Stickman's 2015 - That's All She Wrote...

Hi All! It's been an incredibly busy winter dealing with one thing and another, and it's only about half over here.   Still, it's time to get on the stick and put my seeds in the dirt in preparation for plant-out in another 12 weeks or so. I have a Manzano over-wintering inside that's going on its third year. It's next to a sliding glass door with a great southern exposure but the light it gets here this time of year is pretty paltry... I expect it'll start to perk up sometime in March. I have a couple of MoA Scotch Bonnets over-wintering at a friend's house because there wasn't space in front of the sliding glass door for them and my wife's indoor plants... the deal is that if they both survive the winter, we'll split the plants. If not, he'll keep the one that lives. That seems fair since he did all the work.
 
The rest of the list is looking like this...

Pubiscens Varieties
Total bust this year... nothing that germinated survived.

Baccatum:
Ditto

Frutascens:
Tabasco
Hawaiian Bird chile
 
Chacoense:
Ditto

Chinense:
7-pot Yellow Turned out to be a red "Not"
MoA Scotch Bonnet
Beni Highlands... Also turned out to be a "Not"... maybe a Mako Akokrosade cross?
Ja Hab
Trinidad Perfume
Zavory

Annuum:
Cabe Rawit (mouse turd pepper, in Singapore where the seeds were collected they're called Cili Padi)
Red Thai
Biggie Chile Anaheim
Poblano Gigantia
Jalapeno Ciclon
Jalapeno Tormenta
Serrano Tampiqueno
Hungarian Hot Wax
Almapaprika
Ethiopian Brown Berbere
 
I'll also be planting a sweet Criolla de Cucina plants and about 20 sweet Kurtovska Kapijas. The Kapijas have the longest growing and ripening times of any Annuum I know, but they're big, meaty sweet peppers that average around a half a pound apiece... just the thing for making that eastern european condiment called Ajvar.
 
Too tired to say more now, but will pick up later... Cheers!

 

[stickman]

Great photos Rick. wildlife, flowers and peppers!

 
Cheers Ronan! Gee, I've been so busy for the last few weeks that I've not had much chance to catch up on other folks glogs. My wife's been getting ready to drive up to New Brunswick, Canada to visit with her mom next week, and filling out the application for US citizenship this week as well as trying to get her work done a little in advance before she goes. I don't have the vacation time so I won't be going with her... guess I'll get caught up when she goes.
 
Meanwhile, this is supposed to be a Tabasco plant, but I have my doubts... it doesn't look much like the one I grew last year.

 
Kapijas are getting fairly good sized

 
Prik Kee Nu is really loading up now. The pods shouldn't get much bigger than this so hopefully they'll start to ripen soon.

 
This is the first pod on what is supposed to be a Fatali... does this look right to you all?

 
And lastly, Habanero "Zavory" is beginning to set pods.

 
Have a great Tuesday all!

 

[PeriPeri]

Hey Rick buddy, that Tabasco could be true. If I remember long stalks, white flowers ,sparsely populated at first and then just produces lots more. You will know shortly I suppose when you see the light green pods Not looking like a Fatalii from what I can see mate... those from me? Should be pointy like tha Naga King but smooth and green. Not light green either from what I remember - been a while I'm afraid All looking awesome otherwise!

 

[maximumcapsicum]

Love the grow Rick! And I'm glad the king naga looks bumpy and is getting up to size. Color won't be far behind. Also digging the pickles. Keep on growin!

 

[OCD Chilehead]

Great looking plants Rick. My Tabasco isn't doing to good. I hope it pulls through and reaches for the sky. It's very stunted.

Sorry I can't help with the Fatalii. The last ones grown was a few years ago.

Have a great Wednesday!

 

[PeriPeri]

Hope you don't mind buddy.... these were my Fatalii's a few years back now.
 

 

[randyp]

      Rick things look great.I have the problem of a thousand green pods just waiting to turn the corner and get color.

 

[maximumcapsicum]

Hope you don't mind buddy.... these were my Fatalii's a few years back now.
 

That fatali looks like a spike. Mean pod.

 

[PeriPeri]

That fatali looks like a spike. Mean pod.

Thanks Adam, these are one of my favourite - that smell is heavenly. Banoffee, Musk with hints of Citrus - so unique!

 

[stickman]

Hope you don't mind buddy.... these were my Fatalii's a few years back now.
 

 
Thanks for the input Lourens! I guess I've got a cross at least... some of the most recently set pods look long and pointed, but some look like A-grade MoAs. Go figure...

 
 

Love the grow Rick! And I'm glad the king naga looks bumpy and is getting up to size. Color won't be far behind. Also digging the pickles. Keep on growin!

 
Cheers Adam! You should be in full production mode in Atlanta now... have you straightened out your queue at the community grill yet?
 
 

Great looking plants Rick. My Tabasco isn't doing to good. I hope it pulls through and reaches for the sky. It's very stunted.

Sorry I can't help with the Fatalii. The last ones grown was a few years ago.

Have a great Wednesday!

 
Cheers Chuck! I'm thinking I don't have a true Tabasco either... the Tabasco plant I grew last year had upward-pointing flowers and pods and this one doesn't. Oh well, as Paul says, "Every Pod's A Victory!"

 
 

      Rick things look great.I have the problem of a thousand green pods just waiting to turn the corner and get color.

 
We'll get there Randy! It's been a cooler summer than the last few for sure... we need some more degree days for the pods to ripen but there are a Bhut-load of them since we've gotten adequate rain this time around. Everything's a trade-off eh?
 
I've been working a lot of overtime lately to make up for some holes in my schedule and  helping my Wife get ready for her trip to Canada on Wednesday, so not so much time at the computer. Hopefully I'll get caught up then and still get in some fishing time. Things are still bumping along here despite hitting a few potholes in the road... The Cili Goronong was such a beast with pod production that the overloaded branches pulled 4 branches away from the main stem  where they all joined.

 
The rest of the plant looks healthy so far, and pod production continues. I stripped the largest of the green pods from the fallen branches to make salsa with so it's not a total loss... some of the green pods have started to ripen up since I picked them too.

 
They're not bothering my chiles, but we have Voles in our community garden. So far they've chewed some of my Tuscan Kale down to a nub and eaten a fair amount of my Filet Beans. This of course means war...   I got a couple of Rat traps and baited them with a mix of peanut butter and oatmeal. So songbirds and small children don't get into them I cut a vole-sized entry hole in one end of a couple small cardboard boxes and set them over the traps. So far I've caught 5 of the little bastiges but there are plenty more...

 
At least the inner perimeter is on the job grooming my plants to remove aphids and mites...

 
Serranos and Biggie Chiles are getting big enough to harvest in fair numbers now.

 
The larger of the Hawaiian Bird chiles is forking and putting out its first blossom...

 
I'm really looking forward to trying these Criolla de Cucina peppers! They're a sweet South American Habanero look-alike but I understand they're not a Chinense variety.

 
That's it for now... y'all have a great Sunday!

 

[randyp]

    Your a Trapper to Rick.Damn son you are set for an Apocalypse.

 

[georgej]

looking great Rick. love the variety you have going every year. those fatalii look iffy, though they might be tasty, no one likes that kind of surprise.
then again, my fatalii plant did nothing last year, so you are doing better than i even if they dont grow true.

 

[Trident chilli]

Just caught up with your glog Rick ... That's a triple A MoA .... great shape let's hope it grows before the voles get it ... and here in the UK we only need to worry about cold summers aphids snails and slugs and you seem to have every insect bird and mammal after your glog

 

[tctenten]

Hey Rick, I hope everything is well. I miss your dawn patrols and I also wanted to report back on the half sour pickles. I fermented for 4 days then put them in the fridge and then waited a week. They came great and did not last long as it was a small batch. I have another batch that already fermented and is in the fridge now. I am going to let these go a bit longer and see which I like better. Hope to see some updates soon.

 

[Trippa]

Hey Rick ... Nice updates ... Hope you get on top of your pest problems pronto! I don't think what you have there which you are calling Cili Goronong are in fact Cili Goronong at all. They are too elongated and pointed and also too thin with not quite the correct type of skin/pod mutations.
Your pods look much more likely to be Mako Akokasrade or less likely CGN22181 in my opinion... Not that my opinion is necessarily the right one

 

[RocketMan]

Your getting some really pretty pods there brother! Shame that Fatalii didn't turn out true, Fataliis are one of my favorite peppers. Still if it proves to be an MOA, that's not a bad substitution. Now get camie'd up and get after that Varmint-Kong!

 

[Trippa]

Hey Rick .. hope you are all good bro ... Haven't seen you about for a little while. Good growing to you!!

 

[stickman]

Hi All... we're back from a trip to New Brunswick, Canada to see my in-laws. It's good to be back for sure!
 

    Your a Trapper to Rick.Damn son you are set for an Apocalypse.

 
Cheers Randy. I can see the little bastiges have been making inroads in the veggie garden in our absence... now that we're back it's time to invite them to eternity... 
 
 

looking great Rick. love the variety you have going every year. those fatalii look iffy, though they might be tasty, no one likes that kind of surprise.
then again, my fatalii plant did nothing last year, so you are doing better than i even if they dont grow true.

 
Like PaulG says... every pod's a victory... especially this far north. The genetics of the plant seem to be all over the map. Some pods are the classic shape and some deviate quite a bit. I'll be interested to see what they taste like when they finally ripen.

 
 

Just caught up with your glog Rick ... That's a triple A MoA .... great shape let's hope it grows before the voles get it ... and here in the UK we only need to worry about cold summers aphids snails and slugs and you seem to have every insect bird and mammal after your glog

 
Cheers John! It isn't quite as bad as all that really... The Voles chewed on my green beans and young kale before we left, and the block of Napa Cabbage furthest from the pathway while we were away. The other block of Cabbage seems OK. Birds don't seem to bother the peppers and planting things that attract Lacewings and Lady Beetles to groom my plants seems to keep the Aphids and Mites off.
 

Hey Rick, I hope everything is well. I miss your dawn patrols and I also wanted to report back on the half sour pickles. I fermented for 4 days then put them in the fridge and then waited a week. They came great and did not last long as it was a small batch. I have another batch that already fermented and is in the fridge now. I am going to let these go a bit longer and see which I like better. Hope to see some updates soon.

 
Good on ya Terry! I made up a couple gallons worth of Half-Sour pickles just before we left and made another gallon and a half with what I picked last night. Everybody loves 'em!
 

Your getting some really pretty pods there brother! Shame that Fatalii didn't turn out true, Fataliis are one of my favorite peppers. Still if it proves to be an MOA, that's not a bad substitution. Now get camie'd up and get after that Varmint-Kong!

 
Nope, it definitely isn't an MoA Bill... but I have 6 MoA plants that are just starting to ripen, so no shortage there. I need to weed the veggie garden to remove the Voles cover now that we're back. I'm hoping that and trapping them out will get them out of there. Cheers guy!
 

Hey Rick ... Nice updates ... Hope you get on top of your pest problems pronto! I don't think what you have there which you are calling Cili Goronong are in fact Cili Goronong at all. They are too elongated and pointed and also too thin with not quite the correct type of skin/pod mutations.
Your pods look much more likely to be Mako Akokasrade or less likely CGN22181 in my opinion... Not that my opinion is necessarily the right one

 

Hey Rick .. hope you are all good bro ... Haven't seen you about for a little while. Good growing to you!!

 
Cheers Tristan! You might be right about the pod I.D... Andy thought they might be Cili Goronong and the pics I pulled up online looked like they could be. They are thin-skinned and as long as my little finger, and ripen from green to pale yellow to pale orange.I have no clue myself.
 
Things have progressed a bit since we left...
 
The raised bed of Chinense varieties out back has pretty much grown into a hedge.

 
Kapijas and the other sweet peppers are starting to ripen up.

 
The Napa Cabbage I planted after tilling under the "green manure" cover crop is looking very happy.

 
The Sesame plants have an interesting-looking flower... a pale pink trumpet-shaped flower kind of like a Foxglove.

 
The seed pods are 4-chambered and deeply divided, so it's easy to see where the pods will split when they ripen and dry out.

 
The hybrid Thais are just loaded.

 
Tomatoes are coming along quickly now too.

 
This morning's harvest... including some good-sized Poblanos, "Not" Orange 7-Pots that look kinda like Red Savina Habs, Prik Kee Nu pods and my first ripe MoA pod.

 
And finally... I made some fresh Habanero salsa with some of my ripe Tomatoes to put on Huevos Rancheros for breakfast this morning.

 
More pics for a bump...

 

[OCD Chilehead]

Bump

 

[stickman]

Bump

 
Cheers Chuck!
 
More MoAs beginning to ripen....

 
My biggest Criolla de Cocina pod... it's thin-fleshed, deeply fluted and the size of a Bell Pepper.

 
Trinidad Perfume pods getting bigger.

 
I'm much happier about the Tobasco pods too... the flowers might have pointed down, but once they dropped their skirts and the pods started growing, they pointed at the sky, which is right. I won't get as many as last year since it's been a cool summer, but I still have a quart of salted mash and another quart of frozen pods from last year.

 

[Essegi]

Welcome back, Rick! Great update with much colour!
Those Fatalliis look indeed strange but it's cool to watch those grow!
 
About Kapija, i was finally able to taste one although still a bit green, so it tasted a bit of grass and i must wait the next one to fully ripe. But really sweet and excellent chewing! Definitely a fine variety!
Maybe on some days they struggled a bit like other bell/big/sweet peppers and many plants since it has been really hot and without rain some days... But chinense have greatly appreciated that!
 
And nice breakfast, definetly better than average!