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!

 

[WalkGood]

All the plants in your dawn patrol look wonderful and congrats on the podding \o/ Their color is looking great, you must be having your good weather now, excellent job! Criolla Sella pod pull looks great, I will look forward to a taste review, hint, hint, hehe … seriously I’ve never tried one and I’m sure it would be a great read, congrats mon!
 
Spear Sword foodie looks awesome and I agree with you, I love grilled veggies because I feel it really emphasizes their flavors ... Super job and I’m sure you enjoyed every last bite!!!! Great score from Bill and hats off to you brethren Bill for sharing ^_^
 
Have a great day Rick and keep these awesome updates coming mon!

 

[stickman]

I sure hope so Ramon... it should be getting up into the 80's today after dropping down to 47 degrees last night. Lately it's been feeling more like September than June...
 
Brother Bill is definitely da man! I'm gonna have to give some thought to what to pair them up with... maybe beer brats with the wasabi sauce. Hmmm.....
 
Time once again for the Dawn Patrol...
 
We had a clear and cool night last night, but it might be time to turn the A/C on again. The sweet peppers and alpine Annuums have really stepped up to the plate despite the weather.
 
Gochus

 
Chimayo's

Chimayo's
 
Marconi Rosso

 
The runts have all shown at least a little growth too...
 
Guajillo's

 
Big Jim Anaheim

 
This plant is labeled as Vesena, but now I suspect it's the Numex 6-4 Anaheim.

 
Magnum Orange Habanero in the pepper plot beginning to put it's toe in the water...

 
Cheers all!

 

[Trippa]

Looking good Rick ... Those Gochus are really podding up nicely. Where is the Runty Fish ... Don't tell me after all this time it didn't like the water after all and withdrew his toes

 

[PIC 1]

Nice score with Bill's sauces, and the skewers look dynamite !
All kinds of chili's maturing........won't be long before they start to color up if you intend to let them. Some are used in the "green" unripe state ?

 

[stickman]

Looking good Rick ... Those Gochus are really podding up nicely. Where is the Runty Fish ... Don't tell me after all this time it didn't like the water after all and withdrew his toes

Hi Trippa, it's still raising steam... It even put out a side branch. The light's too bright to show it, but it's about 20% variegated ATM.

 

[GA Growhead]

Love veggies on the grill!
Up into the 80s! Plants should be loving that!

 

[stickman]

All kinds of chili's maturing........won't be long before they start to color up if you intend to let them. Some are used in the "green" unripe state ?

It's a Hungarian thing... they have what they call economic and biological maturity. Economic means you can eat it and biological means the seeds are viable. Most of the sweet peppers they let ripen fully to get them as sweet as possible, but the hot ones they pickle, like the Almapaprika they pick full-sized but unripe so they don't get as soft in the pickling jar. The exception, (as I understand it, please correct me if I'm wrong Balázs, ) is the peppers they grow for hot Paprika powder. Those are grown until fully ripe, sun-dried, seeded and ground.

Love veggies on the grill!
Up into the 80s! Plants should be loving that!

Thanks Jay, they take full advantage when they can... it's just not consistently there for them. I've got high hopes that Shane's intervention through the State Department will turn things around.

Here's another runt... the smaller of the Holy Mole' hybrids

 
Scotch Bonnet is looking happier too

 
Red Rocoto is starting to blossom, and a member of the defense perimeter... a parasitic wasp.

 
 
More of the heavy hitters...
 
 
Almapaprika

 
Ochsenhorn

 
Upskirt shot of the Vesena

 
Hungarian Tomato pepper

 
In-ground Criolla Sella

 
Chilhuacle Negro

 
Jalapeno Zapotec is corking even though the pods are just marble-sized.

 
More pics if I get a bump...

 

[Scarecrw]

Nice pics

 

[annie57]

Bump and + 1 on Ramon's request for Criolla Sella reviews! Really nice, Rick!

 

[stickman]

Thanks Folks... I'll prolly get to that review tonight Annie.
 
Jalapeno Mucho Nacho

 
upskirt shot of one of the Kapia peppers. This is the first year I've grown them, so I didn't know how prolific they'd be. I'm definitely looking forward to getting these ripe! They're supposed to be big and meaty pods, so it makes sense that they'd take a little longer to really get going.

 
Serrano Tampiqueno... some of these pods are 3 inches long and still growing... I guess they really are bigger than the usual run of Serranos.

 
Antohi Romanian frying peppers starting to bud up

 
Jamaican Hot Chocolate is looking very happy

 
and the in-ground Yellow 7 too

 
A couple of "non" shots... the Tomatillo Verde is up to my armpit now, and still growing...

 
and the Hobak Squash has completely taken over its block in the garden

 
Cheers all!

 

[highalt]

Everything looks great!!!  You'd never know you'd been having a run of cool, wet weather.  Your weather at the moment sounds about like ours, clear skies, a low of 47, and a high of 90.  Well, except for the 43 mph winds yesterday.    The plants seem to be adapting to it though.  Not so much leaf loss anymore, and some are putting on new growth.  You've got some plants that are way ahead of mine though, especially your Scotch Bonnet, Jamaican Hot Chocolate, and Ochsenhorn.  At least my Alma Paprika, and Zapotec Jalapeno don't look too far behind yours, and I have lots of other annuums podding up, to hold me over until the chinenses decide to start producing.
 
Can't wait to hear the review of the Criolla Sella!  It looks similar to the Aji Chinchi Amarillo I grew last year, which was a heavy, and early producer.  Maybe I can get some seeds from you, and try that one next season?

 

[stickman]

Ok folks, I can take a hint... I don't have Ramon's gift, so here's a workmanlike review of the Criolla Sella. 
 

 
The pods are a deep orange color... about an inch and a half  to inch and a quarter long by a half inch wide at the shoulder tapering to a point. The aroma reminds me of citrus. Not sweet though, more like grapefruit. The placenta was thickest near the stem but ran the length of the pod in 3 ribs. Altogether, there were about 70 seeds inside. The flesh was thin and crisp, and flavor was light and somewhat perfumed... had the same grapefruit/citrus flavor that the smell foretold, and mild to moderate heat. The burn wasn't by any means unbearable and only lasted a minute or two. I was eager to try this pepper and may have rushed into harvesting it before it was completely ready. Also, we've had a very cool, wet spring here which has set all the peppers back about 2 weeks. I'll check again in a few weeks, and hopefully it'll prove itself a more robust pepper.

 

[HabaneroHead]

It's a Hungarian thing... they have what they call economic and biological maturity. Economic means you can eat it and biological means the seeds are viable. Most of the sweet peppers they let ripen fully to get them as sweet as possible, but the hot ones they pickle, like the Almapaprika they pick full-sized but unripe so they don't get as soft in the pickling jar. The exception, (as I understand it, please correct me if I'm wrong Balázs, ) is the peppers they grow for hot Paprika powder. Those are grown until fully ripe, sun-dried, seeded and ground.

Hi Rick,
No, you are right, my friend :-) Peppers are looking good. Keep posting those pictures :-)
Balázs

 

[GnomeGrown]

Love the "Caution" tape, stickman!
 
Looks like you have some great harvests coming up, dude.
 

 

[Devv]

Mid June and you're still hitting 40's...that's crazy. And wow this year is going fast!
 
Want some of my 75-95 temps?
 
Grow looks great, can't wait until those chinense start putting on some pods!

 

[MGOLD86]

Great shots and review Rick,  the plants are really taking off and pretty soon there wont be any "runts".  Dont worry, not many people have the ability to use words like Ramon does...pretty amazing. 

 

[Stefan_W]

Looks like you've been busy! I love the wide open gardening area.
 
The Criolla Sella will probably pick up a bit of heat as it is stressed out. It is tough to get full heat into a pepper when it is raining continually.

 

[stickman]

Everything looks great!!!  You'd never know you'd been having a run of cool, wet weather.  Your weather at the moment sounds about like ours, clear skies, a low of 47, and a high of 90.  Well, except for the 43 mph winds yesterday.    The plants seem to be adapting to it though.  Not so much leaf loss anymore, and some are putting on new growth.  You've got some plants that are way ahead of mine though, especially your Scotch Bonnet, Jamaican Hot Chocolate, and Ochsenhorn.  At least my Alma Paprika, and Zapotec Jalapeno don't look too far behind yours, and I have lots of other annuums podding up, to hold me over until the chinenses decide to start producing.
 
Can't wait to hear the review of the Criolla Sella!  It looks similar to the Aji Chinchi Amarillo I grew last year, which was a heavy, and early producer.  Maybe I can get some seeds from you, and try that one next season?

Hi Bonnie,
   Your garden is doing just fine IMHO. We're both experimenting with air-pruning... just yours is above-ground due to all the wind you've been getting. I'll always dabble in Chinense varieties, but this far north the Annuums and Baccatums are much more reliable.
 
It looks like there sure won't be any shortage of seeds from the Criolla Sella once they fully kick in. If you want some I've definitely got your back. Cheers!

Hi Rick,
No, you are right, my friend :-) Peppers are looking good. Keep posting those pictures :-)
Balázs

Thanks for the good vibe Balázs! The Hungarians are doing extremely well here, and I'll be getting enough Almapaprika to pickle up in a couple weeks or so. Would you mind sharing some of your Mother's recipes? Some I'll probably stuff with cheese and ham before pickling, but the red cabbage stuffing sounded good too.

Love the "Caution" tape, stickman!
 
Looks like you have some great harvests coming up, dude.
 

Thanks for the good word Gnome! I put it up to keep out the little kids belonging to the young couple who have the plot next to mine. Their parents aren't very good about keeping them out of other people's gardens, so I thought I'd give them a signal they couldn't miss. So far it seems to be working...

 

[WalkGood]

Rick the garden looks great! I love that perspective picture giving one an insight to the big picture. I enjoyed reading your review, well written with the pertinent facts/stats along with your opinion, great job!
 
I love grapefruit taste, I hope that aspect does not change and cooking with grapefruit can add a nice twang to your style of cooking. We will do the occasional use of it in marinades for chicken or fish, naturally we have to include peppers. I like how you imply that the taste or heat level may change, I tried to do the same in my MoA review, again great job brethren!

 

[stickman]

Mid June and you're still hitting 40's...that's crazy. And wow this year is going fast!
 
Want some of my 75-95 temps?
 
Grow looks great, can't wait until those chinense start putting on some pods!

Hi Scott,
   We had overnight temps in the low 50's last night, and they'll probably be in the mid 50's tonight, but the long range forecast predicts them in the 60's through the middle of next week so I think we'll have turned the corner then. Shane's intervention in diplomatic negotiations with our Canadian neighbors seems to have worked wonders! Thanks Chief!   Now maybe we'll see the Chinenses take off the towel and jump in...