seeing are yuge...Someone sent these to me last year, but I'm fair sure they came from Pepperlovers originally.
 

 
 
These are called Sante Fe Grande, from Tradewinds, two plants in the 8th, anuum, now you know what I do about them--Except that they make a LOT of pods!
 

 
 
Aji Arnaucho, from Dale the Greenchilemonster (and yes, he is)...Sent with a huge envelope of pubescen seeds, this and an Aji Dulce were the only chinense I have this season. The Aji Dulce is lush but not even flowering yet. I did plant some P Dreadie Scotch Bonnets too, but they didn't make it...
 

 
 
And it wouldn't be a glog without Paprika! I grew two this time around. This stuff so boots the mahooty of any store bought Paprika! Thanks again, Scott!
 

 
 
This is my "IhopeIhopeIhopeIhope" row: The first five plants are Antep Aci Dolmas, from Moruga Welder. They are flowering big, but no set pods found yet. The last plant in the row is my Aji Dulce. I intend for one or more of these to be overwintered, such is the lot of a Zone 3 dweller who actually wants a ripe harvest!
 

 
 
The deck critters: My Jalapeno "Tormenta" from Hippy Seed wa-a-a-ay over in Australia. There's another in the 8th, much bigger but with smaller fruit on it.
 

 
 
My PaulG Aji Amarillo overwinter, making a fool of itself with pods and flowers!
 

 
 
And not to be outdone, a Geonerd Aji Mango overwinter.
 

 
 
Last but certainly not the least, my trailer (parked) peppers, all pubescen. These guys are taking their sweet time but I expect great things. There are a few candidates for overwinter here, too. I only hope I have the room (and the patient Darlin' Bride) for them!
 

 
Peppers that didn't get mentioned include a Large Orange Thai that is so far completely uninterested in flowering and a pair of Bishop Hats that I don't even remember planting, but there thay are!!
 
Also my Big Jims and the Darlin' Brides Bell peppers get honorable mentions. There's an Urfa Biber out there too, I might have it confused with one of the Antakies......
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
OK, I think that covers it, Zone 3 out.....

 

[stettoman]

I was just informed that today is NOT Sunday.

 

[stettoman]

I confused the Aleppos above with the Antakies. My bad...
 
I have a guess on my mystery peppers.

 
I have a hunch, after some search engine time, that these are Cascabel peppers. I also did a search here, and there doesn't seem to be a lot of Cascabel interest in the glogs, most recent inclusion is by PeriPeri, next most recent in 2016. I don't know why the seed needed "smuggled" out of Mexico, but out of the six undocumented plants given me I should reap a pretty good harvest. Anyone with experience cooking with them?