synclinorium's 2012 Grow Log

I haven't actually started seeds yet, but it will be happening in the very near future... this year's growing season will almost certainly be cut short for reasons I won't go into, so I'm trying to avoid going crazy seed starting... think of this as a healthy start on my overwinters for the year.

I've narrowed down my grow list to the following for 2012. With a couple exceptions I only plan on doing 1 or 2 of each variety, and some might be cut for space reasons, TBD. The superhots will be going into the trays as soon as I get my supplies, with the rest following shortly afterwards. My setup is slightly less ghetto than last year, but don't expect anything too fancy. Anyway, the selection, including any overwinters that make it to plant-out:

7Pod Brain Strain Yellow
Aji Amarillo (3 strains)
Bonda Ma Jacques/Datil/Fatalii
Chocolate Bhut Jolokia
Cumari/Cumari Pollux/Cumari o Passarinho in some combination
Jalapeno
Limon
Prik chee fa/Prik ki nu
Red Rocoto
Tepin/Pequin
Trinidad Scorpion BT
White Habanero
Wiri Wiri

Considering the fact that this growing season will be short, I didn't really want to bother with more pubescens or baccatums aside from my overwinters, and the wilds and superhots I'm just doing for fun. I'll probably do several more Aji Amarillo plants than the rest, as they are mild enough that my housemate uses them on a regular basis, so I won't feel bad about leaving plants with her.

I'm also open to suggestions for other varieties. I'd like to have as broad a flavor profile as possible without turning my entire backyard into a pepper garden (not that I would have an issue with this if I owned property, but I don't think my current landlord would appreciate it...)

 

[saugapepper]

Love the orange/creamsicle BS! Where did you get the seeds from?

 

[synclinorium]

I bought the seeds from Judy (pepperlover.com). Just goes to show, even with the pros you can run into crosses/oddbballs sometimes...

 

[Spicegeist]

Well, the other Yellow Brain Strain is not yellow... more of a safety orange/creamsicle color right now. I'll leave it on for a bit to see if it gets darker or goes to red.

Yeah, looks like one of its parents was yellow. Nice pod, does it have a nice flavor?

 

[synclinorium]

I'll find out in a bit... not that I want to voluntarily try a superhot but I'll have a little sliver. I have enough for a batch of sauce, here's the odd duck amongst the rest... definitely going to red. It doesn't look friendly. (50 cent piece for scale)

 

[stickman]

Wow, that looks like enough for a good-sized batch of hot sauce. How do you fix yours?

 

[synclinorium]

I just use a recipe I found trudging through the internet... I posted a thread about it at one point. I use it pretty much exclusively as a chicken marinade, but it goes fine on popcorn too. It all goes in a blender and into the fridge, don't know how long it keeps but I usually use it fast enough that I'm ready to make a new batch by the time more peppers come in. And yeah, this is the first time I've ever used superhots so... Originally I used Datils, and I'd usually do 28-30 Datils for 3 pints of sauce. Not sure what kind of substitution I would use for these, so it's an experiment.

Of course, all of my mason jars are ocupado so I guess I'll need to wait for a day or two.

 

[stickman]

I just use a recipe I found trudging through the internet... I posted a thread about it at one point. I use it pretty much exclusively as a chicken marinade, but it goes fine on popcorn too. It all goes in a blender and into the fridge, don't know how long it keeps but I usually use it fast enough that I'm ready to make a new batch by the time more peppers come in. And yeah, this is the first time I've ever used superhots so... Originally I used Datils, and I'd usually do 28-30 Datils for 3 pints of sauce. Not sure what kind of substitution I would use for these, so it's an experiment.

Of course, all of my mason jars are ocupado so I guess I'll need to wait for a day or two.

This looks extremely tasty and do-able... We have an orchard down the road that grows the most amazing peaches. I hope to have ripe Orange Habanero pods ready about then I've never used habaneros before, so I'll probably make a batch of the traditional habanero/carrot and the habanero/peach and see which one we like best. Thanks!

 

[synclinorium]

This looks extremely tasty and do-able... We have an orchard down the road that grows the most amazing peaches. I hope to have ripe Orange Habanero pods ready about then I've never used habaneros before, so I'll probably make a batch of the traditional habanero/carrot and the habanero/peach and see which one we like best. Thanks!

Yep... this time of year it's great 'cause the peaches are in season, but with how easy it is to find them canned I've made fall batches too. It tastes like the 7Pods are a lot fruiter than the Datils I've been using, so I'll see how that affects it. Last time was the first chance I had to use fresh peaches and it came out a bit sweet, I think 5 medium sized peaches would be roughly equivalent. The thing barely fits in my blender for a batch, but since it's so easy it's simple to adjust on the fly.

I think it really shines as a barbeque though. I'm not sure if it falls into a particular "camp" of BBQ since it has mustard and vinegar along with molasses and brown sugar, but it goes great on chicken. I'm not much of a mammals person so I can't really vouch for ribs and all that, but I'm thinking that might be worth a shot...

 

[synclinorium]

We got our first good rain in weeks yesterday, and it looks like we're getting more today... woo! Of course, it was a mixed blessing, as it rinsed all of my superhot solution off my plants and the deer swooped in and mowed down the beans and squash again.

Kind of annoying. As much as I love peppers, I can't exactly sustain myself on peppers alone... they've been going after the tomatoes too.

At least the bell peppers remain untouched to this point, they've actually been doing exceptionally well.

My Big Jims have also been doing well, I'll be doing chile rellenos in the next few days...

My tepin is growing as a sort of understory plant for the two, it seems to like its new spot. This one is odd because the peppers don't grow upright but in every which direction.

Wiri Wiri top, Tepin cross on the bottom... and yes, they are both loaded with pods as they appear.

Beautiful bhuts

Second Datil plant is coming along... I should have stuck the overwinter in the ground, its growth has stalled at this point. Oh well, live and learn.

White Hab

Cumari ou passarinho

First pod on the Malawi Peppadew

 

[synclinorium]

Another day, another harvest... sheesh. I need to grow fewer small-podded varieties next time. Upper left green are serranos, upper right green are Jals... they're awfully small, but they taste right. Some of them started turning red so I know they're mature. Ah well. I might just not be able to do poppers this year...

Red ones on the top are all Scorpion crosses that I'll need to try. Orange pods are a mix of Aji Habaneros, Datils, Cumari, and then there are some Wiri Wiri mixed in with the White Habs.

 

[stickman]

Wuff... That'll warm the cockles of your heart for sure!

 

[stc3248]

Nice pull Sync! Sorry about the deer damage. Bright side is it won't be too long till your able to havest some of those as well! My Jals were small last year??? Doing better this season. Trying the Mucho Nachos for my poppers and really impressed thus far, although not the 6" pods they claimed, plenty big for poppers though with good heat. Biker Billy's next season for sure. Great looking plants man, and interesting varieties. That orange to red brainy pod looks painful!

 

[synclinorium]

Nice pull Sync! Sorry about the deer damage. Bright side is it won't be too long till your able to havest some of those as well! My Jals were small last year??? Doing better this season. Trying the Mucho Nachos for my poppers and really impressed thus far, although not the 6" pods they claimed, plenty big for poppers though with good heat. Biker Billy's next season for sure. Great looking plants man, and interesting varieties. That orange to red brainy pod looks painful!

The plants have been small too with the Jalapenos, so I expect the later pods to be a bit better. Last year I grew Early Jalapenos and they did great, perfect size for poppers in my opinion... bigger isn't always better (I'm lactose intolerant, so the less stuffing per pepper the better off I'll be in the morning...). The thing that frustrates me about larger-podded varieties is that they tend to have a lower overall yield, so if there are any problems with the pods there goes a bunch of your crop for the year...

I'll need to devote some more space to the Wiri Wiri in the future. I really like them. The few pods I've had don't seem too terribly hot, maybe in the 150-200k SHU range? Great flavor though.

 

[synclinorium]

I think I actually prefer the taste of the cross to the yellow brain strain... much fruitier (with almost sweet, honey-like notes), hard to judge on heat because they're both pretty absurd.

Through careful empirical analysis I've concluded it takes about 6 yellow brain strains to get the same amount of heat as 30 Datils. Yikes.

 

[KiNGDeNNiZ]

=D wow... looks spicy hot... nice looking white habs.. the white habs i have are peruvian so they are small bite size. ' keep up the grow..

denniz

 

[hooda]

Looks great. I really like the shape and size of those Tepin cross.

 

[synclinorium]

=D wow... looks spicy hot... nice looking white habs.. the white habs i have are peruvian so they are small bite size. ' keep up the grow..

denniz

Mine are Peruvian too, specifically 'White Lightning' Habanero. Name sounded bogus to me, but even Vlad over at Rainbow Chili Seeds sells that particular cultivar, so I guess it's real... and appears to be similar to what I have. Of course, EVERY description I've found for them says 2" peppers, but mine have never topped 1 inch, and every photo I've seen of them fits that..

Looks great. I really like the shape and size of those Tepin cross.

It's a nice looking plant, especially now that they're starting to ripen. They're not tepin-hot, but they still pack a punch.

Here's another shot of the Tepin cross. You can see a couple ripe pods on it right now. They turn pinkish-orange before going to a vibrant red. It's definitely a cross I'll try to stabilize, though I may not get around to it next year. Depends on what my living situation is like.

 

[synclinorium]

1000th post! Woo!

I like the color change on the Tepin x Jalapeno. Takes a few days, it goes from green, to yellow-green, to burgundy orange, to burgundy, to vibrant red. Combined with the nice tanning, it'd make for a colorful display in full production mode.

Ghosts...

Mini Mini is getting large

Bolivian Small Red

Super bushy White Hab. I've already picked it clean for the day, but as you can tell this thing is constantly putting out pods.

Prik ki nu (late start), first ripe pod

C01225... very strange pods. Labeled as c. eximium but I think it's just an annum. Looks like it'll be ripening to red.

 

[synclinorium]

Here's another shot of the two Pequins (front) and the Tepin cross. The second photo is a better picture of the colors on the Tepin cross.

Almost 4 cups of peppers today. Not including the serranos, Big Jims, and bell peppers.

 

[stc3248]

Great harvest! Really like that Tepin X. Cool plant just from the purely ornamental standpoint. Throw in some tasty pods and you got a real winner there!