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ottawapepper

Ottawapepper's 2012 peppers (part 2)

ottawapepper
11 years ago

Peppermeister and tsheets,

I have used the newspaper method Josh referenced with good results. I've also had good results partially sinking small plastic containers, like you get sour cream in, into the ground and half filling them with cheap beer or pop with a bit of veg oil (to break viscosity). You loosely tent them and the earwigs crawl in and drown. You need to dump and replace when the body count gets high.

If you can find Diatomaceous earth, I think it's the most effective control when dealing with large infestations. It's organic and can be used indoors and out.

There's no daily maintenance required and it gives you the pleasure of knowing the little bas_ards are dying a slow (and hopefully painful) death by dehydration ;-)

The only downside is it needs to be re-applied after rain.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ottawapepper's 2012 peppers (part 1)

Comments (70)

  • tsheets
    11 years ago

    Now *THAT'S* a veggie tray!! ;-)

    Nice harvest and quite a variety.

    Do you have any close up pics of the earwig damage? Do they look like little drilled holes?

  • ottawapepper
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Sorry tsheets, I didn't get any close ups.

    The cause a few types of damage. They chew off the top layer of the pepper and the exposed flesh starts to rot. In some cases the bite area is small and a small hole rots out. They also chew holes through the peppers and turn them into earwig condos to hide out in during the day.

    I'll take some close up shots next I pull a damage pod.

  • peppermeister1
    11 years ago

    Ottawa: Beautiful harvest. This is such a great time of year for us patient chile heads! Bondas look amazing!

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    11 years ago

    Nice presentation :-)
    Curse the earwigs....had a lot of similar damage on my Bih last year, too.

    Josh

  • ottawapepper
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    tsheets et. al,

    Regarding earwigs drilling holes, I don't have examples from this year (yet) but I found some shots from a few years ago.

    Here's an example of a pod converted to a condo:

    Here's a shot of a Bhut with a small hole drilled:

    Here's a shot of a Douglah from a few weeks ago:

    Here's my latest causality, a non-standard Butch T pod. It was at the back of the plant and I just found it today. This is really making angry!

    I'll be doing a small harvest tomorrow. I'll post an update then ;)

  • tsheets
    11 years ago

    Thanks, Bill! Those first two look familiar. The last two just look nasty!!! It can sure be frustrating at times! The funny thing is, I went back and looked at my old pics and couldn't find any examples. I always remove the bad ones or hide any blemishes in the pile when taking pics. Never really considered it might be handy to have examples for comparison / reference.

  • highalttransplant
    11 years ago

    I feel your pain, Bill! I found a couple of Jimmy Nardellos yesterday with holes just like that. I also had some Guajillos, and Big Jims with brown patches near the tip, but no hole. I'm assuming BER on those. Frustrating either way! I have noticed that it only seems to happen on the larger podded peppers.

    What's the heat and flavor like on those Jellybeans?

  • ottawapepper
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    highalttransplant, the Jellybeans have I'd guess a 40k - 50k heat. Taste is nothing remarkable and they're seedy. Nice squirt when you bite into them though. I'm growing it as an ornamental and do not have any plans to process the pods. Send me an email if you'd like me to save you some seed.

    I harvested another platters worth of pods this morning:

    Clockwise from just a bit left of 12: Kurtovska Kapija; Nagabon; TS Moruga & Chocolate Scotch Bonnet; Jalapeno; 7 Pot & Christmas Bell; Chimayo; 7 Pot Douglah; Red Fatalli?; Bulgarian Spicy; Datil; 7 Pot Jonah unknown cross; Datil cross; Billy Goat.

    Center: Orange Sun and Sorok Sari (un-ripe)

    I'm still waiting to harvest undamaged Bhut and Bih Jolokia; Trinidad Scorpion; Piri Piri; Butch T; Dorset Naga and Trinidad Scorpion FG. Soon I hope!

    Bill

  • tsheets
    11 years ago

    Another great tray!! So colorful!

  • peppernovice
    11 years ago

    Wow! Do you plan to use all of those yourself? I'm still learning what all you can do with peppers. I made my first sauce the other day, and used it on some pork chops today. I've done the powder thing a few times. Of course we all eat them fresh, and cook with them. Am I missing anything? I know you pros have your secrets.

    Tim

  • John A
    11 years ago

    Beautiful harvest, Bill. I'm jealous that you got Chocolate Scotch Bonnets before I did. Mine got a late start because of the deer damage, but I now have green ones on the plant. I have had a good harvest of TS Morougas (thanks for your seed) with more coming on.
    John A

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    11 years ago

    Incredible tray there, Bill!

    Josh

  • ottawapepper
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks guys.

    Tim, I use them all and then some. I also get a supply of Serrano and Habs from friends farm.

    I freeze some. I dry and smoke and dry to store pods and to powder. I can hot jellies, mustard and salsa. Freeze sauces, ketchup and jerk marinade. Of course I do rellenos. Never enough peppers ;-)

    Picked a few pods today.

    Here's what was sold to me as a Chocolate Bhut Jolokia (bottom) and a Bih Jolokia I snagged before earwigs did more damage. Is it just me or does chocolate come in red ;0

    Also pulled my first Trinidad Scorpions of season. Love the look of these puppies:

    tsheets, the Christmas Bell pod you were curious about finally ripened up. It's in my latest platter shot but I thought you may like a closer look.

    Bill

  • peppernovice
    11 years ago

    Red is the new chocolate.......geez Bill try to keep up.
    Tim

  • tsheets
    11 years ago

    Thanks, Bill! It's certainly a pretty pepper! Can't wait to grow it next season!

  • esox07 (4b) Wisconsin
    11 years ago

    You eat those things????? They look fake. Probably got 'em at the dollar store. Seriously though, keep out of reach of children. Those things should come with a warning label for kids. That tray looks tastier than a tray of grapes, cherries and other fruits and tastier than something you might find in a candy store.
    "I get all the orange ones!"
    Bruce

  • ottawapepper
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Tim, got it... red = new chocolate. I'm really slow on these new age trends.

    tsheets, ya gotta stuff some with queso fresco (if you can find it) and chorizo. Yum!

    Funny Bruce, I was thinking the same thing looking at the shots, they do look plastic.

  • ottawapepper
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Just a quick update. Here's my latest harvest this past Sunday.

    Center: 3 Kurtovska Kapija and a Poblano on top.
    Clockwise from 12:00: Bonda Ma Jacques; Douglah; Fatalli - Red Cross?; Aji Cito - Not; Moruga; Datil Cross; Trinidad Scorpion; Billy Goat; Chocolate Scotch Bonnet; Dorset Naga; Datil; Butch T; Jalapeno.

    It's getting busy, my posts are going to be erratic (OK, more erratic than usual). Between preserving my pepper harvest (my highest priority), we're harvesting and preserving beans; tomatoes; carrots; herbs; various other numerous fruits and vegetables as well as stocking up on local beef and chicken. When we wonder why the hel# we do this to ourselves we remember what it's like to taste summer when it's -20 to -30 in Jan and Feb ;-)

    Bill

  • esox07 (4b) Wisconsin
    11 years ago

    Bill, Good luck with the harvest. Looks like you really have it going on up there in Canada. Nice variety you have there in the photo. It always amazes me how those harvest photos look like a plate full on deserts or candies. I think peppers ought to come with warning labels telling us to keep them out of the reach of children. :)

    Bruce

  • ottawapepper
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks Bruce. I agree. When someone asks why I grow so many peppers I'm torn between the flavor of the varieties or the beauty of the varieties.

    It's a win win ;-)

  • ottawapepper
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Another short update as the season continues (for a while longer I hope).

    I'm finally harvesting ripe Butch T's. I'm not only impressed with the flavour/flavor and heat, I have some neat pod variations on the plant. The pod on the left reminds me of some Primo pods I've seen posted.

    Here's a few shots of my most recent harvest...

    12:00 going clockwise: Billy Goat; 7 Pot Douglah; Jalapeno; TS Butch T; Bulgarian Spicy; Dorset Naga; TS Moruga; Bhut Jolokia; Trinidad Scorpion; Bonda Ma Jacques; Red Fatalli?; Datil Cross.

    Left to right: Not Chocolate Bhut Jolokia; not Aji Cito; Nagabon Jolokia; Bih Jolokia Chocolate Scotch Bonnet; 7 Pot.

    Bill

  • northern_hab
    11 years ago

    Hi Ottawapepper,
    Those platters look amazing.
    I wish I had the room to grow a large variety of peppers.

  • don555
    11 years ago

    Despite the earwig armies amassed against you, you have clearly prevailed! Those look amazing, that's some impressive pepper growing for a northern climate, for any climate zone really. May your September be warm and frost-free!

  • ottawapepper
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks northern_hap and don555.

  • peppernovice
    11 years ago

    You represent Canada well! That's enough heat to melt the snow in January! I hope you continue to get those platters for another month!

    Tim

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    11 years ago

    Man, I look forward to every new pic and posting!

    Josh

  • ottawapepper
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Another update... let me know when you folks get tired of these.

    I had an unexpected risk of frost forecast last night so I did a scramble harvest of anything that looked ripe enough. Didn't get the frost but I got this harvest:

    12:00 clockwise: Dorset Naga; Piri Piri; Douglah; Bhut Jolokia; Bonda ma Jacques; Trinidad Scorpion; Moruga; Bih Jolokia; Butch T; not Aji Cito; 7 Pot; Poblano; Kurtovska Kapija; Nagabon; Chocolate cotch Bonnet

    Center: Green & Red Jalapeno (I needed green for colour contrast in salsa I'm canning this week)

    Here are some shots of some other plants I haven't harvested from yet. The Takanotsume is the only one I'll harvest for powder. The rest are ornamental.

    Takanotsume

    Yellow Jellybean

    NuMex Twilight

    My Black Cuban / Twilight cross

    It's not a bad looking plant but I'd prefer if it had the dark Cuban foliage and the colourful Twilight pods. Maybe F2?

    Bill

  • tsheets
    11 years ago

    Beautiful shots, Bill!

  • ottawapepper
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks tsheets.

    Here's another shot from today. My GF stuck a few of the cuttings I used for the branch shots into a small vase. Cute ;-)

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    11 years ago

    Aw, cute :-)
    Pepper bouquet!

    Josh

  • tsheets
    11 years ago

    You could certainly sell those! Very pretty!

  • John A
    11 years ago

    My Mystery 7 Pot Jonahs are catching up from the early summer deer damage and the first one is turning red. Mine look different than any of the other photos. The shape is like a Jamaica Scotch Bonnet but the color is wrong. I'll test the heat tomorrow when I put it in a batch of tomato sauce. Here are a couple of photos.


  • ottawapepper
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Small victory, big loss...

    Pulling some pods today I spotted an earwig emerge from a damaged Bih Jolokia. Lost another pod (I think I've only harvested 3 or 4 Bih's this season that weren't damaged) but the earwig won't be munching on anymore. Let's just say it died of massive internal injuries.

  • ottawapepper
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks for the Jonah cross pics john11840. Your pods don't look anything like my plant put out... so far.

  • tsheets
    11 years ago

    Oh that sucks! Had one in a pepper I pulled the other day. Luckily, I haven't had them as bad as your Bih!

  • ottawapepper
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    At this point in the season I'm moving my focus from harvesting as much as I can to preserving as quickly as I can ;-)

    I've been freezing, smoking, drying, powdering and cooking with my pods through the season. Now jellies, salsas, sauces etc. This past week we got 31 pints of (hot, medium and mild) salsa done (we do a lot because friends raid our stock), 6 Trinidad Scorpion jellies, 6 Nagabon Jolokia Jellies and a liter of TS ButchT Ketchup.

    Here's a shot of a liter (approx. quart) of the ButchT Ketchup.

    A shot of TS Gold jelly

    A shot of our salsa.

    If you're curious about the recipes we used for the Ketchup, Jelly and Salsa see DMForcier's post below.

    I had time to snap a shot of one of my Black Cubans. They got mowed down be earwigs early in the season so they're late ripening up.

    Bill

    Here is a link that might be useful: Your favorite recipes here

  • peppernovice
    11 years ago

    It seems you've been a busy man. Those are some good looking sample shots you have there. I had to stop myself from licking the pc screen!

    Tim

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    11 years ago

    A very productive season for you, Bill!

    I agree with Tim....them pics are enticing!

    Josh

  • ottawapepper
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks guys.

    Josh, as my future Western VP Marketing and Sales, I'll be forwarding a few sample powder blends for you to try. I'm currently working on Grim Reaper Blend #5 ;-)

    Bill

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    11 years ago

    Hallelujah! :-D

    Would you believe that I still have a pinch of the ol' Grim Reaper left?!
    It was lost in the cabinet for a time, but recently discovered. On Saturday morning,
    I made myself a Grim BLT with the powder dusting the mayonnaise....good lord!
    Spicy BLT is probably my favorite compliment.

    All my friends ask about your powders. They were blown away by the spiked salt,
    the dust mix, all the hot mixes.


    Josh

  • ottawapepper
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    My 2012 growing season came to an end this past Thursday. Forecast was for frost this weekend so except for my ornamentals, I pulled the last of my pods and dumped the pots while it was relatively warm. I promised myself last year that I wasn't going to be doing clean up in cold rain again ;-))

    Looks like tonight is the night. Here's an warning issued earlier today Expect widespread frost to develop tonight as temperatures fall to or just below the freezing mark under clear skies and light winds. Temperatures will slowly climb above zero after sunrise on Monday.

    Anyhow, here's a quick shot of my last 2012 harvest (minus a dozen green Bell peppers of varying size).

    From left of 12:00: Christmas Bell; Kurtovska Kapija; Chocolate Scotch Bonnet; Billy Goat; not Chocolate Bhut; Trinidad Scorpion; Bhut Jolokia & TS ButchT

    Center: a lone un-ripe Sorok Sari

  • peppernovice
    11 years ago

    I hate your season is over. I guess you get to take a break now. I know it's been crazy the past couple weeks. You had a great season with lots in the cupboards to prove it. You can also add recruiting a new chile head to the fold. I can't thank you and the others here(sorry, too many too mention everyone by name)for all the seed donations and advice.
    Is it too early to start mapping out next years crop? :)

    Tim

  • tsheets
    11 years ago

    That's a pretty darn nice final harvest!

    I've already started informally planning next year's garden, thanks in part to Bill. :-)

  • maple_grove_gw
    11 years ago

    Bill,

    Looks like a nice final harvest capping off a very productive season. Your peppers look very tasty.

    BTW, moving back to the top of the thread, I was wondering about the use of diatomaceous earth for pest control. Maybe you touched on this already and I missed it (if so, sorry). I have access to Celite at work, and I have access to earwigs in the pepper garden, now...to get them together. I'm thinking ahead to next year's crop of earwigs...how exactly do you use DE? Do you use it to smother bugs upon sight, or do you dust the plants as a preventative measure?

    Alex

  • ottawapepper
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks folks.

    Alex, I don't dust my plants / pods because DE used for insect control is not "food grade".

    It works by adhering to the crawlers as they pass through it. When I'm moving pots I'll give any earwigs hiding under the pots a direct blast but for the most part I dust the soil around the plants and pots. When DE is present the earwigs avoid it or slowly die. The only down side is it needs to be reapplied after rain or top watering.

  • ottawapepper
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Well, it finally hit last night, a killer frost. My ornamental plants looked pretty sad today.

    I did lie in my previous post... I saved one ornamental, a Twilight, and what I thought was a Thai. Bruce (esox07) and Edymnion have inspired me to try the cutting back and overwintering thing.

    Anyhow, the Twilight is a Twilight but the Thai turned out to be a Scotch Bonnet (at least the "Scotch Bonnet" the company I bought the seed from sold). I've grown Scotch Bonnets from their seed in the past.

    I wasn't too surprised when the leaves looked more chinese than frutescens. I've had stray seeds in packets from the vendor before.

    Just to be sure, do these look like Thai peppers to you folks ;-)

    The ripe pod doesn't look like a Scotch but the majority of the pods on the plant have the squat pleated Bonnet shape.

    I'm going to cut them both down and see how it goes. A nice winter project.

  • ottawapepper
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Sorry, should have added the Thai seed packet was from 2007. I started the last four seeds and only one germinated. I haven't bought seed from the vendor since 2008.

  • donna_in_sask
    11 years ago

    Was this a particularly prolific year for pepper growing, Bill? I can't believe how much production you got out of your plants! I made the Habanero Gold Jelly too...it turned out well, but it's very spicy...what do you do with it?

    I made my last batch of salsa today. I had some homegrown jalapenos which I added to the batch - I bought the jalapenos for my previous batches. Anyway, I asked my 13 yr old son to test them for hotness and he put a whole hunk in his mouth and suffered the consequences. Who would have thought I could grow hot peppers in Saskatchewan? None of my peppers ever ripened to red...

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    11 years ago

    Congratulations, Bill! :-)

    It was a productive year for you in the north, and your powders turned out very hot!!!
    I am still basking in the glow of that Grim Reaper #5. I took the powders/mixes to a barbecue
    on Saturday, and I had the usual suspects sample them all. My buddy Jason took a big
    knife-tip of the Spiked Salt, then a big tip of the Grim. I could see it hit him hard, haha.
    After a few seconds, he reached over the counter and grabbed his wife's watermelon lemonade
    martini and quaffed it! If a powder will make a man do that, it must be good! No offense
    to watermelon lemonade martini drinkers out there ;-)

    Temp is at 42F for us this morning. Gettin' closer.


    Josh

  • John A
    11 years ago

    I'm still harvesting, but we have a freeze predicted for Friday night. I'll keep my fingers crossed. I see that the other thread on the 7 Pot Jonah cross is filled, so I'll post my final chapter here. I had 2 plants. In the photo, the rounder ones in the front are all from one plant, and the longer ones in back are from the other. I thought that was interesting, and more evidence supporting an unstable cross.

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