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]

 
Rick, very nice read and interpretation of the JA SB MoA pod. When you grow some you’ll note what I mean when I say you can smell them from far across the yard. That smell might be more inherent of the plants flowering & full of pods and not one picked pod as I have not noticed it then. I read that Greg (PIC 1) and Steve (STEVE954) noted similar sweet pungent aroma in their grow.
 
Although once the pod is cut open I do sense an intense rich aroma that tantalizes my senses. I agree with you in that they are not fruity but more gingery citrus like in savor with a hint of smoky flavor. When I said fruity in my review I tried to clarify it by saying “towards the citrus side of fruit.” But in retrospect I shouldn’t have even used that word, regardless I stand by my review. If anyone wants to read it, Click Here.
 
I’m glad you enjoyed the pod, now I can’t wait to see it in your next years grow

No argument here Ramon, it's all subjective anyway... Muchisimas Gracias Muchacho! I was really looking forward to sampling that pod.

Ume boshi is very different to ume shu. ume boshi is pickled with red shizo (very unique flavoured leaf that looks like a nettle) so its sour. shu just means booze basically and Ume is a type of plum.

Ume shu has alot of sugar in it. its easy to make as far as its Ume fruit, candy sugar and spirits or sake of your choice.
im not huge on ume shu because it is SO sweet. so i upped the fruit and downed the sugar ration and thought the fruity burn of a ghost scorpion would add to it well. first taste was awesome, we will see how it is after its steeped for 4 months. 

im sure chilli vodka can be pretty awful, because there is little complexity other than heat from pods and heat from booze too. i have faith that its gonna be pretty good on those winter nights

Yeah, I know about Ume-boshi... I grow a type of shiso from Korea that they call Kkaennip. It's definitely got that mint family look with the square stems and spearpoint shaped, serrated leaves. The leaves are kinda fuzzy though, and are medium green on top and reddish purple underneath. They have a cinnamon-basil aroma and flavor. The Koreans use them pickled whole (Kkaennip kimchi) or wrapped around picnic foods at cookouts (Ssam). Cheers!
 
Made a nice little pull this morning...

 
First Vesena pod... very small and thin-fleshed, but it has the striations.

 
All the Jalapenos are corked up nice

 
Top row l to r Cheiro Recife, 3 rows of Serrano Tampiqueno, Hungarian Tomato pepper, Maya Red Hab and corked Jals.

 
Kurtovska Kapias

 
A couple of Thai Eggplants

 
Some ugly but delicious Cherokee Purple Tomatoes

 
Have a great day all!

 

[meatfreak]

Nice harvest pics, Rick. I love this time of year, harvests are coming in and you start to get shorthanded because you can't process everything at once Is that a pickle next to the Thai eggplant?

 

[Devv]

Nice harvest, those maters will eat just fine! I have a few varieties cat face here too.
 
Here's to harvest time!

 

[stickman]

Nice harvest pics, Rick. I love this time of year, harvests are coming in and you start to get shorthanded because you can't process everything at once Is that a pickle next to the Thai eggplant?

You bet Stefan! Yup, that's a pickling Cucumber.

Nice harvest, those maters will eat just fine! I have a few varieties cat face here too.
 
Here's to harvest time!

Cat face, eh? Never heard that one before, but you're right... they still eat good!

Did a quick tour after supper to see if any more of the Chinense chiles had "declared themselves", and found that I'm gonna have way more chocolate colored pods than I thought.
 
The first Douglah pod is nearly ripe... just one more day should do it, but I think I'll wait 'til Friday to pull it to give it a chance to fully ripen... I want viable seeds from this pod!

 
The recently reclassified Jamaican Hot Chocolate is coloring up well.

 
but now it appears the plant I thought was going to be my Yellow 7 in an airpot is gonna have chocolate colored pods instead

 
This one was supposed to be the in-ground Hot Chocolate, and it's looking true to form.

 
The Yellow 7 is working on its next ripe pod

 
And the rest are undeclared yet as far as color is concerned.
 
Butch T.

 
Scotch Bonnet

 
There's also a couple of Magnum Orange Hab plants that haven't ripened yet, and of course the Yellow Bhut(?) I posted a pic of a page or two back. The parentage is suspect Shane thinks, because the pods have rounded tips instead of being pointed, but still have the bumpy, lobed wedge shape of the Bhuts... We'll see...

 

[Devv]

Well it look like you pulled it off there my friend!
 
Everything is going to color up and hit the plate..
 
Great job! Those Butch T's are showing some gnarly tails too!
 
Got some coco milk and it's canning as I typo....I made a 33% batch, dang your gonna be in the sauce for quite a while! But that's cool as it's fantastic!

 

[JoynersHotPeppers]

Looking good up there in the north, raining like no other down here today! I have only watered twice ALL year...one crazy season so far.

 

[Spicegeist]

Butch T's have a perfect shape to them...

 

[Pinoy83]

wow your plants is goin so well my old friend...

 

[stickman]

Well it look like you pulled it off there my friend!
 
Everything is going to color up and hit the plate..
 
Great job! Those Butch T's are showing some gnarly tails too!
 
Got some coco milk and it's canning as I typo....I made a 33% batch, dang your gonna be in the sauce for quite a while! But that's cool as it's fantastic!

Good on ya Scott! How many quarts of sauce did you end up with? However many, I'm sure it won't last as long as you think it will now...

Looking good up there in the north, raining like no other down here today! I have only watered twice ALL year...one crazy season so far.

Hi Chris,
   Dang, it has been a crazy year for you hasn't it? I hope your plants are yielding well now.

wow your plants is goin so well my old friend...

Jericson! Glad to have you stop by man! Kudos on completing your course on pastry... it'd be cool to have you around for a bit if your schedule allows it. Cheers!
I sampled one of the Cheiro Recife pods after supper tonight... The one I cut open was only about a half inch by a quarter inch in size. It had thin flesh and only about a dozen seeds (which I saved). The aroma was pretty typical of most chinense pods, which I think of as kind of a ginger-citrus smell gone slightly wrong, but with some floral notes as well. The pod was so small I ate the whole thing. The flesh was crunchy and juicy, and the flavor was fruity and tangy, followed by moderate heat (about like a Jalapeno) that lasted around 5 minutes. I could see using these in sauces and powders. They don't have a lot of seeds inside and those are easily removed, so I think they'd be great for jams and jellies too.

 

[Trippa]

Looking great Rick .... My advice with the douglah pods if you are wanting to save seeds ... When you think they might be ripe wait some more ... My pods went much darker then that (your one almost looks blushed with red which I hope is just the fickleness of light and colour being deceptive and not some cross of mine?). Different climates and medium though so it may well be just genetics ...
But I know I didn't wait long enough for my pods to be dead ripe with the douglah the first few pods I got ... You may well be right with your assumption of Friday though. Just from looking at it though it could be a little under ...

 

[romy6]

 Sticky Ricky. Your garden is really starting to rev up!!!! From the looks of   some of those plants you're gonna being filling that table full in no time. Gonna have to buy a bigger freezer or cases of mason jars to process all dem pods. Powders and sauces look super tasty. Can't wait to see more. Love the ristas especially. 

 

[MGOLD86]

Nice Douglah!  That baby looks perfect!

 

[stickman]

Looking great Rick .... My advice with the douglah pods if you are wanting to save seeds ... When you think they might be ripe wait some more ... My pods went much darker then that (your one almost looks blushed with red which I hope is just the fickleness of light and colour being deceptive and not some cross of mine?). Different climates and medium though so it may well be just genetics ...
But I know I didn't wait long enough for my pods to be dead ripe with the douglah the first few pods I got ... You may well be right with your assumption of Friday though. Just from looking at it though it could be a little under ...

Hi Trippa,
   It looks like it'll still be a few more days for the Dougie to fully ripen... I still see some green in the folds on the bottom of the pod, but it'll be worth waiting! The camera I have seems to make color pictures brighter automatically. I have to try to correct them as best I can without a "Photoshop" program.

 Sticky Ricky. Your garden is really starting to rev up!!!! From the looks of   some of those plants you're gonna being filling that table full in no time. Gonna have to buy a bigger freezer or cases of mason jars to process all dem pods. Powders and sauces look super tasty. Can't wait to see more. Love the ristas especially. 

Hey, Jamie's in the house! Glad to see ya back from your recent trip... hope you and the family had a marvelous time.
 
Thanks for the good vibe... I'm pretty much doing the same thing I did last year with the Koreans and Mexican chiles. Lots more Chinense pods this year though. I'll use a few fresh for things like Jerk Chicken during the BBQ season, but I'll be drying, powdering and making sauces with the rest. I'll be sending a little sumpin' down your way when I get enough together to make some sauce...

Nice Douglah!  That baby looks perfect!

Thanks Matt... cue Tom Petty... "The waiting is the hardest part..."  
Picked my first JA Hot Chocolate Hab today, and it looks like there'll be lots more coming along shortly...

 
Cheers all!

 

[stickman]

Good morning all...
   I tried one of Ramon's JA Red Habs with my egg and cheese breakfast sandwich this morning and got an impression of fruity sweetness before the capsaicin kicked in. Moderate burn for a Hab... How many days to maturity Ramon? If it's on par with the Maya Red Hab, I may just grow yours instead!
 
Here's the morning's Chinense haul... Cheiro Recife and Chocolate Hab pods

 
I also got a couple dozen Gochu pods that I strung up on the middle ristra

 
I've got a tray of Chimayo' pods in the dehydrator

 
and another one of Sweet Hungarian Paprika pods that I saved the seeds from.

 
Each one of the paprika pods had between 30 and 50 seeds, so I'll have lots to share if anyone's interested. Have a great Thursday all!

 

[PIC 1]

Nice Ristra's...Are you planning on sun drying those ?

 

[FreeportBum]

Ristra's are very cool Rick. Could you describe the flavor of the gochu pepper? Thanks

 

[stickman]

Nice Ristra's...Are you planning on sun drying those ?

Sorry Greg, no... it's too humid here, and when I tried last year I lost about 30% to mold. I hang them to fully ripen this way because there's good air circulation around the peppers. I actually dry them in a dehydrator.

Ristra's are very cool Rick. Could you describe the flavor of the gochu pepper? Thanks

Hi Devan,
   They're definitely a Cayenne-type with a very sweet, fruity taste and a moderate burn... a bit less than a Jalapeno. They make an excellent aromatic powder though, and that's mostly why I grow them. I've been a kimchi-head for a lot of years now, and this variety makes the best gochugaru (hot pepper powder in Korean) for use in kimchi and the red pepper paste called gochujang.

 

[FreeportBum]

Thanks Rick they sound great. Going on the grow list for next year.

 

[stickman]

Thanks Rick they sound great. Going on the grow list for next year.

Cool! I got my seeds here... http://www.evergreenseeds.com/hotpephybkor.html
 
but you could use these too... I grew these last year... http://www.peppergal.com/product/HP83%20pepper
 
Cheers!
 
Ramon, it took me 3 oz of cheddar and a dozen saltines, but I ate the Trinidad Scorpion pod you sent today. I took out the seeds but ate the rest, placenta and all. Very strong and unpleasant aroma and flavor. It reminded me of the smell of strong chemicals for about 3 seconds before the heat kicked in, then it was mostly bitterness and the burn. Lots of heat for about 7 or 8 minutes in the mouth generally, but plateaued for about a minute after that and faded quickly into a lingering low-level burn that lasted for another 15 minutes or so.
   I'll definitely  be taking a pass on growing these. IMO the heat isn't worth going through the flavor for. Thanks for sharing though, so I could find out first-hand. Cheers!

 

[stickman]

Sampled my first Yellow 7 pod this morning...

I was surprised at how thick the flesh on this pod was... scraped away the beginnings of mold on the placenta to keep it as intact as possible and cut the pod into matchstick-sized pieces and ate one with placenta attatched... Nice fruity smell... not as harsh as the red Trinidad Scorpion I tried yesterday. Taste was very smooth, with overtones of peach and tangerine for about 5 seconds before the capsaicin hit.  About 30 seconds after eating the piece, hiccups started... 25 or 30. The heat continued to build for about 5 minutes, needling my tongue and the back of my throat and changing the flavor to the classic Chinense "off citrus" taste. Plateaued for about a minute, and faded to a mild burn that lasted about half an hour. This is going to be a great pepper for powders and sauces, and I'll be planting this one again!
 
Bagged up the Chimayo' pods I dried yesterday, and ground the Sweet Paprika.

The aroma and flavor of this powder are so much more intense when it's fresh... extremely aromatic and rich. If you like Paprika, it's worth growing them just for that! I only had room for 2 plants this year, but I hope to get a quart of powder from them before the end of the season.
 
TGIF and have a great weekend all!