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...)

 

[stc3248]

Dayum...every glog I check I find another one I passed on that I am kicking myself over! I passed on the datils...seeds sitting in there mocking me right now! Now you add that BA pic to the mix and I find myself standing outside my fridge wanting to soak some seeds. Good thing I am out of room! Hmmmm....pretty sure I could get another couple 5# buckets around the pool.....

Hope you're feeling better buddy!
Shane

 

[synclinorium]

Dayum...every glog I check I find another one I passed on that I am kicking myself over! I passed on the datils...seeds sitting in there mocking me right now! Now you add that BA pic to the mix and I find myself standing outside my fridge wanting to soak some seeds. Good thing I am out of room! Hmmmm....pretty sure I could get another couple 5# buckets around the pool.....

Hope you're feeling better buddy!
Shane

Thanks, I'm almost through the antbiotics, so this should be the end of it.

There's always next year. I swear I must have dozens of varieties I want to start after looking through the glogs... however, the Datil is highly recommended. Bushy plant, super prolific, heat similar to most habaneros, with a fruitier flavor (Fatalii still taste a bit more fruity to me, but are nowhere near as productive). It was my most consistent producer last year aside from the White Habs.

 

[Eephus Man]

I have never tasted a Datil, so I'm very much looking forward to having fruit from the three plants I have this year. They are flowering. Hoping for some early fruitset before the heat halts production.

 

[KiNGDeNNiZ]

Shane... i have a couple datil seedlings.. maybe 3in long... if i can learn how to feed them and get them to blow up in growth i will get you a plant.... Sync.. your plants and pods looks awesome..would love to try datil..because the way im growing mine will prolly be next year... ahahhahahaha

 

[stc3248]

Shane... i have a couple datil seedlings.. maybe 3in long... if i can learn how to feed them and get them to blow up in growth i will get you a plant.... Sync.. your plants and pods looks awesome..would love to try datil..because the way im growing mine will prolly be next year... ahahhahahaha

That would be awesome! If you decide to keep them I am certain we can at least work out a pod exchange.

Thanks, I'm almost through the antbiotics, so this should be the end of it.

There's always next year. I swear I must have dozens of varieties I want to start after looking through the glogs... however, the Datil is highly recommended. Bushy plant, super prolific, heat similar to most habaneros, with a fruitier flavor (Fatalii still taste a bit more fruity to me, but are nowhere near as productive). It was my most consistent producer last year aside from the White Habs.

Yeah, I've read those reviews as well...another reason I'm kicking myself. The datils/ajis/fataliis are always at the top of everyone favorite lists. I got my super datil seeds off a seed train once the garden had been set. I have 3 fataliis and an aji going, I should be ok!

Looking forward to following yours though! It's like I have 20 gardens growing right now watching all these glogs develop! That plus I've seen literally thousands of plants exposed to all the best and worst things imaginable. So I am boosting my grow experience with every page! Thanks for the info, and keep up the great grow!

Shane

 

[synclinorium]

It's been damn hot the last couple of days. The plants love it, but I've needed to provide water to many of the plants at the end of the day. Somehow I think this summer may be murder...

I apologize for the quality of these photos, my cheap camera functions just fine except under lower light conditions, and then it won't focus properly.

My Tepin x Jalapeno F1 has fully recovered from its little ordeal and seems insistent on putting out more pods... it's probably enjoying this hot weather most of all, all of its growth is now a healthy lush green.

Some very healthy looking, albeit late starts, of Pequins that I forgot I had. You know you have too many peppers when you don't even know what you're growing...

This Datil is a good example of why I don't bother pinching the tops of my plants anymore. They bush out just fine on their own in good time.

I'm in awe of the Mini Mini. As far as production value is concerned, this plant is annoyingly slow; one flower per node generally, tiny pods that take a long time to ripen, but they have that nice baccatum flavor with some bite. I keep this one growing mainly for its ornamental value.

I'm thinking it's just about Mojito time.

 

[synclinorium]

I can't resist a little pornage.

What's this? A ripe pod on my Datil? More to come...

Second Cumari plant beginning to flower

I'm starting to wonder if one of my Mini Minis isn't a Mini Mini, or a cross. This one has longer leaves, slightly plumper pods, and doesn't have the stem darkening that the other one has. The pods also stick much higher above the surrounding foliage than the other plant.

Rocoto with a few pods. I'm worried with this heat, but so far the plants don't seem to mind, most are growing like weeds.

Aji Amarillo small strain. The rate of pod set on these is ridiculous.

7 Pod Brain Strain Yellow. This was probably a bad idea. As if to remind myself how low my tolerance actually is (and how much I dislike basic Hab flavor on its own), I popped a White Hab in my mouth after wandering around the garden, instant pain. No idea what I'm going to do with these... maybe make some nuclear powder...

 

[Spicegeist]

Nice rocoto, mine are just about to start flowering. They do grow big and strong.

 

[stc3248]

7 Pod Brain Strain Yellow. This was probably a bad idea. As if to remind myself how low my tolerance actually is (and how much I dislike basic Hab flavor on its own), I popped a White Hab in my mouth after wandering around the garden, instant pain. No idea what I'm going to do with these... maybe make some nuclear powder...

My prediction is you'll eat one, then regret it...then after a while you'll eat another one. The yellows aren't as hot as the reds...but "aren't as hot" is relative to what "hot" is for a Brain Strain...still gonna be painful! Or you could do like I plan to do...I'm military so the machismo level is pretty high at the office. I am going to leave a big bowl full of pods on the table in the break room with a note saying "Careful they're hot" and set up my go-pro cam and see what happens.

 

[synclinorium]

My prediction is you'll eat one, then regret it...then after a while you'll eat another one. The yellows aren't as hot as the reds...but "aren't as hot" is relative to what "hot" is for a Brain Strain...still gonna be painful! Or you could do like I plan to do...I'm military so the machismo level is pretty high at the office. I am going to leave a big bowl full of pods on the table in the break room with a note saying "Careful they're hot" and set up my go-pro cam and see what happens.

I keep telling my friends they should be glad I'm nice, with this arsenal on my hands. I'm not really the machisimo sort, so I might try a part of one at some point, but since the heat makes it difficult to appreciate the flavor I prefer to mix it in with something else. I respect the nuts out there that can willingly chomp down on a superhot pod, but it's not for me.

I have (well, not mine, I found it online at some point and I've been modifying it since) a peach sauce recipe using yellow and orange peppers, but it's almost never hot enough by the time I'm done with it, so I might try using a couple of these in the next batch...

 

[PaulG]

Hey, synch, your grow is looking great. Your overwinters have me looking
ahead 4 or 5 months so I can try to get a few going! I hope you have a
chance to try some cuttings, I think that's a great idea (of course ) That
is definitely something I want to try to do with an established plant. And get
some pod pics...maybe this week. Yours have me salivating and swearing
at the weather; c'mon, sun!

Keep up the good work, bro - gives the rest of us something to aim for!

 

[romy6]

Your plants look great .
Feeling your pain on the heat.

You can mix the brains with some datils to make a perfect yellow powder.

 

[synclinorium]

Hey, synch, your grow is looking great. Your overwinters have me looking
ahead 4 or 5 months so I can try to get a few going! I hope you have a
chance to try some cuttings, I think that's a great idea (of course ) That
is definitely something I want to try to do with an established plant. And get
some pod pics...maybe this week. Yours have me salivating and swearing
at the weather; c'mon, sun!

Keep up the good work, bro - gives the rest of us something to aim for!

Thanks! Yeah, I'm definitely going to try doing more overwinters this year if I can manage it, though I may be moving at some point so it'll be a little awkward... but that Datil stayed by a south-facing window at the office in a 5-inch pot for close to 4 months this winter. Overwintering doesn't need to be anything fancy, you just need to keep the plants alive. Most of the Rocotos had no direct light for their 5 month stay indoors.

The other benefit of having an established plant is that once you pot it up in the spring, the rate at which it puts out growth usually requires you prune it several times before plant-out, meaning you have a regular source of clones...

Your plants look great .
Feeling your pain on the heat.

You can mix the brains with some datils to make a perfect yellow powder.

I like that idea. I might need to rig up a quick solar dehydrator this summer since I think my housemate would kill me if I tried to do it indoors...

 

[highalt]

I'm looking at all these pod pictures, and wondering what zone you are in? I had to scroll back up and see what state you lived in. Thought I was looking at some of Shane's pictures for a minute there! Good job on the overwinters! I have half a dozen that I kept as experiments, but they weren't anything very interesting, since I pretty much expected them to die anyway. I'll select them more carefully this year.

 

[synclinorium]

I'm looking at all these pod pictures, and wondering what zone you are in? I had to scroll back up and see what state you lived in. Thought I was looking at some of Shane's pictures for a minute there! Good job on the overwinters! I have half a dozen that I kept as experiments, but they weren't anything very interesting, since I pretty much expected them to die anyway. I'll select them more carefully this year.

I think I'm zone 6b... and we had a *very* mild winter. I planted some lettuce in the fall that survived without protection all the way to bolting about a month ago, so I've had a very early start on this year's season.

 

[stc3248]

I'm looking at all these pod pictures, and wondering what zone you are in? I had to scroll back up and see what state you lived in. Thought I was looking at some of Shane's pictures for a minute there! Good job on the overwinters! I have half a dozen that I kept as experiments, but they weren't anything very interesting, since I pretty much expected them to die anyway. I'll select them more carefully this year.

Wow...Flattered Bonnie! Devin is way ahead of me at this point! The only non-annuums I have pods on at this point are my Aji Omnicolor and Wild Brazil...won't be long though! I am loaded with some annuums which I am not complaining about. He's got Pubescens, Baccatum and Chinenses rockin!

Loving your grow Sync...and jealous all the way from zone 9! First Super I ate (Yellow Cardi Scorpion) was in small bites with dinner...I am not a big fan of strong chinense flavor either, and honestly really wasn't a fan of that first pod. I powered my way through the box of pods Jamie sent me and once I got to the end I found myself jonesing for more! By the third pod (Red 7) I just ate them whole including the Brain Strain and Barrackpore. I finished with what I started, another Yellow Cardi and loved it??? I think you'll find something in your sweet spot too.

 

[synclinorium]

Wow...Flattered Bonnie! Devin is way ahead of me at this point! The only non-annuums I have pods on at this point are my Aji Omnicolor and Wild Brazil...won't be long though! I am loaded with some annuums which I am not complaining about. He's got Pubescens, Baccatum and Chinenses rockin!

Loving your grow Sync...and jealous all the way from zone 9! First Super I ate (Yellow Cardi Scorpion) was in small bites with dinner...I am not a big fan of strong chinense flavor either, and honestly really wasn't a fan of that first pod. I powered my way through the box of pods Jamie sent me and once I got to the end I found myself jonesing for more! By the third pod (Red 7) I just ate them whole including the Brain Strain and Barrackpore. I finished with what I started, another Yellow Cardi and loved it??? I think you'll find something in your sweet spot too.

In your defense, I really like the plant I'm calling a small strain Aji Amarillo... the flavor is similar, and the plant is a (relatively) early and heavy producer. I didn't need to start those seeds in January... and this heat has been a boon to all of the peppers growth.

I'm hoping I find my sweet spot. Lately I'm finding all of my favorite peppers are the wilds, so I'll be playing more with them in the future. Speaking of wilds...

So now that I actually look back at my 2011 grow log, the reason my second Mini Mini doesn't look like one is because it isn't a Mini Mini, it's a "Bolivian Small Red."


This is why proper labeling is important.

Pods are more substantial than the Mini Mini and they don't get hidden in the growth nearly as much.

Compared to the Mini Mini:

 

[synclinorium]

No real reason to update, but I'm taking a break from work so this seemed like a good excuse.

I checked the plants the other day and found my own personal army of assassin bug nymphs standing guard on the Wiri Wiri.

I may have another weird cross/mutation on my hands. My one Datil start for this year has started flowering... sort of. The petals are elongate and don't open much, if at all. It seems to be setting pods, too early to say much but they do appear a bit rounder than normal, maybe a White Hab cross? Speaking of White Habs...

My 4 White Hab plants. 2 overwinters on the left, 2 starts on the right, and the starts are outpacing the overwinters in terms of pod production at the moment. They stay pretty compact and grow slowly, so I think this year any I keep overwinter won't be pruned nearly as much.

Potted up the Butch T into a 6-7 gallon pot I had lying around. Kind of like the 7Pots, no idea what I'll be doing with these. Growing them mostly for the novelty of it.

And just to make people a little more jealous... Datils.

 

[jsschrstrcks]

We do things right here in Fl, Datils are a good example

I have a single Datil this season. I am hoping it lives up to the hype!!

 

[synclinorium]

Not to neglect my non-chile plants, I bought a mixed pack of heirloom tomatoes and some of them are starting to bloom... judging by the potato leaves on this one I'm going to guess Brandywine.

I'm trying a few more eggplant this year. Last year they got massacred by the flea beetles, I might try sticking them in buckets this year and planting some radish as a trap crop... though they might still prefer the eggplant, who knows. This is just a long Asian type I picked up at the store, I also have a few egg-type Thai eggplant I started from seed that are a bit smaller than this. Something I was wondering about, can eggplant be overwintered like peppers?

On the pepper side of things, I have about a dozen Rocoto pods set. These aren't the big 'ol apple sized varieties that everyone seems to like, they get to be about golf ball sized or so. Plants are about 3 feet tall currently, and they're growing fast...