Stetto's First Winter Grow ('16-'17)

stettoman · Aug 26, 2017

Geonerd said:
How do the Lightning Bolts taste?

As said before, I'm not sure how "ripe" the Lightning Bolts actually are. They start out a very light translucent green, but a few of them have gone to an almost pink-ish.

The pod in the very center of this pic is actually the very first pod to set on this plant, so it would only go to say that it should be one of the first to ripen, yes? Note that another larger pod @ 10:30-11:00 is of the same pink-ishshshsh.

So they be ready to try?

Devv · Aug 26, 2017

Geonerd said:
Devv, if you search "pepper nitrogen yield," or similar, you'll find a number of papers, many of which seem to disagree! The old rule of thumb regarding "Too much N stops fruiting" may be just term of the equation, one subject to being outweighed by other considerations. It's all something I want to study over the winter, so I can try more stupid experiments on the poor plants....

Eric, the 267s should not taste green if you actually LET THEM RIPEN. Start sampling when they hit a rich, creamsicle orange. As they ripen to red, watch out for the tips starting to dry out. At least that's what they tend to do down here in ~~Aridzona~~ Hell. How do the Lightning Bolts taste?

Will do, I'm sure there's a threshold where too much N hurts production. What has surprised me this year is the pepper plants can take way more N than I previously thought they could. Like you I continue to experiment with the "poor" plants. The Hugel bed was a killer success. I wish I had it in me to do the whole garden....NOT!

Geonerd · Aug 26, 2017

Well, they are White Lightning Bolts, so they presumably have a ways to go. That said, I'd feel compelled to try that center pod... :twisted:

stettoman · Aug 28, 2017

Yesterday was jelly day, my sister came over and we put up around 2 gallons of chokecherry ambrosia, me setting 3 pints aside to practice a small batch of peppered stuff.

None of the regular jelly set, will need done again. What did set?

I did my batch different, I started with a cooled chokecherry/S Bonnet puree, added pectin, then started the boil, then added sugar. Sis added sugar, started the boil, added pectin at the end.

Nice balance, decent heat that shouldn't scare the wife & kids away.

I have a little over a gallon of raw juice left. Before I redo the failed jelly I'm going to wait for a couple more SBs to ripen up. I also used a couple cups of bell pepper (to add a texture, sure can't taste it) and mashed in a couple of Goodland apples in (might have saved my set!). The heat was all NotPdreadie.

Next batch may have a few of those White Lightning Bolts, if they're actually ripe enough to serve...

But yeah, good jelly.....DAMM good jelly....

stettoman · Aug 31, 2017

Paprika coming in like the Visigoth Horde....This is part of the second batch I'm drying.

Question: I saved the seeds from batch one for next year and perhaps trade, but on the rest of these, is there a marked difference, positive or negative, by grinding the seeds along with the rest?

Those green pods are Gochu, from a branch broken by the weight of the pods. I have no clue what to do with them, ripe or otherwise, and these plants are HEAVY producers....

moruga welder · Aug 31, 2017

All is looking good up in the Great Whit North ! mmmm jellies good , :party:

stettoman · Aug 31, 2017

moruga welder said:
All is looking good up in the Great Whit North ! mmmm jellies good ,

Thanks Frank, doing what I can with the time I got left. They officially started talking First Frost on the news last night. Within two weeks, they say. Being as I don't trust them to forecast more than 12 hours ahead of themselves I'd like to be skeptical, but it is that time of year....

moruga welder · Aug 31, 2017

Bite your tongue ! too early for that crap .

stettoman said:
Thanks Frank, doing what I can with the time I got left. They officially started talking First Frost on the news last night. Within two weeks, they say. Being as I don't trust them to forecast more than 12 hours ahead of themselves I'd like to be skeptical, but it is that time of year....

PaulG · Sep 1, 2017

Nice work, Frank - hope you beat the odds on the first frost!

Devv · Sep 1, 2017

Eric the Gochus we grow go to powder, bhut that's us

And yeah, don't talk frost...that's sacrilege. Remember the sprinkler trick

stettoman · Sep 1, 2017

Devv said:
Eric the Gochus we grow go to powder, bhut that's us

And yeah, don't talk frost...that's sacrilege. Remember the sprinkler trick

Do green gochus make good powder?

And yes, the sprinklers will be tried this year, hopefully not for a couple months.

Bhuter · Sep 3, 2017

Man, those jellies look great, Eric! Plants look nice and healthy...and loaded. Did you hear about the chilihead meeting in Saint Louis Park, MN. I don't know much about it, but I saw MN chilihead meeting and thought of you. I don't have a Facebook, but the gf does.

https://m.facebook.com/events/1506846826040015/?refid=18

Devv · Sep 3, 2017

stettoman said:
Do green gochus make good powder?

And yes, the sprinklers will be tried this year, hopefully not for a couple months.

You know that you can pick the green ones when you fear frost damage, and then place them in a paper bag with a banana. They will in most cases ripen. This tip stolen form Paul without conscience

stettoman · Sep 3, 2017

Bhuter said:
Man, those jellies look great, Eric! Plants look nice and healthy...and loaded. Did you hear about the chilihead meeting in Saint Louis Park, MN. I don't know much about it, but I saw MN chilihead meeting and thought of you. I don't have a Facebook, but the gf does.
https://m.facebook.com/events/1506846826040015/?refid=18

You know Adam, I've never really considered a group specific to my region. Don't know why, it really seems like a great idea, thanks for waking me up to it!

Devv said:
You know that you can pick the green ones when you fear frost damage, and then place them in a paper bag with a banana. They will in most cases ripen. This tip stolen form Paul without conscience

Scott, you'll never be accused of stealing the bananainapapersack trick, I remember my Na-naw suggesting it for tomatoes eons ago.

There are peppers on most of my plants in the 8th acre now, with a few notable exceptions. The ONLY pods actually ripening out there are the paprikas you turned me onto. Gawd, how aromatic they are! The gochus smell exactly the same, much much weaker in strength. My pot-bound plants have all been turing out ripe fruit, with the exception of the Rocoto Amarillo. My MaybePDreadie might not have the phenotype, but boy do they have the color & heat!

karoo · Sep 4, 2017

Those peppers look great .
On the paprika, I prefer mine powdered with seeds , with a fuller taste , almost nutty as opposed to the seedless powder that is more fruity.
The difference is also bigger when smoked.
I have even started drying and powdering my peppers I use for sauces , so there are no solids to strain out later.

stettoman · Sep 4, 2017

karoo said:
Those peppers look great .
On the paprika, I prefer mine powdered with seeds , with a fuller taste , almost nutty as opposed to the seedless powder that is more fruity.
The difference is also bigger when smoked.
I have even started drying and powdering my peppers I use for sauces , so there are no solids to strain out later.

Thanks Jacque, they're doing most of the work themselves!

I like full, I like nutty. The seeds stay.

I think that I too will be powdering the bulk of my pods, easier to store. But the the Dreadie SBs are such a hit with the PBJ crowd here that those will be spared the dehydrator

.

Devv · Sep 4, 2017

stettoman said:
You know Adam, I've never really considered a group specific to my region. Don't know why, it really seems like a great idea, thanks for waking me up to it!

Scott, you'll never be accused of stealing the bananainapapersack trick, I remember my Na-naw suggesting it for tomatoes eons ago.

There are peppers on most of my plants in the 8th acre now, with a few notable exceptions. The ONLY pods actually ripening out there are the paprikas you turned me onto. Gawd, how aromatic they are! The gochus smell exactly the same, much much weaker in strength. My pot-bound plants have all been turing out ripe fruit, with the exception of the Rocoto Amarillo. My MaybePDreadie might not have the phenotype, but boy do they have the color & heat!

Did I send you any Large Orange Thai seeds? If so, how are they doing? Mine are just now coming in strong.

stettoman · Sep 4, 2017

Devv said:
Did I send you any Large Orange Thai seeds? If so, how are they doing? Mine are just now coming in strong.

Yes, you did send large orange Thai. The plant is one of the largest in the 8th acre, flowering like crazy now, but the end of my season is nigh. There are some pods, about 4-6 inches long, but this one too took injury by the damned deer. It is one of the peppers I really want to try. Let's hope we get a nice slow Fall up here, and I get some numm-numms out of this grow.

stettoman · Sep 5, 2017

Ok, for us short-season types, it's here; Frost.

39° this morning, tomorrow forecast 5° cooler. The battle commences.

This occurs every year at some point, sometimes earlier, sometimes much later. We get just the one frost, always followed by a reprieve of unseasonable warm we used to call Indian Summer until someone who apparently knows better than everyone and whose skin is too thin to live here anyway decided it was a racist label. Now I have no idea what anyone else calls it, so I call it Indian Summer. They can last way into (and sometimes beyond) October, but we never know. It's a game.

So now the potted plants become travellers; in, out, in, out. The 8th acre becomes a battlefield. It'd be a shame to steward these plants all year without a ripe return on the investment.

Stay tuned!

Devv · Sep 5, 2017

Sorry about the upcoming weather. I can load you up on the Thai peppers. That and I have a second wind coming real soon as it's getting towards prime time here, so I can send others when they make