Stickman's 2013 Glog - Time To Pull The Plug on 2013

I'm pulling things together to get ready for my next growing season. I bought NuMex variety seeds from Sandia Seed company in New Mexico, Hot Paper Lantern Habaneros and Antohi Romanians from Johnny's Select Seeds in Maine and Korean varieties from Evergreen Seeds in California. Due to the unbelievable generosity of a number of THP members I've also gotten seeds to a wide variety of chiles from around the world. Special thanks to BootsieB, stc3248, romy6, PaulG, SoCalChilehead, joynershotpeppers, highalt, cmpman1974, smokemaster, mygrassisblue, Mister No, chewi, KingDenniz, orrozconleche and most recently and spectacularly, Habanerohead with a great selection of superhots and peppers from Hungary!

There are eleven varieties of Hungarian peppers in here, mostly the early, thick-fleshed, sweet ones that range from white through yellow to purple and red.., plus Aji Lemon Drop, BJ Indian Carbon, Naga Morich, Bishop's Crown and TS CARDI Yellow! Now I just have to go through my seed bank and match the space available to what I want to grow. Thanks Balázs!

 

[stickman]

Everything looks great, plants, pods, harvest, seeds, reviews and more ... \o/
 
Nice review on your red Scotch Bonnet, does it have any resemblance to the roots of Scotch Bonnet taste, like a MoA taste? Yes I read your opinion “off-citrus... not sweet, but not objectionable either. The flavor was mildly sweet and floral” and could the flavor have been different, for example sweeter if alowed to ripen mas?
 
Is the main stalk on your Cheiro Recife larger than a broom stick? It looks huge!
 
Have a great one brethren

 
Thanks Ramon,
   The Scotch Bonnet was so ripe it was beginning to soften, so I don't think it would have gotten hotter with more time. It has much thicker flesh than your MoA and a much rounder, smaller look. I'd say it's either a cross of some sort or it's genetically drifted quite a bit from its origins.
 
The Cheiro Recife is only 6 inches tall at the first fork... 12 inches total. The main stem is about the diameter of a broomstick at soil level. Considering how many of the small pods it has on it, I still say it's a beast, but the Omnicolors take the cake, the candles, the silverware and the table...

Looking good Rick!

Thanks Clayton... how are things going out your way?

Damn Rick, I had to do a few pages of catchin up! Pods are lookin great and awesome sauce as always.  This is a prime example of why I prefer to plant in the ground.  They can definitely take a lot more in regards to the weather.  When it is hot, cold, wet, or dry it doesn't matter to the in ground plants.  The container plants on the other hand are much more picky. 

Thanks Matt,
   I agree on in-ground vs potted-up... I've always planted in the ground before this year, but since I'm planning on overwintering a few varieties I figured I was gonna have to "pay some dues" and get some experience in trying to keep a plant healthy and alive in a pot for at least 4 months. I'm still learning...

Had another busy day today... after feeding my Mom and Aunt breakfast and seeing them off, I took out all my ripe Alphanerdz-strain Douglahs and de-seeded them... about half the total number of pods the plant produced.

 
Then I seeded all the other ripe chiles I had on hand... Cheiros, Not Yellow Bhuts, Orange Habs, Maya Red Habs, Chocolate Habs, and put 'em all in the barrel smoker and smoked with cherry wood at around 150 degrees for 2 hours.

 
Tomorrow they go into the dehydrator.
 
And lastly... I finally cut myself a slice of a Maya Red Habanero to see what they tasted like...

The pods were thin-fleshed, and had a moderate amount of seeds inside. The aroma was very fruity and strongly reminded me of cherries in addition to a small amount of the usual Chinense "off citrus". Taste was very similar to the aroma... juicy, and tasting of cherries. The burn came after about 10 seconds, building for another minute and feeling like little needles on the tongue and spreading a sensation of warmth down my throat and into the stomach. Started salivating pretty heavily 20 seconds after eating. Plateaued at 4 minutes and faded to a sensation of warmth in the mouth and throat at 8 minutes. Last year I remember these as being tastier and less hot than the Orange Habs I grew, and that still holds true now.
 
Cheers All, and have a good week!

 

[GA Growhead]

Was glad to see the morning patrol!
Still cruising along! Hope winter holds out for us, for a little while anyway.

 

[stickman]

Was glad to see the morning patrol!
Still cruising along! Hope winter holds out for us, for a little while anyway.

I hear ya Jay! As wet as it's been for you folks in the southeast, I'll bet you're ready for a change though...
 
Got the smoked peppers into the dehydrator this morning, and man!!! Is that a great smell! I got a tray of reds, a bit over a tray of chocolates (including the Douglahs)

 
and a tray of whole Chilhuacle Negro pods to dry for Mole' sauces.

 
Cheers all!

 

[GnomeGrown]

 
Looking good, Stick

 

[RocketMan]

Oh man Rick, those smoked peppers in the dehydrator are going to have the house smelling great and making you hungry till they're done. Looking good Brother!

 

[stickman]

Oh man Rick, those smoked peppers in the dehydrator are going to have the house smelling great and making you hungry till they're done. Looking good Brother!

Thanks Bill!  As tight as they built this house we'll be smelling it for longer than today...  I can still smell the last couple of batches of hot sauce I made last week!

 

[Devv]

Rick, you've been a busy man! And that's a good thing. Congrats on your success this year, I'm way impressed!

 

[Peptacular]

Wow what a glog! Lots goin on. Nice reviews and pics. The sauces, salsas, and jam look killer. And a informative discourse on smoking. Gotta like it!

 

[MGOLD86]

Looks great Rick!  Do you poke a hole in those pods when you dry em whole?  I wanted to dry a hanful of pods to send to friends and didn't know the best way to do it.

 

[WalkGood]

Rick great job on the smoking and controlling the heat, the colors on the smoked chilies came out great and I’ll bet they taste great too. Will be interested to see the powder colors after you dehydrate them ^_^
 
I enjoyed the read on your Maya Red Hab review, great job! Interesting that their taste reminds you of cherries, they sound very interesting and tasty. Keep up da great grow and work mon and have a great week!
 

 

[Stefan_W]

I can practically smell the pods dehydrating from here! Great looking shots.

 

[meatfreak]

Nice job on the smoking and drying, those Chilhuacle Negro pods look big! They have to turn almost black when ripe, correct? Mine are turning brown now, wanted to harvest them but thought let's look it up first.

 

[stickman]

Rick, you've been a busy man! And that's a good thing. Congrats on your success this year, I'm way impressed!

Thanks Scott, We're "rollin' hot" now! The first of my smoked powder blend and a couple days worth of the chiles I'm putting into it.

Wow what a glog! Lots goin on. Nice reviews and pics. The sauces, salsas, and jam look killer. And a informative discourse on smoking. Gotta like it!

Cheers Tay!

Looks great Rick!  Do you poke a hole in those pods when you dry em whole?  I wanted to dry a handful of pods to send to friends and didn't know the best way to do it.

 
Hi Matt,
   No holes... I just pop 'em whole into the dehydrator. They dry them whole in the sun in Mexico and the southwest where the sun is hot and the humidity is low, but here in New England that wouldn't work... They'd get moldy inside before they dried. It took 3 days for the larger pods to fully dry, but the smaller ones were quicker. I didn't dry them to the "crisp" stage either, since I wasn't going to grind them for powder... just 'til they felt leathery to the touch like the dried Anchos and Pasillas I've gotten in the past.

Rick great job on the smoking and controlling the heat, the colors on the smoked chilies came out great and I’ll bet they taste great too. Will be interested to see the powder colors after you dehydrate them ^_^
 
I enjoyed the read on your Maya Red Hab review, great job! Interesting that their taste reminds you of cherries, they sound very interesting and tasty. Keep up da great grow and work mon and have a great week!
 

Thanks Ramon! Here's a better pic of the first batch of powder finished...

 
It's a mix of all the chiles in the first pic... with the majority being chocolate colored.
 
The Maya Reds look an awful lot like the Paper Lantern chiles... I haven't sampled those yet, so I don't know if they're related. They're vigorous growers and  fairly prolific, and the best part is that they ripen about 2 weeks ahead of the other Habaneros.

I can practically smell the pods dehydrating from here! Great looking shots.

Be watching the mailbox Stefan... there's some of this powder and some Sweet Paprika seeds coming your way...

Nice job on the smoking and drying, those Chilhuacle Negro pods look big! They have to turn almost black when ripe, correct? Mine are turning brown now, wanted to harvest them but thought let's look it up first.

Hi Stefan,
   Just like the Pasillas... they turn a chocolate brown when ripe, and darken to a dusty-looking black when you dry them.   http://chilibase.info/?Peper=Chilhuacle+Negro   They have a very similar flavor to the Pasillas too... not very pleasant on their own, but blended with other ingredients transform into a very tasty mole'!    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mole_%28sauce%29
 
The Yellow 7 pods have such a smooth and fruity flavor that I've decided to dry and grind them separately without smoking. They're starting to pick up the pace of ripening now too.

 
Have a great day all!

 

[romy6]

 Great call on the yellow 7's.
 
They are splendid without any tampering.
 
Curious what temp you use to dry?
 
I have never had luck drying hole pods.   But I go low and slow. 

 

[PeriPeri]

Nice one Rick!

 

[meatfreak]

Thanks for the info, Rick. I will leave them on a little bit longer since there are more pods that started to turn, so I can make a nice harvest Your powder looks great! Can't wait to make my own.

 

[Devv]

Nice work Rick!
 
Some pretty powder and it should taste great!
 
Now that you're grinding supers...I'm sure you've run into the "fun" part, like the dust getting on you, and catching a whiff...

 

[stickman]

 Great call on the yellow 7's.
 
They are splendid without any tampering.
 
Curious what temp you use to dry?
 
I have never had luck drying hole pods.   But I go low and slow. 

Brother Jamie!
   I have a cheap dehydrator that doesn't have a rheostat to regulate the temperature it runs at... it averages around 110 degrees +/- 3 degrees.
 
Thanks for the input on powdering the Yellow 7s... I'm looking forward to it!

Nice one Rick!

 

 
Looking good, Stick

Cheers guys!

Thanks for the info, Rick. I will leave them on a little bit longer since there are more pods that started to turn, so I can make a nice harvest Your powder looks great! Can't wait to make my own.

Glad to be of help Stefan.   I've dried all the ripe Chimayo's I think I can expect for the season, and I'm starting to pull ripe Chilacas and dry them into Pasillas.  I'm roasting and peeling my Anaheims this year, chopping and freezing them instead of letting them ripen for powder... no problem though... I have a couple of bags of dried Anaheims (California chiles) and Anchos that I can add to make my chili powder like the packet I sent you last year.    Think you'll be doing something similar?

Nice work Rick!
 
Some pretty powder and it should taste great!
 
Now that you're grinding supers...I'm sure you've run into the "fun" part, like the dust getting on you, and catching a whiff...

Thanks Scott!
   I ran into that last year... so I take the grinder outside for that part of the business. The thing I sometimes forget to do is to put on gloves first when handling the chiles during processing....

 

[PeriPeri]

Rick, I love the Kitchen Sink Powder... I bet that will keep those pots and pans shiny lol
 
When grinding supers a hazmat suit come to mind. Preferably with gloves, mask and separate air tanks lol Or there is the John Wayne approach where you just put a wet handkerchief around your face, grit your teeth  and take it like a man. Personally I'd rather go noodling for snapper turtles than breathe bhut dust lol

 

[meatfreak]

Glad to be of help Stefan.   I've dried all the ripe Chimayo's I think I can expect for the season, and I'm starting to pull ripe Chilacas and dry them into Pasillas.  I'm roasting and peeling my Anaheims this year, chopping and freezing them instead of letting them ripen for powder... no problem though... I have a couple of bags of dried Anaheims (California chiles) and Anchos that I can add to make my chili powder like the packet I sent you last year.    Think you'll be doing something similar?

 
Cheers, Rick. I'm definitely gonna do something similar like your blend from last year, it tasted great! At the end I got my wife to try it on chicken and she was surprised by taste and the fact it had almost no heat I got another noob question for you about the Poblano. I got one ripening off now (lost the rest due sunscald) but a lot of new ones are forming. Do you roast and dry the unripe ones or do I need to ripen those of as well?