Nice "Bhutish" looking pod, it'll be interesting to see how it turns out.

Hey, I'll trade you some Chocolate Bhut Jolokia seeds that put out pods that don't exactly look like Bhut and ripen red not brown for some seeds from your pod ;-)

Hehehe, Bill, if you want to take the time growing this hybrid, be my guest! ;-)
The plant itself is displaying some hybrid vigor, seeing as it is the largest of my plants....
but it has only set 5 pods so far. My Red Bhut only has 4 pods, albeit perfect pods....

So, the latest pods to ripen are on the Indian Jwala. "Jwala" means *hot* in Hindi,
but hot these are not. The taste is unimpressive. Unless the later pods are much, much better,
I won't grow this one again. The plant and the pods do look very nice, though.

I think I'll pass on the hybrid ;-) My non-chocolate Bhut (cross?) has put out a whack of pods... just not the right type of pod ;-)

I'm surprised your Jwala doesn't have any heat. My ripe ones clocked in, I'd guess, at 30k SHU. My dried ones did get milder after a few months of storage though.

Bill

Yeah, I figure we have our hands full of crosses for the time being ;-)
The Jwala surprised (and disappointed) me, as well. I've heard so many good things about them!
But I think I can still add some Bhut to the Jwala to make a properly piquant Vindaloo.
No great loss, since I have many friends who prefer mild peppers.

Here's an update on the Yellow Bhuts. I figure another month'll be enough to ripen.
Quite a small plant, but the most productive of the lot. First seed to sprout, as well.

Josh

Josh,

Did you get the Jwala seed from me?

Just checked my 2011 site map and my Jwala was one of the furthest away from sweet peppers I grew.

Ain't gonna say it couldn't happen. I'm curious, was I your seed source?

Hey!
Nossir, these seeds came from a local gal in Sacramento. You're off the hook on this one ;-)
Incidentally, I take it these pods look like the Jwala you've grown?

Josh

Last year, I harvested my first ripe Bhut on September 21st.

Whereas this year my Bhut showed the first hint of ripening on September 21st......
so I'd say that my plants are at least two weeks behind.

Gosh that's an ugly pod. It makes me tremble just sitting here. I predict 1.5M SHU, if you survive to report it.

That would be a pleasant surprise! ;-)
The other pods are real ugly, too, but they don't have this classic Persian slipper shape.

Josh

Nice Josh. A text book example of a Bhut pod, nice job!

Mine started to ripen earlier than usual this year but my insidious earwigs ruined most of my crop. They have really taken a liking to my Jolokias. I'll see how I make out but I may have to hit you up for a couple of Bih seeds this winter, I'm tapped out.

Bill

Yea looks like a nice Bhut pod to me.

Now, if it will just turn red.....
Bruce

Hehehe, thanks Gents! Now the waiting game begins ;-)

Bill, I've got dried Bih pods from last season that should have plenty of seed in 'em.
The Bih seed I sowed this year didn't germinate, so there is that to consider...but I think
you can get them to grow.

Josh

I couldn't wait any longer ;-)
So I pulled the first Bhut today, hopefully encouraging one or two more pods to set before frost....

How does it taste Josh???
Bruce

Nice looking pod.

Can you talk yet?

Thanks, guys :-)
I'm going to try it with one of my pepper buddies in about an hour or so.
I expect it to be an asskicker just like they were last year! Whoohooo!

Bruce, I'll try to catch the flavor before my mouth goes nuclear ;-)

Josh

"Bruce, I'll try to catch the flavor before my mouth goes nuclear ;-) "

LMAO. That's what happened to me. I tried my superhot, and for about 10-15 secs, I said, Wow! Nice flavor."

After that, I couldn't concentrate on TASTE any longer-- for the next 10 mins, all I could do was think about the extreme heat and how many different forms of dairy I should ingest.

Kevin

Every time I tried anything from a very hot to super hot gave me about 5 seconds to experience the taste before the heat fried my taste buds.
Bruce

Common experience with inhaled nitrous oxide is, "Yeah, I could feel the pain. I just didn't care."

I wonder if that is the proper way to eat super-hots: Inhale deeply, take a bite. Repeat.

DMF

It was awesome!
Fresh, bright, citrusy, sweet flavor....then heat racing down the sides of my tongue
and climbing up into my ears. Now that's how a pepper should taste! :-D

Josh

Josh great pictures, you make me a bit envious! Anyhow I was trying to remember if it was you that had a thread of your overwintering thread where the pepper plants were severely root pruned and then the followin growing season how they flourished. Also what was the reasoning behing half burying the pots into the ground. I forget what you mentioned as to why you do this and what happens to the roots the venture outside the pots if you do pull them out in the winter.

If I remember correctly, he buries them in milk crates.This is so when he gets ready to overwinter them, he just lifts the milk crate. It makes pulling them out of the ground a lot easier.

Tim

Hey, guys!
I use pond-baskets, containers with the bottom cut off, and even strawberry baskets this year.
I do this to protect the plants from gopher and mole damage during the growing season,
and then, indeed, pulling the plants up for overwintering is much, much easier.

Josh

What do you do with the roots that grew through the basket mesh? Cut it off or carefully try to pull as much through for when you repot it?

I just yank them off, then hose the garden soil out of the root-ball, and cut cleanly afterwards.

Josh

I hesitate to call this a harvest...but it's about the closest I'll get to one this year :-)
I'll have more Jwala, Thai, and Yellow Bhuts down the road.

A Black Pearl, woefully small, but still a nice plant:

It's all about the quality, not the quantity. Nice work.

Thanks, DM. I appreciate that.

Josh

Josh,
We have 3-4 weeks before overwintering peppers, this year I will follow your advice about bare rooting and pruning to eliminate micro pests and stimulate root activity through the winter. I think your threads indicate you overwinter peppers in 5-1-1 mix, as opposed to your starter seed mix of *equal parts* screened fir bark-perlite-turface, is that right? In last two years my pepper overwintering failed due to fungus gnat & whitefly issues indoors, Robert

Hey, Robert, that's great to hear!

I actually do go back to a faster-draining mix for overwintering my plants.
My ratios aren't always exact, but for sure the mix is more porous than the 5-1-1 -
which I have used, but found that it held quite a bit of moisture (longer than a week).
Basically, I want a mix that *needs* to be watered at least once a week. This allows
fertilizer salts to be flushed continually and helps prevent ugly foliage or issues
with nutrient and moisture uptake.

Josh

Hey Josh!
I can't believe how fast a season can go by! It seems like yesterday that I broadcasted the Pepper Downs Play by Play! Looking back, I wonder how accurate the final race standings were?!?! LOL!

Great job bro, another great Greenman thread that reached so many, bravo!

PJ

Thanks, PJ! I really appreciate the kind words!

I was down in Sacramento yesterday...took my brother some Strawberry Ghost Jam and shared
some of Bill's most excellent powders! While there, I also took a couple pics of the Thai
chile that I gave to my brother this Spring. I'm quite pleased that he made a special display
for it on his deck...a centerpiece of sorts, which was prominantly featured at his wedding.

Although small, this Thai has produced 200 pods already, with another 100 on the plant now...
plus, more blooms opening every day.

Holiday Greetings, fellow pepper growers!

The season hasn't quite hit an end yet, due to the plants tucked away in the cold-frame :-)
The garden is completely finished now. I pulled the last eight pods off my in-ground Hungarian
a couple days ago. They'll go into a jar of brine for fresh eating. Same with the Hungarians
on my old plant in the cold-frame.

Here's a video for anyone interested in such things: Hot peppers - in the cold-frame

And here's a shot of some of the Mushroom Cloud stuffed Mushrooms that we made
for Thanksgiving...Bill's Grim Reaper #5 dusted on top for an excellent burn....

So, Josh, are going to overwinter all those plants in the cold frame or are you just trying to extend the growing season for most of them?
Bruce

Hey, Bruce, you got it!
Really just trying to extend the growing season to harvest those final pods...especially the Yellow Bhuts.
But eventually, yeah, I'll have to kick them out so that the Citrus can take their rightful place. I will
keep the Black Pearls in there, I think, since they can easily be squeezed between the Citrus. The old
Hungarian was harvested and hacked back yesterday, and I'll give her a couple weeks before down-potting
and making the next chop.

I actually put the cold-frame up a month early, and yet it still wasn't early enough to keep the
frost from the plants. As you can see, they are right on the cusp of "shut down" or "keep growing"....

Josh

LOL Josh.

I'm not a mushroom fan but I can understand how Reaper #5 would compensate for their lack (IMHO) of taste!

Bill ;-))

Bill, hehehe, they're only good when they're hot!
Cold mushrooms are flat out gross to me...but these ones were stuffed with cheese and sausage,
and then touched by the Reaper himself. Hooboy!

Josh

Well, I'm really drawing this season out.....
The last green pod on the Yellow Bhut plant is about half-ripened now, although I don't expect these
winterpods to be as flavorful, sweet, or piquant as the summerpods. I pulled the plants out of the
cold-frame yesterday for some fresh air, sunshine, and fertilizer. Final harvest in a few days.....

Yah, you sure are dragging the season out. I am starting to begin thinking about how I will approach the 2013 season even though I wont be putting seeds in the soil for nearly two more months. Good luck with the end of your season and then next season as well.
Bruce

Thanks, Bruce, same to you, sir!
I won't be starting seeds until mid-February....but I'm already putting together my 2013 list ;-)

Josh

Dang, Josh! Your off season is shorter than the NASCAR off season! haha!

Hahaha! Mother Nature's been real nice so far ;-)

Josh

Well, we had an overnight low of 25F...and the plants can't take that, even in the cold-frame.
So I pulled the Yellow Bhuts yesterday. These pods are pretty beaten up from the storms that hit
us the past two months, but I think I can cut off the bad parts and dehydrate the good. I will let
that unripe pod finish off a bit, then I'll make the Pineapple Lemon Ghost Jam :-)

Other than a handful of Black Pearls yet to harvest, these are assuredly the last of the ripe pods.

Very impressive pictures, it is real pleasure to see all these beautiful plants and fruits.

Caelian

Josh it's just great to see pics of pods this late in the season. Puts a reminder for what is to come next season. I am starting mid to late Jan, 2013 season here we come lol.

The pineapple lemon Ghost jam sounds awesome!! Is the Lemon the fruit or the pepper?

Mark

Thanks, Caelian and Mark!

I'm getting excited about 2013 as well. As much as I like having a few pods lingering this late,
I would rather have a harvest when everyone else's pods are coming in during the Summer season :-)

For the Ghost Jam, yes I'm going to use Pineapple and some golden sweet Meyer Lemons for the fruit,
and then these Yellows Bhuts for heat. Tons of sugar, too, of course.

I almost forgot to mention....last week, some awful critter wreaked havoc in my cold-frame,
tearing out my screen vent, punching a hole in the wall, snapping branches off my Hungarian Wax,
Red Bhut Jolokia, Morouga, and completely knocking over my Manzano (which had been doing
wonderfully in the cold compared to the other peppers). Anyhow, I'd been waiting and waiting on
my two Manzano pods, only to find them both on the ground. So, they never had a chance to ripen...
and this is as far as I got....

They got wolverines in NC ??

Man that sucks Josh. Did you ever find out what it was?

Merry Christmas and Happpy New Year!!!

Merry Christmas to you, too, Jaime! :-)

I think it was an opossum or a raccoon that did the damage...but I'm not sure.

DM, it just so happens that there are wolverines here in Northern California...in the past
few years, more and more sightings have occurred. The nearest was in the Tahoe National Forest,
an hour up the road at one of my favorite hiking spots near Lake Spaulding. I live in Nevada
County, and the animal was spotted in Nevada County, earlier this May.

Josh