Trent's 2014 Grow Log - COLD COLD COLD

Figure I'll keep track 2014 on here. At least then all my data will be in one place instead of scattered around on slips of paper.
 
First; PSA.
 
I'll *never* use the Jiffy starting pods / soil again.
 
I lost 95% of the plants in these two trays:
 

 
The roots wouldn't form. They couldn't get any nutrients out of the soil, whatsoever, and tried to suck what they could from the layers of paper. 
 
Burpee trays with compressed peat were planted 3 weeks later and within 3 weeks were quadruple in size.
 
Finished transplanting all sprouts on Saturday (4-5-2014).
 

 

 
I might lose a couple transplants but here's the current count (all in 3" paper cups)
 
7 pod Barrackpore - qty 6
7 pod Brain Strain, Yellow - qty 5 
7 pod Brain Strain, Red - qty 11
7 pod Chaguanas - qty 7
7-pod Jonah - qty 4
7-pod Long - qty 11
7-pod Original Red - qty 7
7-pod Primo - Qty 3
 
Bhut Jolokia (brown) - Qty 2
Bhut Jolokia (indian carbon) - qty 6
Bhut Jolokia (red) - qty 9
Bhut Jolokia (yellow) - qty 7
Bhut Jolokia (white) - qty 6
 
Brown Moruga - qty 6
 
Carolina reaper - qty 23
 
Cayenne (Sweet) - qty 3
Cayenne (large) - qty 6
Chili de Abrol - qty 10
 
True Cumari - qty 1
 
Datil - qty 3
 
Dedo De Moca - qty 3
 
Dorset Naga - qty 3
 
Fatali, Yellow - qty 4
 
Giant mexican Rocoto - qty 4
 
Goats weed - qty 3
 
Habanero (big sun) - qty 8
Habanero (chocolate) - all died / no sprouts
Habanero (orange) - qty 4
 
Jalapeno (black) - qty 8 
Jalapeno (early) - qty 14
Jalapeno (giant) - qty 15
 
Mako Akokosrade - qty 3
 
Naga Morich (orig) - qty 6
Naga Morich (monster naga) - qty 3
Naga morich (bombay morich) - qty 6
 
Pimenta de Neyde - qty 3
 
Tobago (seasoning) - all died
 
Tobago Scotch Bonnet (red) - qty 3
Tobago Scotch Bonnet (yellow) - qty 5
 
Trinidad Scorpion (butch T) - qty 8
Trinidad Scorpion (Cardi) - qty 4
Trinidad scorpion (douglah) - qty 3
Trinidad scorpion Moruga - qty 7
Trinidad scorpion (orig) - qty 3
Trinidad scorpion (PI 281317) - qty 3
Trinidad Scorpion (smooth) - qty 1
Trinidad Scorpion (yellow) - qty 4
 
PI 281429 - qty 1
 
surviving overwinters in large pots:
 
7-Pod (orig) - qty 1
Bhut Jolokia (red) - qty 2
Bhut Jolokia (giant) - qty 1
Yellow Bhut jolokia - qty 2
Carolina Reaper - qty 4
Cayenne - qty 1
habanero (golden) - qty 3
habanero (tazmanian) - qty 3
Naga morich - qty 1
naga Viper - qty 2
Trinidad Scorpion - qty 1
Butch-T Trinidad - qty 2
Trinidad scorpion moruga - qty 3
Yatsufusa - qty 1
Scotch Bonnet (red) - qty 1 (sole 2012 survivor)
 
Total 3" pot transplants: 264
Total overwinters surviving: 28
 
 

 

[Jeff H]

Nice reviews Trent. You have more balls than I do. about 1/4 pod at most when the scovies are over a million. Mostly because I am too impatient to make sure my stomach is properly prepped with food and more than a 1/4 pod wrecks the stomach.   That gets so uncomfortable.
 
Good review of the Indian carbon. Mine has a bunch of pods on it but none ripe yet. You review has me looking forward to them.

 

[TrentL]

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.

 
Oh yeah the original 7 pots have a great flavor. 7-pots are my go-to for making nuclear pizza. The taste works incredibly well together.
 
Also makes a really GOOD beef jerky flavoring.
 
 

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

 
My stomach was fine.. my ass was a different story. This morning I shed a tear or three, and vowed to never eat hot peppers again.
 
At least until next time. I have a Monster Naga sitting here..... and a chocolate moruga just about done turning....
 
Those barrackpores are NOT for the faint of heart.
 

Hmmm, hope you have a bidet for the wallet side of your torso!
 
Nice reviews Trent, hope the next day is a good one

 
No, it most certainly was not a "good morning."
 
Was a five alarm fire on my back side today. I could track them moving through my gut last night... when I woke up this morning, it was IMPERATIVE that my first trip was the head...
 
Those barrackpores will be relegated to "kickers" over milder peppers in sauce. They had a really great flavor but the heat after 60 seconds was too intense to enjoy. The stomach cramps & pain that hit immediately were also no joy. I don't mind fire.. I don't like cramps.
 

Nice reviews Trent. You have more balls than I do. about 1/4 pod at most when the scovies are over a million. Mostly because I am too impatient to make sure my stomach is properly prepped with food and more than a 1/4 pod wrecks the stomach.   That gets so uncomfortable.
 
Good review of the Indian carbon. Mine has a bunch of pods on it but none ripe yet. You review has me looking forward to them.

 
Oh man those Indian Carbons were a really good tasting pod. Can't wait until I have enough to do a batch of sauce.

 

[jcw10tc]

I have those Giant Orange Habs in one of my worst shadiest spots.  Plant is very short but loaded with about 50+ pretty large pods.  Funny shape though like you said, mine remind me of a jamaican pepper i grew years ago more so than a habanero.  Got a few peppers picked tonight, about 20 or 30, most still from about 5 plants, but more are starting to turn. Did pick a pimenta de neyde that looked like it might be ripe or at least starting.  Figured I would try and see if it was green tasting or seemed ripe, just started to lighten up a little from the solid black it was. Still have a large number of plants that just put on peppers so still a lot of little ones, but thats fine, going to have plenty to keep me busy.  Come frost will probably still be thousands of pods on there, most of my plants are in the 3 - 4ft tall range now, a few getting close to 5 foot.  Never have had plants anywhere close to this big before I don't think. 

 

[TrentL]

13 quarts of garlic dill pickles tonight. All 13 were marinaded in lemon juice for an hour, then got a clove of garlic (each smashed & split), and a head of dill when jarred.
 
Except... this one jar got 3x bhut jolokia and 2x pimenta de neydes in it.
 

 
And the 14th quart was all Jalapenos... spiked with a 7-Pot Barrackpore.
 

 
What can I say... I'm a glutton for punishment...
(last week I put away 6 jars of Kosher dill - and 1 pint of Jalapenos, which got one of the red pods that Devv sent mixed in. Brings me up to 19 quarts of pickles and a quart and a half of Jalapenos.)

 

[randyp]

     I tried superhots in pickled products last year,after a couple weeks the heat was dispersed into the brine.When you eat the peppers their flavor is outstanding without that drop you to your knees heat.I will be pickling more peppers this year.

 

[TrentL]

     I tried superhots in pickled products last year,after a couple weeks the heat was dispersed into the brine.When you eat the peppers their flavor is outstanding without that drop you to your knees heat.I will be pickling more peppers this year.

 
Yeah the superhot in the Jalapenos was for the same reason. They get pretty bland, heat-wise, without SOME sort of kicker added in. I figured one of those evil 7-pot barrackpores was enough for that quart. 
 
Maybe instead of "sort of hot pickled Jalapenos" I'll get "oh damn" Jalapenos.

 

[TrentL]

Well shit.
 
Last week we had crop dusters busily buzzing the nearby fields (3 in the air I could see from one vantage point).
 
This week... lo and behold. More 2,4-D damage shows up.
 

 

 

 
It's struck a few plants bad - each of the three 2014 plants stricken hard were "yellow" Chinense varieties (yellow fatali, yellow bhut, and one other I can't recall the name of now).
 
My red bhut overwinter is also showing severe signs of rapid growth. (That big sonofabitch that was already loaded up with pods on 2 year old potting soil....I'll need to prune it again..)
 
As I inspected new growth on the others, it appears that more will be impacted.
 
Nothing I can do about it this late in the game; certainly not pruning them back since they're all kicked in to high gear on flowering and production. Going to let them ride it out.
 
 
Anyway on to more joyous affairs.
 
This random annuum volunteered itself - by my front steps, WELL away from the garden. I can only assume that it's a Jalapeno, because I often sit on the front steps eating them and spit the seeds in to the mulch.
 

 
Funny thing is, there's a damn tomato volunteer that also popped up right next to it. 
 
(lower right)

 
Yes, the pepper and tomato volunteers popped right up through that massive marigold plants (there's 3 of them, and they grew together to about a 5' wide by 2' deep patch)!!!
 
The "dirt crop" is now getting seriously loaded up:
 

 
Another angle of that same plant. (7-pot chauganas, MASSIVE pods...) 
 

 
The odd "red" pimenta de neyde is still flourishing.
 

 
That Bhut Jolokia I repaired is still hanging in there.
 

 
And... ripe carolina reaper pods on the overwinter...
 

 
Those bring pack painful memories.

 

[randyp]

    I think I found my mystery plant that was suppose to be a brain strain.It looks like your red pimenta de neyde.How are they?The pods are cool as heck.

 

[TrentL]

    I think I found my mystery plant that was suppose to be a brain strain.It looks like your red pimenta de neyde.How are they?The pods are cool as heck.

 
I ate one in my first 'pepper roundup review' this weekend, have a habanero-esque taste. But my mouth was burning severely from other supers by the time I got to them so I couldn't tell heat level. 
 
I've tried two more pods since then but they've got mold inside. Look fine on outside, mold on the inside... getting tired of that. Historically I pick the pods and eat them right there, but day before yesterday got a mouthful of nasty bitter black fungus for my troubles. So from now on I'm bringing them in, cutting them open for inspection, THEN eating them.

 

[TrentL]

Some harvest pics.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
7 Pod Barrackpore and .... NOT 7-pod barrackpore. At least that's my opinion. I can't imagine this diverse of a pheno on a breed.
 

 
My first Brown Moruga. this thing frightens me.
 

 
That's 10! Need a bump!

 

[tctenten]

Bump

 

[TrentL]

Thank you!
 
Carolina Reapers (from 2013 overwinter)

 
Bhut Jolokia overwinter I mended is still going nuts.

 
Funky little pods here. (Damnit I can't remember if this was Cumari or Datil... sigh)

 
My golden 7-pot plant. This was bought as 7-pot seeds from Pepper Joe in 2012 but was an obvious cross (although WHAT it was crossed with is no so obvious...)

 
The pods it makes are bastardly hot thin walled buggers:

 
Tasmanian Habanero overwinter is producing like crazy:

 
Brown morugas on the plant. 

 
Trinidad Yellows are forming up true:

 
Monster nagas (hopefully I can finally TASTE these, last few were had bad fungus rot when I pulled them)

 
Mako Akokasrade - MAN I enjoyed the hell out of these sonsabitches last pick. Looking forward to more.

 
Need another bump if anyone drops by again

 

[tctenten]

Bump. Pods look great. How long was that cayenne? In the first pic.

 

[TrentL]

That cayenne was right at 12.5" on a cloth measuring tape. Seeds were from Judy (pepperlover.com), "Large Cayenne"
 
Another disappointment. The Butch-T overwinter from 2013 turned out to be a "Not Butch-T". I don't know what went wrong, but can probably chalk it up to kids helping me up-pot them at the end of last year...
 
Looks like a bhut or naga, will hopefully know for sure when I eat one, so I can relabel it appropriately.
 

 
 
Cappuccino Habanero from fellow local forum member and glogger jwc10tc
 

 
I hope those Cappuccino Habaneros taste as good as they look, because that's a NEAT frigging pod:
 

 
The Giant Orange habaneros I got from him are also doing great in the 5 gal cloth pot:
 

 
Jungle of sweet cayenne. Interesting how they are "fading in to color"
 

 
7-pot Original (pepperlover)

 
7-pot yellow brain strain (pepperlover), not *quite* ready to pick

 
"Not-7-pod-Barrackpore" (pepperlover). These phenos are wrong. Definitely more of a trinidad shape. If the seeds were legit, must not be a stable strain; these are WAY different than the other pods I'm pulling.
 
Edit to add; they actually look like red brain strains... was very careful labeling this year, don't think I mixed them up. No matter; they look hot as shit and I'll be happy anyway.

 
Bhut Jolokia Indian Carbon (pepperlover). These were damn good tasting pods when I tried them last weekend.

 
And the old original Bhut Jolokia. Unfortunately all of the pods were rotted and were pitched in to the yard.

 
That's all for today thanks for the bumps!

 

[GnomeGrown]

Looking good, Trent
 

 

[Spicegeist]

7 Pot Gold look peach colored there...

 

[TrentL]

7 Pot Gold look peach colored there...

 
Yeah, they are. That's the final color. It can get hard to tell when they're ready, because they turn a very light yellow (creme?), then that color so early, yet gain heat with time. They got bigger last year, more 7-pot shaped.
 
Some of my overwinters that weren't transplanted changed pheno on me. The soil is old, and worn out, and a few (including that 7-pot) are fighting a bad bacterial infection. 
 
I've got one Moruga Scorpion that was transplanted to fresh soil that's producing gnarly pods, and one that was left in old soil, making smooth pods with very little heat.
 
Lesson learned here is "don't be cheap and lazy, refresh the potting soil each year."
 
Even though I can keep them alive and healthy in old soil, I think they aren't getting some of the micronutrients they need to form fruit properly.
 
Oh, on another note. F**** EARWIGS.
 
Sonsabitches wiped out ALL of the pods on a naga morich plant. I tossed 14 ripe pods off of it today, then found the culprit; thumbnail sized earwig trying to hide from me.

Edit to add; It's possible that 7-pod was a cross with a peach habanero (Don't know the growing conditions; those seeds were bought from PepperJoe....)
 
Reason I say this is they have a distinctly habanero taste, very sweet taste, with the 7-pot smell. Very odd. 
 
I actually like the pods, though. They have an intense heat that doesn't last too long. And the flavor is "just different enough" to set them apart.

 

[jcw10tc]

Hey, let me know how the Cappuchino Hab is, I don't think I am going to get any.  Mine was in the north end of my plot and something was wrong with the soil up there or something.  I did notice early in the year very wet, so maybe root rot or something, but about 6 - 8 plants up that end had severe curled leaves, and seemed stunted.  Removed the plastic mulch way back in June and someone amazingly the plants are actually looking somewhat ok now and have grown fairly tall but just now setting some flowers, might get some late, but might not.  Will try again with that one next year for sure, have some seeds left.  The giant orange hab I have looks just the same.  Not sure if it is supposed to look like that, kinda not your typical hab shape.  Picked first one this weekend.  Really wierd plant for me too.  Most of mine are huge this year, many approaching 4ft tall, but that little guy is like 1 foot tall and bout 3 foot across but probably has about 5 pounds of pods on it.  Hope its good to make some smoked habaero dust with.  My chocolate habs, my favorite pepper before this year and the main reason I got back into starting from seed also isn't going to give me any chocolate habs.  Going to get peppers but not sure what, have some huge scropion tails on some and they are pretty nasty looking.  Going to be a superhot most likely and not a habanero.  Good luck with your grow, I am worried.  Already getting behind processing them, have drying running in the garage now with 4 trays loaded.  This morning after all this rain looked around and have probably thousands of pods on.  Did you get mustard hab from me, I hope that one is true, I have some pods on that plant seem like the size of a tennis ball, probalby smaller but biggest hab pods I have ever seen.   

 

[randyp]

    Trent things look great,wow.Are you going to pull every day or every other day.?

 

[PIC 1]

Nice grow you have there in Illini...........colorful harvests!
That 2-4-D damage is a pain..........I'm sure you're seeing some funky mis-shaped pods after the effect. It might be a nice experiment to save seeds from an early distorted pod....plant a seed or two next yr....(you do have the space)...and see if the pod grows true or has distorted genetics............surprising results may happen.