A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Food Garden Forum Vegetable Gardening The Chili Pepper Thread!

This is a thread here for Chili pepper growers, and enthusiasts (Chili Heads!). Post pictures, discuss growing techniques, or talk about your favorites -anything chili related.

To get the ball rolling I will post a pic of a new pepper I am growing this year. This is called Pretty Purple pepper. The pic is of a younger plant, the foliage and stem and pepper are all purple, until the peppers ripen, which turn red. The plant starts out with the foliage, on the green side but is now really purple. More pics to come as the season progress.

I'm growing habanero peppers this year.They are developing flower buds.I'll have a pic up soon as I find my camera.

whoa.....habenero's, Emed! too hot for me!
never seen those purple ones. are they sweet, hot?
I'll have a pic of my first orange bell in a couple of days. (if I ever get off my lazy doo-pa and take some pic's. I usually just grow green bells, first year for the orange which I love!
Oh yea.....Beep...Beep....Beep..*cricket backing up* a while back on some post...??? I commented on how my big jims were not that big at all but really hot with a great flavor. gotta say, these were a six pack I got at lowes that was evidentally labeled wrong. what was really hot with great flavor turns out to be cayanne. I do have one big jim growing though, but haven't tasted it yet. sorry if I confused anyone with my pepper critic! he he

The habaneros are for my dad;I don't like chili peppers.I prefer bell peppers.

Yes The Pretty Purple peppers are hot- they will ripen to red -some are already. You can make Chili peppers less hot by removing the seeds, and mostly the placenta, which is the white membrane that the seeds are attached to. The heat in Chili peppers, are actually from the placenta where the capsicum is (the chemical that makes peppers hot). Many people think the seeds are what are hot, which isnt fully true. They are hot because they are attached to the placenta, so its gets some of the capsicum on them.

What style Habaneros are you growing Emd.? Orginal orange strains? I am trying a new strain call Hot Paper Lanterns. They are longer and bigger than orginal strains, and ripen much early.They are also red. I had problems growing the orginals in my area, because our growing season isnt long enough here. I did get a harvest just not a huge amount. Im sure in California youll do great with them- more ideal condition to grow them!

Ive seen seeds in catalogs for diffent types of Habaneros- they come in a bunch of colors-including chocolate,& yellow. There is a white one call a White Bullet Habanero, they are not the traditional lantern shape, and are all white.

I'm growing a red habanero-forgot the name of them.

I remember the name-Carribean Red.

I noticed all my peppers this year are not growing that big. anyone have any ideas on why? I'm growing bell, cayane, big jim, sweet gypsy, jalapeno. they are all very much on the small side.

I know when I over water the peppers they slow down, seems they do not want as much water as they want just a good soil with good nutrient in the soil.

What about sun or shade? Where are they growing in containers or garden?

they are in the soil, not in containers. shade might be a problem! we are in a wooded area and several years ago it was nice and open up top. the trees have spread and the garden gets more and more shade each year. the tomatoes seem to be getting enough sun, at least for now? and as far as the water, I wait till my peppers are droopy during the day then I'll water at night or the next morning. I add an inch or so of compost around all my veggies as I have it ready.

Sunlight makes all the difference. Ideally your crops should recieve full sun- shade does slow peppers (and tomatoes!) down. Here is a pic of a few rows of my pepper crop so far- I cannot fit all the rows into one picture. I was gonna post a few pics a few days ago, but been havin problems with Photobucket since they changed the picture hosting (crap now!) Hopefully the picture works with the new host for pictures:

Here is a another picture of a an early ripening Golden Cayenne. This is kinda of an unusal color for Cayennes, but apparently is an old variety that is resurging again. Theres lots of green ones still coming on- will be kinda cool to see the plants loaded with yellows!

your garden looks better than mine!mine looks more like a weedlot with veggies growing among the weeds.I just took some pics of my peppers,i'll post them in a while.

Here's a pic of my Carribean Red habaneros

They are blooming.

Here's a pic of my jalapenos

It's beginning to bloom as well.

Your Carribean Reds are branching out (the sprout by the leaves at the stem) The leaf where those sprout come out of- usally turn yellow and fall off- dont worry about that, thats a good sign and normal. Watch out for those Carribean Reds- they are majorly hot! Once your Jalapenos start producing peppers- keep them picked- and the plant will keep producing more peppers. Letting them sit does slow the production down. The nice thing with Jalapenos- they can be used green or Red, the Reds are sweeter tasting- but still hot. To make Chipoltle- Reds Jalapenos are used. Chipoltle is a smoked dried Jalapeno, although it can be made with other chilis. Also if your Jalapenos get purple sreaking in the (sort of like a marbled look) that is normal, and nothing wrong with the pepper. Usally its caused by cooler weather, or from the pepper being shaded by leaves. Also that woody look/checking (calling corking)on the pepper is normal. In fact in Mexico that is prefered as that is a sign of a mature pepper. In USA, most do not like corking- for asthetic reasons.

Here is a repost on the last pics- the stinkin new picture hosting site went down- thats the last Ill be using them. Finally got Photobucket to work right so back at them now..

A few rows of peppers growing (not all the rows), cannot fit them all into one pic:





Here is a repost of the Golden Cayenne pic:

Here is another variety I am trying this year- Its called Numex Twilight. They are a low but wide growing pepper plant, with peppers of many colors (Purple, Yellow, Orange, and Red) on the plant at the same time.The plant will load up on peppers. The colors are based on maturity- they turn full red when fully mature. The pepper is a Piquin type. The plants are taking off now with the hotter weather.




Here is a picture of a Hungarian Yellow Wax plant loading up with peppers!

Are you growing any Carribean Reds DeepCreekLake?I checked a catalog and Carribean Red peppers are an O/P variety which means I can save seeds from the chiles.My jalapenos are getting leggy;I'm going to stake them as well as the Carribean Reds.

I grew Carribean reds a few years ago but just one plant. Habaneros dont seem to do too well for me- the plants grow big and get lots of peppers, but they dont ripen in time- they have a pretty long growing season. Im trying a new Habanero type called Hot Paper Lantern- the maturity date is much shorter, and the peppers are longer and bigger than traditional Habanero's . There also Red in color. So far the plants have been very vigorus, and already flowering and setting fruits.

OP usally means they were Open Pollinated when the plants were grown for seeds. They still can cross pollinate. I saved a bunch of seeds last year- I have some mutant peppers from crossbreeding ,lol! My Orange Thai are Red this year but the same pepper shape and plants etc. There usally bright orange. I always stake my pepper when I transplant- I get alot of wind which have snapped my plants a few times- so I make sure there well staked.

My pepper plants are starting to set fruit.a few days ago it was too hot and the blossoms weren't setting fruits but now they are!

I have a couple of pepper plants this year, and they are carrying plenty of fruit. My concern is with ripening. Maybe I'm impatient, but I have not experience and have no clue how long I will need to watch full-size habaneros and gypsy peppers sit on the plant before becoming ripe. My jalapenos and cayennes are ripening quickly. I live in PA, and I keep my peppers well watered--they almost never droop. Here are my pics, fwiw.
Habanero

Gypsy


THANKS!

Brad

I don't know much about the habeneros. but the gypsys could be picked now. they turn from green to yellow to orange then red...getting sweeter as they go. different people pick them in different stages depending on what they like. I wait till mine turn yellow, like yours are now, and pick them. I'm still trying to wait for the orange and red but I'm pretty impatient too and I just LOVE the flavor of when they are yellow.

It takes a while for the habaneros to turn orange.I'm growing a variety of red habaneros hotte than the orange ones.

You can pick and use Habaneros at any color- but in green stage they will not be as hot and not as flavorfull as when full colored. Habaneros have a long growing season- some are as high as 120 days. You can also pick them when there are starting to turn there final color, and let them sit for a few days- they will finish ripening off the plants.

so picking them when they are developing their final color will not stop the plant from growing flowers?

Picking them will encourage the plant to flower more actually. Real hot weather, can slow down flowering though. Usally cooler (not cold) nights with warm days is when peppers flower the heaviest. In some of the hotter regions, the dog days of summer- peppers plants can actually drop blossoms, until the weather cools down some, then they resume flowering.

Here is another pic. This is called a Yellow Mushroom pepper (sometimes called yellow squash pepper) The color seems to be more on the orange side. The peppers are very well hidden under the leaves! A few are starting to ripen. The smell inside of the pepper reminds me alot of a hot cherry bomb pepper!

Mine has resumed dropping flowers, but I am not sure if it's from the plant being fully burdened with peppers or from the heat. Anyway, thanks for the good info on ripening.

Do the flowers that are dropping, have stems on them? Or is it just the petal portion of the flowers that are falling off? When a pepper flower gets pollinated -they do drop the petal portion, and leave behind the center which forms the pepper. Often when the pepper is in heavy bloom, there are lots flower pedals around the base of the plant, as its being pollinated. If they dont get pollinated the flower stem and all hits the ground.

the flowers and stems are falling off. They even have tiny peppers started.

Oh heck no! the more you pick, the more the plant will produce! pick on my friend!

Here is another pic I just took. This is the Hot Lemon Drop Aji pepper (sometimes called Aji Amarillo) that was discussed in another posting. These are some early ripening ones- usally its 100 days for this type. The plants do get huge, and really load up come early fall. They can be used fresh, or dried into yellow chili powder. This makes a pretty good chili oil too. They are hot but only as hot as a Cayenne pepper. I actually have one of these growing in a pot - that I grew last year, and over wintered indoors. It is setting peppers allover again. They can live a longtime if they are not subjected to freeze. If you grow these- be sure to stake and support- the limbs are brittle, and can snap under weight and wind!

are they also as flavorful as a cayenne?

The taste is nothing like a cayenne. To me it has a spicy tomato taste(The lemon drops). It has more flavor than Cayennes. Usally Cayennes are used for adding heat to dishes without adding too much flavoring. But a cayenne is more versitle, and useful in my opinion.

Here is another pic of- this one is orginal strain Serrano. These are smaller than the hybrid Del Sols, but are very easy to grow. They easily grow waist high, and are loaded with peppers. The more you pick the more they keep coming back until frost. They can be used green for Salsa, and are a good alternative to Jalapenos. They can also be used when they turn fully red to make hot sauces, or dried into powder for seasonings. They do get sweeter tasting- but hotter when they turn red.

The Pic below shows just a small portion of a plant. They are flowering heavy now and producing peppers- but not yet at peak.

Oh, yea! those are nice looking. I used to only grow jalepenos, but since I've been experimenting with different peppers, I find the jalepeno to be only hot with no real flavor. makes me wonder how they ever got to be such a popular pepper in the first place?
Do you dry any of your peppers? I"m growing tabasco's this year. if they get too big they are really too hot for us. I thought drying and crushing into a powder though would be nice for cooking with.

Yes, I dry alot- but I use a Dehydrator- which is a must for thicker walled peppers. Thin walled peppers like Cayenne do air dry well- but I still use a dehydrator since its much faster. Ive grown Tabascos before- they are pretty hot. Tabascos can be dried but are harder to dry because they are juicy. You pretty much have to use a dehydrator for those. Tabascos are ideal for making hot sauces. The Tabascos I grew last year got chest high- and loaded with peppers- but they ripened to slow- most were still yellow by the end of the season/frost. The growing season around me is too cool, and short for Tabascos in the garden. I did grow one in a pot last year, and over wintered it. Its still alive, and throwing out blooms and peppers now!

Jalapenos are good- but theres many types of them. The ones I grow (Early Jalepeno) have pretty good flavor, but are blistering hot! I dry them and use them for Beef Jerky seasonings.

My carribean red habaneros are doing well-I'll have a pic up by next weeked.

I lost my parents' camera! Now I can't take any more pics.

I'm harvesting habanero and jalapeno peppers every few days.I expect my dad to buy some plastic to cover them up during winter.

has anyone ever grown tabascos through the winter? I just love my tobasco plant. it is so pretty and produces like crazy! I'm thinking of putting a cutting in a pot and keeping it in a sunny spot on the porch and only bringing it indoors if we get a hard freeze. (and for us a 'hard freeze' means when the temp drops below 32 F. for 3 hrs or more at one time...I think you people up north call that a frost? he he)