Bringing them inside before this years first rain tonight.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/35190/chilis_2018__2.jpeg?easyrotate_cache=1543446619)
;) Let the chili season begin!
Nothing better than a bowl of chili on a cold day. Are those mild, wild, or YIKES?
These are really mild with lots of richness. We made chicken stew tonight with a hand full of these dried chilis and a few fresh hot ones -delicious ! ;D All summer long roasted fresh from the garden was a luxury.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/35190/DSCN1929.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1543545413)
Opposite seasons. :)
I've got my seedlings in. Trying a makeshift greenhouse at a friends farm. Where I live is marginal for growing chillies. If we get a good year, they do OK, if it's a cool spring and summer, not so good. So I have re-roofed an old pig pen with clear roof, and set up an irrigation system. If it works, we have have about an acre old old pig sheds we can repurpose. But that's a bigger investment.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10460/20181120_122811.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1543554544)
And I've planted a mix of relatively tame Jalapeno, up to Trinidad Scorpions. Will do some "market research" with this years (hopeful) crop.
Updating.
The plants my friend started early have been a bit disappointing. That may have been over use of aphid spray, which only made the aphids mad, and almost killed the plants. The later plants in pots have done better and I've settled into controlling the bugs with a regular cold water spray. Seems to work well once the plants get tall enough to discourage them from crawling back up again.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10460/20190120_110125.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1548055321)
Got the Bhut Jolokias with good fruit on them now.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10460/20190120_110239.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1548055332)
And a three year old Birdseye plant that's survived 2 Winters on the window sill is loaded after being repotted.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10460/20190120_110220.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1548055253)
This years window sill Birdseye plant is already 3 ft high, and has about a dozen fruit on it already. ??? It's a bit spindly compared to an outdoor plant, but it's flowering and fruiting, so I'm going to call that a success.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10460/20190121_190843.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1548055905)
Anyway, this is intended as a "pre commercial" sort of experiment. Basically we have as much shed space as we want to buy polycarb roofing for. Have a couple of "chilli heads" lined up that will buy some, and a range of fruit to test the market. Relatively tame Jalapeno, up to "weapons grade" Bhut Jolokia. Timing of the seedlings seems to be important, if they sprout too soon, they seem to "stall" if the weather gets cold. Later plants then overtake them...
Roger that on the opposite seasons-I'm planting carrots and lettuce right now with night temps hitting 19 F. Your choice of chilies is terrific and I'm jealous !
I am adding my home made hot sauce that I made from Carolina Reapers to the chili we had just yesterday. It is warm here right now, but it has been pretty chili :D. I winterized my plants so they will probably start blooming again in a month or so. I planted them from seed last year and they did really well. I also use the dried cayannes I dehydrated a lot in the same types of meals.
Daytime temps have been getting up over 85F for most of the last week. Chillies are liking that.
Even the latest plants that I grew from seed are starting to flower, and some of the larger ones that I bought as seedlings are loaded with fruit now.
This is a Bhut Jolokia, an Indian variety. Not quite as hot as Carolina Reapers, but close, and makes a good hot sauce / elephant repellent / tear gas grenade... :D
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10460/20190203_141533.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1549171910)
I'll take your word for it, won't try them :D
Jalapeno's are the edge of pain for me.
Some times this side of it, some times the other side of it.
I plant 4 bushes most every year. I usually get enough to last all winter. They freeze very well.
2 years ago they produced an incredible amount of peppers. So much that I didn't plant any last year and I still have a couple of bags in the freezer and they are really hot!
I noticed that the first ones that I pick are very mild and as the season goes on they produce hotter and hotter peppers. If the temperatures are in the 90s and we have a lack of rain they seem to love it and produce the hottest peppers.
That's all I got to say about that.
Jon
Breakfast chilis this morning.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/35190/chilis_2019_breakfast.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1550848815)
Maybe it's the camera angle but it looks like that wing needs a little more cooking!
Good eye LOL. Just cold from the refer.
I was planning on putting my hatch and Anaheim seedling in the ground this weekend but with 8" of fresh snow today I think I'll give it a week lol
Good idea to wait. We have snow on the ground also and won't plant chilis until May.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/35190/feb_20_snow_3.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1550864242)
It's interesting that the first plants that we started over winter in a friends glasshouse did the poorest. They seemed to "stall" in the cool early spring weather, and never really took off the same when the weather warmed up. Later plants that I started from seed here at home in late Spring have grown the best, and one "Birdseye" that I left growing in a small pot on the end of the kitchen table is the first to have ripe fruit. I had to move it out to the shed after we adopted 3 terrorist kittens that try and destroy anything in a pot. Checking yesterday it has about 100 small (but tasty) fruit on it, with the first ones ripening now. I figure the warmer overnight temps in the house helped it, and it passed all the earlier plants in the greenhouse.
Greens are growing great right now! Brush the snow off and they just won't die. Gotta love it.
180° Panorama of the chilli shed now
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10460/20190223_132923.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1550897227)
Trindad Scorpions
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10460/20190223_132557.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1550897161)
Bhut Jolokia
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10460/20190223_132542.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1550897160)
Birdseye from a 3 year old window sill plant that's still fruiting.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10460/20190223_132503.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1550897275)
Habanero
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10460/20190223_132521.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1550897305)
Some random yellows (mild) that my buddy grew.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10460/20190223_132435.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1550897156)
Jalapeno
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10460/20190223_132424.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1550897338)
This years window sill plant, Thai hybrid birdseye. About 100 of these tasty little morsels on this biggest plant.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10460/20190223_132346.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1550897152)
It is really interesting how the same chili can taste so different from green, to ripe, to dried. Good looking batch of spice you are growing there !
If you want to add some heat to your bowl of soup etc. try adding some Indonesian sambal
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/39304/IMG_0095~3.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1551195213)
Yes, very tasty ! Stores here have them in both oil and water based recipes depending on country of origin- a favorite at our table.
Chillies are starting to ripen. The wrinkly ones are Bhut Jolokia, almost as hot as Trinidad Scorpions. Some little Thai Birdseyes (small but tasty) and a stray Jalapeno that got knocked off by the watering hose.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10460/20190315_164547.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1552622258)
Some Cucumber and Jalapeno relish I made the other night. Recipe called for a couple of capsicums, but I substituted a dozen green Jalapenos instead. Not crazy hot, just a bit of zing to add to a cold meat sandwich.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10460/20190312_200805.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1552622605)
You are making my mouth water !!
Jalapeno poppers aren't a "thing" in NZ, but I'd seen them online, looked up a recipe, and gave them a go.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10460/20190321_190619.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1553195328)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10460/20190321_194057.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1553195328)
Most excellent, even the kids liked them. :)
Oh ,,,heck yes ! 8) 8) 8)
Some pics of the end of the winter garden. Next month I will start seeds for my peppers and other summer goodies.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/35190/winter_garden_end_1.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1553198009)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/35190/winter_garden_end_2.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1553198108)
Quote from: Ianab on March 21, 2019, 03:11:13 PM
Jalapeno poppers aren't a "thing" in NZ, but I'd seen them online, looked up a recipe, and gave them a go.
Most excellent, even the kids liked them. :)
Try them with crab mix, more most excellent.
Some bul koki chicken tonight. Two day soak on fermented chilis, yummmmm
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/35190/bul_koki_28chili_chicken_29.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1553557981)
Chicken looks Yum Tule! I've been on the piri, piri or african birdseye kick for the last couple of years, hot but very tasty. I remember the first time I tried one, figured how hot can this cute little red chili be and ate the whole chili. Lord! LOL
Albacore wraps with chilis tonight
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/35190/albacore_wraps_3_4_26_19.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1553650201)
Todays harvest. 8)
Weather is cooling off and the plants have stopped growing, but any fruit they have set is still ripening. See how many make it through the winter.
Weekends mission is to make some hot sauce / relish / jam, and what I don't use can be frozen or dried for later.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10460/20190523_151902.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1558583014)
Whoa!
Quote from: Ianab on May 22, 2019, 11:47:04 PM
Todays harvest. 8)
Weather is cooling off and the plants have stopped growing, but any fruit they have set is still ripening. See how many make it through the winter.
Weekends mission is to make some hot sauce / relish / jam, and what I don't use can be frozen or dried for later.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10460/20190523_151902.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1558583014)
Are you blanching before freezing ?
Quote from: tule peak timber on May 23, 2019, 09:08:21 AMAre you blanching before freezing ?
I don't usually worry about that as they are just going to used for cooking later. So they just get frozen "free flow" and into a plastic bag.
I'm just getting my chilies in the ground as the winter garden peaks out- near done.I've read that if you don't kill enzymes by blanching, vegges will continue to age in the freezer. We usually roast the stuff we freeze. This year I'm going to make some Nuoc Mam with some of them for something different. Cheers.....
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/35190/DSCN2089.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1558646488)
End of season here.
Went through the Jalapeno and got this assortment.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10460/20190615_225022.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1560596879)
Thai Birdseye are still ripening, maybe this much more if the weather holds.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10460/20190615_225033.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1560596880)
Last of the Bhut Jolokia (AKA Indian Elephant repellent / military grade tear gas)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10460/20190615_225056.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1560596879)
Supermarket has kiwifruit for $1 a kg at the moment, so I see a batch of home made Waha Rewa as tomorrows project.
https://kaitaia-fire-ltd.myshopify.com/products/waha-wera (https://kaitaia-fire-ltd.myshopify.com/products/waha-wera)
That's a kiwifruit and Habanero recipe. Kiwifruit and Bhut Jolokia will be even more tasty.
Might have some competition though, I found some Aussie made "Carolina Reaper" hot sauce at the local supermarket the other day.
Nice harvest, Ian!
Looking good Ian, my mouth is watering. In the next day or two I will post my version of nouc mam. cheers
Ribs on chilis , 2 days with dry rub, stout , oil, bay leaves, cover on a wood pit fire for 3 hours.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/35190/DSCN2112.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1562368199)