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Transplanting

A friend of mine just bought an old house to fix up.
The yard being overgrown and a real mess, he pulled out some old rose bushes that were too close to the drive and lo and behold, there were 5 "old growth" chili pequin (tepin?) plants growing wild.

I say "old" as the trunks on these things are about the size of an old silver dollar (1 1/2" to 2"), so had to have been there a couple of years at least.

Luckly he is one of those who thinks bell peppers are hot, and knowing i made alot of salsa, he gave me a call to come get them when i could ---three months later...

I managed to rescue 2 of the plants, but the other 3 didn't make it through the winter and have the two in 30+ gallon pots (no current garden as we are in an apartment for 8 more months, so had to pot them).

They are big enough where when i removed all the dead branches, i had to load it all on my truck tailgate to bring to the dumpster. After all that, they both are still about 3 to 4 feet tall and 2 to 3 foot wide, with producing branches (harvested a full pint jar from the two before i dug them up).

The problem is: these pepper plants (so i've heard) are notorious for not doing well with transplanting and difficult to grow. So with that in mind i used alot of the dirt surrounding them, and mixed with potting soil laced with root grow solution and diluted fish emulsion.
...is that going to be enough, or too much for them?
Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :)
 
The tepins I have grown are next to impossible to kill.

They're a wild plant that thrives in the mesa where it's really dry and the soil stinks....... they don't need much pampering.

Transplanting has produced no unusual problems for my plants.
 
To help them germinate dissolve some guano or chicken s**t in water and leave them in there for 24 hrs. It'll still take them about 3 weeks to germinate though.

The reason for this is that in the wild, they are spread by birds. They eat the fruit and spread the seeds by... well... you know. The plant seems to need this process to actually germinate!
 
Chiliac said:
To help them germinate dissolve some guano or chicken s**t in water and leave them in there for 24 hrs. It'll still take them about 3 weeks to germinate though.

The reason for this is that in the wild, they are spread by birds. They eat the fruit and spread the seeds by... well... you know. The plant seems to need this process to actually germinate!


It's passing through the gut that aids in germination, not the fecal matter itself. The digestive enzymes and stomach acid help break dormancy.
 
That's true, you phrased it much better than me, but that's what I was trying to say. The method works, though.
 
rainbowberry said:
I'm trying to grow Tepins, it's getting them to germinate that's the problem.

RB, did I send you some of the wild tepin seeds my friends gave me? Mine are germinating and up with leaves 4-5 days.....kept at 86F constant...if I did not send you some, would you like me to?....I only have say........750 left...these are out of the same batch as the ones I sent Daisy...
 
No AJ you didn't send me any, if you don't mind sending a few that would be great, but I live in England so would that be a problem?
 
rainbowberry said:
No AJ you didn't send me any, if you don't mind sending a few that would be great, but I live in England so would that be a problem?

Not a problem for me...PM me your mailing address and I will send you a birthday card...
 
AlabamaJack said:
RB, did I send you some of the wild tepin seeds my friends gave me? Mine are germinating and up with leaves 4-5 days.....kept at 86F constant...if I did not send you some, would you like me to?....I only have say........750 left...these are out of the same batch as the ones I sent Daisy...

I saw the pics of the seeds you posted on another thread, and yeppers... that is the same kind i have, and range in size from about 1/16 to 1/4 inches max.

So far, they are both still alive and kicking out peppers that i'm picking every other day... and very happy to say they do have some good heat... even the tiny ones at 1/16" have a good bite to them about on the same heat level as a good serrano.
 
I like the taste and burn of the wild tepins...it is up front and immediate but goes away pretty quickly as compared to a habs burn...and yes, they do have a pretty fair "bite"...I call these my "Burleson" wild tepins...
 
Soaking

Chiliac said:
That's true, you phrased it much better than me, but that's what I was trying to say. The method works, though.

I heard soaking the seeds in lukewarm water for 3 hours helps in the germination. Soak then plant.

Is this not recommended?

V
 
vancelightning said:
I heard soaking the seeds in lukewarm water for 3 hours helps in the germination. Soak then plant.

Is this not recommended?

V

dun dun duuuuh...

let's just say it's an ongoing debate... but don't worry if you already did, it won't hurt them...
 
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