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]

Thanks all... as sandy as my soil is, I'll be adding humus to it for years to come, and this chipper/shredder will make it a lot easier. There's no shortage of leaves here at this time of year and people are practically begging to have them taken so they don't have to pay for removal.
 
For those of you who've never heard of it... Freecycle is a web forum on Yahoo where people can offer up usable items they no longer  want for free. It's amazing the things that pop up on there sometimes. http://www.freecycle.org/
 

 
Hey, Rick! Fermented and processed a Naga/Tab sauce: thicker, complex "wing" sauce. Or "whatever" red sauce. Tastes pretty good! Like the oil infusion. Need to get some of my buddies who drink beer to save me some decent bottles.
 
Oh, man. In Austin, I had "Cedar Fever" and had already been to hospital--anaphylactic "thing" averted--still couldn't breathe easily 2 days later. Friend of mine made Wasabi from kick-butt powder--so . . . I think I "did" > 1/4th teaspoon. And yes! It worked (after I could breathe from breath-taken by that much 'abi)!

 
The Naga/Tabasco sauce sounds really good Miz Annie. You're giving me ideas for down the road!
 
It certainly seems strange that we pepperheads seek out things that burn up our tastebuds but not our nasal passages... Still, it was nice to have the wasabi there when I needed it...

 
I agree. I've been looking for one, but haven't been as lucky as Rick. I just end up mowing and mowing the leaves with the mulching mower and then piling them up for a big compost pile. 

 
I forget... do you have an outdoor garden plot Jeff? If so, why not spread the shredded leaves on top of the plot in the fall and cover with green horse or chicken manure... The manure provides the Nitrogen required to break down the leaves, and the resulting humus acts like a sponge to hold onto the Nitrogen and other nutes. That's why I add the wood ashes along with the mulch... As sandy as my soil is, it doesn't hold onto the Potassium long if I don't keep adding humus.

 

[WalkGood]

Very cool score Rick … who couldn’t use a free chipper/shredder and humungo grow bulb. Well I might not need da bulb but I sure could find lots of uses for the chipper year round. With all the work you put into your soil yearly it pays off ten fold, great job mon!
 
Hab a most excellent week!

 

[Penny]

Nice score on the leaf mulcher, especially this time of the year!

 

[Jeff H]

 
I forget... do you have an outdoor garden plot Jeff? If so, why not spread the shredded leaves on top of the plot in the fall and cover with green horse or chicken manure... The manure provides the Nitrogen required to break down the leaves, and the resulting humus acts like a sponge to hold onto the Nitrogen and other nutes. That's why I add the wood ashes along with the mulch... As sandy as my soil is, it doesn't hold onto the Potassium long if I don't keep adding humus.

 
Hey Rick. The only garden plot I have right now is underneath the log pile so it is a little hard to put leaves on it right now until I burn all the logs up over the winter. The real reason for the big pile is to generate some good heat for a 'hot compost' pile. I threw in all the chopped up pepper plants, potting soil from last year, ground up leaves and all the kitchen scraps. The pile is about 3' tall and 6' wide and is starting to generate some decent heat. Once I expand my garden this year, I might have some room to try what you are suggesting.

 

[Penny]

Amen... Tell it brother...

Interesting... so you add the brine from pickled chiles to your sauces as well as fresh peppers? That would certainly kick them up another notch!

Oh yeah!... One time I had a sinus infection so bad that even Kimchi couldn't clear it. I ate a walnut-sized lump of Wasabi with a tray of Maki rolls and it definitely did... I put a pea-sized piece of the Wasabi on each slice, and by the third slice I felt like I'd been gassed! I bore down and finished the tray though, and by the time I finished it, they had completely drained. Lol!

Hi Miz Annie! As I understand it, the McIlhenny people grow their seed stock on Avery Island, but the actual production growing is done in Brazil. The red painted dowel is for the folks who pick them there.
 
Your Bloody Mary recipe sounds tasty! I'll bet Lourens' Hong Kong pepper variety would do well there too.
 
I hear ya 'bout it being tedious picking BB-sized pods, but if the flavor's there and it isn't more than a few plants, I'll do it. I'm actually looking forward to growing about 4 Pequins next season. If I like the flavor enough I'll probably add one to the OW list for next winter. We have a family of Mockingbirds in our neighborhood... I'll be curious to see if they eat any of the Pequin pods like they do down south... I mean, the birds here have never seen them before so I don't know if they'll recognize them as food.
 
I'm beginning to experiment with Nagas I've gotten from other THP members this year, and finding I like them especially well in infused vegetable oil. It'll be interesting to get your take on blending them with Frutascens varieties in sauces and the like. Keep us posted!
 
I think I pretty much cleared out the Aphids with the Spinosad spray. It seems to have left behind a residue that caused some small black spots on the new leaves of my Yellow 7, but they still look healthy otherwise and the rest of the OW plants are unaffected. I'm looking around for a lighted 30x magnifying glass so I have a tool up to the job of finding and identifying Mites as well as Aphids, so I'll be remaining vigilant until I can plant outside and let the outer perimeter take over... my policy is zero tolerance too...

Howdy Miz Penny! What have you got in your seed bank for next season? Are there any varieties you particularly want to grow?

 
 
Hi there.....no clue as to what I want to grow for next season, although we do like hot here. I really really wanted to try Aji pineapple this year, and started a plant from seed but the plant died, thanks to the damn squirrels  . When I first got into gardening, I couldn't believe just how many tomatoes there were, and now I am realizing that its the same thing for peppers, there are just so many kinds out there, that's the reason too why I like reading everyone's Glogs, to see the progress, see the advice that everyone readily shares, and to see the pictures, because there are some stunning plants

 

[stickman]

 
 
Hi there.....no clue as to what I want to grow for next season, although we do like hot here. I really really wanted to try Aji pineapple this year, and started a plant from seed but the plant died, thanks to the damn squirrels  . When I first got into gardening, I couldn't believe just how many tomatoes there were, and now I am realizing that its the same thing for peppers, there are just so many kinds out there, that's the reason too why I like reading everyone's Glogs, to see the progress, see the advice that everyone readily shares, and to see the pictures, because there are some stunning plants

Thanks for the kind words Miz Penny. Sorry to hear the rodents took out your Ajis this season... I don't doubt there's a story in that...  Make yourself at home, and chime in if you have any questions or observations...

 

[Penny]

Thank you, I will for sure   What was the first hot pepper that you grew?

 

[stickman]

Ah... that would be my first love... Korean Cayenne-types called Gochus. They're hot enough to zing you good, but have an incredible taste and aroma when grown red-ripe, sun-dried and powdered. I like lots of chiles for different things, but I still keep coming back to this one a lot.

 

[Penny]

I've read about that pepper, the Gochus, maybe it was here in your Glog. Sounds like its your "go to" pepper

 

[stickman]

I've read about that pepper, the Gochus, maybe it was here in your Glog. Sounds like its your "go to" pepper

It is for the Korean food I make for sure, and I find I like it as generic crushed red pepper flakes too. My wife has gotten used to Chinense chiles in the food I cook at home, but the rest of the family and friends can't handle that kind of heat, so when cooking with them in mind I use the Gochus instead.
 
The OW plants are now at week 4 and continuing to grow out slowly. I'm amazed at how much they're growing with so little light.
 
The Douglah seems to be the slowest-growing plant.

 
Followed by the Manzano. This one got off to a slower start, but seems to be picking up the pace a bit.

 
Butch T looking nice and healthy

 
And the Yellow 7 showing the black spots caused by the residue from the spinosad spray. This was the only plant affected this way. Now I know that if I have to use the spray again I'll have to rinse this plant off the next day.

 
Have a good week all!

 

[Penny]

Sounds like its a good pepper to cook with then, a little heat but not the punch that comes with some peppers. Nice looking plants too, btw.

 

[PeriPeri]

Man those OW's are looking superfine my man! Just easy on the water does it

 

[stickman]

Sounds like its a good pepper to cook with then, a little heat but not the punch that comes with some peppers. Nice looking plants too, btw.

Thank you Miz Penny... my first attempt at over-wintering chiles, but there's so much good information on the subject here that it's not a daunting task at all. Maybe you'll try it next year.
 

Man those OW's are looking superfine my man! Just easy on the water does it

 
I'm on it Lourens...  in dormant mode they each get 250 ml of water once every two weeks, and 46 watts worth of 5000k light from 2 CFLs for 8 hours. When I "advance the throttle" in February the plan is to bump the light to 116 watts for 16 hours, double the water ration if needed, and give the plants dilute ferts every other week.

 

[Devv]

OW's are looking stellar Rick!

 

[PeriPeri]

Thank you Miz Penny... my first attempt at over-wintering chiles, but there's so much good information on the subject here that it's not a daunting task at all. Maybe you'll try it next year.
 
 
I'm on it Lourens...  in dormant mode they each get 250 ml of water once every two weeks, and 46 watts worth of 5000k light from 2 CFLs for 8 hours. When I "advance the throttle" in February the plan is to bump the light to 116 watts for 16 hours, double the water ration if needed, and give the plants dilute ferts every other week.

I would not have expected any other answer lol you blooming perfectionist! lol

 

[stickman]

I would not have expected any other answer lol you blooming perfectionist! lol

 
Heh heh...
 
Just wanted to shout out to brother Charles (spicegeist)... Thanks for the pods and seeds bro'!  I saved the seeds from the Lotah Bih pods you sent, and tried one of the pods... What an interesting aroma... sort of reminded me of a cross between Pistachio nuts and the Pimientos in P+P loaf. The taste was deep and nutty as well, with a higher note above it and a spike of heat that kept my lips and tongue tingling for at least half an hour. If the dried pods taste that good, I'm definitely gonna grow that one next year to find out how good it is fresh! I'll be saving the seeds from, and checking out the others this weekend. Thanks again guy, and TGIF all!

 

[Penny]

Nice way to start the weekend.

 

[Devv]

Nice score!
Charles has some fantastic crosses.

 

[PeriPeri]

Gotta ditto that Scott, Charles has got some awesome collection of seeds. Growing Spicegeist plants as we speak... Nice haul Rick - awesome!

 

[stickman]

Thanks folks... I'm continuing to modify my planned grow as seeds for more really interesting varieties continue to arrive... A shout out to vrother Kevin (waywright) to say Muchisimas Gracias for the Frutascens seeds I got in the mail today...

 
Boy... reading up on the Frutascens types, I see they tend to have long growing seasons, so I'm going to have to start them now if I want to have ripe pods in sufficient quantity for sauce making this year. Even then it may not pan out, but if I like the taste enough I'll OW the first-year plants in hopes of a much larger harvest the following year.