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!

 

[stickman]

Howdy all! I'm getting pretty chuffed that the MoAs are starting to ripen together.

 
The two plants that have ripening pods are dropping most of their flowers right now, but the odd one out is making pods with a more desirable shape.

 
It looks like my smallest peppers this season will be the Donne Sali... either that or the pods take a very long time to grow and ripen.

 
Some of the Lotah Bih pods are starting to lighten in color... I hope that means they'll start to ripen soon. I can see where crossing Scorps with this pepper would give you a Bhut shape.

 
Tabasco plant is still pumping out pods and reaching for the sky.

 
I picked over the Peri Peri last night and got a handful of ripe pods... The orange pods pictured should be ready to pick tonight. They don't seem to take long once they start to turn.

 
Moving on to the Annuums... the Takanotsume has about stopped making blossoms, but its plate is full ripening all the pods it's set.

 
Thai Red Demon is starting to ripen also

 
I'm really pleased with the Texas Pequins for a first-year plant. If I can find a home for it this fall I'd like to see it over-wintered.

 
Lastly, a "non" pic of a fruit from my wife's Melon plant. The largest ones are up to squash ball size and growing by the day.

 
That's it for now... TGIF all!

 

[Trippa]

Nice one Rick!! Very jealous of all that ripening bonnet tastiness

 

[Devv]

Simply fantastic shots of loaded and I mean loaded up plants!

 

[maximumcapsicum]

Yay Rick! Everything looks great. I'm really impressed by the Pequin! Very good work. Those pods meant for a sauce? Looks like that second MoA is growing true. Excellent. I've found the MoA to be a little pickier than the other bonnets I am growing (choc and TFM), but the pods are very flavorful and well balanced. I bet those pointy MoA's are hotter.

 

[stickman]

Thanks guys! It's a stress reliever to know that I'll get a Chinense harvest after all...
 
 

Yay Rick! Everything looks great. I'm really impressed by the Pequin! Very good work. Those pods meant for a sauce? Looks like that second MoA is growing true. Excellent. I've found the MoA to be a little pickier than the other bonnets I am growing (choc and TFM), but the pods are very flavorful and well balanced. I bet those pointy MoA's are hotter.

 
I'll probably keep a few Pequins dried whole Adam, but most of them are intended for a Texas transplant from Brownsville named J.D. He runs a lunch counter here in town called the Brass Buckle, and I arranged to grow him some Pequins in exchange for store credit. http://brassbucklegreenfield.com/
 
I don't know that the pointy pods will be hotter, but I'll just settle for ripe.
 
Have a great day all!

 

[PaulG]

Just too awesome for words, Rick.   The pod density on the MoA is hard to believe.
 
The little chilipequin really looks good - one of the bushiest I've seen.  My strain
seems to grow more spindly and sparse.
The one I overwintered has finally filled it's pot with roots and is starting to really grow,  
with tiny buds appearing at the forks:

 
Keep that beautiful grow cookin', brother!

 

[stickman]

Just too awesome for words, Rick.   The pod density on the MoA is hard to believe.
 
The little chilipequin really looks good - one of the bushiest I've seen.  My strain
seems to grow more spindly and sparse.
The one I overwintered has finally filled it's pot with roots and is starting to really grow,  
with tiny buds appearing at the forks:

 
Keep that beautiful grow cookin', brother!

 
Thanks brother Paul... I appreciate the good vibe.   That's a nice Pequin you have going in the bucket, but as you say, a more sparse habit. I have a couple like it with 15-20 pods per plant, an inch and a half long... You should get that easily, and probably more besides. Cheers!

 

[PaulG]

 
Thanks brother Paul... I appreciate the good vibe.   That's a nice Pequin you have going in the bucket, but as you say, a more sparse habit. I have a couple like it with 15-20 pods per plant, an inch and a half long... You should get that easily, and probably more besides. Cheers!

The pods on this one won't be any bigger than 1/4 inch, and kind of oblong.
I'm hoping for lots of little pods!

 

[PeriPeri]

Awesome stuff going on there Rick. I am very impressed with your poddage. Large yields on your plants from what I can see... must be all the Bear poop? When does that ground hog go back in its hole?

 

[OCD Chilehead]

Very nice MOA shot. Tabasco looks to be doing well. Do you pickle them? Looks like you'll be having a taste of that Takanotsume soon.

Thanks for sharing. Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

 

[stickman]

Awesome stuff going on there Rick. I am very impressed with your poddage. Large yields on your plants from what I can see... must be all the Bear poop? When does that ground hog go back in its hole?

 
Thanks Lourens! I can't tell you for sure what gave me such good yields. It's probably a lot of little things that add up. We have sandy soil that the Peppers like. I had the soil tested before I planted anything to see what it needed in the way of nutes and amended accordingly, added lots of humus and organic tomato fertilizer as a base dressing and went from there. I've also been running a drip irrigation line on a timer so the plants get the water they need. This year I added some new things... some Jersey Greensand to bind the sandy soil (improving water retention and adding Potassium), Azomite for trace minerals and a top dressing of Kelp meal after the plants went outside. But honestly though... I had nearly the same results last year.
 
We've still got at least 8 weeks left to the season for sure, but if the stars line up it could extend into as far as the 3rd week in October. 2 years ago we had a bad hurricane season the end of August into September followed by an October 4th snowstorm that dumped over 2 feet of snow overnight. We never know what we're gonna get.
 
Well, when I checked the MoAs this morning I found the first ripe pod! Snipped it free with a pair of shears and brought it inside to sample. Drank a glass of milk first to buffer my stomach and cut off a matchstick-sized strip (with placenta attatched) to try. The aroma was fruity and rich... definitely has that off-citrus Chinense smell, but not as harsh as in other varieties, and I thought I picked up notes of vanilla interestingly enough. These would go extremely well with any tropical fruit. The flesh was crisp and juicy... flavor was only a little sweet, fruity and mild. The burn went to the back of the throat immediately and crept slowly to the front of the tongue and then the lips, peaking for the first 5 minutes and fading to a sensation of warmth in about 10 minutes. I could see folks who don't ordinarily like Habs enjoying this one. Sorry for the blurry pic... my Wife has the good camera in New Hampshire today...

Very nice MOA shot. Tabasco looks to be doing well. Do you pickle them? Looks like you'll be having a taste of that Takanotsume soon.

Thanks for sharing. Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

 
Thanks Chuck!   It's the first time I've grown Tabasco chiles, and I haven't tasted them yet so I don't have any plans. I was thinking of making sauce with the ripe ones and pickling the green ones at the end of the season, but nothing firm yet.

 

[GnomeGrown]

WOW!
 
Incredible fruit set on those MOA's
 

 

[stickman]

Thanks for stopping by and laying on some good vibes G!

 

[Trippa]

Yum ... scotch Bonnets have such an amazing taste and great all round mouth burn

 

[Devv]

Congrats on the first ripe MoA, got several out there on the BBQ on top of chicken...can't wait

 

[ronniedeb]

You're heading for some great harvests. Plants are looking so healthy. Fair play on the first ripe MOA. Plenty more coming after, I see.

 

[PeriPeri]

Hey Rick, awesome my friend. The long awaited MoA. By the way - I take it its the MoA of Caribbean, Jamaican or what? Never managed to figure that one out. Thank you for that great feedback. I look forward to trying these myself this coming season. We are into August now here in South Africa. We woke up this morning to warmth and sunshine. No frost, but a beautiful mild morning. August things usually start warming up here, but we do sometimes still have snap chills or snow in August (once every ten years or so). Anyway, we will be getting the hot August winds soon. These bring on the rains in September. 4 months of no rains... it looks parched here lol

 

[stickman]

Yum ... scotch Bonnets have such an amazing taste and great all round mouth burn

 
You bet Tristan! Great flavor, but mild heat for a Hab. I chopped a whole pod into a pint of homemade pico de gallo and the burn was very manageable.
 

Congrats on the first ripe MoA, got several out there on the BBQ on top of chicken...can't wait

 

 

You're heading for some great harvests. Plants are looking so healthy. Fair play on the first ripe MOA. Plenty more coming after, I see.

 
S'right brother... thanks for stopping by and the good vibe.   The rest of the crop is going into the freezer until I have them all together and are destined to go into a single batch of sauce. These are too good to go into a powder blend.
 

Hey Rick, awesome my friend. The long awaited MoA. By the way - I take it its the MoA of Caribbean, Jamaican or what? Never managed to figure that one out. Thank you for that great feedback. I look forward to trying these myself this coming season. We are into August now here in South Africa. We woke up this morning to warmth and sunshine. No frost, but a beautiful mild morning. August things usually start warming up here, but we do sometimes still have snap chills or snow in August (once every ten years or so). Anyway, we will be getting the hot August winds soon. These bring on the rains in September. 4 months of no rains... it looks parched here lol

 
Yup, MoA just means (Jamaican) ministry of agriculture provided the seeds. They're trying to stabilize the strain since they recognize how much money there is to be made with this variety. A few years ago STEVE954 wrote to them and got some of the seeds, grew them out and saved the seeds to give to friends. I think the seeds I got were F3 or F4 from Ramon (WalkGood). Good luck growing them this year... They're entirely worth it!
 
Glad to hear things are starting to warm up down your way and the spring rains are on the way... just not as much as last year please!

 

[stickman]

Howdy all, and happy Monday morning!   We're still a couple of weeks away from any mega pulls, but I picked my first ripe wilds today... Clockwise from the top... MoA, Serrano, DST, Chintexle, Texas Pequin and Dedo de Moca.     Interesting that the wild pods pull away from the stem when they're ripe... like a Frutascens. I didn't know they'd do that.

 
Have a great week all!

 

[Trippa]

Way to grow Rick ....