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!

 

[Devv]

LOL!

 

[stc3248]

Wow....wasn't I just over here yesterday??? Damn you got a lot going on...and it all looks freakin amazing!!!
 
I just wanted to let you know that from first pod set to now on the Manzano its been exactly 7 weeks and no signs of ripening yet. Matter of fact the pods are still putting on some size. Hoping to see some color change in the next week or two...will keep you posted.

 

[stickman]

Hi Rick,
 
They are so beautiful! Amazing poddage on the Hungarian Paprika, too! Beautiful, amazing! :-)
 
 
Balázs

 
Thanks Balázs, I'm trying to do you right, so I'm glad it's working! Would you care to hazard a guess as to when the Coloring peppers will start to ripen up? The pods are +/- 12cm long.

Wow....wasn't I just over here yesterday??? Damn you got a lot going on...and it all looks freakin amazing!!!
 
I just wanted to let you know that from first pod set to now on the Manzano its been exactly 7 weeks and no signs of ripening yet. Matter of fact the pods are still putting on some size. Hoping to see some color change in the next week or two...will keep you posted.

Thanks Shane! My first pods are as big around as a silver dollar... (the old-time ones, not the ones you get in change when you use the USPS stamp vending machines). They continue to grow and occasionally set pods. If yours start to ripen now, mine'll probably catch up around the middle/end  of August. Good thing they can take a light frost... I'll leave them outside until that happens, then pot them up and bring them inside at night until the hard freeze forces me to bring them inside full-time to OW.

A big shout out to Bigoledude... the Vegetable Amaranth and yard-long pole beans you sent seeds for are doing great in the midsummer heat! I'll get pics a little later this morning.

 

[stickman]

pics of today's pull
 
Almapaprika... this is a little less than a third of the pods on the plants ATM

 
My first pull of Tomatillos. I had to cut them back somewhat because they were overhanging the edges of the tomato cages by quite a bit and shading the Urfa Bibers, and this is what was on the branches I cut

 
Cherokee Purple 'maters are starting to ripen up

 
and as promised, some pics of heat-loving veggies I started with seed from Bigoledude
 
Vegetable Amaranth... this stuff grows well in the heat of summer when lettuce bolts and spinach fries. Once established, it grows quickly and puts out leaves the size of your palm. A short row of these will keep a family in tender greens through midsummer until it cools down enough to plant lettuce again.

 
Yard long pole beans... also sometimes called Asparagus beans. Also heat-loving. I had Mexican Bean Beetles in my pole beans last year and I thought I might try these to see if they were different enough from the Cranberry beans to put the beetles off their feed.

 
I planted the Asparagus Beans among the French Filet Beans in the same block of the square foot garden.
 
Have a great Sunday all!

 

[GnomeGrown]

Looking good, Stickman
 

 

[HabaneroHead]

Hi Rick,
 
Nice harvest, my friend! 15 Almapaprika? Wow, I am impressed
Regarding your question on the Coloring Pepper, 12 cm is a good size, but they can grow bigger...especially for you. You created a pepper heaven over there! They are ripening quite late to be honest. I'd say, there is still 3-4 weeks for the first ripe pods. But who knows. I am not sure what you are feeding them with, but if I were you, I would dig a hole in that ground, because you could surely find some kryptonite!
 
Balázs

 

[Jamison]

Good job Sticky! Things are going bonkers around there eh!

 

[stickman]

Hi Rick,
 
Nice harvest, my friend! 15 Almapaprika? Wow, I am impressed
Regarding your question on the Coloring Pepper, 12 cm is a good size, but they can grow bigger...especially for you. You created a pepper heaven over there! They are ripening quite late to be honest. I'd say, there is still 3-4 weeks for the first ripe pods. But who knows. I am not sure what you are feeding them with, but if I were you, I would dig a hole in that ground, because you could surely find some kryptonite!
 
Balázs

Thanks Balázs, it's good to know what to expect... I appreciate the input! I don't think I did anything you didn't except for starting a little earlier and using the solar mulch. Cheers!

Good job Sticky! Things are going bonkers around there eh!

Thanks Jamison, you bet! How's the move going... have you set any of your chiles in down in TN?

Looking good, Stickman
 

Thanks Gnome. How are things in your neck of the woods? Are you growing any chiles where you are?

 

[stc3248]

Nice Pull Rick! My Manzanos look like bell peppers...or green apples. They are much larger than the ones I grew out last year. If yours are the smaller ones maybe they'll color up a bit quicker! I think I grew them out of the same seed lot which I pulled from huge pods I bought though...We shall see I suppose! I can't wait for them to ripen up!!! So glad you've got pod action from yours already...that's a great sign! Those almapaprikas look cool! What do they taste like?

 

[Devv]

The pulls are starting!
 
Let us know how they taste!

 

[stickman]

Nice Pull Rick! My Manzanos look like bell peppers...or green apples. They are much larger than the ones I grew out last year. If yours are the smaller ones maybe they'll color up a bit quicker! I think I grew them out of the same seed lot which I pulled from huge pods I bought though...We shall see I suppose! I can't wait for them to ripen up!!! So glad you've got pod action from yours already...that's a great sign! Those almapaprikas look cool! What do they taste like?

Thanks Shane, I appreciate the input! It's not easy waiting, but we all have to for anything worth having , eh?
 
This is a pretty good overview of the Almapaprika...
http://www.smartgardener.com/plants/1609-peppers-alma-paprika/guide/overview
the only thing I would disagree with is the degree of heat in the pods. At the point where I picked them for pickling, they have a nice, mild pepper flavor and heat... say about 100 scovilles. As they ripen up they get sweeter and have a more fruity pepper flavor and the capsaicin ramps up to between 500 and 1,000 scovilles... still pretty mild, but a good producer of pickling and stuffing peppers that grow quickly and produce well. The flesh of the peppers is thick and crunchy, like a Bell pepper. The 15 peppers in the pull were a bit less than a third of the total pods on 2 plants, but the only ones of harvest-able size.

The pulls are starting!
 
Let us know how they taste!

Hi Scott... see above...

 

[stickman]

Good morning all, and time once again for the report of the Dawn Patrol...
 
After cooling off to comfortable levels last week, the heat is back. Temps. in the 90's predicted for all of this week. The chiles, of course, are loving it. The well-established plants you've already seen, but the Yellow Bhut is racing to catch up

 
A small pull this morning... Top left are Criolla Sella. Top right are Omnicolors. Bottom row are from left to right... Krimzon Lee Paprika, Gochu, not Ancho Mulato and a Hungarian Tomato pepper with a bit of sunscald.

 
Made my first batch of Salsa Verde this weekend with homegrown Tomatillos, Jalapenos, scallions and Cilantro. I love summer!

 
Have a good week all!

 

[Hammerfall]

Wow  everything looks good

 

[stickman]

Thanks David! Any luck with the Sepia Serpent seeds?

 

[MGOLD86]

Looking great Rick, I can always count on you to bring in the variety needed to balance out the super-domintated GLogs.  Maybe I will take a cue out of your book next go around and see what I can do with some non-supers!

 

[Stefan_W]

Looking good Rick! Do you always take your almas off when they are still yellow? I wait until mine are red, but I always have troubles with assorted bugs setting up shop and turning the peppers into a cozy home. 

 

[stickman]

Looking great Rick, I can always count on you to bring in the variety needed to balance out the super-domintated GLogs.  Maybe I will take a cue out of your book next go around and see what I can do with some non-supers!

Thanks Matt... Sure... supers have their place, but why not also grow what tastes good, and is more welcome with the people in your life who aren't pepperheads...

Looking good Rick! Do you always take your almas off when they are still yellow? I wait until mine are red, but I always have troubles with assorted bugs setting up shop and turning the peppers into a cozy home. 

Hi Stefan, it depends on what I want to use them for. If I want to use them fresh I let them ripen, but for pickled peppers I pick them yellow so they stay firmer in the jar. The pods I picked this weekend all fit into a quart jar when I pickled them tonight.

 
I'll probably pickle another couple of quarts and let the rest of the Almapaprika fully ripen. Cheers!

 

[Sawyer]

Those pickles look great.  What spices are in that jar?  Bay, allspice?, what else?  Do you process or just hot-pack?  Now I'm hungry... off to find a snack.

 

[MisterNo]

Congrats Rick, already making Salsa
I presume you're maiing an uncooked version of Salsa Verde?
 
Your green Tomatillos are ripe already?
 
Have to go check mine out, I have also few green peppers that I could use for salsa

 

[stickman]

Those pickles look great.  What spices are in that jar?  Bay, allspice?, what else?  Do you process or just hot-pack?  Now I'm hungry... off to find a snack.

Hi Buzz,
   I got the recipe from Habanerohead, it's the one his Mom uses to cold-process her pickled peppers. The brine is boiled, then allowed to cool before pouring over the peppers and spices packed in the jar. A small amount of Pickle Crisp (CaCl2) is added, and Potassium Metabisulfate to preserve them since boiling hot brine wasn't used. The spices are bay leaf, allspice berries, black peppercorns and coriander seeds.

Congrats Rick, already making Salsa
I presume you're maiing an uncooked version of Salsa Verde?
 
Your green Tomatillos are ripe already?
 
Have to go check mine out, I have also few green peppers that I could use for salsa

Hi Robert!
   No, I simmered the Tomatillos first, then chopped the Onions, Jalapenos and Cilantro and pulsed them in a food processor with lime juice, olive oil, salt and a little sugar since some of the Tomatillos weren't quite ripe. I made it with the largest fruits on the branches I trimmed last weekend. In Mexico they roast the tomatillos on a grill or toast them in a comal to soften them before making salsa verde.