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!

 

[Stefan_W]

Looking good! Did your lemondrops have a bit of a purple-ish streak as they were about to change colour? A few of mine have developed this and I'm not sure if it is the full sun, the drop in overnight temps, or the start of the ripening process.

 

[Sanarda]

You have such an awesome variety growing in your garden.  I said I was going to do veggies this year and never got around to planting any.  Kicking myself.  Beautiful pod pics and I like the look of the not Jamaican Hot Chocolate.  Did it have any sweetness to it or was it like a veggie or green tasting pod?

 

[stickman]

Looking good! Did your lemondrops have a bit of a purple-ish streak as they were about to change colour? A few of mine have developed this and I'm not sure if it is the full sun, the drop in overnight temps, or the start of the ripening process.

Hi Stefan,
   Actually, it was my Omnicolors... The ones in full sun got a purple suntan before they started to change to orange and then red. I think the purple signals the start of antho-cyanin pigment production. From the point when the purple appears I think it takes a week or two to fully ripen, depending on the weather, so I think you're almost there! We have a farmstand nearby that sells the Aji Lemon pods they grow, and theirs aren't ready yet either. I think mine are because of the early start... I sowed the seeds back in January.

You have such an awesome variety growing in your garden.  I said I was going to do veggies this year and never got around to planting any.  Kicking myself.  Beautiful pod pics and I like the look of the not Jamaican Hot Chocolate.  Did it have any sweetness to it or was it like a veggie or green tasting pod?

Hi Pia,
   Thanks for stopping by. Your knees were bothering you this season, so it was probably just as well that you didn't have the additional stress of dealing with veggies on top of the peppers. Get to where you feel up to it first... there's always next year. That said, I've had a veggie garden all of my adult life. It's theraputic spending time there after a rough day at work, and it saves a lot of money in groceries. Definitely time well spent!
   The pointed red "Not" wasn't bitter or green-tasting, but not particularly sweet either. Maybe that was because I picked it just as it turned red. I'll let the next one stay on the plant a few days before picking it and see if that makes a difference. Thanks for the observation!

 

[Devv]

It's hard not to pick as soon as they turn, you're like it's ripe! Bam picked, I need to learn to do the same.
 
You're so right, therapeutic. It's also cool watching them grow knowing you had a part in it..

 

[stc3248]

Nice description of that red pod....sounds like a keeper! Nice pull to boot!

 

[WalkGood]

Rick, nice looking and tasty looking Kielbasa with sofrito starter, great job mon! Great picture of today’s pull, is that cucumber to the left of the peppers?

I really enjoyed reading the mini review of the red hab, good choice of words and description painted a good picture in my head. Keep up da great work brethren & have a great week!

 

[stickman]

Nice description of that red pod....sounds like a keeper! Nice pull to boot!

Thanks Shane... my pulls will never be as big as yours but I appreciate the good vibe!

Rick, nice looking and tasty looking Kielbasa with sofrito starter, great job mon! Great picture of today’s pull, is that cucumber to the left of the peppers?

I really enjoyed reading the mini review of the red hab, good choice of words and description painted a good picture in my head. Keep up da great work brethren & have a great week!

Hi Ramon,
   The dark green one is the pickling cuke. The light green veggies are Ho Bak squash from Korea. I sliced, battered and fried them for supper last night with a cold summer salad made with Quinoa, Goatmilk Feta cheese, good Olive oil, Lemon juice and other veggies from the garden. I love this time of year!
 
Things have gotten really busy lately... between work and chores at home there's not as much time to cruise the board at THP. There's not too much that's new to report anyway... Just that more of the Douglahs are starting to color up

 
And so is the Cheiro Recife.

 
Have a great week all!

 

[WalkGood]

Go Douglahs \o/

 

[MGOLD86]

Congrats on the Dougie! I got one or two that is puttin on some color, it is such a great feeling seeing them badboys do their thing!

 

[PeriPeri]

Hey Rick... Hope you have rented the Michigan Stadium to store them pods in... might just be big enough for you lol

 

[stickman]

Go Douglahs \o/

Thanks bro'... s'what I'm thinkin' right now in fact!
 

Congrats on the Dougie! I got one or two that is puttin on some color, it is such a great feeling seeing them badboys do their thing!

'At's right Matt! Go... go...go...go...

Hey Rick... Hope you have rented the Michigan Stadium to store them pods in... might just be big enough for you lol

Thanks for the kind words Lourens, but I think you must have me mixed up with Shane or Jeff (spicy chicken)...   Still, I hope I get all I can handle, and maybe a little more .

Made an afternoon project of making a cheapjack light box today. I was surprised at how easy and cheap it was since we already had the tools on hand... utility knife, straightedge/ruler and a roll of packing tape. All it took for materials was a cardboard box of the right size, white posterboard and some white tissue paper of the kind used to wrap presents. http://www.wikihow.com/Create-an-Inexpensive-Photography-Lightbox
 
Test pic of a Chimayo' chile

 
While I was at it, I decided to do the review of the Chilhuacle Negro chile.

 
Cut in half and found mold in the tip... yuk!

 
Saved the seeds to dry, cut away the bad part of the pod and tried a piece of what was left. First taste impression was dark, earthy and somewhat bitter. Not sweet at all. It reminds me a bit of the taste of Tobacco. I can see why the Mexicans use it in combination with tomatoes and other chiles in Mole' sauces to give them a fuller flavor. It also reminds me of the taste of fresh Chilaca chiles before they're dried to make Pasillas (and Pasillas paired up with Tomatoes are a wonderful match-up!). I think the Chilhuacle Negro would benefit from drying in the same way as the Pasillas, so I'll do that with the rest of the pod. Heat was quite mild... just a little tip of the tongue burn, quickly over... maybe 500 Schovilles. Certainly not more than that.
   Cheers all!

 

[WalkGood]

Rick nice job on the lightbox, lots of light is your friend and white balance correction to the white paper or cloth (mines cloth) helps a lot too. Love the pics and Chilhuacle Negro Chile review. Hopefully we'll start a new trend doing this so others can discusses their taste opinions when they grow the same thing or even decide to grow or not based on your impressions. That is one of the reasons I started doing them ...
 
Have a great week mon!

 

[stickman]

Rick nice job on the lightbox, lots of light is your friend and white balance correction to the white paper or cloth (mines cloth) helps a lot too. Love the pics and Chilhuacle Negro Chile review. Hopefully we'll start a new trend doing this so others can discusses their taste opinions when they grow the same thing or even decide to grow or not based on your impressions. That is one of the reasons I started doing them ...
 
Have a great week mon!

 
Thanks for the feedback bro'... that's what I was thinking too. There were so many chiles out there that it was hard to figure out where to begin when I was starting out, and flavor matters to me, though not always what's conventionally accepted or desirable...

 

 

[Devv]

I grew some Pasilla's, our impression was they tasted like grass..LOL So what's the best use?
 
It's shame when you grow a pepper all season and it's not what you want, but that's why we grow the different varieties, so we can sort them out. Thanks for the review!
 
I've had quite a few smaller Orange Habs get that mold at the bottom of the pepper, I've been putting them in the compost bin...as you say yuk!
 
Light box pics look great, I was going to try one this weekend for kicks. Do you add a light source to the outsides?

 

[stickman]

I grew some Pasilla's, our impression was they tasted like grass..LOL So what's the best use?
 
It's shame when you grow a pepper all season and it's not what you want, but that's why we grow the different varieties, so we can sort them out. Thanks for the review!
 
I've had quite a few smaller Orange Habs get that mold at the bottom of the pepper, I've been putting them in the compost bin...as you say yuk!
 
Light box pics look great, I was going to try one this weekend for kicks. Do you add a light source to the outsides?

Last year I powdered my Pasillas and put it into my chili powder blend with Chimayo's, Anchos and Anaheims plus garlic powder and ground toasted cumin to taste. No salt.
 
I used a droplight with 32watt 6500k CFL on either side... the same lights I used to provide spot lighting for my seedlings. For more general area lighting for my seedlings I use a 4 foot 2-tube shop light. Why buy more stuff when what you have on hand does the trick?

 

[WalkGood]

A light source on the right and left work best to eliminate shadows and if you want them shoot with one. Sometimes I even use a light source on top which helps light up the capsaicin oil in cut pods. Good luck with your box ^_^

 

[stickman]

A light source on the right and left work best to eliminate shadows and if you want them shoot with one. Sometimes I even use a light source on top which helps light up the capsaicin oil in cut pods. Good luck with your box ^_^

Thanks Ramon. Here's a few practice shots I took with my pull last night.
 
Gochu Peppers

 
Ja Hot Chocolate cross?

 
Hungarian Coloring pepper

 
Criolla Sella

 
Peruvian Purple

 
The Sanyo camera I'm using allows me to adjust for color brightness by using a "vivid" setting, and overall light levels with the ISO setting, but won't let me manually adjust the white balance... that's done automatically by the camera's basic programming. How would you say it looks overall?
 
edit: I didn't know until I posted the pics that I had gotten the side of the lightbox in the pic... It displays larger on my computer screen and the edges of the pic are off-screen... Guess I'll have to crop and resize as needed.

 

[stc3248]

Matt got me started on the light box thing too! Hahaha....I used a pop up laundry hamper with a sheer drape wrapped around it...working like a champ! Keep them pics rolling in brotha!

 

[stickman]

Matt got me started on the light box thing too! Hahaha....I used a pop up laundry hamper with a sheer drape wrapped around it...working like a champ! Keep them pics rolling in brotha!

Will do!

 

[Scarecrw]

Nice shots. Now we need some cut in half and a few in black and white.