SIGH....final harvest always sounds so sad! But your crops look great!! And I agree with you, this is the best place for information!!
BTW....we already have next years crops started, and many are over 6" tall already...needing to be repotted to bigger pots!! Have a feeling we are going to have a downstairs jungle this winter....so you best get busy!!! :)

Yes it was sad to pick all the plants out of the ground. But hey im looking forward to next year already and got lots of seeds.
I used quite a few of the those peppers to make a big batch of "Chili", i gave some away to my mom. But i still got quite a few peppers left.
So far i pickled up all the pepperoncini. And i froze all of the rest of the peppers whole in freezer bags, except for the Habanero's which are still in a bowl on my table and ripening up. They havent started getting soft yet but i do have to make a decision on how to preserve them.

Im undecided on the best preserving method for my Habs. I do have some frozen but i dont know what to with the rest.
I use Habs when i make chili, tomato sauces, sometime i chop them up in soups. Should i just freeze the rest of them or pickle them or attempt to dry em out and make flakes? I have also heard people say that you can put them in a blender with some vinegar and make a habanero sauce, maybe i should do that?
What do you all reccomend?

Jim

Hey, Jim, that's a nice final harvest!

My plants are still in the ground, but I'm pruning them back a little at a time.
I think I'll have to re-pot this weekend. There's more rain in the forecast.

Here's a pic for you....funeral for my Caribbean Red...
I yanked it, then tossed it into the compost hole.

Those pictures are gorgeous! I'm really excited having just planted the seeds you sent me this morning! Thanks so very much for doing that for me.

I'm slobbering just looking at those pictures and knowing that I have seeds from those very peppers is really cool! I would like some of those jalos too if you end up with enough extra seeds.

Congrats on such a bumper crop.

CaptTurbo

Very cool CaptTurbo

Glad to help ya. Hope the seeds germinate well for ya. I do have some extra Jalapeno seeds ill send yer way. I have them drying out on a paper plate. Ill get them in the mail soon for ya.

Even tho the FINAL harvest is done i still havent made my FINAL decision on how im gonna preserve my Habs for winter usage. I have to do it today tho, cause they wont last forever at room temp. Maybe ill take the easy way out and just freeze em whole.

Josh, pass me a tissue, its so sad to see that Carribean Red dying in the ditch like that. For some strange reason i think its sadder to see a pepper plant dying in a ditch then it would be to see some human beings i know of in that same scenario.

Well some may die so that others may live and that there corpse of a rotting Hab plant will provide life in the form of nutrients for the future plants eh?

Jim

Exactly! Life feeds on life....
In the metaphysical sense, that Hab will live again.
I'm already starting the mulching and composting for next year's planting zone...
from cradle to grave, and back again...


Josh

hi jim
those are beautiful i nearly ate my screen up just looking at them .hope you can send some seeds my way so i can make it south african lol

Those are BEAUTIFUL, Jim! I'm jealous.

Great pictures Jim. I vote for the Habanero sauce. I used to make a Cerrano/Jalapeno (50/50) sauce just like that. A little salt, a little vinegar and just enough boiled water for the food processor to break them up. You can go for a smooth paste or leave them a bit chunky which is what I prefer.

Also, since you've been blessed with a plentiful Habs harvest you can try and dry some small portion. For the experience of it and also to have them in that form and see what they taste like.

Rudy

I froze most of em. But i did make a small batch of Hab hot sauce.

Its got quite a kick to it ;)

Heres how i made it
20 small habs
6 ounces white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder
1/4 teaspoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground sea salt

I de-stemmed the Habs and put all those ingredients in a food proccessor and chopped the heck out of it, then i brought that mix to a boil in a small saucepan for a minute or two, then back into the food proccessor for some more chopping, then boiled it another minute and put in a small jar. I still got some left in the fridge, a little of that stuff goes a long way when spicing up a meal ;)

Jimmy

Bet it would light my tailpipe on fire!

Seven hot wax have come up and five or six sorrano. None of the pepperoncini ever sprouted though I used the last of them to try again. The second planting which included the jalapeno and cayenne seeds should pop any day now.

Having a lot of fun with this. Thanks Jim.

Good to hear Captturbo! sorry about the pepperoncini seeds. I think i realize my mistake on that now. I pulled the seeds from the largest pepperoncini pod that i harvested. Unfortuneately it was still green. Im thinking i should of used seeds from a red pod for saving. Live and learn i guess.

Guess ill have to buy a seed packet of that type for next year. I really like those peppers pickled. Great snack, great for antipasto dishes and salads.

Jim

Jim, I've got some dried ripe Pepperoncinis....
no need to go buying a damned seedpacket!


Josh

Looks like I will have seven Hungarian hot wax plants. They look pretty good. Down to only three Serrano seedlings that look decent.

Of the second planting, there are six newly sprouted Cayenne seedlings and two Jalapeno. A third sprouted but doesn't have any leaves. The two that do have tiny yellow leaves so I'm not sure they will make it.

Thanks for sharing the lesson on harvesting seeds from only mature pods. Makes sense to me. I've never harvested pepper seeds and this crop will be the first from which I will try if I can grow them out.

Looks like I'm going to get some good plants with the wax and probably from the cayenne too. Winter has arrived here in SW Florida and we will be battling frost for a week or so. At least with my little peppers I can simply bring them inside each night. Not so for the huge tomatoes, eggplants, cukes, squash, and bean plants.

Josh, I have various seeds I could swap you for some of those pepperoncini seeds. I'll be sending Jim some Cherokee Purple tomato seeds if my crop makes it to maturity. I also have seeds for okra, black seeded simpson lettuce, various radish (red cherry and the white Chinese kind) and some mustard greens. I'm going to save some seed from my Black Beauty eggplant too. Just harvested the first eggplant fruit yesterday. If any of that is of interest please shoot me an email at turbondr@AOL(dot)com

Also, if anyone has any numex bigjim or numex joe e. parker seeds I would love to grow some. I like that they are huge and not too hot!