Stickman's 2016 Gochu Glog- Transplanting is Finished

Hi All, I'm back again after quite a while and more than a few changes. Health issues got in the way of being active here after Christmas, but I've resolved those and am ready to plug in here again, albeit with less time than I had before. Anyway... on to the chiles!
 
My friends with a CISA farm have started 6 MoA Scotch Bonnets, what I hope are 2 King Nagas and a couple of Jalapenos. I have three 1020 trays worth of 3inch pots planted with 4 varieties of Gochu peppers. I sowed them a week ago and they're just now starting to sprout. I also have 12 pots of Texas Wild Pequins and 6 pots of Guwahati Bhuts planted that haven't started to sprout.
 
In addition to the solar food dryer, I picked up a stainless steel 10-quart pressure cooker at Christmas time, so I'm planning on experimenting with using it to process purees and sauces to hopefully make them more shelf-stable. Any input on that would be gratefully accepted.
 
Gochus starting...

 
Chinense varieties and Jalapenos

 
That's all for now... see ya all later!

 

[OCD Chilehead]

Thanks, That would most gracious of you.

Have a good morning. Enjoy today.

 

[stickman]

Lets have a hand for Chuck. He mailed me these Aji Pineapple plants, powder and sauce, and they came through in great shape. I'm-a hafta take notes on your technique Chuck...

 

[Jeff H]

Raised beds are looking good Rick.
 
Why red plastic for tomatoes? Are they allergic to black??
 
Did you make your PVC clips for the hoop house out of the next larger size PVC? That is something I need to try for next year. Holding the plastic down with some old boards works until a big windstorm blows the plastic off.

 

[JoynersHotPeppers]

Raised beds are looking good Rick.
 
Why red plastic for tomatoes? Are they allergic to black??
 
Did you make your PVC clips for the hoop house out of the next larger size PVC? That is something I need to try for next year. Holding the plastic down with some old boards works until a big windstorm blows the plastic off.

Red makes tomatoes yield way more

 

[stickman]

Raised beds are looking good Rick.
 
Why red plastic for tomatoes? Are they allergic to black??
 
Did you make your PVC clips for the hoop house out of the next larger size PVC? That is something I need to try for next year. Holding the plastic down with some old boards works until a big windstorm blows the plastic off.

 

Red makes tomatoes yield way more

 
Yup, Chris nailed it Jeff... the red wavelengths of light the mulch reflects seem to improve fruiting for the Tomatoes. The red plastic mulch also warms the soil like the black, but not as much, and the Tomatoes don't need as much warmth as the Chiles and Eggplants.
 
The PVC clips I use are called snap clamps and you can find them in a number of places...  
http://www.snapclamp.com/links.htm
http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-8321-snap-clamps-for-emt.aspx
https://flexpvc.com
   These sites might give you ideas for your own hydro or PVC-framed projects...

 

[OCD Chilehead]

Lets have a hand for Chuck. He mailed me these Aji Pineapple plants, powder and sauce, and they came through in great shape. I'm-a hafta take notes on your technique Chuck...

Thanks for the pic Rick. They look just like they did when I shipped them. Dropped them off Saturday and there on Monday is pretty quick. Sauce was probably still cool.

 

[Devv]

Beds looking great and "hungry"!
 
Good on Chuck for sending the plants, they arrived in fantastic shape for sure!

 

[D3monic]

interesting to know on the red mulch. Learn something new everyday. any thoughts on the red wood mulch at Home depot? We used it out front and it looked pretty nice, was thinking about picking up 20 or so bags for the back yard as well. I will use it around the raised beds but not in. Do you think the dyes would be any issue? I think it's the scotts earthgo or something like that. 
 
As for the raised beds was going to try straw this year. 

 

[stickman]

interesting to know on the red mulch. Learn something new everyday. any thoughts on the red wood mulch at Home depot? We used it out front and it looked pretty nice, was thinking about picking up 20 or so bags for the back yard as well. I will use it around the raised beds but not in. Do you think the dyes would be any issue? I think it's the scotts earthgo or something like that. 
 
As for the raised beds was going to try straw this year. 

 
Hi Mike, and welcome to the zoo!   Yeah, the dyes in the red wood mulch would be a deal breaker for me near the vegetable garden. I like plastic mulches for the Nightshades and Cucurbits because they help the soil retain moisture while allowing the sun to warm it. They don't add any humus to the soil though, and it has to be pulled up and recycled at the end of the season. Using organic matter as mulch, like straw, leaves, etc does add nutes and humus, and help the soil retain moisture, but it keeps the sun from reaching the soil and makes it a lot cooler... Not a problem if you live far enough south, but up here in New England the warmth-loving plants need all the help they can get, so the results I get from the plastic mulches make the trade-offs worth it for me.

 

[windchicken]

Good-looking grow Rick! I like the way you do things...I have extra admiration for Northern chile heads doing what they have to do for the love of fresh chiles. I'm not sure I have that kind of work ethic!
 
Here's the Pequin x C. frutescens F1 mother plant I mentioned in Charles' thread:
 

 
And one of her flowers. I'll check to see if I have some photos of the fruit from last year...
 

 

[stickman]

Good-looking grow Rick! I like the way you do things...I have extra admiration for Northern chile heads doing what they have to do for the love of fresh chiles. I'm not sure I have that kind of work ethic!
 
Here's the Pequin x C. frutescens F1 mother plant I mentioned in Charles' thread:
 
And one of her flowers. I'll check to see if I have some photos of the fruit from last year...

 
Thanks for stopping by and sharing those pics Gary! I'd be interested to see those pics of the Pequin x Aji Chuncho. If I can find my seeds for the Lotah Bih Fruts, I may well try making a cross with my Pequins next year. Cheers!
 
In other news... Brother Kevin (Baekseju) in France swapped me some Cheongyang Gochu and Piment Cabri seeds. Thanks guy, you rock! I'm all in this year, but will definitely grow both of these next year. Cheers to you as well!

 
Also, I tried your powder on a breakfast sammie this morning Chuck... it tasted good and really lit me up! Are there Bhuts or Scorpions in there?
 
Hope everyone has a great "hump day".

 

[OCD Chilehead]

Yeah, kinda. It's Brain, Jigsaw, Reaper, Bhut, and Scorpion. Funny story. I went out for pizza a week ago. I grabbed a bootle of powder. I don't ever eat with out my powder or sauce. The pizza came, I seasoned heavily, as I usually do. Two bites in, I new, I made a mistake. It was the Super mix. Finished the slice and had to take a break for about 15min. I pay attention to my powders before I start covering food.

Glad you liked it. This year I'll have some Annuum mix I'll send ya.

 

[stickman]

Yeah, kinda. It's Brain, Jigsaw, Reaper, Bhut, and Scorpion. Funny story. I went out for pizza a week ago. I grabbed a bootle of powder. I don't ever eat with out my powder or sauce. The pizza came, I seasoned heavily, as I usually do. Two bites in, I new, I made a mistake. It was the Super mix. Finished the slice and had to take a break for about 15min. I pay attention to my powders before I start covering food.

Glad you liked it. This year I'll have some Annuum mix I'll send ya.

 
Heh... I'm not surprised it had so much kick then. I only put a two-finger pinch on the egg to see how spicy it was, and got plenty! No need to send more later unless you want to swap in return for some Gochu powder...

 

[OCD Chilehead]

Heh... I'm not surprised it had so much kick then. I only put a two-finger pinch on the egg to see how spicy it was, and got plenty! No need to send more later unless you want to swap in return for some Gochu powder...

Yeah, I would love to try some new powder.

Here's to a productive season.

 

[stickman]

Hi All, Things are looking good under the low row cover, and I'd say all systems are go for transplanting outside this long weekend!
 
The Aji Pineapple have lower leaves that are a little crispy after being under there for a couple of days, but the new growth looks fine. Ajis are go...

 
Pequins are go...

 
Gochus are go...

 
Jalapenos and Poblanos are go...

 
MoA Bonnets have doubled in height and started to fork. They're emphatically a go!...

 
Bhuts and a Tepin I found at a local nursery are go... all systems are go for launch. D(irt)-day in T-minus 48 hours and counting...

 

[Spicegeist]

Hi All, Things are looking good under the low row cover, and I'd say all systems are go for transplanting outside this long weekend!
 

 
Bhuts and a Tepin I found at a local nursery are go... all systems are go for launch. D(irt)-day in T-minus 48 hours and counting...

 
 
Wow, nice find!  No one sells varieties like that around here.  I would buy a bhut from a nursery just to see how it would turn out.  The pics I see of what passes for Bhuts online and in books (where authors should know better) are just silly.  My bhuts are all looking rather stunted from all the rain we've been getting.  It will be a while before mine bounce back.  My Naga Suomi and Dorset Nagas have made it through the rain in better shape though.  Good luck and have fun this weekend!

 

[meatfreak]

Time to get busy, plants are looking good, Rick

 

[stickman]

 
 
Wow, nice find!  No one sells varieties like that around here.  I would buy a bhut from a nursery just to see how it would turn out.  The pics I see of what passes for Bhuts online and in books (where authors should know better) are just silly.  My bhuts are all looking rather stunted from all the rain we've been getting.  It will be a while before mine bounce back.  My Naga Suomi and Dorset Nagas have made it through the rain in better shape though.  Good luck and have fun this weekend!

 
I don't know why, but this old Yankee nurseryman starts lots of different types of plants... a really diverse selection, and he also starts a couple of dozen superhots as well. I got Sage, Poblanos, Bhuts, a Chiltepin, and later today I got a Moruga plant from him as well.
   Sorry to hear your Bhuts have suffered from the cold and wet conditions this spring, but it figures that the stuff that grows well in Finland and the UK would be able to handle it. Good luck to you as well!
 
 

Time to get busy, plants are looking good, Rick

 
Hey Stefan!!! Thanks for dropping in buddy! Busy-ness coming right up...

 

[Devv]

looking good Rick!
 
This weekend will go really fast!

 

[stickman]

looking good Rick!
 
This weekend will go really fast!

 
Cheers Scott, that's my hope as well. I've been trying to get the prep done so things can go into the ground quickly. It's been hot and dry here the last week and our sandy soil is like sugar for consistency. I'll give it a good soaking tonight, and again tomorrow morning before planting to try to minimize transplant shock. We have afternoon thundershowers forecast for the whole three-day weekend, so it seems we're jumping from April to July in one go! At least it should keep the ground moist enough for the transplants to get settled in.