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Post by glen on Sept 21, 2020 18:44:47 GMT -6
George, nice haul. The plant behind it is still loaded!! You must have loads and loads of tiny sweet peppers!! Glad Jarreth likes them. I will be sending more variety's your way as soon as the mail opens back up. We think October could be the month.
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Ajícito
Oct 17, 2020 19:17:29 GMT -6
Post by macmex on Oct 17, 2020 19:17:29 GMT -6
Two nights ago we had our first light frost. It wasn't forecast to be light, as they said it would be 34 F. in the morning, which for me would mean a hard frost. Jerreth and I brought in a good amount of harvest from the garden that night in preparation for the cold, though we decided not to kill ourselves, trying to get everything in. We needed to get to bed, as we had a very busy day the next day (and very early morning). I did, however, clip off all the ajicito pepper plants, so we could rapidly harvest them all. They were LOADED again! Here's a photo of just one limb of one plant, as I was cutting them.
Here's another photo with me holding about 1 1/2 plants, on the way out of the garden with them.
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Post by glen on Oct 18, 2020 1:58:33 GMT -6
Bon, Ajicito just means little pepper. That's what the Latino's call that pepper. In fact, they call other shapes Ajicito as well. The name of the pepper is pretty much just a description of the pepper. This pepper falls into the category of ahi's called Ahi Criollo. I don't really know what that means. But, that is the label in front of the bin with all the different shapes of small, sweet peppers. Our hot pepper is called Chombo. I read that Chombo is a description for the "Black man's pepper", in reference to the belief that black men brought the seed in many years ago during immigration.
I have planted a variety of Ahi Criollo this go around. If the mail ever returns to service I have seeds already packed and ready to mail to George. You guys will have a few different shapes of Ahi Criollo to try out. Maybe you might want to just give all these sweet ahi's the generic name of Ahi Criollo? That's pretty much what they do here. They are all Capsicum Chinense chili peppers. Not all are dwarf plants. Ajicito is cool because it is a dwarf plant.
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Ajícito
Oct 18, 2020 5:14:25 GMT -6
Post by macmex on Oct 18, 2020 5:14:25 GMT -6
"Criollo" means "local," or perhaps better said "native;" the one "from here." In light of the information given by Glen I'd suggest we label this one as "Las Tablas Dwarf Ajicito." If I understand Glen, this is the only "ajicito" there that is dwarf.
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Post by glen on Oct 18, 2020 11:45:45 GMT -6
George, thanx for looking up Criollo. So, its just a generic name for the local little peppers. You can google Ajicito also and it gives you more information on this class of aji. Apparently it is famous in Venezuela where they make their version of Sofrito. Sofrito is pureed sweet peppers with other spices that they use in recipes. They have this stuff prepared in the fridge and use it when needed. You can google recipes for Sofrito also. They also sell this prepared in little bottles in the supermarket for those that don't want to make it at home. Bercy buys it. I am now sort of collecting the more interesting seed from this class of ahi. I don't know if the ajicito I sent you guys is the only one that is a dwarf or not. I haven't grown out all of them. Like I said, I am collecting seed and slowly but surely I will be sending seed so you can try them. You don't need this seed really since you have the ajicito however, for the fun of it you definitely want to try growing some different variety's. They all seem to be part of the Capsicum Chinense family of peppers. They all are perrenials down here in Panama and live for over a year.
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Post by glen on Oct 18, 2020 12:23:36 GMT -6
Fun is what this is all about. You can grow Aji Criollo, and get the same feeling of satisfaction as you would growing the hot chili's. They are beautiful plants and look the same as the hot chili plants. Plus, you can use them in your own special Sofrito or just slice them up and sautee them with onions or use them in salads. Sweet aji's are plentiful in my area. And, cheap. I buy them and split them and steam them and eat them all the time like a veggy. Peppers are full of nutrition. They have no down side on the plate. I never leave the supermarket without a big bag of sweet peppers. I eat them green or red and I eat big portions of them steamed. They have very few calories really and plenty of vitamins. The Aji criollo is just another form of the sweet pepper and they will grow well for you and you will be the only one in your neighborhood that has it. Eat em!
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Ajícito
Oct 18, 2020 15:12:03 GMT -6
Post by glen on Oct 18, 2020 15:12:03 GMT -6
Great story Bon. There is nothing wrong with being frugal. Waste not want not is a real lesson in living, not just a saying. I believe that if you are frugal and you do not waste you will live longer. And, be happier. We need to appreciate what the Lord leaves us. And, we need to save for a rainy day.
Being able to grow something in the back yard is a skill that most folks have forgotten.
We have entered a crisis in our nation. Our people are soft and feel self-entitled and they feel that the world owes them a living. Our culture has changed. My Father always taught me that no one owes me anything. I was forced as a young person to learn to be independent. Money doesn't grow on tree's he used to tell me.
I fear that we are entering what will be known as the Greater Depression. We might be facing a food crisis. Not that there will necessarily be a shortage of food. There will be a shortage of money to buy food.
So, this site and the friendship we have fostered here is important. We can learn from each other how to live frugally. We must reduce our needs and wants. And, put food back to protect us against possible famine conditions in the future.
Learning how to successfully grow aji's is only part of the puzzle-I know. But, everything helps.
We have the election coming soon. They are hyping this election up. Both party's are not fit to lead our nation. We have already set the path towards fiscal calamity in our nation.
Remember the Victory Garden? I don't either. I am not old enough to remember.
Its going to make a come back.
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Post by glen on Oct 18, 2020 17:23:24 GMT -6
I am stunned sometimes when I see the prices of food now in the super-market. It is pretty obvious that we are headed towards high rates of inflation. I have no idea how this will unfold exactly. However, it seems apparent that some items will go down in price. Mostly things we do not buy or need. The things we need such as rental homes and food and medical bills will probably go up in price next year. We don't need to read the financial pages to see this. Most people are going to have to hunker down and really be humble with their lifestyle in order to get thru this. At least that is how I think things will go. Whether we see hyperinflation or not-things are going to get worse before it gets better.
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Post by glen on Oct 19, 2020 15:04:42 GMT -6
Bon, Walmart has the name brand GreatValue. I have read that you can buy the GreatValue spam like canned pork for about 2 dollars at Walmart. Youtube reviews rave about this product. Spam is high cost and apparently not as good of quality. Both products use the same type of can. This is emergency food. It lasts for 10 years. I highly recommend having some of this product in the pantry. What I do is buy a couple of cans extra to squirrel away every time I visit the super-market. We can't get GreatValue here in Panama or else I would buy that brand. I also like to buy canned beans packed in water. Canned beans packed in a brine last the longest. They last longer than 10 years. Look for sales. If we don't see higher inflation in 2021 I will be very surprised. The government is going to have to support a large percentage of the population next year as well as propping up the financial markets and the time frame for how long they will need to do this is unknown. All of this will be payed for by the printing press. And, this will cause prices to rise.
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Ajícito
Oct 20, 2020 14:57:12 GMT -6
Post by glen on Oct 20, 2020 14:57:12 GMT -6
We don't know what will happen in the future. We do have a general idea but we cannot predict the timing either. We don't know how fast prices will begin to rise when they do begin to rise more noticeably. We do know that our government cannot pay back the debt it has incurred. Mathematically this is impossible. The government no longer even pretends that it cares about how much debt it incurs. Yes, this is immoral. It just is. The government knows exactly what it is doing and indeed it has emergency plans already in place. These plans will involve how to deal with the hyper-inflation that someday will manifest itself as a monetary crisis. The solution must involve suffering. The government will need to pay off its debt with worthless currency. Then, the emergency plans will have to be implemented. In the meantime, there will be suffering. The government will blame this on the virus. The virus will be used as a cover for the grave errors that our politician's have made over the years. We do not know what type of new currency will replace the dollar but I suspect that it will be some kind of Federal digital currency. A cashless society. Backed by nothing. The government will need to fail again in my opinion before it decides to return to the gold standard. In the meantime, we should be preparing for this. Hyper-inflation may take awhile to visit. We have no crystal ball. For my part, I do try to prep the best I can. If you have land and have learned to be independent like George and Ron, you are in pretty good shape.
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Ajícito
Oct 21, 2020 12:43:01 GMT -6
Post by glen on Oct 21, 2020 12:43:01 GMT -6
Food prices are lower in Panama than you are describing. Its different though. I bought generic canned meat yesterday for 1.50 per can. That's the lowest I have seen it in a long time. Generic bread is about 1.25 per loaf. Low quality rice is 40 cents per lb. Hamburger is 2. dollars per lb.
Milk is over 6 dollars per gallon.
Egg's are 2 dollar per dozen.
Brocolli is 1.35 per lb.
We did buy cucumbers for 26 cents per lb yesterday.
Cabbage is 67 cents per lb.
Our meats are different yours. Its all grass fed and very tough. You can buy many types of beef for less than 3 dollars per lb. Chicken is a buck per lb plus or minus a little. Pork is 2.59 per lb.
Canned goods in general are about a dollar per can or even more.
Tuna is over a dollar per can.
Spam canned meats are over 3 dollars per can.
I have changed my diet. I am now on a keto diet which means no carbs. I now do not buy bread or macoroni or rice. No sugars or sweets either.
Its a veggy's plus meats type of diet.
At my age, the refined carbs make me gain weight and drive up blood sugar and mess up my blood pressure and also my chlorestoral and triglycerides.
Taking carbs out of the diet does not save money. Carbs are the cheapest food on the planet.
However, I do feel better now.
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Ajícito
Oct 21, 2020 18:23:46 GMT -6
Post by glen on Oct 21, 2020 18:23:46 GMT -6
I am pretty sure rabbits are a very good project.
I tried raising chickens about 10 years ago when I first arrived in Panama. I had quite a few chickens. I had no idea what I was doing. I was feeding them bagged food. I fed them whatever they wanted to eat. I didn't free range them like I should have been doing. I was buying hundred lb bags of feed for them and the bag didn't last long. I had about 30 chickens at the highest count. I was buying 2 of those hundred lb bags of feed for 21 dollars per bag per month. The chickens were fat and nice looking. I had those Rhode Island Red's. Big birds and they made good pets too.
I actually figured out that it cost us much more per lb. to eat those birds then it cost us to buy chicken in the store. It was about 3.50 per lb.
The chickens did taste excellent. No argument there.
However, it was an awful lot of work. Plus expensive.
So, when we moved from that house, I gave away the remaining birds and never took up raising meat chickens again.
I can buy free range chickens for soup that are very tough for about 1.50 per lb. I can buy regular chickens for about a dollar per lb.
We have neighbors who will sell us back yard raised eggs for 2 dollars per dozen.
I might buy a couple of chicks though to raise as pets and to get a few eggs.
Chickens are everywhere in Panama. Goats too.
Glen
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Ajícito
Oct 21, 2020 19:23:34 GMT -6
Post by macmex on Oct 21, 2020 19:23:34 GMT -6
Hopefully the rabbits will perk up with cooler weather and produce.
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Ajícito
Oct 21, 2020 22:41:55 GMT -6
Post by glen on Oct 21, 2020 22:41:55 GMT -6
Bon, as far as chickens go here in Panama almost everyone has them. A couple of weeks ago we were getting free eggs. A hen, we don't know which one, was leaving us an egg every day outside the front door on the ledge of the flower bed.
People here in Panama just let them run around. They don't build a coup for them in other words. If we do build a coup, its just with some scrap materials laying around. There is no need to worry about them freezing in the winter. Some family's don't do anything for them. The birds just fly into a tree outside the house. Rarely do family's feed the birds either. A yard bird here is just that. A bird that runs around the yard. Chickens are always in my yard. I don't even know who owns them. I guess the neighbors know. I am thinking of getting a small cage to use for a couple of chicks. I will just let them run around the yard until night and then put them in the cage so the cats won't kill them. Or, the owls or hawks. We can buy them for a dollar each or less at the hardware store.
What the people here like is to make a soup called SanCocho. Thats a soup made over an open fire in a huge aluminum pot. Its made with yard bird which is real tough. They add culantro and plantain and yammy and yucca and Otoi, and onion and other stuff. Its not authentic if you use tender chicken. You are supposed to use a tough hen, or a gallina. I am not crazy about SanCocho. I bet George knows about this soup. You see folks outside with a huge cooking pot making this and they drink an alcoholic drink called seiko straight and beer and they sit around and watch this soup cook. The chicken never gets tender either no matter how long they cook it.
I have eaten this soup many times and no, its really not that memorable of an experience.
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Ajícito
Oct 22, 2020 4:37:30 GMT -6
Post by macmex on Oct 22, 2020 4:37:30 GMT -6
I'm going to start a new thread on tough chickens. This is too good a topic to hide away in a thread about sweet peppers!
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