Thanks, Jamie! This was my first time with this recipe, and it needs some minor tweaking. First off, I won't use any Bulgarian Carrots next time. The skins are too tough. The other issue was the recipe called for boiling the jelly 10 minutes before adding the pectin. My other recipes only call for a 1 minute rolling boil. This jelly set up too well. It's too thick and hard to spread, so next time I will cut the cook time back some, and should end up with the right consistency.

DMForcier, this jelly holds it's heat much better than the jalapeno jellies I've made, probably because the jelly is not strained, so theres' tiny bits of pepper throughout.

Managed to get a batch of peppers in the dehydrator this morning.

Yesterday's harvest.

Now if I could just get some more ripe tomatoes, I could can a batch of salsa!!!

Looking good Bonnie!

Salsa? You have all the ingredients for a great pepper salad on that plate ;-)

Curious, what kind of dehydrator do you use? Are you happy with it? I'm using a couple of Nesco's but am thinking of upgrading to a larger unit.

Bill

Thanks, Bill!

I have the one in the link below.

It takes up a bit more space than the Nesco type, but can handle a larger volume. I rarely fill up all the trays at one time. I use it for drying herbs as well as peppers.

Here is a link that might be useful: Excalibur dehydrator

This week's harvests:

Today

You can see they are getting bigger.

I'll be back later to do a review on some of the new-to-me ones that I tried this week.

Great harvest Bonnie. I love the variety! Got any early favorites?

You're lucky. You have enough peppers that you can wait until they're red to pick. I gots to do something about that next year.

Did you sneak some tomatoes into yesterday's pic?

Man, your plants are on GO!

What a fine harvest!

Josh

DMForcier, no those are not tomatoes. They are Alma Paprika peppers. I've grown them for several years, and have dried and powdered them in the past, they only have a little heat, so they make a nice paprika, but they take a long time to dry since they are so thick. I wanted to make popppers out of them yesterday, but we were out of bacon. : (

Peppermeister, now that I've tasted some of this year's varieties, I am starting to evaluate them. Already thinking of next year's grow, of course!

One of my favorites so far is Aji Chinchi Amarillo. They are in the pictures above of the Hot Lemon Jelly. Reminds me a lot of Aji Yellow, but with a bit less heat. The thing it has going for it though, is that it is much earlier than Aji Yellow, and way more productive. It just keeps cranking out the pods!

Another early and productive one has been Jimmy Nardello. With my short growing season that goes a long way to helping a variety get on next year's grow list. Besides that, they are sweet, and make a good bell pepper substitute.

Inca Red Drop (Capsicum baccatum)

The plants are short and bushy, and loaded with little bite sized pods. Heat is medium. I've seen them listed as 5,000 - 30,000 SKU, or a 7 on a 1 - 10 scale. I would probably call them a 5 or 6, but they are tasty little morsels of heat. Great for fresh eating!

Jaloro - (pictured above in my jelly making post) These plants are very compact, and very productive. I've only eaten a few, but the ones I had were as hot as any jalapeno I've had, and held their heat better as poppers than most jalapenos do. The only thing I'm confused about with this pepper is that some sites list it as OP (open pollinated) and other refer to it as F1. I've read that is was developed by the Texas Agricultural Ext. in 1992, but that was 20 years ago, so maybe it's a stable enough hybrid to be considered OP now? I'm planning on saving the seeds, so I guess I'll find out next year if they grow true or not.

Fresno - again, early and productive. They are hotter than a jalapeno. I had one that was quite hot. I'd say overall they fall somewhere between a jalapeno and a serrano. This is a great one for salsa!

There's still quite a few varieties that I haven't tasted yet, since they are still green, but I will review them as they come in.

Bonnie, I'm envious. You've got a great harvest of some interesting varieties. Great mix and a great job. Ya gotta be happy!

Thanks, Bill! I'm growing around 50 different varieties, and only a few are reruns, so I'm hoping to find several new favorites for next year.

This week's harvests:

On Monday, I smoked my first ever batch of peppers. I'm pretty pleased with the result.

Smoked Costeno powder

Another view of Friday's harvest = Bowl O'Peppers

Jaloro. Turned this baby into a popper last night, along with several Alma Paprikas.

Hoping to do some canning this week, and maybe some more dehydrating. The peppers are starting to take over the kitchen counter, and refrigerator, so I need to get busy!!!

The peppers are starting to take over the kitchen counter, and refrigerator

That's a good problem to have!!

Beautiful harvests!!

Great update Bonnie.

A warning though... once you start smoking it's hard to quit!

Bill

Haha, I'm sure that's true, Bill, but it's my husband's smoker, and I'm not authorized to use it on my own.

I know I just did an update this morning, but I managed to make another video down at the community garden today. It's a bit shorter than the last one, but still over 10 minutes. I guess I just talk too much, LOL!

Let me know what you think.

Bonnie

Here is a link that might be useful: Final Community Garden Tour of the Season

Spent the day in the kitchen, trying to get caught up. Here is what I made.

5 pints of Zucchini Relish

... and 7 1/2 half pints of Cranberry Jalapeno Jelly

I used Biker Billy Jalapenos in the jelly and was pretty disappointed at their lack of heat, since everyone says they are supposed to be one of the hottest varieties. The Jaloro I'm growing has a good bit more heat than any of the other jalapenos I've grown. I'm going to have to add some Serranos or something to the next batch to bring the heat level up where it ought to be.

I used a couple of Fresnos and the NOT Hawaiian Sweet Hots, plus quite a few Inca Red Drops in the Zucchini Relish, so I'm hoping the heat level is decent. I'll let you know after I sample the leftovers. : )

Where can I sign up for the jar of the month club?

Looks incredible, great job! Thanks for sharing.

Alex

Hey that's a great idea maple! That jelly sure *looks* pretty, whether it's hot or not!

Thank, Alex! I've never received a gift like that, but wouldn't it be cool to get a present every month!

Tsheets, it is tasty. I just had some on a slice of homemade zucchini bread, but I missed the little kick at the end.

That's a very nice crop you're hauling in.

Any chance on a recipe portion for the cranberry jelly?
How much of what went into the batch? ;)

Frank

Bonnie, I found that Biker Billy's are one of the hybrids that does not produce true if you save the seeds. If you grew them from saved seed, that may be the reason for lack of heat. I only tried to save the seed 1 year and that was my experience. My F1 BB's have plenty of heat.
John A

Hi Frank! Sorry I just now saw your question. Check out the link below for the Cranberry Jalapeno Jelly recipe. I'm going to use Serranos for the next batch to bring the heat level up.

John, I received the seeds in a trade and didn't ask if they were commercial or saved seeds. Lesson learned there I guess.

Here's a few recent harvest pics:

Chilhuacle Amarillo. I'm picking them a before they are fully ripe, since some of them were molding/rotting from the inside out when left on the plant too long. Hotter than Sandia, and a good powder candidate I think.

Trinidad Perfume

Tobago Seasoning

Aji Angelo. One of the earliest to set pods, and these are the first ripe ones. Probably won't make next year's growlist.

Serrano Huasteco on the left, Chile Hidalgo on the right.

First ripe Peach Habaneros. Need a few more and then it's jelly time again.

Speaking of jelly, made another batch of Hot Lemon Jelly this week.

... and finally, yesterday's harvest!

Well, break's over now. I've got to get another batch of peppers in the dehydrator.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cranberry Jalapeno Jelly Recipe

Beautiful pics!! You've been busy!

What a wonderful harvest you've had, amazing pics. You've certainly been busy putting the peppers to use. Congratultions.

Superb spread of peppers!

Josh

Thank you for checking out my grow log everyone!

I keep thinking I've gotten my last big harvest for the year, but the cold weather still hasn't arrived yet, and the plants are working hard to ripen everything that's left.

Harvest from earlier this week

Harvest at the community garden this morning

First ripe Chocolate Habanero

Pepper harvest here at the house today

Cachuchas

Now to find the time to process all this ripe deliciousness!

Beautiful. Amazing variety of color and pods. You gotta be happy!

Great haul Bonnie! That's a beautiful mix of chiles. Do you gave a favorite new chile this year?

Ever consider suing Bonnie Plants for unauthorized use of your name? (I assume that you pre-date them.)

No way they could claim to be better at peppers than you are. Je suis tres envious.

Peppermeister, I do have some new favorites. I'll probably start an end of season review thread soon, but the biggest thing I discovered is that I am not a fan of chinense peppers. The ones I liked the best were all baccatums, or annuums.

DMForcier, "pre-date them"? Are you saying I am old or something, LOL!!! Seriously though, thank you for the compliment!

When you say you do not like them, are you talking about growing or eating?

I will answer that for Bonnie. Eating:)

Yes, Jamie is correct. I was referring to the taste.

Okay, folks, it's the end of the line here. Forecast is calling for a low of 28 tonight, so yesterday the kids and I spent pretty much the entire day harvesting. Mostly peppers, but also tomatoes, onions, grapes, and basil.

These first pics are for DMForcier, who asked for a shot of the community garden plot. Couldn't get a shot that really showed how many plants are there. Those are 20' rows, with 16 plants in each row.

Everything was looking pretty sad, as I hadn't watered in a few days, but there really wasn't any point.

Final Harvest Pics

Those were all from the community garden. These next pictures are from the plants here at the house. Doesn't include the container plants, they were just moved into the garage, much to my husband's dismay.

... and finally, a couple of group shots.

Excited to have such a good harvest, but a bit overwhelmed at how I'm going to find time to process them all. Could hardly find enough counter space to cook dinner last night!

Just amazing! Thank you for sharing. You have a hot, green thumb.

Dang! Great harvest! As I looked at the pics, I was thinking "she's gonna be BUSY with all those". haha!

Bonnie,

Fantastic job and some great harvests!

Thanks for sharing the heat from your gardens this year.

Bill

Bonnie - Very impressive! I thoroughly enjoyed reading your 'Grow Log' this season.

I hear ya too regarding finding the time to process the end of the year harvest. Pulled pepper plants this weekend at the lake and home. I brought home 4 - 1 1/2 gallon buckets full of peppers from the lake this past weekend and have a bit more than that we picked Sunday at home to process this week inbetween work and babysitting my toddler grandson. Lots are going into the freezer for winter use, but would like to make hot sauce too. I've made enough salsa over the summer to choke an ox, so we are good on that front. I need a good hot sauce recipe.

Again, thanks for sharing your garden with all of us. It's very much appreciated!

Sandy

Thank you for those kind words, Sandy! I am envious of your salsa. Most of my tomatoes were still green when I picked everything last weekend. Normally, I'm canning salsa in August and September. This year, I haven't had enough tomatoes to make a single batch!!! Like you, I would like to try my hand at making hot sauce, but am not confident that I know enough about it, and am afraid of wasting a whole batch of peppers on something inedible. If you find a foolproof recipe, let me know : )

Managed to get a few trays in the dehydrator this week. I'll try to get a pic of some of this year's powders, but for now, here are pics of today's project.

PEACH HABANERO JAM

Peach Habaneros (used about 2/3 of what you see here)

+ Peaches =

Finished Product

Could have probably used half as many habaneros, and still had a nice amount of heat. The jam is hot!

Bonnie - My mouth is watering looking at those pics. Those jars of Peach Habanero jam look GREAT! I canned pepper jam last year, but didn't this year. I'll have to make sure I grow more super hots for myself next year just for jam.

I had an accident with the wind this week. My big fatalii pot topped and broke a small branch. So I have about 30 "ready to turn" pods. Do you think those would go well in a jam? Say 50% ripe and 50% unripe.

Sandy, I don't know if I'm ready for jam made with super hots yet, but then again, I haven't actually tried to eat a super yet.

DMForcier, I have plenty of unripe pods sitting around in bowls, since we had that first frost, but I don't use them until they turn. The flavor and heat are usually better when fully ripe.

Last night's pepper project:

They were delish!

On another thread we've been discussing the (apparent) fact that peppers don't ripen off the plant. Some may have been triggered to ripen and that will at least partially complete, but most won't. What is your experience?

What did you use for the poppers? Those look really good!

My experience is that if they have reached full size, they usually DO ripen off the plant, even if they are still green at the time of harvest. No scientific data to back this up, just my own personal experience ...

Oh, and the poppers were made with Jaloro jalapeno peppers.

DMForcier, if you look back at my final harvest post on October 6th, and look at the bowl of habaneros in photo # 6. Compare the color with the photo below.

It's the same bowl of peppers. Many of them are clearly green in the first photo, not partially ripe.

Just sayin' ...

I see color on them in the first pic. Still, it shows that there is some post-pic coloring going on, and probably ripening.

My experience is not the same. Most of mine still look just like I took them off the stem.

I'll repost so you can see the difference more clearly.

I'm with Bonnie on the rippening off the plant. I have been slowly using the peppers I had to pick before a hard frost came. Actually a total of 9 buckets (1 1/2 gal each) and I'd say 90% are ripe now. The ones that haven't really done anything didn't look mature when they were picked so no seed saving from them but they are usable for cooking, salsa, etc....
I've been gardening for over 30 years and there's always those end of the year peppers and tomatoes that need to be picked due to frost and I have not had any ill side effects using them as they ripen.
Sandy

I'm going to try an experiment with my accident-prone fatalii pods. I'll leave them out on the counter and monitor for color change. Some have a little color already. Others are immature. A few are full size with no color at all. We'll see what happens.

Incredible harvest!

I picked a couple pods that were about 25 percent ripe, and they ripened fully.
If the signal has gone out - even if the pod *appears* entirely green - they will ripen,
no bags or bananas required.

Josh

Things are winding down now that the final harvest has come and gone, but there are still peppers to be processed.
It took a total of 7 hours from the time I started peeling and chopping tomatoes, until the time I pulled the finished jars out of the canner! Here is today's project.

Salsa

It's by far the most time consuming thing I make with my harvest of tomatoes, peppers, and onions, but it's a family favorite, so it's a labor of love.

I ended up with 10 pints, but only 9 would fit in the canner, so the last one will go in the fridge once it cools down.

I used a combination of Jaloro jalapenos, Fresnos, Serrano Huastecos, Aji Yellows, Aji Chinchi Amarillos, and a couple of Trinidad Perfumes and Peach Habaneros. My 9 year old son says the heat level is on the high side of medium. For me, it just depended on which type of pepper I got in that bite, but I'm sure after it has sat for a few weeks the heat will even out as the flavors mingle.

Most of the peppers from the final harvest have ripened that are going to, and they are starting to dry out some, so it looks like most of what is left is going in the dehydrator. I do plan to make one more batch of Peach Habanero Jam, and still have quite a few peppers in the fridge that need to get pureed and frozen, or dehydrated. So things are winding down, but I'm not quite done yet.

Haven't been around much lately, took a part time job a few weeks ago, and it's cutting into my free time. As a result, I am way behind on processing the final harvest, but I have been chipping away at it.

Here are some pics from the past couple of weeks:

Peach Habanero Jelly

Some Peach and Chocolate Habaneros ready for the dehydrator

Salsa, Batch #2

Chili

Believe it or not, there are still quite a few peppers left that need to be either dehydrated or frozen, but I used up the last of this season's tomato harvest.

Guess it's time to start working on that end of season review ...

Bonnie