Stickman's 2013 Glog - Time To Pull The Plug on 2013

Jeff H · Oct 31, 2013

Nice update Rick and congrats on teh score from Shane.

stickman said:
I'll have to go through some boxes to see if I still have the magnifying glass I used when I was still collecting coins 40-odd years ago. I never threw it out, and if I recall correctly, it was about 40x. Think that's enough magnification when looking for mites?

I felt a chill go down my spine when you typed Monzano and mites in the same paragraph. Mine have been mite magnets this year. Don't know why but they would get mite infested before any other plant would and stay mite infested longer. Drove me nuts this year. Probably why I had such bad and late production with them.

stickman · Oct 31, 2013

Devv said:
Nice score Rick!

Jeff H said:
Nice update Rick and congrats on teh score from Shane.

I felt a chill go down my spine when you typed Monzano and mites in the same paragraph. Mine have been mite magnets this year. Don't know why but they would get mite infested before any other plant would and stay mite infested longer. Drove me nuts this year. Probably why I had such bad and late production with them.

Thanks guys, and even more thanks to Shane! I shared a few of the wilds this morning with an ex-pat Texan who runs a lunch counter here, and he said it reminded him of home. Apparently his folks had quite a few growing wild on their property.

No sign of the little devils yet Jeff... I'll have to keep an eye on the plants to make sure they don't make an appearance. Thanks to Greg for the heads-up!

annie57 · Oct 31, 2013

Great that you OW'ed some, Rick! I agree on small nagas (mine were; prolific but small). Don't know why. Didn't save seed from previous and wish had. Guess I'll go King or Monster and just see 2014.

Nice score from Shane!! :dance:

And score on the Reflectix! I wish they sold in 4' x 100' rolls that were remotely affordable. I could make the grow area look like inside of a space shuttle.

Fun Halloween story too! Happy "handing" those kids homemade granola bars and the adults 100% organic powders :rolleyes:

. You grew the garlic, right? At least if they roll your trees it will be with "green" toilet paper. My grandmother called that . . . "leaves."

Happy Halloween!

stc3248 · Oct 31, 2013

The Pequin's are in with the Charapitas...The Goat's Weeds and Birgits are almost identical in shape and size. The calyx is different...more of a cup on the Birgits with more prominent "teeth" any darkening on the pods at all indicates a positive GW id...but not all will have that. The GWs are firmer and a much deeper red...I don't honestly remember if I threw any in there or not, but I thought I did???

Glad it made it!!! Sample with care brother. Those Brains and Primos are no freakin joke!!!

Bootsieb · Oct 31, 2013

So, what chilies do you like best now? How about Douglah powder, did you make any?

stickman · Nov 1, 2013

Bootsieb said:
So, what chilies do you like best now? How about Douglah powder, did you make any?

Hey, Bootsie's in the house! Thanks for stopping by mate! I still like the same chiles, I'll be growing the Koreans and Mexicans again, but I've also added Hungarians, Cheiro Recife, Yellow 7s and Douglahs to next year's list. I'm intrigued by the MoA Scotch Bonnet, Bhut Orange Copenhagen and the King Naga Jalokia that Lourens (PeriPeri) grew last season, so I'll be adding them too.

I can't say I really liked the taste of the Douglah by itself... the earthy, woody notes in the flavor are too strong for that, but it makes a great addition to powder blends and sauces. I smoked mine with cherry wood and used some in my "kitchen sink" powder blend and made a killer sauce with the rest that had a tomato/carrot/onion/garlic base, and I added more layers of flavor by adding blueberries, maple syrup and a touch of coconut milk... sort of a New England meets the Caribbean kind of thing. If you're interested, drop me a pm and I'll get some out to you. Cheers!

annie57 said:
Great that you OW'ed some, Rick! I agree on small nagas (mine were; prolific but small). Don't know why. Didn't save seed from previous and wish had. Guess I'll go King or Monster and just see 2014.

Nice score from Shane!!

And score on the Reflectix! I wish they sold in 4' x 100' rolls that were remotely affordable. I could make the grow area look like inside of a space shuttle.

Fun Halloween story too! Happy "handing" those kids homemade granola bars and the adults 100% organic powders . You grew the garlic, right? At least if they roll your trees it will be with "green" toilet paper. My grandmother called that . . . "leaves."

Happy Halloween!

Thanks for the good vibes Miz Annie... hope you also had a great Halloween!

S'right... Shane's an incredibly generous guy, but I think I'm onto his dark secret... he's got so many projects going at home and at work that it would be impossible for just one person to keep up on them all... I suspect he's secretly triplets...

It's too bad the reflectix is so expensive, it's a lot more durable than the alternative (mylar faced styrene board) if you want to combine insulation with reflective capability in a cold basement. Think you'll be doing any OW projects this winter?

stc3248 said:
The Pequin's are in with the Charapitas...The Goat's Weeds and Birgits are almost identical in shape and size. The calyx is different...more of a cup on the Birgits with more prominent "teeth" any darkening on the pods at all indicates a positive GW id...but not all will have that. The GWs are firmer and a much deeper red...I don't honestly remember if I threw any in there or not, but I thought I did???

Glad it made it!!! Sample with care brother. Those Brains and Primos are no freakin joke!!!

Good to know Shane, and thanks again! I had the Mystery Yellow pod chopped into an egg n' cheese breakfast sandwich yesterday after sampling a matchstick-sized sliver. Pretty good bite, but not quite as flavorful as the Yellow 7s... it had a strong taste of Chinense with a hint of chemicals... not sweet, but not really bitter either. Thanks for the heads-up on the Brains and Primo Crosses... I'll be sampling them this weekend.

WalkGood · Nov 1, 2013

Rick great score from Shane and hats off to him! Shane you are Mr. Generosity \o_

annie57 · Nov 1, 2013

Yes, Rick. Am "over-wintering." "Over the winter" I will put seeds in 6 packs in medium, on heat mats and then, if and when they pop, under lights . . . Only thing I fear about OWing is what might lurk in soil, waiting, as "rough beast slouching toward Bethlehem to be born" but be less of issue if had old house in A-ville--HUGE sliding glass doors facing south. Lots of sun. Easily overwinter there and separate from seedlings, but don't have that here. Wish did, but don't. Right now, just considering clean-up, which won't take long, and trying to :rofl:

scale back. :rolleyes:

stickman · Nov 2, 2013

annie57 said:
Yes, Rick. Am "over-wintering." "Over the winter" I will put seeds in 6 packs in medium, on heat mats and then, if and when they pop, under lights . . . Only thing I fear about OWing is what might lurk in soil, waiting, as "rough beast slouching toward Bethlehem to be born" but be less of issue if had old house in A-ville--HUGE sliding glass doors facing south. Lots of sun. Easily overwinter there and separate from seedlings, but don't have that here. Wish did, but don't. Right now, just considering clean-up, which won't take long, and trying to scale back.

Good luck with your "OW" project Miz Annie. If you're using fresh soil-less potting mix I would think you'd avoid introducing pests, but as Greg observed... "Trust but verify"... and get yourself a 40x magnifying glass to periodically inspect. Good luck scaling back too... That's a hard one for me as well. I'm not going to plant any Koreans next year, but only because I have enough Gochus stockpiled that I don't need to. That'll open up some space in the garden to try new things without having to skimp elsewhere.

It's a good thing you warned me to go easy on the Primos and Brains Shane... I had an egg n' cheese breakfast sandwich with a quarter of a Primo pod this morning, and it was close to being about as much as I could handle! Half would have been "pushing the envelope" for sure. The Primos seem like another pepper that would taste best in food or sauces... they're about as hot as a Butch T, but I think the BT tastes a bit better.

Brought the ferment up from the cellar after 47 days... I have some yard chores to do first, then I'm gonna process it up this afternoon.

Have a great weekend all!

Devv · Nov 2, 2013

Looks like a pretty ferment Rick.

Hows the weather your way? Supposed to be 43° in the morning, then warm up again...gonna bring the seedlings in tonight.

Enjoy your weekend!

stickman · Nov 2, 2013

Devv said:
Looks like a pretty ferment Rick.

Hows the weather your way? Supposed to be 43° in the morning, then warm up again...gonna bring the seedlings in tonight.

Enjoy your weekend!

Hi Scott, Today was beautiful! Highs in the mid-70s, sunny and calm. Tomorrow will be the ball-buster... High of 41 degrees and overnight low of 19 degrees if the NOAA is right. I'm glad we got our outdoor chores done today.

Made up the fermented sauce this afternoon. The original ferment had carrot, onion, garlic, ginger and chiles in it, and I supplemented with additional fresh Carrot, Fresh Ginger, Soy sauce, Oyster sauce, Sesame oil and brown sugar. It came out just the way I wanted... like the sauce in a Korean dish made with pan-fried squid and vegetables called Ojingo Bokkum, and I bottled the finished sauce in Grolsch beer bottles.

I find it's cheaper to buy a 4-pack of Grolsch beer than it is to buy the equivalent volume in swing-top bottles... I call that a win-win situation... :beer:

Devv · Nov 2, 2013

Win-win for sure!

stickman · Nov 4, 2013

OK, here's week 2 with the OW plants. I gave them a bottle this weekend, and the next will be in 2 weeks.

Butch T.

Douglah

Manzano

Yellow 7.. this one didn't get a bottle of water because it's still drying out. Probably in 2 weeks though.

Last night's low temp. was 19 degrees, and it's still 65 degrees down in the cellar.

Have a great week all!

ronniedeb · Nov 4, 2013

Good idea with the Grolsch bottles. Do they seal and store well? Do you need to process the bottles in a canner or anything? How do you find the Airpots? I'm thinking of getting a few of these or else the fabric pots for next year.

stickman · Nov 4, 2013

ronniedeb said:
Good idea with the Grolsch bottles. Do they seal and store well? Do you need to process the bottles in a canner or anything? How do you find the Airpots? I'm thinking of getting a few of these or else the fabric pots for next year.

Oh yeah... They work great! The seals eventually dry out and crack, but you can get replacements from an Italian company called Bormioli Rocco. I have a local source of canning and freezing supplies that carries them, or I can get 50 replacement seals for $9 plus shipping through the mail. As for using them... I just wash and sanitize them like I would for home brewed beer and pour the sauce in and seal while still hot. Never pour hot sauce into cold glass bottles though... they could shatter, so I just warm them up in the oven beforehand. They're still cool enough to handle without gloves, but won't crack because of too rapid expansion.

Airpots are made in Scotland of recycled milk jugs. Here's their website... http://www.airpotgarden.com/ I'm sure you could contact them by Email to see if you have a local source of supply, or you could order from them direct.

Hope that helps!

ronniedeb · Nov 4, 2013

Oh, I have a local supplier for the Airpots, I was just wondering what you thought of them. Have you noticed any difference between them and regular pots. Have you used fabric pots?

stickman · Nov 4, 2013

ronniedeb said:
Oh, I have a local supplier for the Airpots, I was just wondering what you thought of them. Have you noticed any difference between them and regular pots. Have you used fabric pots?

Yeah, I've used both... I have some plants in fabric "Dirt Pots", and they seem to work about the same as the airpots. The chief difference I think is that the fabric will eventually wear out due to the stitching thread rotting in the sun, and the plant roots actually grow into the fabric before being air pruned. Up-potting is a little more difficult because of that... you have to take the back of a hacksaw blade or something similar, and cut the roots all around the inside of the fabric before peeling down the sides, and then cutting the root ball free from the bottom of the fabric so you don't mess it up. With airpots you just unpin and peel away the sides. With proper care they should last your lifetime too. I think they're worth the extra money.

ronniedeb · Nov 4, 2013

stickman said:
Yeah, I've used both... I have some plants in fabric "Dirt Pots", and they seem to work about the same as the airpots. The chief difference I think is that the fabric will eventually wear out due to the stitching thread rotting in the sun, and the plant roots actually grow into the fabric before being air pruned. Up-potting is a little more difficult because of that... you have to take the back of a hacksaw blade or something similar, and cut the roots all around the inside of the fabric before peeling down the sides, and then cutting the root ball free from the bottom of the fabric so you don't mess it up. With airpots you just unpin and peel away the sides. With proper care they should last your lifetime too. I think they're worth the extra money.

Great. Thanks for the advice!

Devv · Nov 4, 2013

Hmmm, I didn't like what you just posted about the grow bags.

Seems like I'll have my work cut out this spring...oh well..poop happens..

MisterNo · Nov 5, 2013

stickman said:
Yeah, I've used both... I have some plants in fabric "Dirt Pots", and they seem to work about the same as the airpots. The chief difference I think is that the fabric will eventually wear out due to the stitching thread rotting in the sun, and the plant roots actually grow into the fabric before being air pruned. Up-potting is a little more difficult because of that... you have to take the back of a hacksaw blade or something similar, and cut the roots all around the inside of the fabric before peeling down the sides, and then cutting the root ball free from the bottom of the fabric so you don't mess it up. With airpots you just unpin and peel away the sides. With proper care they should last your lifetime too. I think they're worth the extra money.

Good to know Rick!

I'll try to get some air pots just to try out this year.
My home made geotex pots have proved to be good - plants just loved them, but they can't last long. They were air pruning smoothly, roots didn't grow into the fabric, except in the bottom. Problem is resolved if you moved them on a some kind of grid so that they have air underneath.

The material is thin, and stretches a lot, so they can last only season or two max. If you move plants a lot during the season, they wear out before the season ends. But they are really cheap to make, under a dollar for a 5 gallon pot