Trent's 2014 Grow Log - COLD COLD COLD

Jeff H · Jul 28, 2014

Don't discount BER that easily Trent. It is lack of calcium, but that can also be caused by too much water (which we have had a ton of), or too much N. Either will cause the roots to stop uptaking all nutrients which can lead to a calcium issue.

BER is the easiest explanation, especially when it has been raining every 2-3 days. Seen a few peppers here like that too.

Plenty of those darn pests that bore holes in the peppers too. Under my Jigsaw and red ghost there must be 12+ pods on the ground. All with holes in them. None ripe though.

Iritating

TrentL · Jul 29, 2014

So far the pod-rot hasn't been too big of a deal, but then again, they're just starting to ripen. So we'll see how it goes.

I have only lost 2 of about 100 ripe Jalapeno pods to rot; but I think those were damaged and let fungus get in.

TrentL · Jul 30, 2014

So I was walking past the garden yesterday and noticed a spot of Red off to my left in the weeds.

Oh. My spares.

My poor, poor neglected spares.

I gave 'em all a good shower yesterday; today they were not so horrible looking. VERY nitrogen deprived, though. They must be root bound to hell and gone in those 5" pots.

On the flip side, no pod rot, and several nicely ripened pods.

Gives credence to Jeff H's theory on blossom end rot from too much water or nitrogen (these obviously did not have too much water OR nitrogen lol)
On a related note, I'm stunned that they are still alive. I have done NOTHING for them in two months, they've just been sitting there with the grass growing up around them....

TrentL · Aug 2, 2014

Ugh. One should not eat Monster Naga pods raw at 9 AM in the morning. Really sent my whole day skittering sideways.

DAMN those are hot.

dlsolo · Aug 2, 2014

TrentL said:
Ugh. One should not eat Monster Naga pods raw at 9 AM in the morning. Really sent my whole day skittering sideways.

DAMN those are hot.

Who needs coffee that early....

Devv · Aug 2, 2014

My guess on the first pepper was BER, not the second.

I've had BER issues with tomatoes, and after trying Calmag last year as a drench was disappointed. I still had the BER. But this year a full strength mix of Calmag with a 50% of Seaweed extract, applied as a foliar spray once a week. I had just 1 or 2 tomatoes with BER versus a 30% crop loss last year. And I had over 70 plants. It's a Calcium uptake issue, it's caused from poor soil, and uneven watering. I don't think your soil is the issue. For me BER on a pepper is a rare thing, the tom's show it first.

Good luck with the BLS, I think not doing OW's could break the cycle. Some info: http://www.apsnet.org/edcenter/intropp/lessons/prokaryotes/Pages/Bacterialspot.aspx

TrentL · Aug 3, 2014

Devv: I've got rot INSIDE some of the pods, with no external damage visible. So while some may be BER from nutes, these others are definitely something else entirely. Took my first harvest today and 2x 7-pod chaguanas and 1x Monster naga was packed full of fungus, but looked perfectly normal on the exterior.

Anyway about that harvest...

I also taste-tested the following...
* Habanero Big Sun
* 7-Pot Original
* Moruga scorpion (overwinter)
* Bhut Jolokia Indian Carbon
* Pimento de Neyde
* 7-pot Barrackpore
* Trinidad PI281317
* Bhut Jolokia (overwinter)
* Giant orange hab
* Mako Akokosrade
* 7-pod Barrackpore (round 2... )

I'll write up more later, but for now.. look at this pic.

That's a 7-pod Barrackpore. And yes, that is straight up capsaiscin oil pooled up inside of it.

Those were BY FAR the hottest ones I ate today. Truly punishing; the only ones that gave me stomach cramps and made me pour milk.

Will write up more on them later, family wants to go swimming.... (hope the gut cramps stop or this could get real interesting.)

dlsolo · Aug 3, 2014

I think the sun wants its capsaicin oil back!

I know now to make that into powder, rather than making Taco Tuesdays with it.

Mighty fine harvest.

HillBilly Jeff · Aug 3, 2014

That is an impressive amount of oil in that pod.

Harvest is looking good.

Devv · Aug 3, 2014

Glad to see the color Trent!

And yeah I get some pods that I toss for the same reason, usually they are the tiny ones. But you've had so much rain this year..

TrentL · Aug 3, 2014

dlsolo said:
I think the sun wants its capsaicin oil back!

I know now to make that into powder, rather than making Taco Tuesdays with it.

Mighty fine harvest.

Oh man. I ate 1/2 of a pod, diced, on two bites of pizza. (was trying to get through as many pods as possible on 3 small slices of pizza, my kids didn't leave me much to work with).

I'd got through the second bite before the burn set in. REAL slow to build - over a minute before the flame started going. But man once it DID start it was relentless. 15 minutes later I was still sweating, mouth on fire, and gut cramping. Had to drink milk. I went through a glass, finally settled down.

HillBilly Jeff said:
That is an impressive amount of oil in that pod.

Harvest is looking good.

Well, I was not sure if it was a "singular odd hot pod" so I cut another one up, and ate another half. That's when I snapped that pic, because I noticed the second time that oil was literally pooling up in the half of pod.

I diced a half again, two more bites of pizza, same thing. About 60-75 seconds to set in, then it was horribly hot.

By the time I was done with that second half of a pod I was seriously concerned I was going to hurl, my gut has NEVER cramped like that before, not even on Reapers. It's like most of it hit my gut instead of my mouth (but enough hit my mouth that over an HOUR later my lips were still burning.)

Those barrackpore's are nasty, nasty sonofabitches.
But the thing is, the heat is so slow to build, you can actually TASTE them, unlike some of the other ultra-hots. And dude.. they taste REALLY frigging good. Very sweet and fruity right away, fragrant.

If they weren't so damn hot, those would be great peppers to munch on.

Devv said:
Glad to see the color Trent!

And yeah I get some pods that I toss for the same reason, usually they are the tiny ones. But you've had so much rain this year..

Yeah the ones which were rotted on the inside were all off of those very neglected spare plants. Pods were all tiny. Some were OK but those three were just rotten to the core.

Ok now for the setup:

Blue nitrile gloves, pen, notepad, camera, "the cutting board from hell" (you do NOT want to prepare any food on that cutting board), various peppers, and crappy frozen pizza.

The peppers were eaten in immediate succession to one another (just prep time in between tasting.) So my judgment on heat was skewed - it became hard to differentiate until I got to the Barrackpore. Then it was FULL STOP, for 20 minutes to let the fires of hell cool off. Afterwards the remainder were eaten in rapid succession, prep time only in between, until I revisited the Barrackpore and decided "yup, that's enough."

First up:

Habanero Big Sun

I figured that I'd start with the mildest.

My notes: "Ow. Full mouth burn, gums and sides of tongue more than rest. Searing burn but let up pretty fast. Tangy citrus, but not so great on pizza."

Consumed 1/2 pod.

Afterthoughts: Pretty good habanero. Will make good sauce.

7-Pot Original

My notes: "Ouch x2. Nose running, slightly bitter, fast hitting. GREAT with pizza! Long slow burn."

Afterthoughts: Very meaty pod, LOTS of boiling hot placenta. Tastes and smells exactly as a 7 pot should taste. I have no doubts as to the authenticity and purity of the seeds from Judy. Will make flake again with these.

Consumed: 1/2 pod.

7-Pot Chaguanas

BZZZZZ. Both pods I pulled were fungus bombs. Looked perfectly fine on the exterior. Will have to revisit.

Monster Naga

BZZZZ. Only pod I harvested was riddled with fungus. Couldn't find a large enough "clean" segment to taste, so I threw it out.

Trinidad Moruga Scorpion 2013 (Overwinter)

Notes: "Alarming potnt smell screams don't eat me. When I ate the pod, full mouth went numb. Was expecting the usual Moruga "oh GOD" response after a bit.. but there was nothing. My mouth still burned from the 7-Pot original, but the heat level didn't increase. Confused, I ate the entire second half of the pod, seeds, placenta and all... numbness... then NOTHING.

Afterthoughts: These pods are SMOOTH this year, last year this plant produced bumpy brain looking things with nasty pointy tails. Something isn't right; nutes? Water? Anyway, they aren't creating any heat. Maybe will improve as the year goes on. If not, this overwinter is getting trashed at the end of this season.

Consumed; Full pod

Bhut Jolokia Indian Carbon

Notes: Very tasty with pizza. Kind of hot (about same as 7-pot, same level of burn continuing. Ate standalone to try to pin flavor down better, it's more bitter than bhut. Need to make a batch of flake for pizza. Very good with it.

Afterthought: This is VERY high on my list for flake this year.

Consumed: full pod

Pimento De Neyde

Notes: Very thick skinned, unusual taste and smell reminds me of something from my childhood. Couldn't pin it down, though it gave me an odd sense of dejavu. Habanero-esque flavor. Could not tell if it was hot at this point. NOT good with pizza.

Afterthought: This plant is growing green/black pods (black on sun side) that turn bright red. My other two Pimento De Neyde plants are growing BLACK pods which I'm unsure what color they'll turn, if any. Will need to revisit. This might make a really neat hot sauce.

Consumed: full pod

7-Pod Barrackpore

Notes: "Smells like 7 pod, looks like Bhut. Tastes like very sweet 7-pod. Builds over time. Back of throat, gums, gut burn growing severe. Getting out milk. Intense stomach cramps mouth burn. Holy shit this pepper is HOT. Pure beast mode."

Afterthought: This is the real deal, guys. Someone got one hell of a pepper hybrid here - this thing is REALLY good tasting. Went perfectly with pizza. Slow onset of burn allows you to enjoy the flavor for about a minute before you become oblivious to your surroundings due to pain. The only thing that worries me was the gut cramps. That's unusual for me - only Carolina Reapers and Moruga scorpions have done that to me in the past.

If I had to guess, I'd put this pepper somewhere NORTH of 1.5 million SHU.

Consumed 1/2 pod (first round.)

After this I took a break to drink MILK and let the flame die down in my mouth. THAT took about 20 solid minutes.

Trinidad PI 281317

Notes: "Thick walled, very juicy, extremely floral. *VERY* sweet tasting initially, with a bitter acidic aftertaste. Raw, not particularly hot (habanero+ level). REALLY REALLY good on pizza. MUST MAKE HOT SAUCE FROM THIS PEPPER.

Afterthought: I *really* enjoyed this wild specimen, it was incredibly good eating, and not hot enough to "shut you down." It's on the top of my short list for hotsauce now.

That's 10 pics.

kgetpeppers · Aug 3, 2014

NICE, weird fungus in the pods but hey it happens.

BUmp

tctenten · Aug 3, 2014

Great reviews Trent. Will be helpful when deciding on next years grow list.

jcw10tc · Aug 3, 2014

Nice harvest. Wish I had that many ripening. Only have about 4 plants ripening so far. White Bhut Jolokia, 7 Pot Brain Strain Yellow, Yellow Moruga, and one that was supposed to be peach t. scorpion but looks more like a bhut or something. Don't think my stomach will handle eating pods like you are doing, might try later after some progressively hotter and hotter salsa. My Pimenta De Neydes are solid black, plants, pods and all and from what I read, they should stay that way and its very difficult to tell when its time to pick them.

HillBilly Jeff · Aug 4, 2014

Nice harvest and some nice reviews. I see that in some pods every now and again too. Wonder if it could be the wetter/cooler weather.

randyp · Aug 4, 2014

Trent I am sending Scott a few of my 1rst pods and sauce today.They look good on the outside,I hope they are good on the inside.
Thanks for doing your reviews,they are helpful.

TrentL · Aug 4, 2014

HillBilly Jeff said:
Nice harvest and some nice reviews. I see that in some pods every now and again too. Wonder if it could be the wetter/cooler weather.

Hot & wet makes it worse. It's a type of fungus that spores get in to the flower. Then as the pod grows, the fungus grows inside it.

Still fighting at least 4 different types of fungus this year. At least one type of bacterial infection. And one of my black Jalapeno plants has pods that are distorted, could have a virus infection. Been trying to keep track of it, because some of the fungus infections persist in the soil, and they'll be back again next year... Also trying to keep track of which pepper plants are most and least resistant to it so I can plan out next year's grow. I'll have to make some sacrifices on variety in the dirt next year, growing more resistant plants in the dirt, and keeping the less resistant ones isolated in pots.

Bhut Jolokia (2013 overwinter)

Notes: Thick-walled, smells just like last year. Tangy, fruity, tastes good w/ pizza. Moderate heat.

Afterthoughts: After the barrackpore, everything was "moderate heat" lol.

Consumed: 1 pod

Giant Orange Hab

(plant from jcw10tc)

Notes: "Good hab smell, juicy & thick walled. Odd shape for hab - cross with TS? Not good w/ pizza. Apple fruit tones. Bitter aftertaste. Need to try grilling."

Afterthoughts: Didn't write down any 'heat' info because after that barrackpore everything was 'mild' to me lol. The Giant Orange Hab had a very interesting flavor and I could taste definite notes of apple flavor. Could make a nifty sauce, gave me an idea to actually USE apple (maybe cider?) in a hot sauce. Sure it's been done by someone somewhere but I haven't tried it yet. Maybe... apple-cinnamon-habanero jelly? nom....

Consumed: 1/2 pod

Mako Akokosrade

Notes: "Burned nose before took bite. Good with pizza. Went back for seconds. Trinidad flavors. Sweet. Good heat, very tasty w/ pizza."

Afterthoughts: The only downside to the Mako Akokosrade is the pods are small (not much to go around), and the seeds are incredibly hard. The heat level is somewhere north of a hab, but not by much. Very good tasting pepper that I don't mind eating straight up once de-seeded. Not much placenta but what is there is THERMONUCLEAR. The pod walls themselves are hab level, but sucking on a seed burns a hole straight through your tongue. (Or at least feels like it). Seeds are too hard though - if you bite down on one it's painful... they don't give.

This is the first "I'm definitely growing more of these next year" plant I've run across.

Consumed: 1 pod

7-Pod Barrackpore (round 2)

Ok ... after the Mako, I hit another barackpore pod yesterday, before finishing up the testing, just to make sure the first wasn't some fluke.

IMG]http://i.imgur.com/bWBDwKdh.jpg[/IMG]

Notes: "Tried again to see if first pod was fluke. First half of pod on pizza, ate half of second pod raw. Bitter. Built over 1st minute to cruel levels of heat. {hastily scrawled notes} f**k. HOT."

Afterthought: That's the last I managed to write down. After that, the blue gloves came off and I spent the next 20 minutes sipping milk.

Those are evil bastards. Comes on real slow, and continues building slowly. At the 1 min mark I started going 'oh wow this is hot'. By 3 minutes I was "oh wow when is this going to taper off", by 5 minutes my stomach was cramping and my mouth was at a level of burn that I hadn't felt since eating Morugas and Reapers last year.

TWO HOURS LATER, my lips were still mildly burning.

There's so much oil in that Barrackpore, it's ridiculous. That's by far the closest I've come to puking since eating hot peppers, and I threw down a number of heavy hitters last year - butch T, naga viper, moruga scorpions, carolina reapers, etc. There's something *different* about the way the Barrackpore hits you.

tctenten said:
Great reviews Trent. Will be helpful when deciding on next years grow list.

That's the whole point of keeping this Glog, so I can go back over the year and review what happened, how things turned out, so I can plan out next year a little better.

Some of the flavors I tasted yesterday I couldn't pin down - there was nothing comparable that I could draw from to explain them. Pimento de Neyde comes to mind in particular. That one just didn't taste like anything else I'd ever eaten - pepper, or otherwise.

The Trinidad wild (PI281317) was another oddity. NOT hot as far as I could tell, but really, really tasty. I'm going to use it as a kicker in salsa and sauce to give a unique flavoring.

jcw10tc said:
Nice harvest. Wish I had that many ripening. Only have about 4 plants ripening so far. White Bhut Jolokia, 7 Pot Brain Strain Yellow, Yellow Moruga, and one that was supposed to be peach t. scorpion but looks more like a bhut or something. Don't think my stomach will handle eating pods like you are doing, might try later after some progressively hotter and hotter salsa. My Pimenta De Neydes are solid black, plants, pods and all and from what I read, they should stay that way and its very difficult to tell when its time to pick them.

Yeah I think that one Pimenta de Neyde is a mutant. I don't think it was crossed as it's growing the same form, plant size, pod shape, and the leaves are *somewhat* purplush, but more green than the others, and the pods are definitely going from green to part-black to BRIGHT red. I'm thinking whatever gene causes that purple hue is recessive.

One of those pods I just reviewed this morning came from one of your plants. It ripened pretty fast as I had the 5gal pot set in the "peak sunlight" area of the yard where it doesn't get as much shade as the rest. Most of my garden gets about 8 hours of light a day midsummer, but the section closer to the long driveway is getting a full 12 hours.

Most of the heavy hitters are yet-to-come. Some are fearsome and will crush that Barrackpore. (Chocolate Moruga, etc...)

I will NOT be eating those back-to-back-to-back so the review process might slow some.

dlsolo · Aug 4, 2014

Thanks for the reviews Trent. Was sharing your thoughts with the wife and she thinks I'm out of my mine for wanting to grow this hot/superhot peppers.

Did the original 7 pot have any time of taste? I'm thinking about picking up some of those seeds. I like taste. Heat is absolutely necessary but flavor seals the deal, for me.

tsurrie · Aug 4, 2014

those were a lot of pods you ate one after another .. I hope your stomach dealed with them fine

nice reviews ... so the Barrackpore is the way to go when I find Bhut's too mild?
like that is ever gonna happen :fireball:

Devv · Aug 4, 2014

Hmmm, hope you have a bidet for the wallet side of your torso!

Nice reviews Trent, hope the next day is a good one