Can you feel the burn?

[Idaholewis]

I’ve given up on Rocotos!! I lost my touch with those darn things? I can’t get 1 single Seed to Sprout? I tried the Same way as i had such good luck with a Few years ago, i followed that Routine to the T and NOTHING Came up? I even tried Seed saved back from my Mini Reds. I checked the Seeds 2 Weeks later, they had molded some, When i split in to them there was no form of life?

Soooooo.... i Decided for a LAST Ditch effort with what Few Seeds i had left that i would do the Paper Towel Method, SAME Results as above, NOTHING, No form of Life when I finally gave up and Split them open to see

Same EXACT thing happened last year with the Ecuadorian, and Guatemalan Rocoto Seed, i was unable to get 1 Single seed to Sprout out of both of those Varieties?

As cool as the Rocotos Are, i have decided to “Pull the Pin” On them in my Program, To fussy for me. I will be Sticking to Jalapeño’s, and Hopefully these Sugar Rush peach do Good for me, I Got HIGH Hopes in those! From what i read, the Sugar Rush Peach Takes a LONG time to Ripen, That has me kinda Nervous with our Short Grow Season, But we will See how it goes? I should have Some of the Sugar Rush Peach Sprouting up any Day now, Then under the Agrobrite T5 they will Go

Jalapeño’s are 1 pepper that we ALL love around here, and they Do good in our Short Grow Season, I have high hopes in these Numex Varieties i got from the New Mexico Chili pepper institute.

 

[GM54-120]

I got 2 aji oro to sprout. They take forever to germinate. Sterilize seeds first with a peroxide solution. If using peat pellets you can even use it on them.

Them NuMex Orange Spice sprouted great. Seedlings look nice too. Small atm but they are starting to take off now.

Antep Aci Dolma would be another one that is good for you. All my seeds from Fords sprouted. Sweet heat bell with thin walls. About the size of a regular bell pepper too. Not like a Bonnie Mexi Bell that is way smaller. I will probably semi isolate those plants so i will have tons of seeds.

I got 4 super nice looking tiny Scorpions. They will explode as soon as they can get real sunlight.

Had to run out and get some more mix for up potting. Ran out of the Pro Mix Ultimate Organic which i loved.

 

[GM54-120]

First of my babies went into the window. The ones on the right exploded in 2 days. Probably more than doubled in size. They are wickedly hot CARDI Scorpions. Middle ones just came up today, Aji Panca. Left plants are NuMex Orange Spice. Seeds from Lewis

 

[Idaholewis]

Awesome stuff GM54!! You are WAY ahead of me, i just now noticed i have my 1st Sugar Rush Peach seedling peeking up, I should have Several by morning, tomorrow night. I just planted my 3 Varieties of Numex Jalapeños Yesterday in Peet pellets, Greenhouse Dome thing on my Seed Heat Matt Like I’ve always used. Jalapeños usually come up Quick for me. I decided to Start a Little Later this year, I can’t Safely get anything outside Here til Late May, That makes for a LONG time in the House, The Plants Start to outgrow me Fast. I’m not gonna Start my Tomatoes til the Very End of this Month

 

[Sideshow]

Do you guys put your seeds in a freezer for 2wks then put them in a jar with water till they sink before planting ??? I have the best luck getting all my seeds to sprout this way . I heard of this from a radio show broadcast outa Michigan State University Agricultural Program .
Really liked the peroxide tip by the way.....
I use phosphate rock to increase yields too - makes them bloom like crazy and have big root systems . Fish tank water helps struggleing plants get well also . I now buy feeder fish and use a 5gal bucket outside for that . Just cover it good with a screen and bungee cord or else racoons will have a feast !!! That green fish water is wonderfull "chicken soup" . Just awesome for transplanting .

 

[GM54-120]

No i dont freeze any seeds. Most of mine are from areas that never have a frost. Ever hear of a hard frost in Jamaica or Trinidad? Now the rocotos and manzano pepper do come from cooler climates that might freeze. They like sunny, cool and low humidity but there are hot weather varieties too.

Got to be careful with phosphorus like super phosphate or triple phosphate. It will unbalance the soil biology. You want happy microbes and fungi in your soil or potting mix. A good balanced mix of 3-1-2 with some trace minerals is all that is needed. Even cheap old Alaska fish emulsion 5-1-1will yield great results if you start with a good soil/mix. Im trying out DynaGro Foliage Pro 9-3-6 this year. You only need a tsp per gallon of water so it goes a long way. Has all the trace minerals needed but i add a little more calcium (calcium acetate). Calcium nitrate is far easier to find but its high in nitrogen too.

Fish tank water works well. Another cheap feed is seaweed if you live near an ocean or know what to buy. You can make a kelp meal from kelp you get at Asian markets. Its cheap there. Alfalfa meal is even cheaper MUCH CHEAPER and easy to get. I got a 50lb bag for under $20 at a farm and feed store.

 

[Sideshow]

No i dont freeze any seeds. Most of mine are from areas that never have a frost. Every hear of a hard frost in Jamaica or Trinidad? Now the rocotos and manzano pepper do come from cooler climates that might freeze. They like sunny, cool and low humidity but there are hot weather varieties too.

Got to be careful with phosphorus like super phosphate or triple phosphate. It will unbalance the soil biology. You want happy microbes and fungi in your soil or potting mix. A good balanced mix of 3-1-2 with some trace minerals is all that is needed. Even cheap old Alaska fish emulsion 5-1-1will yield great results if you start with a good soil/mix. Im trying out DynaGro Foliage Pro 9-3-6 this year. You only need a tsp per gallon of water so it goes a long way. Has all the trace minerals needed but i add a little more calcium (calcium acetate). Calcium nitrate is far easier to find but its high in nitrogen too.

Fish tank water works well. Another cheap feed is seaweed if you live near an ocean or know what to buy. You can make a kelp meal from kelp you get at Asian markets. Its cheap there.

I use beer to get those microbes going . So far so good . The radio program said freezeing would jump-start the germination response but i see what you mean for those equatorial plants !!! Might cause them to be duds !!! Good lookin stuff you grow !!! Does soaking them pepper seeds help till they sink then plant them ??? Works good for the northern plants .i collect worn castings too , especially in the spring . My yard is Loaded with them now !!! I bet i could easily fill a gallon size freezer zip lock bag this year !!! I raise big fat nightcrawlers too . They love potato peels and coffee grounds if you want to grow some monsters !!!!

 

[GM54-120]

The leftover mash/must from beer and wine making is good fertilizer too. I tend to compost that kinda stuff first.

Things that are great to add directly.
Leftover shrimp/crab shells...excellent source of calcium and chitsosan.
Rabbit poop...best garden poo on the planet for adding directly
Coffee grounds
Alfalfa meal but dont go overboard. Less than 5lbs per 100sqft is enough. More is ok if you do it way ahead of planting.
Kelp meal or kombu dashi sheets from a Asian market.
Worm casting
Unsulphured molasses in water....microbes love a little sugar. Plus its got trace minerals too.

Now some of that stuff can be made into a "tea". Its simple to make in a couple days. Done right you will get a million times more good microbes.

 

[Sideshow]

The leftover mash/must from beer and wine making is good fertilizer too. I tend to compost that kinda stuff first.

Things that are great to add directly.
Leftover shrimp/crab shells...excellent source of calcium and chitsosan.
Rabbit poop...best garden poo on the planet for adding directly
Coffee grounds
Alfalfa meal but dont go overboard. Less than 5lbs per 100sqft is enough. More is ok if you do it way ahead of planting.
Kelp meal or kombu dashi sheets from a Asian market.
Worm casting
Unsulphured molasses in water....microbes love a little sugar. Plus its got trace minerals too.

Now some of that stuff can be made into a "tea". Its simple to make in a couple days. Done right you will get a million times more good microbes.

Fabulous !!!! You gotta have some dam happy worms there too !!! Im gonna do what you said !!! Thank you !!!

 

[GM54-120]

My jalapeno patch has so many worms i try not to till it. I just loosen it up with a spade since its only about 9ft by 6ft. Dont till if you dont have to. I might have to till this year just to incorporate more organic matter.

 

[Sideshow]

My jalapeno patch has so many worms i try not to till it. I just loosen it up with a spade since its only about 9ft by 6ft. Dont till if you dont have to. I might have to till this year just to incorporate more organic matter.

Im gonna plant a berry patch (all kinds) this year and some fruit trees as well along a creek bank in my back yard . Got ALOT to do this summer !!!
Gladiolus deer LOVE by the way . They freeze well too for them later on.....
A pile WONT last..... ....rut or not....

 

[snapbang]

Years ago I used to grow some of the hot peppers for Seedway Seed Co. Used to grow them several 100,000 seeds. Pounds worth. I live in Michigan and didn't really have a long enough growing season. If some of you are farther south there is an opportunity there. The farther south the better.

Extracting the seed was the issue. I used a sink disposal and did it all under water. Lost my lunch a few times when the wind shifted. If you need some pointers PM me.

 

[GM54-120]

Deseeding is nothing compared to making a quart of Reaper/Scorpion/Dragons Breath sauce. Grinding dried super hots into powder is just as bad. Both are best done outside. When i deseed supers, i cut them open. Kinda got to play around with that because some pods need to be cut differently. Dry the pods well. Put them in a plastic container with a lid. Something like Tupperware. SHAKE THE HELL OUT OF IT.

Seeds fall right out of the pods.

 

[Idaholewis]

I got 5 little Sugar Rush Peach Babies up, They are the Cutest Little fellas you have EVER seen Now I gotta Hope they have time to Ripen here, Everything i have read says they are REALLY LATE to Ripen? Do you feel that to be so GM54? If so, they might not have enough time here in our Short Grow Season? I have to Try, these things are AWESOME Eating Peppers, as good as they get in my opinion

 

[GM54-120]

I had them SRP coming out my ears. They took a while to ripen but they make killer pepper rings green too. I pickled gobs of them suckers green for burger and sammich toppers. They were just as tasty as a banana pepper or hot wax. Most of mine were in grow bags so they grew and grew and grew before producing many pods. Just get them to stop growing sooner. Smaller pots and more plants will get you more ripe pods sooner.

Just checked last years pics. I had ripe SRP starting mid July and last year we had milder temps.

 

[GM54-120]

A couple tasty ideas for SRP

Make cukes and onions. I used Bolsa de Dulce (similar heat level) for this batch but it would be stellar with ripe SRP too. This is almost an Asian style cuke salad. You weep the cukes first and squeeze out the water from them.

Pickled greeners. Pour hot brine (NOT boiling hot) over the rings. Seal the lid. Leave it in the fridge for a couple weeks after its cooled.

 

[GM54-120]

I found the brand of grow bags i got. They are fairly cheap and i should get this season out of them. So they are roughly good for 3 seasons. I got mine in 2018. Probably longer if you remove the mix at the end of the season and hang them somewhere.

The 5 gallon might work best for you. They run a tad on the small side. I got the 7 gallon and get pretty good sized plants. EVERYTHING i plant in grow bags does better as long as the mix is good.
https://www.amazon.com/WINNER-OUTFI...d-search-10&pf_rd_t=BROWSE&pf_rd_i=3480697011

 

[Mnt monkey]

I'm a horticulturalist, actually a sales rep for family nursery,, Southeast Texas is pepper country, have you tried a variety called garden salsa? Also have you tried grafted peppers,,mighty veggies, they are called if you look them up online, we sell them twice the pepper production especially in the summer months, they have jalapeno and big Bertha, Anaheim, grafted to a specific potato rootstock two companies very hush about that particular seedstock, anyway I really recommend grafted for twice the production if you're a pepper grower

 

[GM54-120]

Garden salsa are just a Fresno hybrid. Ive grown at least 2 kinds of Fresno. The last ones i grew produced 5 times faster than i could use them. Plants had so many peppers they had to be staked/tied to support the weight

I grow mainly what is not readily available. I can buy ripe Fresno and bells all summer long so its just not the best use of my space. Some of the peppers i grow are far more costly than Grade A Prime steak and very hard to get. Last year i got $7ish per 100grams of fresh Reapers. Thats pushing $30/lb. A few ounces of my Aji Panca are $12ish online with Prime and i got several qt bags full of them dried atm. Not a single local Lantino market sells them dried or powder. They are a critical ingredient for some Peruvian cuisine. Chilhuacle Negro you wont find anywhere either outside of a few small areas in southern Mexico.

Ive been all over looking for the best Jalapeno. Ive tried landrace from Zapotec and every hybrid you can imagine. Nothing so far holds a candle to Zapotec or Mucho Nacho for a hybrid. Flavor, heat and production are second to none so far. Jumbo sized jalapenos are normally garbage. No heat and almost flavorless too. Mucho Nacho though excel in that combination and they ripen easily. Biker Billy get rave reviews. They taste great but just dont produce as well for me or produce as large. Ive grown them side by side with my others in the same plot. There was no comparison. Mucho Nacho smoked them.

This year the challenger is NuMex Orange Spice. They are supposed to be crazy hot jalapenos based off a bell and Early cross. The Zapotecs last year were ferociously hot for a jala and a landrace. No surprises from saved seeds if you isolate the plants.

 

[Mnt monkey]

And I thought I liked peppers