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!

 

[GA Growhead]

Double bump!

 

[stickman]

Thanks Balasz!
 
In-ground Yellow 7

 
the other in-ground Magnum Orange Hab

 
Jamaican Hot Chocolate

 
Manzano has set about 8 pods and has twice that many flowers. The red-brown beetle in the top of the pic is an Asiatic Garden Beetle that didn't survive his encounter with the mk1 thumb...

 
Hungarian Coloring peppers

 
Almapaprika

 
Hungarian Tomato pepper

 
Chimayo'... boy, these sure are twisty li'l devils!

 
and a couple of nons...
 
Tomatillos loading up

 
and our first eggplant blossom!

 
Have a great Sunday all!

 

[Devv]

Very nice Rick!
 
Glad you're feeling better and warmer weather has arrived...double bonus!
 
It won't be long before I see plates of pods, keep up the good work!

 

[stickman]

I went outside to water the garden and get a little fresh air tonight, and was pleased to see that the Jamaican Hot Chocolate and Maya Red Hab have stopped dropping flowers and should have pods big enough to photograph in a few days. The runts have perked up quite a bit, I think this is what they were waiting for. I'll continue with the Bio Root and molasses weekly until they've caught up with the rest of the pack though.
   I picked and ate an Almapaprika while I was out there... I've read that these can get up to 1,000 scovilles, the one I had was about half that. Until I get enough together to pickle I'll probably be munching on these as I work in the garden.
   Hope you all had a good weekend!

 

[MGOLD86]

Looking great rick!  Got a lot of nice pods setting and congrats on the eggplant flower! I hope you feel better, those bugs always suck!

 

[stickman]

Looking great rick!  Got a lot of nice pods setting and congrats on the eggplant flower! I hope you feel better, those bugs always suck!

 
 
I hear ya Matt! I guess you couldn't call it "Montezuma's Revenge" in Afghanistan could you?
 
Yeah, I'm feeling  better after eating yogurt, fruit and my wife's chicken soup wlth ginger and lots of garlic... and taking lots of naps while waiting for nature to run its course. Cheers.

 

[stc3248]

So stoked about your grow Rickster...especially how quick you got pods setting on that freakin Manzano!!! So freakin cool...you may have had trouble starting the seeds, but you ain't having any trouble finishing! You should get quite a few ripe ones on there by season's end!!! Everything loading up, are you sure you didn't move to FL and are pulling a fast one on us?

 

[stickman]

So stoked about your grow Rickster...especially how quick you got pods setting on that freakin Manzano!!! So freakin cool...you may have had trouble starting the seeds, but you ain't having any trouble finishing! You should get quite a few ripe ones on there by season's end!!! Everything loading up, are you sure you didn't move to FL and are pulling a fast one on us?

 
Thanks Shane, coming from you that's quite a compliment! This was the first year I ever tried to grow untreated seed, and I see I need to bone up on that before next growing season. Once they're up though, I don't seem to have too many problems. Thanks for the encouragement with the Manzanos... how many days do you figure to maturity for the pods?
 
As awestruck as I get looking at the grows you folks get down south, I can definitely tell you I'm not down in FL... I've been a Yankee too long to wanna move down there where the summers get so oppressive. I can always add extra layers as needed during the winter, but there's only so far I can peel!

 

[Peptacular]

Great looking plants stickler! That Hungarian tomato pepper looks divine! Gone turn that baby into paprika? Lol jk

 

[stickman]

Great looking plants stickler! That Hungarian tomato pepper looks divine! Gone turn that baby into paprika? Lol jk

Thanks Tay... no, it's just a different variety of sweet pepper. The generic name for peppers in Hungary is Paprika, and they grow quite a few different types. The ones they use for what we call "sweet Paprika", they call "coloring" peppers (mild, sweet flavor with no heat, but intense red color). Some they grow for fresh use, some they pickle and some they cook with. If you're interested in trying a few, pm me your address and  I could send you some seeds that are sweet or mildly hot. They're easy to grow and very prolific. Cheers!

 

[Stefan_W]

Great stuff! Those twisties drive me nuts when I am cutting them. I like larger sized peppers with straight lines, because they make me swear less in front of my family. 

 

[PeriPeri]

Wow man Rick! This is insane... you have been busy my friend. Talk about time warp. Last time I saw your glog you had just put your babies in the soil. Damn those chillies are looking healthy... nice job my friend. Really awesome glog... 73 pages and counting, 30,000 views... dud you are a legend! Thanks for all the hard work and for sharing this with us My keyboard is wet, so I must  be loving the food too lol  

 

[stickman]

Great stuff! Those twisties drive me nuts when I am cutting them. I like larger sized peppers with straight lines, because they make me swear less in front of my family. 

I grew the Chimayo's last year Stefan, and I found them just as twisty then but incredibly aromatic and tasty. IMHO no chili powder should be without them! And Pasillas, and Anchos, and California Chiles (dried ripe Anaheims)... They could be as ugly as sin, but I'd overlook it for the flavor!

Wow man Rick! This is insane... you have been busy my friend. Talk about time warp. Last time I saw your glog you had just put your babies in the soil. Damn those chillies are looking healthy... nice job my friend. Really awesome glog... 73 pages and counting, 30,000 views... dud you are a legend! Thanks for all the hard work and for sharing this with us My keyboard is wet, so I must  be loving the food too lol

Hi Lourens, Glad you stopped by! After looking at your grow all last winter, I'll definitely take that as a compliment. Speaking of Kebabs... have you ever made Sosaties? I'm gonna give them a try pretty soon and was wondering if there were any tips you had for them. Cheers mate!

 

[PeriPeri]

I grew the Chimayo's last year Stefan, and I found them just as twisty then but incredibly aromatic and tasty. IMHO no chili powder should be without them! And Pasillas, and Anchos, and California Chiles (dried ripe Anaheims)... They could be as ugly as sin, but I'd overlook it for the flavor!

Hi Lourens, Glad you stopped by! After looking at your grow all last winter, I'll definitely take that as a compliment. Speaking of Kebabs... have you ever made Sosaties? I'm gonna give them a try pretty soon and was wondering if there were any tips you had for them. Cheers mate!

Hey Rick... geez man you get around the world you do! I like your spirit. We are a nation who love to bbq - or as we call it "Braai". Lamb and chicken predominantly. Decent cubes of lamb (obviously) - leg lamb is great. Must be marinaded over night or at least 24hrs. Sosaties is a Cape Malay thang. They like things spicy and sweet! It is also custom to do your dishes with dried fruits. So if you can get dried Apricots or prunes - awesome. It's a flexible thing... so no hard and fast rules. Main thing is sweet and spicy. Main ingredients for the marinade would be: onions, oil (sunflower oil), curry powder (garam masala), tumeric, ginger, coriander (crushed but not fine), garlic, bay leaves, salt, pepper, lemon juice, apricot jam, chutney (apricot if you can - best chutney is a south african chutney called Ms. Ball's), vinegar (brown)... are the usual culprits. The marinade should be runny but viscous. The vinegar and lemon juice will impregnate the meat with all the flavours. The Apricot jam and chutney will coat the meat in a glaze. The secret to doing a great braai is no matter what you are doing is to glaze your meet so it seals the moisture inside. When making the kebabs/sosaties, alternate meat with dried apricots, prunes, red onion, mushrooms and peppers. When cooking, remember to baste the sosaties regularly so you get them nice and crispy and sticky on the outside and keep that moisture on the inside. If you have any acacia wood kicking about... that too adds to the flavours.
 
Elephant sosaties are also great, but getting close enough to the elphant with the sosatie stick can be tricky. Hope this helps? Oh and wash that down with a ice cold beer (does not need marinading) Good luck!
 
PS: I forgot: Chilli... omg... spice it up with I would say either PeriPeri or one of the Indian culprits. As you like it.

 

[stickman]

Thanks Lourens! I always have a tub of dried Apricots on hand, and the rest is readily available here... except for the Elephants and Acacia wood.   I'll probably just use charcoal and a few chunks of Apple wood. I only make small batches of Garam Masala at a time, and I just used up the last batch, so time to make some more. I think Mango chutney should go well with the Apricots, don't you?

 

[PeriPeri]

Thanks Lourens! I always have a tub of dried Apricots on hand, and the rest is readily available here... except for the Elephants and Acacia wood.   I'll probably just use charcoal and a few chunks of Apple wood. I only make small batches of Garam Masala at a time, and I just used up the last batch, so time to make some more. I think Mango chutney should go well with the Apricots, don't you?

Hey Stickman, mango chutney... as long as it is shweeet - sounds brilliant! I would send you an elephant in the mail, but they banned us from doing this in the 70's

 

[stickman]

That;s OK lourens... I'll try to bear up under the disappointment...   Do you think you could mail romy6 a few monkeys? Rocketman had a great idea for having jamie's son train the monkeys to pick his pods in exchange for bananas... 

I got off to a late start this AM, but time for the morning report...
 
the temperature was 73 degrees at 7:30. With the warm nights here the plants are responding in a big way!
 
Here's that runt of a Vesena pepper really getting its feet under it for a big push...

 
The Fish pepper has doubled its height in the last 4 days and the variegation is becoming very pronounced.

 
I counted 13 pods on the Manzano this morning, and more coming every day... some of the nodes have set multiples.

 
and finally... the first Chinense pod,  a Jamaican Hot Chocolate

 
Have a great week all!

 

[PIC 1]

Rick your plants are producing well for so early in the season. I like the community garden....its filled up nicely with a variety of goodies.
If your looking for hot weather....then it's on the way. We've had a few days of it and the plants love it.
Great updates !

 

[PeriPeri]

Hey, what are you saying - I'll come pick chillies for bananas lol

 

[HillBilly Jeff]

Looking great man.  My fish hasn't variegated yet.  Time will tell if I got a wrong seed or wrong label or if the plants are just being difficult.
 
Glad to see your pods setting.