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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!
 
maximumcapsicum said:
Plants look flawless Rick. I love how neat your garden plot is. How many pods do you normally get out of a poblano plant? Annuums are always a bit touchy for me... I left the first couple pods on too long and really reduced the overall yield. Pulling a couple rounds of unripe pods really makes 'em produce for me.
 
My MoA's have been dropping about half their buds too. Also just realized they were a little thirsty today. May hit them with some epsom salt and fish juice tomorrow to see if I can perk 'em up, but I hate to do that after fruits set.
 
Thanks guys. :)
 
Poblanos can really pump out the pods if conditions are right and the plants are happy Adam... I had a minor disaster in 2012 with mine. I hadn't staked either of my 2 plants at first, and they were really loaded with pods, which made them top-heavy. We got a thunderstorm with strong winds that snapped one of the plants off flush with the ground. I staked the remaining plant, but 3 or 4 weeks later we got a freak wind squall that broke off about half of its limbs. I guess the moral is to stake the plants well, and don't allow too many pods to grow on any branches that aren't well-supported.
 
It's been a couple of weeks since I fertilized my potted MoAs... guess it's time to give them another shot of diluted fish emulsion and molasses.
 
More garden pics...
 
Thai Prik Chee Faa beginning to bud out
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Anaheim's doing alright
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Chintexle doing the same... the hairy stems remind me of the Goat's Weed and Serranos... I wonder if they're related?
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Speaking of Serranos... they're starting to pod up
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Szegedi Paprika getting bigger
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Almapaprika too... the largest pods are about the size of a quarter. This is the standard variety
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A sweet Almapaprika variant, the Pritamin pepper
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... and a spicier variety of the Almapaprika... "Nagykuti"
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... and a "non" shot to end up with... my Tomatillo Verde started to blossom today.
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That's all for now folks... have a great Tuesday night!
 
stc3248 said:
:)
 
 
Devv said:
I see more and more pods!
 
Keep up the good work Rick!
 
:)
 
HabaneroHead said:
Hi Rick,

If I would be a pepper, I would like to grow in your garden :-)
Amazing pepper pics, I am glad to see how well the Hungarian varieties are doing for you.

Balázs
 
Thanks Balázs! I'm planning on pickling the whole crop of Almapaprikas this season, and will use the Pritamins for fresh use and salsas. How would you use the pointed hot varieties? Do you roast and peel them like Anaheims and Poblanos?
 
 
maximumcapsicum said:
Those  almapaprikas look killer Rick!
 
Have you ever tried them before Adam? They're crunchy and sweet with mild heat. I pickled a quart of them last season and brought out the jar at Thanksgiving... The jar was gone in an hour or so. :drooling:
 
The Chimayo' chiles are looking kinda spindly, but they're setting some big pods, so I set some tomato cages around all 4 of them to provide some support.
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Cascabel is beginning to put out blossoms and side branching too.
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The rest of the pics are "nons" but show how well things are growing now.
 
Korean Hobak Squash
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Pickling Cukes
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Eggplants are putting out side branching... I didn't see the Potato Beetle when I took the pic, but I'm gonna go back out and look for him now, you bet!
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Tomatoes are all at least a foot tall, and one of the Costolutos is almost 2 feet tall.
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Beets
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... and Strawberries
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Have a great "Hump Day" evening!
 
I would have to agree with maxcap. This is the best time of day for me. When I get home from work I go straight to the garden, shower, food, and then kick back and relax on THP. Anyway. The chiles are looking good. Tomatoes too. Heck your whole garden is looking great. Next year I will be growing more food. And more chiles of course. Thanks for sharing.
 
Look at those monsters already, nice firm stems on the maters. Great job! Mmm why the heck didn't I grow the Serrano again this season, now I regret this decision. Really liked it last season and it produced even better then the Jalapeno.
 
maximumcapsicum said:
Nons are looking good too Rick. It's crazy how long I can stare at tomato and pepper plants.
 
I'm with ya there Adam... ;)

Never had an alms paprika fresh, just had a variety of powders. I've really been scouring the annuums with my eyes lately. Still putting together plans for the chinenses.
 Annuums and Ajis are workhorse chiles up here in the north... we can grow the Chinense and Frutascens varieties if we're willing to spend the time and money, but it's just easier and cheaper to make adjustments to our grow lists after taking into account our latitude...
 
The pickled Almapaprikas have a very nice flavor... if you're up for it, maybe we can swap a quart jar of pickled peppers for a couple woozies of hot sauce when we're both harvesting.
 
 
OCD Chilehead said:
I would have to agree with maxcap. This is the best time of day for me. When I get home from work I go straight to the garden, shower, food, and then kick back and relax on THP. Anyway. The chiles are looking good. Tomatoes too. Heck your whole garden is looking great. Next year I will be growing more food. And more chiles of course. Thanks for sharing.
 
Cheers Chuck!
 
 
PIC 1 said:
Rick you have some of the best looking plants here !
 
The tomato plants are growing sturdy also...if the Costolutos are the same as the Genevese then you'll be happy with the outcome. Very heavy producers through October.
 
Thanks for the good vibe and the heads-up Greg! This year I'm trying a lot of new varieties along with the mainstays, and I have my eye on the King Naga, MoAs,  Pequins and Hungarians in particular.
 
Lots of tomatoes from the Costolutos is what I'm hoping for... I've heard they're best for cooked sauces and salsas, and that's what I have planned for them, with a "Dagma's Perfection" yellow slicing tomato, a couple "Sacharnaya Sliwa Krasnaya" Russian plums and Italian "Datterini" cherry tomatos for variety and fresh use.
 
 
meatfreak said:
Look at those monsters already, nice firm stems on the maters. Great job!
 
Thanks Stefan!
 
Mmm why the heck didn't I grow the Serrano again this season, now I regret this decision. Really liked it last season and it produced even better then the Jalapeno.
 
That would be my assessment too... I like the Jalapenos for poppers and whatnot, but I get twice the harvest from the Serranos and I use them in curries, salsas and Peach/Serrano jam. :drooling:
 
We got 2cm (.75 inches) or rain the last couple of days before the sun came out this afternoon. It's supposed to be sunny and hot through the weekend, so I'm expecting a big growth spurt next week... :dance:
 
stickman said:
 
Thanks Balázs! I'm planning on pickling the whole crop of Almapaprikas this season, and will use the Pritamins for fresh use and salsas. How would you use the pointed hot varieties? Do you roast and peel them like Anaheims and Poblanos?
 
 Hi Rick,
 
That is a good idea with the Alma and Pritamins! We eat the pointed hot (if you mean the Rapires variety) type fresh, in sandwiches etc. If you mean the red pointed hot, what is from my father, that is a thai-type pepper, so looks totally different. He used to pick those semi-ripe (still green having some brownish-reddish stains on them) and he used to  pickle them. (or scratched them into the soup) The reason for pickling them greenish is that the flesh of the pepper becomes thin when it is ripening, but with this method you can get crunchy pickle. They also good for powder.
 
Balázs
 
Rick,
 
Glad to see the continued progress!
 
I use tomatoes as an indicator, and by the looks of yours, you're very close to a garden explosion.
 
So what should I do with the Sweet Paprika's? I want to use them properly.
 
Have a great weekend!
 
maximumcapsicum said:
Of course! Settlin' in on a couple sauce recipes now. Still pretty new at it, and going to keep things basic. Hope everything is growin' nice!
 
Thanks Adam... yer on with the trade... I'll be able to get my end done sometime in July the way the Almapaprika are growing and flowering.
 
Everything's continuing to grow, though not as fast as I'd like. It seems the Old Farmer's Almanac has been right so far about the overall weather trends this spring being cooler than normal. June they predict as average, and July through October being a bit warmer than normal... August quite a bit warmer. I hope they're right. I'm thinking I'll need it to get ripe pods from the Chinense and most of the Fruts.
 
HabaneroHead said:
 Hi Rick,
 
That is a good idea with the Alma and Pritamins! We eat the pointed hot (if you mean the Rapires variety) type fresh, in sandwiches etc. If you mean the red pointed hot, what is from my father, that is a thai-type pepper, so looks totally different. He used to pick those semi-ripe (still green having some brownish-reddish stains on them) and he used to  pickle them. (or scratched them into the soup) The reason for pickling them greenish is that the flesh of the pepper becomes thin when it is ripening, but with this method you can get crunchy pickle. They also good for powder.
 
Balázs
 
Yeah, I meant the Rapires variety, and a similar variety a friend brought back seeds for from Bratislava. Good to know that the flesh is thicker and crunchier when pickling green. I'll probably use them in Italian sausage, pepper and onion sandwiches too. :drooling:
 
Devv said:
Rick,
 
Glad to see the continued progress!
 
I use tomatoes as an indicator, and by the looks of yours, you're very close to a garden explosion.
 
So what should I do with the Sweet Paprika's? I want to use them properly.
 
Have a great weekend!
 
Thanks Scott, from your mouth to God's ear, eh?
 
I dry the Sweet Paprika pods whole, then seed, stem and grind them as needed to preserve the sweet, earthy flavor as much as possible. Here in the north, I have to use a dehydrator since the humidity is too great and the sun isn't as energetic that late in the season. You might have better luck drying them outside in the sun like you would with Anchos or Pasillas. You aught to ask Balázs as our native guide and the source of the seeds. :)
 
PeriPeri said:
Nice progress Rick :dance:
 
Thanks Lourens! Still waiting for things to warm up a bit more, but I'm satisfied with progress so far. The King Naga is covered with flower buds but so far none of the flowers are sticking. The Piri Piri continues to put on a few more pods every 4 days or so, but I'm sure will pick up the pace in a bit.
 
The MoAs are also putting out lots of blossoms that don't stick yet. Today's Dawn Patrol shows that Smokemaster's Pequins are beginning to blossom
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Takanotsume as well...
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The Sang Cho has finally started to kick into higher gear... it forked on Wednesday and forked again last night.
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Chimayo' pods growing fairly quickly
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and Jalapenos too
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That's all for this morning... lots to do around the place today. I'll try to get caught up on the glogs tonight. Cheers all!
 
Things are looking good Rick. The MoA's will start sticking soon, but I should note generally only one or two pods seem to set per node. I think alot of the blossoms pollinate then drop.
 
Is that dew from dawn or a foliar feed?
 
Lovin' the annuums. I am having so much more luck this season than I did last season, all because of THP. Going to be pullin' Jalapenos soon. 
 
The Takanotsume is particularly groovy.
 
Happy growin!
 
maximumcapsicum said:
Things are looking good Rick. The MoA's will start sticking soon, but I should note generally only one or two pods seem to set per node. I think alot of the blossoms pollinate then drop.
 
Is that dew from dawn or a foliar feed?
 
Lovin' the annuums. I am having so much more luck this season than I did last season, all because of THP. Going to be pullin' Jalapenos soon. 
 
The Takanotsume is particularly groovy.
 
Happy growin!
 
Thanks guys! :)
 
Yup... it was morning dew Adam. I don't foliar feed beyond the first few weeks.
 
Instead of carping at the way the Bhuts and Chinense peppers are languishing, I finally did something about it... I took the fabric row cover off the Annuums in the big garden and moved it to the raised bed out back this morning.
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It seems to be working, as the min/max thermometer shows...
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Thinking of warmth, I got an Island groove going today, so I got out a jar of Yellow-7 puree and made some Jerk rub.
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Chicken marinating
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Also made some Jamaican slaw with a little bit of mango and pineapple and some rice and peas as sides.
 
Hope everybody's having a great weekend!
 
Supper tonight came out excellent!
 
Jerk Chicken on the grill for the final glaze of melted butter, fresh-squeezed lime juice, brown sugar and a pinch ground allspice.
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The finished product
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Jamaican slaw with cabbage, carrots, mango, pineapple, yogurt and a little dry rub
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"Rice and Peas"... Basmati rice cooked with Pink Beans, scallions, garlic, thyme, bacon and coconut milk
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Plate shot
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We ate half an hour ago, and I still have a warm glow going and a big smile! :P
 
Have a great Sunday night all!
 
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