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...

 
Fruts and Bhuts ...

 
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!

 

[Penny]

Holy $shite....that's why my lips were burning after my eggs!!! Thankfully I just put a pinch and Brad's was less then a pinch ....not really knowing how hot it was ....each time I cook with it, I hope to increase my "pinch"....maybe
 
Thank you again.

 

[maximumcapsicum]

Hi Miz Penny,
I hope you liked the taste... a two-finger pinch on my breakfast eggs is just about the right dose for me... the powder was made from most of the Chinense chiles I grew in 2013 and some Criolla Sella pods as well. There were Chocolate Habs, Maya Red Habs, Orange Habs, Yellow Bhut crosses, Cheiro Recife, Trinidad Perfume, Douglahs, Scotch Bonnet crosses and Butch T... With the exception of the Cheiro Recife, all smoked for 2 hours at between 56 and 93 degrees C with Cherry wood on a charcoal fire, then dried and ground.


I am hoping to do some smoking next year... Is there a good way to do it with a gas grill?

 

[stickman]

Holy $shite....that's why my lips were burning after my eggs!!! Thankfully I just put a pinch and Brad's was less then a pinch ....not really knowing how hot it was ....each time I cook with it, I hope to increase my "pinch"....maybe
 
Thank you again.

Glad you liked it Penny... if you keep up with it, you'll be amazed at how much your tolerance will increase. You'll know you're thoroughly assimilated when you take a bite of something labeled as spicy and say to yourself, "Not enough...". lol!

I am hoping to do some smoking next year... Is there a good way to do it with a gas grill?

 
Sure Adam... in fact, it's easier with a gas grill since you can control the heat levels better. Either get a cast iron smoker box to fill with presoaked wood chips, or make your own by wrapping them up in aluminum foil, rolling and flattening the edges to seal them and make a sort of pouch, and poking a few holes in the pouch on one side with a sharpened pencil. Then put the pouch or smoker box directly on top of the burner farthest from the chiles you're smoking. Close the lid to hold in the smoke and you're good to go.

 

[PaulG]

Hey, Rick, good advice.  
 
Max - you could also google 'cold smoking'; a very simple 
method to smoke stuff if you don't have a smoker or don't
want to make a big production.  You could do it in your gas
grill.  Just takes a tin can, a soldering iron, and some hard-
wood stove pellets.
 
Okay control of Rick's glog returned to creator.

 

[stickman]

Hey, Rick, good advice.  
 
Max - you could also google 'cold smoking'; a very simple 
method to smoke stuff if you don't have a smoker or don't
want to make a big production.  You could do it in your gas
grill.  Just takes a tin can, a soldering iron, and some hard-
wood stove pellets.
 
Okay control of Rick's glog returned to creator.

Not a problem Paul... we're all here to help, eh? If you did go Paul's route Adam, you could also use the air pump for making AACT teas to fertilize your plants with... just sayin'...

 

[maximumcapsicum]

Looks like I will definitely be smoking some pods this summer. Just have to grow them first...
 

Glad you liked it Penny... if you keep up with it, you'll be amazed at how much your tolerance will increase. You'll know you're thoroughly assimilated when you take a bite of something labeled as spicy and say to yourself, "Not enough...". lol!

 
Sure Adam... in fact, it's easier with a gas grill since you can control the heat levels better. Either get a cast iron smoker box to fill with presoaked wood chips, or make your own by wrapping them up in aluminum foil, rolling and flattening the edges to seal them and make a sort of pouch, and poking a few holes in the pouch on one side with a sharpened pencil. Then put the pouch or smoker box directly on top of the burner farthest from the chiles you're smoking. Close the lid to hold in the smoke and you're good to go.

 
How long do you normally let them go? Sounds like it would be a good morning project for the community grill here. Do you put the pods directly on the grate?
 

Hey, Rick, good advice.  
 
Max - you could also google 'cold smoking'; a very simple 
method to smoke stuff if you don't have a smoker or don't
want to make a big production.  You could do it in your gas
grill.  Just takes a tin can, a soldering iron, and some hard-
wood stove pellets.
 
Okay control of Rick's glog returned to creator.

 
Will investigate as well! Maybe I should pick up some pods from the grocery store and go ahead and experiment a little. I've already eaten through my 2013 reserves.
 

Not a problem Paul... we're all here to help, eh? If you did go Paul's route Adam, you could also use the air pump for making AACT teas to fertilize your plants with... just sayin'...

 
Sadly apartment living forbids composting, at least until I get one that can operate on my balcony. Rather, I draw on the community garden compost. I do need to read up on the AACT tea though.
 
Thanks for all the advice guys! THP is a wonderful community.

 

[Devv]

I would put foil down so they don't pick up any color.
 
I have an old electric smoker I bought to smoke sausage, I use just enough heat to make smoke, trying t keep it at 125° or below.

 

[stickman]

Looks like I will definitely be smoking some pods this summer. Just have to grow them first...
 
I'd say you have your marching orders... carry on...
 
How long do you normally let them go? Sounds like it would be a good morning project for the community grill here. Do you put the pods directly on the grate?
 
It doesn't take long Adam... just an hour or two, depending on how much taste of the woodsmoke you want.
 
Will investigate as well! Maybe I should pick up some pods from the grocery store and go ahead and experiment a little. I've already eaten through my 2013 reserves.
 
Why not? I use more chiles than I have room to grow too... no shame in that.
 
Sadly apartment living forbids composting, at least until I get one that can operate on my balcony. Rather, I draw on the community garden compost. I do need to read up on the AACT tea though.
 
Nothing wrong with drawing from the community garden compost... it's as good as anybody else's 
 
Thanks for all the advice guys! THP is a wonderful community.
 
Agreed! 

I would put foil down so they don't pick up any color.
 
I have an old electric smoker I bought to smoke sausage, I use just enough heat to make smoke, trying t keep it at 125° or below.

 
Interesting... I put foil down on the grates too, but in my case it's because I want to cook the pods as little as possible when I smoke them so they don't get all soft and flabby.

 

[Sawyer]

Still looking good here, Rick.  All this talk of smoking has me wondering, is it effective to smoke dried pods?
 

If you liked the "Farmer Fred" tips on attracting beneficial insects, you might like this one about germinating Peppers... http://farmerfredrant.blogspot.com/2012/03/pepper-seeds-wont-germinate-some-tips.html

There are some good tips in that link.  I think the most important point is to keep the temperature right at 82ºF (for jolokias).  If you can't maintain the correct constant temperature, then ramping up and down through the sweet spot is better than a constant, non-optimum temperature.  It's better to be right twice a day than not at all.
 
I found this link interesting, too:  http://howtosaveseeds.com/table.php
 
According to the link, according to the USDA, 30 feet is all the separation needed for isolating peppers.  Of course, they are talking about saving one's own seed and not producing certified seed, but still, that is encouraging.  I plan to grow in 2014 at least 10 of (almost) every variety I saved seed from this year, as a test of self- vs. cross-pollination.

 

[stickman]

Still looking good here, Rick.  All this talk of smoking has me wondering, is it effective to smoke dried pods?
 
There are some good tips in that link.  I think the most important point is to keep the temperature right at 82ºF (for jolokias).  If you can't maintain the correct constant temperature, then ramping up and down through the sweet spot is better than a constant, non-optimum temperature.  It's better to be right twice a day than not at all.
 
I found this link interesting, too:  http://howtosaveseeds.com/table.php
 
According to the link, according to the USDA, 30 feet is all the separation needed for isolating peppers.  Of course, they are talking about saving one's own seed and not producing certified seed, but still, that is encouraging.  I plan to grow in 2014 at least 10 of (almost) every variety I saved seed from this year, as a test of self- vs. cross-pollination.

 
I'd say it's probably effective to cold-smoke dried pods, but I wouldn't hot-smoke them since without the water in the pepper flesh as a buffer you'd run the risk of burning them.
 
Thanks for finding those links... the web is a great resource, but there's so much stuff to wade through that narrowing your search to where you only have to read a few pages instead of hundreds is an art. Good luck with your isolation distance experiment... I'll definitely keep an eye on it to find out how it goes for you.
 
My first superhot seedling is up! It's one of Lourens' King Naga Jalokias  His review of its flavor and heat did a good job of selling me on planting them, so here we are.

 
Have a great Tuesday all!

 

[maximumcapsicum]

 
 
My first superhot seedling is up! 

 
Alright! Looks like a winner! What was the total time between germination and hook? Looked like something around a week?

 

[Penny]

Awww...looks great!

 

[stickman]

 
Alright! Looks like a winner! What was the total time between germination and hook? Looked like something around a week?

 
10 days between sowing in seed-starting mix and upright seedling... Maybe not a record, but jolly quick for a superhot! I didn't do anything special either... no presoaking with peroxide, seaweed extract or saltpeter, and no coffee filter germination before sowing in soil. I had a lot of helmet-head last season because I didn't plant the seeds deep enough after breaking dormancy in the coffee filters. This time around I'm just sowing directly in soil and resisting the urge to poke at them to see how they're doing.

Awww...looks great!

 

[maximumcapsicum]

 
!0 days between sowing in seed-starting mix and upright seedling... Maybe not a record, but jolly quick for a superhot! I didn't do anything special either... no presoaking with peroxide, seaweed extract or saltpeter, and no coffee filter germination before sowing in soil. I had a lot of helmet-head last season because I didn't plant the seeds deep enough after breaking dormancy in the coffee filters. This time around I'm just sowing directly in soil and resisting the urge to poke at them to see how they're doing.

 
Very interesting. So getting it deep enough is the key to avoiding the helmets? I had a bunch of helmets last year... didn't actually know there was anything wrong with it at the time, but yeah a bunch of those seedlings never grew. I got spinach helmets too, off topic.

 

[HabaneroHead]

 
Thanks Balázs! Are you starting any seeds now for next year?/

 

Hi Rick,
 
Well, it depends on the package I am waiting from you and Conor (Saugapepper) :-)
It is weird that it hasn't arrived yet...you posted it on the 5th of December...almost two weeks ago. I wasn't at home for two days (this week), so I am curious to see if they are waiting for me in my mailbox... (we will find it out this evening).
I am planning to start my seeds at the end of January.
 
Balázs

 

[stickman]

 
Very interesting. So getting it deep enough is the key to avoiding the helmets? I had a bunch of helmets last year... didn't actually know there was anything wrong with it at the time, but yeah a bunch of those seedlings never grew. I got spinach helmets too, off topic.

I'd put money on it because it makes sense... the radicle pops out of the seed coat and begins growing downwards to root the plant and provide the anchor point for the seedling to pull itself out of the seed coat. The other half of the equation is that the seed coat must be firmly held by the soil so the seedling doesn't just carry it along for the ride when it straightens out after hooking. There are things you can do to soften the seed coat, like soaking in saltpeter, weakening the seed coat by scarifying or clipping the edges, or providing a little jolt to the seedling by way of soaking in seaweed extract or giving it some Gibberelic Acid to make it more energetic but those are kind of esoteric and not usually needed as long as the seeds are viable. Especially the last. But if you have some old seed you really want to sprout, it might be necessary.

Hi Rick,
 
Well, it depends on the package I am waiting from you and Conor (Saugapepper) :-)
It is weird that it hasn't arrived yet...you posted it on the 5th of December...almost two weeks ago. I wasn't at home for two days (this week), so I am curious to see if they are waiting for me in my mailbox... (we will find it out this evening).
I am planning to start my seeds at the end of January.
 
Balázs

I'm hoping it gets through OK for you Balázs... let me know when/if it gets there, would you? Your growing season is pretty much as long as mine, so you might want to think about starting your superhots right after the holidays... some of them have a 120 day season to maturity and they'll need all the time you can give them. Cheers!

 

[HabaneroHead]

Hi Rick,

The package has finally arrived! :-)
Thank you, my friend!
I did not have to open the envelope to smell the Kitchen Sink Powder, it has an amazing smell, I love it :-)
I made some 'körözött' (cottage cheese with onion, dill, butter, sour cream and a pinch of paprika powder), spread 3 slices of bread with it, and sprinkled one of them with your powder.
Well...how to say...that is a real kick-ass powder. I finished eating it 30 mins ago, and my lips are still in flames. (I do not need plastic surgery for them to look bigger :-)))
It is delicious! And that scent...OMG...I love it!
Thank you again, I could not wish anything better for Christmas!

Christmas present


Balázs

 

[Devv]

I love it, proud papa.... It's just great when they pop out of the dirt isn't it?
 
Those plants are going to be huge come dirt day!
 
Good on ya for taking care of Balázs with the seeds and powder too!

 

[stickman]

Hi Rick,

The package has finally arrived! :-)
Thank you, my friend!
I did not have to open the envelope to smell the Kitchen Sink Powder, it has an amazing smell, I love it :-)
I made some 'körözött' (cottage cheese with onion, dill, butter, sour cream and a pinch of paprika powder), spread 3 slices of bread with it, and sprinkled one of them with your powder.
Well...how to say...that is a real kick-ass powder. I finished eating it 30 mins ago, and my lips are still in flames. (I do not need plastic surgery for them to look bigger :-)))
It is delicious! And that scent...OMG...I love it!
Thank you again, I could not wish anything better for Christmas!

Balázs

Excellent! I'm glad the envelope got through to you in good shape and you liked the powder my friend! I'm looking forward to seeing your grow in 2014... and hope you have smoother sailing than you did in 2013.

I love it, proud papa.... It's just great when they pop out of the dirt isn't it?
 
Those plants are going to be huge come dirt day!
 
Good on ya for taking care of Balázs with the seeds and powder too!

S'right brah... now I hope the rest of the "Bhuts n' Fruts" put in their appearance...   Only 2 more weeks and I'll be starting round 2 by sowing the rest of the Chinense varieties, Ajis, Kurtovska Kapijas, and Yellow Onions. Round 3 will be the rest of the Annuums sometime in mid-February.
 
Balázs really went the extra mile for me finding lots of great Hungarian pepper seeds for me to try... I had to return the favor as best as I could.

 

[Trippa]

And hes off and racing .... again/still??  Nice one Rick ... love your enthusiasm brother! ... best of luck with the 2014 season ... looks like you are off to a flyer!! .. Merry Christmas to you and Yours as well!!