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Stickman's 2014 Glog- That's all folks!

Hi All,
   I've got Manzanos sprouted and my Bhuts, Lotah Bih and Donne Sali seeds planted so it looks like time to leave 2103 behind and begin to concentrate on 2014. Last year I started some of my late-season varieties right after New Year's Day, but our season was too short to bring the pods to full ripeness so this year I started 2-3 weeks earlier.
 
Manzano seedlings...
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Fruts and Bhuts ;) ...
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There are many more varieties yet to plant in the proper turn, and I have 4 overwintered pepper plants from 2013 that I'll report on later. Have a great weekend all!
 
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Very observant Jeff. I've only watered mine once since potting them in early Dec. and that was last week. I go by the weight.
 
Annie,
 
Will do with the sunflowers, sounds like it can really help.
 
ronniedeb said:
Hey Stickman did you get my PM with the seed list?
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Sorry Ronan... it's been so busy the last few days that I haven't been able to take a good look at it yet. I will tonight after the Chili Cookoff.
Speaking of which... Rick's Turkey-Three Bean Chili.
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It's a fairly mild chili, but it's full-flavored and there's a lot of pepper love in there... Anchos, Pasillas, Anaheims and Hungarian Sweet Paprika that I grew, plus a couple of fresh Jalapenos and some "Chile Meco" Chipotles, ground Turkey, red and green Bell Peppers, Garlic, White Onion, Cumin, Tomato sauce, fire-roasted tomatoes, Chicken stock, a little white wine, Black Beans, Red Kidney Beans and Pinto Beans.
 
Thanks for the good vibe on the chili folks, but oh well... of the 80 to 100 ballots cast I got 8 votes. I don't mind though, I think most of the folks there knew each other and voted for their friends' chilis. If I pulled 8 votes away from them I did pretty good for an outsider. I'll definitely be making this chili recipe again! It had layers of flavors to it, and while it was fairly mild, it warmed everyone who ate it to the toes. There was a good Zydeco band playing too, and I got some dancing in with my wife... we had good time. :dance:

Devv said:
How cold is it down there?
 
As far north as you are it has to be tough to keep them warm without going broke...
 
Congrats on the new Piri-piri!
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It fluctuates a bit Scott, but in general it's in the teens and twenties during the day and drops down to the single digits above and below zero at night. 
wxStationGraphAll_zpsae9e6c3d.gif


annie57 said:
Looking good, Rick!!!
 
 
Try sunflowers, Scott or short ones, but with lots of seedhead, big. I ordered a ton of ole timey gonzo sunflowers for g-hopper thugs, and cornworm. Birds knock seed out of head. Birds go to ground. Hoping for cowbirds since they're big, we have a lot of them, and non-discriminatory about bug food. And they're quick. Obviously what you're doing keeping brush/grass cut will help but on a year when the "thugs" go at it, my grandmother told me about sunflowers--reason she planted them in garden. Just a thought. Low flying stupid turkey's in garden . . . uh . . . lol
 
 
 
 
Tip on those Tabs: they are the last of mine to fully mature but if take off some of yellow, just a few, a bit at time as soon as have pods, just a esp. from bottom, some reason makes them ripen faster on each plant. And total sun. Tabs want full sun. One year I planted about 6 in far eastern end of garden and faster growing plants shaded them as day went on. Hardly any ripened and none approached the 4' height or more usually get. Lesson learned. I don't think they care about elbow room but they do want to be the tallest thing growing in the vicinity to ripen.
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My wife likes growing mixed sunflowers to look at and for feeding the birds, but we only seem to attract Goldfinches and Chickadees. I guess there aren't any Turkeys nearby. We haven't had any problems with Grasshoppers, but we had a large outbreak of Asiatic Garden Beetles that were skeletonizing the Sunflower leaves at night until I put on my headlamp and found out what was doing it. I weeded around the bottoms of the plants they were feeding on and found 50-60 beetles per square foot. I crushed every one I saw, and that seemed to take care of it. Next time I'll spray with spinosad at dusk when the pollinators go home to bed. The spray will oxidize by morning and be safe.
 
My garden plot is definitely in full sun, so that part of the Tabasco equation is good, but if I don't get mine to germ soon there won't be a long enough season to get ripe pods. I need the room on the heat mat for other things, so if I don't see hooks by the end of the week I'll let them go until next year. I already have 3 varieties of Fruts going so it's no hardship.

maximumcapsicum said:
Shame about the OW stress. They look like they still have a ton of energy though. I bet they'll bounce back. What kind of air temps are you dealing with?
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At last check, the temperature in my basement was 48 degrees. Money is too tight to put a heater next to the plants, so they'll either make it or they won't. I might lose the Yellow 7 and Butch T by spring, but I'm confident that the Manzano and Douglah will survive. Inshallah...

Jeff H said:
Rick, how wet are those o/w plants? Every time you photo them the soil looks wet. Maybe that is what is hurting the yellow 7. 
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I don't think so Jeff... I was giving them only a little more than a cup of water every week and they were getting pretty crispy-looking around the edges. The Yellow 7 seemed to be the most affected... it dropped all its leaves and new growth and died back quite a bit. Some of the damage might have been caused by the aphid infestation it had on it earlier, but I nuked the little bastiges with pyrethrin and only the the Yellow 7 didn't bounce back. Now I'm adding a quart of water every week and they all look much happier.
 
Rick, am going to send you some of my Tab seeds this fall--there's a window of opportunity in ripeness that some miss--just because it's red, not ripe enough for viable seed; and if you've heard of Ram's Horn, might send you few plants.(Like you need more pepper plants?) A 6P ground-ready--well, to be hardened off. CCN has them now because I sent them plants in an exchange few years ago. Seed came over with the Waldensees who founded "Valdisease" . . . but seriously, a plant that will cross easily with a hotter annuum or chinense or . . .  because the flowers are huge. I have a Waldensian buddy in Valdese (who has original seed stock) from h.s. who got degree in Hort from NCSU and one entire greenhouse he devotes to Ram's Horn. He's got "X-IT" (the mild that CCN adverts), "Hot" and "Damn Hell Hot;" the last two, he crossed and stabilized with Cayenne and Red Bhut. I'm trying a 6P X-IT with yellow bhut, Scott's Funky Reaper, this year, some others with Thai Red and Goat's Weed. And isolating some others for seed of the mild so if any folks here want to cross it . . . I mean, if ya just plant it straight-up next to anything hotter, it'll cross by itself.
 
Do you mean Japanese Beetles? Haven't seen them around in few years. But planning on planting Emerite pole beans with Kandy Corn (and sunflowers)--since getting more garden space, just watch. Minute I plant beans, got Japanese Beetles, hovering in wait, watching from space station. (They're up there, really.)
 
PM me if you'd like some RH. Peace!
 
Penny said:
Rick....that chili looks AMAZING!!! Thanks for the recipe too ;)
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If you want it, here is the actual recipe...
 

Rick’s Turkey-Three Bean Chili

[SIZE=12pt]2 pounds ground Turkey[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]1 large White Onion, diced[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]1 Green Bell Pepper, diced[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]1 Red Bell Pepper, diced[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]2 Jalapeno Peppers, diced[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]2 cloves Garlic, crushed in a tsp of salt[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]½ tsp ground Black Pepper[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Homemade chili powder (see note)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]1 Tbsp Cumin[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]2 Tbsp Sweet Paprika[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]14 oz can of Rotel diced Tomatoes with Green Chiles[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]15 oz can of fire-roasted Tomatoes[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]3 fifteen oz cans of Tomato sauce[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]15 oz can of Black Beans, rinsed and drained[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]15 oz can of Red Kidney Beans, rinsed and drained[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]15 oz can of Pinto Beans, rinsed and drained[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]¼ cup white wine[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]1 cup chicken stock[/SIZE]
 
[SIZE=12pt]Toppings:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]crackers[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]shredded cheddar cheese[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]green onion[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]sour cream[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Directions:[/SIZE]
 
  1. [SIZE=12pt]Add salt, black pepper, garlic to ground Turkey with onions and red/green peppers in large, heavy bottomed pot. Cook until the Turkey is browned.[/SIZE]
  2. [SIZE=12pt]Add the balance of the ingredients, cover and simmer for 90 minutes or more.[/SIZE]
  3. [SIZE=12pt]Serve with toppings.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Homemade Chili Powder:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Place 1 dried "Chile Meco" chipotle pepper, 4 dried Chimayo chiles, 2 California chiles (ripe, dried Anaheims), 2 dried Pasilla chiles and 2 dried Ancho chiles on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated 250 degree oven for 8 minutes. Take out and cool when done. Remove stems and seeds from the chiles and grind to powder.,[/SIZE]
 
[SIZE=12pt]Makes 2 gallons.[/SIZE]
 
I used the white wine/chicken stock to deglaze the Dutch oven I browned the meat in after transferring it to a large stock pot... then I put the deglazing liquid into the stock pot too.  You can use beef hamburger/beef stock/red wine instead of ground turkey/chicken stock/white wine if you'd rather... just drain any excess fat after browning the meat. If you prefer to cook your own beans rather than use canned... just substitute 3 cups of drained, rinsed, cooked beans of your choice.

annie57 said:
Rick, am going to send you some of my Tab seeds this fall--there's a window of opportunity in ripeness that some miss--just because it's red, not ripe enough for viable seed; and if you've heard of Ram's Horn, might send you few plants.(Like you need more pepper plants?) A 6P ground-ready--well, to be hardened off. CCN has them now because I sent them plants in an exchange few years ago. Seed came over with the Waldensees who founded "Valdisease" . . . but seriously, a plant that will cross easily with a hotter annuum or chinense or . . .  because the flowers are huge. I have a Waldensian buddy in Valdese (who has original seed stock) from h.s. who got degree in Hort from NCSU and one entire greenhouse he devotes to Ram's Horn. He's got "X-IT" (the mild that CCN adverts), "Hot" and "Damn Hell Hot;" the last two, he crossed and stabilized with Cayenne and Red Bhut. I'm trying a 6P X-IT with yellow bhut, Scott's Funky Reaper, this year, some others with Thai Red and Goat's Weed. And isolating some others for seed of the mild so if any folks here want to cross it . . . I mean, if ya just plant it straight-up next to anything hotter, it'll cross by itself.
 
Do you mean Japanese Beetles? Haven't seen them around in few years. But planning on planting Emerite pole beans with Kandy Corn (and sunflowers)--since getting more garden space, just watch. Minute I plant beans, got Japanese Beetles, hovering in wait, watching from space station. (They're up there, really.)
 
PM me if you'd like some RH. Peace!
Click to expand...
 
I'd be interested in Ram's Horn chiles to compare to the Gochus I'm growing now. Might be an interesting cross right there... :think:
 
Asiatic Garden Beetles aren't Japanese Beetles, but are somewhat closely related. They're about 3/4 the size of the Japanese Beetles and cinnamon brown. They burrow down just below the soil surface during the day and emerge at night to feed.
http://www.maine.gov/dacf/php/gotpests/bugs/Asiaticgardenbeetle.htm
 
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