WalkGood 2013, 2014 and Beyond

PIC 1 · Nov 4, 2013

Plenty of pods there...

Your ariel platter photo would've made a nice "Trick or Treat" adult giveaway at a local bar in my neck of the woods !

I'm digging everything thats happening here... liking that "Reggae Gourmet Foods" patch.
I'd be one of there favorite customers, as I do appreciate the finer foods.

Have a great week...

Sawyer · Nov 4, 2013

WalkGood said:
[SIZE=medium]Yes John it’s a White Bhut Jolokia and they are beautiful girls plants and most of the pods turn whiter than any other white peppers I’ve seen. If you have a chance to grown one I highly recommend it, not only is she beautiful and smexy but she tastes incredible. Definitely a far cry from the heat her sisters carry but she can still deliver a respectable and enjoyable burn, hehe.

Without the picante (heat) her taste can be described similar to anise and the sweet part is similar to a clementine or a sweet kumquat without any of the citrus sour and no citrus taste. Possibly more like the kumquat rind which is actually the sweetest part. Truly a fantastic pepper \o/[/SIZE]

I have those, quite a lot, actually, and you're right, they are white. Mine have a slightly more elongated bhut shape, but they are still not as ghost-like as I would like. I plan to combine mine with some GWH for a white puree, then make a white sauce from that. Do you know anything about the origin of these? Are they really derived from the bhuts?

stickman said:
Y'know, Kimchi is just Kraut with the flavor punched way up... in addition to the cabbage it's got garlic, ginger, Asian radish and hot chiles. For those who like it that way, it can also have minced seafood or fish sauce in it too. The brine makes a great starter culture for making pepper ferments too.

I wonder if I could make Kimchi or Kraut from Kale. If things go as planned, I should have quite a bit of kale this winter.

Devv · Nov 4, 2013

Super nice harvest Ramon!

The ladies are being good to you, so you must be treating them right.

Those MoA's are really ~~seductive~~ productive too!

Have a great week!

WalkGood · Nov 6, 2013

stickman said:
Y'know, Kimchi is just Kraut with the flavor punched way up... in addition to the cabbage it's got garlic, ginger, Asian radish and hot chiles. For those who like it that way, it can also have minced seafood or fish sauce in it too. The brine makes a great starter culture for making pepper ferments too.

Man Ramon... you're still getting some great pulls from the MoAs it looks like! Good deal!

Rick every time I read your Kimchi description I salivate at the thought, I’ll probably have to make some in da near future. Yes the MoA bushes have been very prolific but they’re now looking appalling or dreadful. They’ve lost most their leaves from various bug infestation and I held off too long on spraying waiting for the beneficials to do their work. Apparently they have moved on and the plants might not make more than one mas pull :/

PIC 1 said:
Plenty of pods there...

Your ariel platter photo would've made a nice "Trick or Treat" adult giveaway at a local bar in my neck of the woods !

I'm digging everything thats happening here... liking that "Reggae Gourmet Foods" patch.
I'd be one of there favorite customers, as I do appreciate the finer foods.

Have a great week...

Thanks Greg, both dem patches are embroidered golf shirts from a company that I did some consulting work for in JA. Some of their products are fantastic … while others fall far short of “finer foods,” hehe. Any tips on new leaf grow stimulation? I don’t think my 3 big MoAs will make it thru da winter :/

Sawyer said:
I have those, quite a lot, actually, and you're right, they are white. Mine have a slightly more elongated bhut shape, but they are still not as ghost-like as I would like. I plan to combine mine with some GWH for a white puree, then make a white sauce from that. Do you know anything about the origin of these? Are they really derived from the bhuts?

I wonder if I could make Kimchi or Kraut from Kale. If things go as planned, I should have quite a bit of kale this winter.

John my original pulls from the White Bhut were more elongated as well and I still get the occasional long one but subsequent pulls most have not fully developed before ripening up. Fortunately they still all taste the same and IMHO the taste is great, I love this pepper. I started a few more babies just in case mama doesn’t make it thru da current war ...

I don’t know anything about the origin, you should ask Greg (PIC 1) as he provided me the seed. I have looked around but didn’t find anything, if you find anything please let me know.

Devv said:
Super nice harvest Ramon!

The ladies are being good to you, so you must be treating them right.

Those MoA's are really seductive productive too!

Have a great week!

Thanks Scott, but not all my plants are kicking azz :/ Actually only the JA Habs look very good still, all the new additions have not fully acclimated to our environment here and when the beneficials are not around they’re the first to take a serious attack. Hopefully the 2nd generation will fend off da foe better … at this point I don't think even "death by rosemary" will help dem out :/

Everyone Hab a great week ^_^

PIC 1 · Nov 6, 2013

Ramon, when you refer to the plants making it through the winter. Do you mean the shorter daylight hrs or the evening temps. Inground plants fair out better, there's more available for the roots. As you know, the plants are perennials, which like indoor house or tropicals they can go dormant during the light cycle change. I know your plants are potted up. As long as the growing tips are green the plants should be fine...just a slow down. Probably the worst thing to do is give them nitrogen. I bet they'll cycle back with new growth.
A root trim will stimulate new growth along with a new medium but knows probably not the time...I'm pretty sure Jamie's plants bounce back in the spring. How old are some Bonchi Trees...

romy6 · Nov 6, 2013

I would have to agree with Greg Ramon. My plants have a late charge this time of year to produce as much babies as they can then they will shut down for a few months. Come April they usually spring into action again. If the plants look really sick I will cut them back and repot them . Spraying with bonide or the liking roots and all. When i cut them back I usually cut the roots back as well. I do give them light granular applications ( 10 10 10 ) and occasional watering with highly diluted fish and seaweed oils. Lots of bone meal come Januray so they are ready to flower like crazy come early spring .

Love dem tortilla dogs. I will trying that out very soon. Nice harvests as well.

Habby hump day my friend.

Devv · Nov 6, 2013

Oops, some of mine have started yellowing, I was trying to decide if it was too much water from rains or just fall. I hit them with some fish ~~stank~~ emulsion, glad it was a half dose.

WalkGood · Nov 6, 2013

[SIZE=medium]Apologies guys I did not properly word my message. The MoA Bushes have lost most of their leaves from bug infestations, not winter onset and new leaf production seems to have slowed to a crawl. So my question was a good way to stimulate new leaf grow or should I focus on bug eradication? The MoAs are 10 months old now, I’ll try to take some pics over the weekend to show before and after. Dem girls look naked now, lol. Luckily I started some 2nd[/SIZE] gen MoAs to see if they become more bug resistant like my JA Habs, only time will tell.

[SIZE=medium]You might be wondering "why did the bugs get so bad?" Well I stopped spaying neem because I had a great ladybug population going but they recently flew the coup (about 1 month ago). Not sure if they flew off or if they were decimated by baby lizards at night. Regardless I didn’t want to spray because of them and all the ladybug larva I would see and bam all the bad bugs (mites/aphids/etc.) hit hard and now heavy leaf lose from my lack to time ...[/SIZE]

PeriPeri · Nov 7, 2013

Hey Ramon, also have a good summer time Lady Bird population here where I am growing. I find our side of the equator that the Lady Birds pack their bags with the cooler autumn weather. And this also means an increase in aphids... which means grabbing the Neem Oil

How is the season where you are at? Is it going into autumn now or are you going into summer?

Devv · Nov 7, 2013

Ramon, I would address the bugs first.

Our temps may be somewhat similar, but you get a lot of rain. Perfect for the bad guys. I'm no expert but if bugs are the problem and they normally grow this time of year, keep the nute feeding as you normally would. I usually give 1/2 doses more often versus the full dose.

Here it's cooling off, 3rd cold front in the 40's, looks like a cold year for us and we're overdue in that regard. Getting a lot of yellow leaves and they're dropping on some of the ladies. I'm not having to water so much (yeah), only watering when they show the first droopage<---new word

Friday eve!

PaulG · Nov 8, 2013

because I had a great ladybug population going but they recently flew the coup (about 1 month ago). Not sure if they flew off or if they were decimated by baby lizards at night.

Ladybird beetles hibernate in the winter. Most places you buy ladybugs from harvest
them from hibernating wild populations. Reputable dealers breed them for sale, or use
sustainable methods.

Your grow and production is awesome, Ramon. Loved the pics of pods especially.
Some real nasties there.

Devv · Nov 8, 2013

Years ago I insulated a half of a 10x10 shed in an attempt to make a short term meat cooler for weekday deer harvests. Well it didn't get cold enough in there, so I didn't use it.

I went in there in the dead of winter and the walls were simply covered with the ladies, thousands and thousands of them.

I just wish they would travel 50yds north to the garden :rolleyes:

PaulG · Nov 10, 2013

If they were hibernating, could you have collected a few and transferred them?

That might be a great yearly project if they kept on using the shed!

You could be the THP ladybug procurer!

stickman · Nov 10, 2013

WalkGood said:
Rick every time I read your Kimchi description I salivate at the thought, I’ll probably have to make some in da near future. Yes the MoA bushes have been very prolific but they’re now looking appalling or dreadful. They’ve lost most their leaves from various bug infestation and I held off too long on spraying waiting for the beneficials to do their work. Apparently they have moved on and the plants might not make more than one mas pull :/

Hi Ramon, I'm beginning to understand your negative feelings toward aphids, lol! Greg put a bug in my ear to check on my OW plants with a magnifying glass, and I found about 30 of the little bastiges beginning to colonize the plants. They were clean when I put them down cellar, but we must have let in some of the winged aphid forms when we left the cellar hatchway open while doing yard work, because I found 3 of those too. I had some spinosad concentrate on hand, so I sprayed with that. If It doesn't knock them down after 3 days I'll probably try some neem or wettable sulfur. Absolutely do not want those bastiges present when I start my seeds in about 7 weeks...

Kimchi's great stuff... very flavorful, and I think it's the perfect food for cold and flu season. It's very versatile too... If you haven't seen it, Greg did a great job with a Chicago-style Asian fusion dog in this thread...

WalkGood · Nov 10, 2013

PeriPeri said:
Hey Ramon, also have a good summer time Lady Bird population here where I am growing. I find our side of the equator that the Lady Birds pack their bags with the cooler autumn weather. And this also means an increase in aphids... which means grabbing the Neem Oil How is the season where you are at? Is it going into autumn now or are you going into summer?

[SIZE=medium]Lourens we are heading into our winter but there has not been any cold weather. It will cool off some in late November but more likely late December or January are more realistic and nothing like the winter in our northern states. While we are not in the tropical zone, we are on the cusp of it which allows us to grow year round. I still see a lot of ladybugs on the peppers just not the huge population that I would see a few months back, more like ¼ of them. Strangely all the baby lizards are gone now too, could they have eaten a good portion of the ladybugs, grown a lot and moved on or do ladybugs hibernate here too? I don’t know and that’s why I asked. Good point on earl, I will be hitting the neem oil again myself but strategically as I don’t want to kill the ladybugs I still have around. Thanks for the good points ^_^[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]BTW I don’t have a current issue with aphids, it’s mites that are killers here :/[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]

[/SIZE]

Devv said:
Ramon, I would address the bugs first.

[SIZE=medium]Our temps may be somewhat similar, but you get a lot of rain. Perfect for the bad guys. I'm no expert but if bugs are the problem and they normally grow this time of year, keep the nute feeding as you normally would. I usually give 1/2 doses more often versus the full dose.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Here it's cooling off, 3rd cold front in the 40's, looks like a cold year for us and we're overdue in that regard. Getting a lot of yellow leaves and they're dropping on some of the ladies. I'm not having to water so much (yeah), only watering when they show the first droopage<---new word [/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Friday eve![/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Addressing the bugs first is great advice Scott and that’s how I’ve proceeded … I don’t feed dem often, every other month and some chicken poop every 3 months. Wow in da 40s there, not similar to here. It hasn’t been below 78 yet and yes lots of rain during the rainy season. Our winters are fairly dry and that’s when I water most. Thanks for the advice ^_^ [/SIZE]

PaulG said:
because I had a great ladybug population going but they recently flew the coup (about 1 month ago). Not sure if they flew off or if they were decimated by baby lizards at night.

[SIZE=medium]Ladybird beetles hibernate in the winter. Most places you buy ladybugs from harvest[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]them from hibernating wild populations. Reputable dealers breed them for sale, or use[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]sustainable methods.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Your grow and production is awesome, Ramon. Loved the pics of pods especially. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]Some real nasties there.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Thanks for the info Paul but I’m not sure they hibernated yet as I still see them flying around and eating on my pepper plants, just not the population I had before. But your point does give me an idea, you think I should build a box that they could crawl into to hibernate before we get hit with a cold front?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Thanks for the pod pic kudos and back at ya mon, your pics are fantastic![/SIZE]

Devv said:
Years ago I insulated a half of a 10x10 shed in an attempt to make a short term meat cooler for weekday deer harvests. Well it didn't get cold enough in there, so I didn't use it.

[SIZE=medium]I went in there in the dead of winter and the walls were simply covered with the ladies, thousands and thousands of them.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]I just wish they would travel 50yds north to the garden [/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Sounds like you could go into the live ladybug business

lol. Hope you still have that shed, you could gather them and release all over your jungle \o/ On second thought I better not build one or my lizards could have a field day :0[/SIZE]

PaulG said:
If they were hibernating, could you have collected a few and transferred them?

[SIZE=medium]That might be a great yearly project if they kept on using the shed![/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]You could be the THP ladybug procurer![/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]I agree with all your points Paul … Scott, I’d like to be the first to order a few cases of dem magnificent bugs

[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Hopefully I be back later with some picture updates if I get back from Mom & Dad's at a reasonable hour, still working weekends to finalize their stuff :/ Hab a great day all![/SIZE]

PaulG · Nov 10, 2013

I've seen some directions on line for building ladybug houses - not
difficult and you just use materials you have laying around. You need
Scott's shed!

Devv · Nov 12, 2013

Hope all is well at the Hacienda!

Sawyer · Nov 12, 2013

Guess I've missed a few days here. I did talk to Greg about the white bhuts; he got his seeds from PepperLover as well. According to Judy the white Bhut is a cross between a white Hab and a yellow Bhut.

I had a bunch of ladybugs hibernate in my front room a few years ago. Wish they would come back as that is now where some of the OWs are.

WalkGood · Nov 13, 2013

PaulG said:
I've seen some directions on line for building ladybug houses - not
difficult and you just use materials you have laying around. You need
Scott's shed!

Thanks Paul, I checked into them ... if I get some free time from family & work I'll build one and they will come

That joke said, I still am seeing some around, just not in the incredible numbers of before ... hope they soon return

Devv said:
Hope all is well at the Hacienda!

Things are fine, thank you for asking Scott, just crazy busy between our family, my brother & sisters and not to mention how much I've been working lately ... need da cash to pay off da new truck

Sawyer said:
Guess I've missed a few days here. I did talk to Greg about the white bhuts; he got his seeds from PepperLover as well. According to Judy the white Bhut is a cross between a white Hab and a yellow Bhut.

I had a bunch of ladybugs hibernate in my front room a few years ago. Wish they would come back as that is now where some of the OWs are.

The important thing is if you like the taste, there is no doubt she's a beauty for sure

That would be awesome if they come back to your porch, from what I've read if you haven't painted their ladybug pheromones stay for years and they should come back as long as you haven't painted. Google ladybug pheromones and you'll see plenty of interesting articles, if you run across something you can buy to spray let me know as I haven't seen that. Here's to wishing you their safe return \o/

Here’s how good the MoA’s looked a few months back ^_^
Before

After:

I have started them on a neem treatment but not sure how good they’ll come back if they do. That said, they and their sisters have given me this pull the other day and the MoAs still have pods ripening on them

I have some more pictures, time permitting I'll try to post some up later after processing ... if not I hope to have dem all up by Friday. Hab a great one!!!

Devv · Nov 13, 2013

Tis the time of year for rough looking plants mi friend, they will survive as you have talent :party:

Was 39° this AM, bag ladies in the shop just a hangin', slated for 35° in the AM.

So anyways, I still see pulls..gotta love that!

And Friday is not to far off!

Have a good one!