Windchicken 2014

Got some sheet pots in from Grower Supply a couple days ago. I got this type so I could pull out the individual containers and replace them if need be, and they fit perfectly in my 11" x 22" Permanest Trays. Anybody in NW Louisiana need a couple of these? If I keep growing the same size garden every season these sheets should last me around 12 years:
 

 
These are the only C. chinense I'm growing this year: The NagaBrain, now in its F3 generation, is the happy accident of Florida THP mentor and all-around good guy romy6; seeds for the F2 Chocolate NagaBrain are from the talented and skillful Florida grower Tmudder; Bonda Ma Jacques x 7 Pot Yellow, the F3 generation, is the creation of the THP breeding wizard Spicegeist; Both 7 Pot Yellow and Naga Morich are from THSC seed; Dystopia is a project of North Texas grower joemomma; and Madame Jeanette comes courtesy of the incredibly generous Netherlands grower Meatfreak :
 

 

[windchicken]

You have it exactly right, Jesse, at least as well as I understand it. In addition to the ramial wood being easier for the soil to digest, its bark:heartwood ratio is much higher, and the bark is where the lignin/polyphenol mojo is located….
 
That's interesting about the mushroom spawn and rock dust. The Lemieux paper mentions inoculating the soil with "forest litter", which I believe is the detritus of the forest floor. That would certainly contain mushroom spores….
 
I'm anxious to hear how goes your conversation with Asplundh...

 

[capsidadburn]

Beautiful beds Gary!  Great discussion as well.
 
Mike

 

[chile_freak]

Yeah I've got some mushroom compost, and my hardwood chip pile is mostly limbs and twigs as the main bodies were pretty much used for firewood!and unless I'm mistaken both perlite and red lava rock are both igneous.

 

[Devv]

Asplundh is down here too, they mainly keep the electrical right of ways cleared. They did cut some bull Mesquite about 4 or 5 years ago, and a buddy I work with asked them to leave the logs complete. They did and I scored 4 trailer loads of furniture grade Mesquite, took me three months to cut it all up into boards.
 
Gary those beds are to die for! And the plants look great as well.
 
Keep it green!

 

[ronniedeb]

Nice plants Windchicken. What were the Guampinho de Veado peppers like? I'm growing them this year. 

 

[chile_freak]

Your glog is super informative brother Gary, come for beautiful plants, stay for conversation! I love it!

 

[windchicken]

Beautiful beds Gary!  Great discussion as well.
 
Mike

 
Thanks Mike! There's plenty of dragonflies in my garden this year…Maybe I should try my hand at some shots...
 

Yeah I've got some mushroom compost, and my hardwood chip pile is mostly limbs and twigs as the main bodies were pretty much used for firewood!and unless I'm mistaken both perlite and red lava rock are both igneous.

 
Sounds perfect, Paul!
 

Asplundh is down here too, they mainly keep the electrical right of ways cleared. They did cut some bull Mesquite about 4 or 5 years ago, and a buddy I work with asked them to leave the logs complete. They did and I scored 4 trailer loads of furniture grade Mesquite, took me three months to cut it all up into boards.
 
Gary those beds are to die for! And the plants look great as well.
 
Keep it green!

 
Sweet! Thanks Scott! What does Mesquite lumber look like? I imagine the grain is super complex and beautiful….
 

Nice plants Windchicken. What were the Guampinho de Veado peppers like? I'm growing them this year. 

 
Guampinha sets an insane amount of pointy, erect, red pods. The heat level and flavor profile are similar to the other small-pod C. baccatum I've grown—Aji Limon (a.k.a. "Lemon Drop") and Birgit's Locoto. My favorite thing about Guampinha, however, is the plant habit—rather than the multitude of skinny, floppy branches the aforementioned varieties set, your plants will grow tall and strong, with thick, tree-like branches. They also overwinter very well.
 
The first year I grew Guampinha, 2011, I planted 6 of them. Big mistake—You only need one:
 

 
The second year five plants sprouted from the previous year's stumps:
 

 

Your glog is super informative brother Gary, come for beautiful plants, stay for conversation! I love it!

 
Wow, thanks Paul! And thanks so much for stopping by! 

 

[chile_freak]

That guampinha is awesome looking! I will have to check that out for next year I love baccatums, but I hate the spindly little branch's that they mostly grow on, a baccatum tree sounds delightful!

 

[Chewi]

 

The first year I grew Guampinha, 2011, I planted 6 of them. Big mistake—You only need one:
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
that patch of Guampinha is a real thing of beauty and that is a new variety to me! Rock on Gary!

 

[windchicken]

That guampinha is awesome looking! I will have to check that out for next year I love baccatums, but I hate the spindly little branch's that they mostly grow on, a baccatum tree sounds delightful!

 
Cool, Paul.  I'll send you some fresh pods when these volunteers begin producing….Have you grown Birgit's Locoto? It's actually a very good plant that will make a tall tree if trained properly, and the pods are quite a bit larger than Guampinha. The fruit set, like Guampinha, is completely obnoxious. I may have dissed it too quickly in my earlier post—I recommend the Birgit's highly.
 

 
that patch of Guampinha is a real thing of beauty and that is a new variety to me! Rock on Gary!

 
Thanks Rob! It's an interesting variety, from the pasture lands of southeastern Brazil. If you Google for it there's a good article about a perennial plant surviving for years in a pasture....

 

[chile_freak]

Actually, I have not grown the Birgit's, but Jamie sent me some to try and I saved seeds for next season, I loved the ajis I have grown and the criolla Sella was a pod machine as well w/ lots of orange baccatumy goodness!but yes I would love to try the guambinha!

 

[ronniedeb]

Thanks Windchicken for the illustrated and informative reply! The Guampinho make a beautiful plant!

 

[PIC 1]

Gary you're NagaBrains all look uniform............and standing at attention !
Those should be some heavy hitters, .......I'm not sure but I think I have a half dozen growing. A couple of plants are 2 ft tall with a few decent size pods.
 
 I like the comparison photo of the Guampinha.  That looks like the type of plant to hang upside-down to dry out the pods. Harvesting that must be a mutha.
 
I'm still growing the Zapotec's you sent me....small pods forming ! Can't wait to eat one (like Bug's eating a Carrot.....lol)
 
Have a great weekend !

 

[compmodder26]

Absolutely gorgeous plants Gary!  I just can't get enough of those RCW mounds.  Things of beauty, my friend!

 

[windchicken]

Actually, I have not grown the Birgit's, but Jamie sent me some to try and I saved seeds for next season, I loved the ajis I have grown and the criolla Sella was a pod machine as well w/ lots of orange baccatumy goodness!but yes I would love to try the guambinha!

 
You should try one plant of Birgit's for sure, Paul…You may need to remind me about the Guampinha pods—probably sometime in July.
 

Thanks Windchicken for the illustrated and informative reply! The Guampinho make a beautiful plant!

 
Thank you Ronnie! And thanks so much for stopping by.
 

Gary you're NagaBrains all look uniform............and standing at attention !
Those should be some heavy hitters, .......I'm not sure but I think I have a half dozen growing. A couple of plants are 2 ft tall with a few decent size pods.
 
 I like the comparison photo of the Guampinha.  That looks like the type of plant to hang upside-down to dry out the pods. Harvesting that must be a mutha.
 
I'm still growing the Zapotec's you sent me....small pods forming ! Can't wait to eat one (like Bug's eating a Carrot.....lol)
 
Have a great weekend !

 
Lol, thanks Greg!  I'm happy about the uniformity and the perkiness, too. 
 
Mutha is right! I never could even make a dent in the Guampinha harvest. The multitude of small pods is the reason I keep only one of these around anymore. It's fun to grab a few fresh pods while I'm watering or browsing the garden...
 
I'm so glad you're growing the Zapotec…What a great plant, with the strong trunk, and those wonderful chiles! If I could only grow one Mexican variety, it would be a very close contest between Zapotec and Chilhuacle Rojo….
 
These suckers need to go ahead and cork up already:
 

 
The whole Zapotec row—7 plants:
 

 
You have a great weekend, too, my friend…I need to get over to your glog real soon...
 

Absolutely gorgeous plants Gary!  I just can't get enough of those RCW mounds.  Things of beauty, my friend!

 
Thanks Brian! I love to hear that!  
 
A Cajun would call the old girl NagaBrain mother Maman—She gave up the first pods of the season this morning. A bird beat me to the first bite, but I went ahead and ate it anyway….actually, I split it with Bob:
 

 

[chile_freak]

Nice looking pods there! Sorry about the ornithoterrorism!

 

[Devv]

Great looking pods Gary!
 
I have a few NagaBrains a hangin', just gnarly looking pods. Once they get some color I'll post some.
 
The Guampinha is amazing. I felt the same way last year about the Cayenne's and Thai's!
 
Here's a piece I made with Mesquite. I did the whole bedroom, king size bed, 2 5 drawer dressers, night stands, this pic an entertainment center, and a desk that supports 2 computers.  I also had enough to start on the dining room, but it's not complete. The wood is pink when you make boards out of it, but once you put it on the sun it oxidizes to an orange color. I has beautiful grain and is a really hard wood but easy to work with if you keep the equipment sharp I don't stain it. I just wipe it with wipe on poly, I use Minwax.
 

 
Here's the kitchen I built for the wife in Birch, I transitioned to Mesquite in the one piece and the bar. I have yet to add the drawers and doors to the "change order". I have them roughed out, and they have been sitting for a year. I'm getting the woodworking itch again, and it will affect next years garden if I can't get it done during the cooler weather.
 

 
Sorry for hogging your glog, but you asked!

 

[millworkman]

Can't help but like those rows. NICE!

 

[JJJessee]

Guampinha -great looking plants!  Haven't heard of the Zapotecs or the Chiluhaucle Rojo either
The 2015 Wish List keeps getting longer and longer and longer....
I wonder if the guampinha would OW in zone 6a in ground with a bail of two of straw over it?
 
Birgit's are pretty plants. I started mine way way early, just testing the seeds really, and they are very very frail from lack of light I think, but they are producers that's for sure.
 
Maybe a Birgit's x Guampinha would set a pepper pointing horizontally?

 

[windchicken]

Nice looking pods there! Sorry about the ornithoterrorism!

 
Haha, thanks Paul! My wife feeds the songbirds, plus we live in an old pecan orchard, so birds are just a fact of life for me...
 

Great looking pods Gary!
 
I have a few NagaBrains a hangin', just gnarly looking pods. Once they get some color I'll post some.
 
The Guampinha is amazing. I felt the same way last year about the Cayenne's and Thai's!
 
Here's a piece I made with Mesquite. I did the whole bedroom, king size bed, 2 5 drawer dressers, night stands, this pic an entertainment center, and a desk that supports 2 computers.  I also had enough to start on the dining room, but it's not complete. The wood is pink when you make boards out of it, but once you put it on the sun it oxidizes to an orange color. I has beautiful grain and is a really hard wood but easy to work with if you keep the equipment sharp I don't stain it. I just wipe it with wipe on poly, I use Minwax.
 

 
Here's the kitchen I built for the wife in Birch, I transitioned to Mesquite in the one piece and the bar. I have yet to add the drawers and doors to the "change order". I have them roughed out, and they have been sitting for a year. I'm getting the woodworking itch again, and it will affect next years garden if I can't get it done during the cooler weather.
 

 
Sorry for hogging your glog, but you asked!

 
Thanks Scott! I'm anxious to see your NagaBrain plants!
 
And WOW, that's some really beautiful cabinet work! Just amazing craftsmanship, and yes, the grain in that mesquite is like nothing else…Thanks so much for posting that!
 

Can't help but like those rows. NICE!

 
Thanks Noah! I never get tired of hearing that 
 

Guampinha -great looking plants!  Haven't heard of the Zapotecs or the Chiluhaucle Rojo either
The 2015 Wish List keeps getting longer and longer and longer....
I wonder if the guampinha would OW in zone 6a in ground with a bail of two of straw over it?
 
Birgit's are pretty plants. I started mine way way early, just testing the seeds really, and they are very very frail from lack of light I think, but they are producers that's for sure.
 
Maybe a Birgit's x Guampinha would set a pepper pointing horizontally?

 
Thanks Jesse! I'm not sure if Guampinha would overwinter in 6A, but it's certainly worth a try….Mine didn't survive a Zone 8 winter this year, but it didn't matter, because of the insane amount of volunteers. Same for Texas Pequin...
Chilhuacle Rojo is the plant that really seems to thrive in the hostile environment of my "desert" garden. Combine that quality with its wonderful fruit, and it's on my compulsory list every year. If I could only grow one C. annuum there, Chilhuacle Rojo would almost certainly be it.
 
Don't give up on your Birgit's plant. Mine was a bit spindly for a few months, but then it developed into a nice, strong tree trunk.
 
I think you should grow that cross! I would help you stabilize it….
 
These two pods are on Plant No. 5 of the F2 Chocolate NagaBrain, Tmudder strain. These are far and away the most robust C. chinense plants in my garden: