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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. :rolleyes:  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!
 
:fire:  :fireball:  BUMP :!:  :fireball:  :fire: 
Great update Rick my Tomatillos are nomore something eat the seedlings so I transplanted the Black Habaneros in that bed I might have to over winter one hopefully I will get some pods before frost.

On the plus side of things getting lots of moa's :dance: 
:fire:  :cheers:  :fire: some good vibes to send your way


 
 
Congrats Rick. Glad to see you getting some pods and putting them to use. Is the salt mash hard to make? Is ferment and salt mash the same thing? I've ponder the idea of making my own ferment. I'll have to look into it. Majority of my pods turn into powder and freezer for later use. I make sauce so a ferment might not be a bad idea.

Thanks as always for sharing. Enjoy the rest of the week bud.
 
Essegi said:
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! :D
 
Yeah... being such a large-podded variety the Kapijas need more water. I'm glad I have soaker hoses rigged up for mine. Glad you liked the taste even partially green. You'll like them even better when they're fully ripe I bet! :)
 
Hey Buddy - glad to see your fears about the Tabasco have been resolved! Things are warming up here now... still in for some cold spells, but spring is finaly in the air ;) Loving the Trinidad Perfumes and MoA's... they look mighty fine my friend ;)
 
Plantguy76 said:
Great update Rick my Tomatillos are nomore something eat the seedlings so I transplanted the Black Habaneros in that bed I might have to over winter one hopefully I will get some pods before frost.
On the plus side of things getting lots of moa's
:fire:  :cheers:  :fire: some good vibes to send your way

 
Bummer that your Tomatillos didn't make it Jason... do you have any Hornworms nearby? I can't think of anything offhand that eats them except Cucumber Beetles, and they don't eat enough to threaten the whole plant. Good luck with your Black Habs!
 
OCD Chilehead said:
Congrats Rick. Glad to see you getting some pods and putting them to use. Is the salt mash hard to make? Is ferment and salt mash the same thing? I've ponder the idea of making my own ferment. I'll have to look into it. Majority of my pods turn into powder and freezer for later use. I make sauce so a ferment might not be a bad idea.

Thanks as always for sharing. Enjoy the rest of the week bud.
 
Cheers Chuck! If you want to try a ferment, check out Rocketman's Fermenting Peppers 101 thread. http://thehotpepper.com/topic/23146-fermenting-peppers-101/#entry476940
He'll take you through the basics. I only differ in that I inoculate my mashes with some of the brine from the kimchi I make instead of using whey or buying lacto-bacillus cultures, but it's all good.
 
ronniedeb said:
Great updates Rick. Some nice pods coming your way by the looks of things.
 
Cheers Ronan! I've really gotta check out your glog in the next couple of days... still playing catchup...
 
PeriPeri said:
Hey Buddy - glad to see your fears about the Tabasco have been resolved! Things are warming up here now... still in for some cold spells, but spring is finaly in the air ;) Loving the Trinidad Perfumes and MoA's... they look mighty fine my friend ;)
 
Lourens my friend! Glad to hear things are beginning to warm up for you in SA... when will you be starting your germination for the next season? 
 
Very nice harvest today... mostly Hungarian Pointed Hot Annuums (hot wax peppers), but also my first ripe Kapijas and Leutshauer Paprika, some Poblanos, Prik Kee Nu, Mako Akokrosade, "not" Bhuts, Almapaprika and MoA Bonnets. Looks like I'll be doing a lot of processing today.
SANY0632_zps5secdffh.jpg
 
Nice haul buddy! That has got me drooling :drooling: Starting to shake them shackles of winter. We had a very late winter and it looks like things are warming up again - not that it gets very cold here in winter. So about one month of real winter so far but daytime temps have been around 20ºC... so who can complain!
 
I have started my friend. I have started! 76 in the propogator another 280 or so to go. Over 350 varieties this season... getting up to too much mischief - so I thought that would keep me out of it for a while! :confused: you know  :banghead: 
 
Thanks Rick I think a rabbit or some insect got them I have had these white fuzzy caterpillars some maybe them or a grasshoppers
If I get them again I will start them inside thank you for the good vibes
Everything is looking great
 
PeriPeri said:
Nice haul buddy! That has got me drooling :drooling: Starting to shake them shackles of winter. We had a very late winter and it looks like things are warming up again - not that it gets very cold here in winter. So about one month of real winter so far but daytime temps have been around 20ºC... so who can complain!
 
I have started my friend. I have started! 76 in the propogator another 280 or so to go. Over 350 varieties this season... getting up to too much mischief - so I thought that would keep me out of it for a while! :confused: you know  :banghead:
 
Most excellent Lourens! Spring is always a time that gets everything moving... glad to hear you're gonna hit the ground running soon. Ool... over 350 varieties, really?! You're a wild man as always! :P  Good luck!
 
Trident chilli said:
Great harvest Rick ... nice haul of poppers!
 
Cheers John... No poppers this year... I've been trading them in at a local lunch counter for credit, but as we're getting towards the end of the season here I'm gonna start cold-pickling Jalapeno rings to put by for the winter.
 
Plantguy76 said:
Thanks Rick I think a rabbit or some insect got them I have had these white fuzzy caterpillars some maybe them or a grasshoppers
If I get them again I will start them inside thank you for the good vibes
Everything is looking great
 
Cheers Jason. :)
 
July into August has been kind of a suck this year. Way too busy and I think I got a bit overtired and ended up home sick the first half of this week. The peppers are beginning to really come in now and I've got quite a backlog to deal with. The solar dehydrator I'm in the process of building isn't going to be ready to use this season unless I can scare up enough cash to pay for the rest of the materials I need. The glazing material is the most expensive part... it costs about a C-note delivered. I already have the 2 sheets of plywood on hand, and enough pieces of dimensional scrap lumber for the cleats and drying frames when I run them through my brother-in-law's table saw. For those of you that might be interested... you can find the plans here.  http://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/tools/solar-food-dehydrator-plans-zm0z14jjzmar.aspx
    
On other news, the Bhuts and my first Trinidad Perfume pod are ripe. Still waiting on the Fatali and Zavory pods.
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Kapijas ripening
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Ethiopian Brown Berbere... I'm told they go from green to red to brown.
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Biggie Chile Anaheim-types beginning to ripen
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... and the Criolla de Cucina...
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... and Prik Kee Nu...
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... and the Manzano...
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Zavory Habaneros will probably begin to ripen soon
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My Frutascens varieties are both podding up, though I have no idea how much longer it'll be before they start to ripen. Last year they started in August but this year we've been having more cool nights, and it's slowing things down.
 
Hawaiian Bird Chile pods
SANY0647_zpsfzkclrpv.jpg

 
... and Tabascos
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I'll be processing lots of peppers today... pickling Hot wax rings and roasting and peeling Poblanos and my first ripe Kapijas to freeze for later. Have a great weekend all!
 
Nice to see those harvests roll in for you Rick.  Those Pablanos look picture perfect.  Your plants look great. 
 
You must get new black plastic every year for your rows?  That must really help heat up the soil.  I think that was a big problem for me this year.  Just comparing how quickly your plants took and grew, you had better success at pushing through the cool, wet start to things we had this year.
 
Pulpiteer said:
Nice to see those harvests roll in for you Rick.  Those Pablanos look picture perfect.  Your plants look great. 
 
You must get new black plastic every year for your rows?  That must really help heat up the soil.  I think that was a big problem for me this year.  Just comparing how quickly your plants took and grew, you had better success at pushing through the cool, wet start to things we had this year.
 
Exactly right Andy... it's less of an issue with the Annuums because they don't take more than about 80 days to ripen, but most Chinense and Frutascens varieties are 100+ days to ripen and making a warmer microclimate for the plants really helps. I do only use the plastic mulch once a season but the recycling people here take it when I'm done. Cheers!
 
Well, the harvest is pouring in now... time to process it and put it away for the winter. This week I made more pickled Almapaprika and Oily pickled Hungarian Pointed Hot peppers that I use in sandwiches.
SANY0661_zpsuapvpied.jpg

 
I also made 6 quarts worth of MoA peach jam that came out truly excellent! The MoA Bonnets have a flavor that reminds me of Mango and Citrus and they go together extremely well! :drooling:  Great on a sandwich or as a glaze for grilling. I followed the package directions on the pectin for low-sugar peach jam and added a quarter cup of lemon juice and 7 MoA pods for each 2 quarts of peaches.
.
 
Supper tonight was Mattar Paneer... a mild tomato-based curry with Tomatoes, Peas, Onion and dried Thai chiles from the garden this year. The Paneer is an Indian version of farm cheese that's cubed and fried in hot oil.
SANY0663_zpstkd5b3wi.jpg

 
Plate shot of the curry over brown Basmati rice
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OCD Chilehead said:
Glad to see your getting pods Rick. My Tabasco is taking forever to turn. At least I I have pods. Thanks for sharing
 
Jeez Chuck, sorry to hear your Tabasco pods haven't turned yet... mine haven't either, but at least they have good size and another 3-4 weeks to ripen up. I've still got a frozen quart bag from last year's crop with a mix of Guam Boonies, Lotah Bih and Tabasco pods in it so lots of Frutascens heat put away for the next time I make Louisiana-style hot sauce.
 
 
Trippa said:
Great to see you reaping the rewards from your garden Rick! The peach jam sounds like the goods!!
 
Cheers Tristan! I really wish you could all get a taste of the Peach-MoA jam. The MoAs have a flavor that reminds me of Mango and Citrus, and they go perfectly with the Peaches in jam! The way it unfolds on your tongue is first the fruitiness, then the sweetness and then the heat.
 
The "Fatalis?" have started coming in this week. The shapes aren't right, but the color seems to be. I'll have to chop one into my breakfast eggs tomorrow to see how they taste. I'm really happy with the Mako Akokrosade crosses... they have a nice citrusy flavor and a medium burn. I think they'd be great in salsa or ceviche.
SANY0666_zpsrzrilv2x.jpg

 
The sweets are coming in well now too. Here's a bowl of Kapijas
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The round pods are Hungarian Pimientos (they call them Tomato Peppers), and the long pepper is the first ripe Red Marconi fryer
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Have a great Thursday all!
 
stickman said:
 
The "Fatalis?" have started coming in this week. The shapes aren't right, but the color seems to be. I'll have to chop one into my breakfast eggs tomorrow to see how they taste. I'm really happy with the Mako Akokrosade crosses... they have a nice citrusy flavor and a medium burn. I think they'd be great in salsa or ceviche.
SANY0666_zpsrzrilv2x.jpg


 
 
The last year I buyed seeds at Judy pepperlovers. I had one plant of Fatalli that yield this fruits. These no was fataliis!!! However I very liked this fruit and beatiful smell and good flavor, but less spicy that fatalii, maybe like a habanero.
 
I mailed to Judy and she respond... That fruit be "wasp peper" a new variety not for sale at that time. She says me, obviously a seed It came in my shipp by mistake with fataliis.

Now pepperlover have this wasp on sale in his web
 
Amazing grow buddy... you have a constant flow of just amazing chillies. Those sweet peppers are fantastic. I never get a chance to grow sweet peppers here as anything milder than a Jalapeño is at the bottom of the food chain here... rats, birds... monkeys lol
 
cypresshill1973 said:
 
The last year I buyed seeds at Judy pepperlovers. I had one plant of Fatalli that yield this fruits. These no was fataliis!!! However I very liked this fruit and beatiful smell and good flavor, but less spicy that fatalii, maybe like a habanero.
 
I mailed to Judy and she respond... That fruit be "wasp peper" a new variety not for sale at that time. She says me, obviously a seed It came in my shipp by mistake with fataliis.
Now pepperlover have this wasp on sale in his web
 
Hi Fabian, thanks for stopping by! Interesting what you say about your Fatali seeds getting swapped out for Judy's "Wasp" peppers... what kind of aroma did they have? I cut into one this morning and found mine had a very lemony aroma and a little more bite than your standard Habanero.
 
 
randyp said:
The pulls are looking great Rick.We got a taste of Fall this week with a high of 69 tuesday.The plants sense a change is coming buddy.
 
Too true Randy... I think we have at least another 3-5 weeks to the season here unless things cool off quicker than usual with the El Nino weather system shaping up off the Pacific coast. The plants can certainly sense the days getting shorter and are beginning to drop some of their leaves.
 
 
PeriPeri said:
Amazing grow buddy... you have a constant flow of just amazing chillies. Those sweet peppers are fantastic. I never get a chance to grow sweet peppers here as anything milder than a Jalapeño is at the bottom of the food chain here... rats, birds... monkeys lol
 
At least you don't have monkeys near your house do you? Birds you can keep out with low row covers of agricultural fabric. Rats can chew their way inside the fabric, but are susceptible to mechanical rat traps baited with peanut butter or raisins. Put the rat traps inside the row covers and you won't have to worry about birds or little kids getting their fingers caught in the traps. It would be a pain watering your plants under a low row cover, but if you rigged a drip irrigation setup on a hose timer underneath it, you wouldn't have to go under yourself to water. Just a thought...
 
I cut up one of the (maybe) Fatali pods into my breakfast eggs this morning and was struck by the lemony aroma. The heat was noticeably more than I've found in your average Habanero too. Does this square with your perceptions too Lourens?
 
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