• Blog your pepper progress. The first image in your first post will be used to represent your Glog.

TheGreenChileMonster 2018

I'm focusing this year on peppers I eat every day, and peppers I use for my sauces. Usually I grow a good 20+ varieties, but this year I am sticking to only 6. I am growing 8+ plants of many of these varieties, so it will still be a pretty packed garden. One omission that might be noticed is aji amarillo. I absolutely love aji amarillo, but I still have 4 full gallon bags of aji amarillo pods from last year in my freezer. That will last me through 2019.

My list is as follows:

Peruvian Red Rocoto-These are great for stuffing, fresh sauces, fermented sauces, kebabs, etc. A classic Peruvian pepper, that is very productive in my area. So many of my South American friends ask me if I have any for sale or trade in the Summer, that I doubled the plants this year. 8 plants will be going in 10 gallon pots.

Aji Limo-I cook with this Capsicum Chinense almost every day. It is in my opinion, the ultimate pepper to provide flavor and heat to any fish/seafood dish, plus it's amazing with chicken. This is THE pepper used in Peruvian ceviche, which is my all time favorite food. I use this for just about everything. I'm growing out some seeds from the aji limo plants I grow every single year, but also growing out some seeds from a pack a friend of mine brought me from Peru this January. 9 plants will be going in 7 gallon pots next week.

Peach Bhut Jolokia-Great building heat, great non floral flavor. This is the one pepper in the 800K SHU+ category that I really enjoy cooking with. I am growing out extra plants this year for my passion fruit and guava ghost sauce. Super prolific plant, and an early bloomer, compared to many of the other peppers in it's category. 8 plants going in 7 gallon pots next week.

Aji Largo-Based on taste tests with many seasoned chile heads in my area, out of about 15 different Pubescens cultivars last year, Aji Largo was universally chosen as the best for flavor. The plants get absolutely massive, even for a Pubescens, and need to be staked well to support all of the pods. The pods aren't ideal for stuffing, but are insanely juicy, and have a sweet almost persimmon like flavor. One healthy plant usually gives me a good 80+ pods in a season. Since I am using most of these aji largo pods for bottled sauce, I will be putting 5 plants in 7 gallon pots next week.

P. Dreadie Scotch Bonnet-This will be my second year growing this variety, and I was really pleased with the heat and flavor of the pods I grew last year. I plan on tinkering wih these pods in the kitchen with dishes, and in sauces this Summer. 2 plants going in 10 gallon pots next week.

Mini Red Rocoto-There isn't much to say here except, "wouldn't it be nice to have the same flavor and heat of a rocoto, without it being the size of an apple?". This is a great variety to quickly kick up the heat on a salad, pickle, and generally snack on. It's a bite sized rocoto for pete's sake! 2 plants going in 10 gallon pots next week.

I'm also growing some veggies as always:

Ping Tung Eggplant
Japanese Eggplant
Rosa Bianca Eggplant
Black Egg Eggplant
Black Beauty Eggplant
Tomatillo
Okra
San Marzano Tomato
Costeluno Gemovese Tomato
Beefsteak Tomato
Mortgage Lifter Tomato
Brandywine Tomato

Herbs:
Quilquiña
Huacatay
Culantro/Shado Beni
Oregano
Sweet Basil
Lemon Thyme
Rosemary

Pics coming next week while transplanting outside.
 
Thegreenchilemonster said:
I'm focusing this year on peppers I eat every day, and peppers I use for my sauces. Usually I grow a good 20+ varieties, but this year I am sticking to only 6. I am growing 8+ plants of many of these varieties, so it will still be a pretty packed garden. One omission that might be noticed is aji amarillo. I absolutely love aji amarillo, but I still have 4 full gallon bags of aji amarillo pods from last year in my freezer. That will last me through 2019.

My list is as follows:

Peruvian Red Rocoto-These are great for stuffing, fresh sauces, fermented sauces, kebabs, etc. A classic Peruvian pepper, that is very productive in my area. So many of my South American friends ask me if I have any for sale or trade in the Summer, that I doubled the plants this year. 8 plants will be going in 10 gallon pots.

Aji Limo-I cook with this Capsicum Chinense almost every day. It is in my opinion, the ultimate pepper to provide flavor and heat to any fish/seafood dish, plus it's amazing with chicken. This is THE pepper used in Peruvian ceviche, which is my all time favorite food. I use this for just about everything. I'm growing out some seeds from the aji limo plants I grow every single year, but also growing out some seeds from a pack a friend of mine brought me from Peru this January. 9 plants will be going in 7 gallon pots next week.

Peach Bhut Jolokia-Great building heat, great non floral flavor. This is the one pepper in the 800K SHU+ category that I really enjoy cooking with. I am growing out extra plants this year for my passion fruit and guava ghost sauce. Super prolific plant, and an early bloomer, compared to many of the other peppers in it's category. 8 plants going in 7 gallon pots next week.

Aji Largo-Based on taste tests with many seasoned chile heads in my area, out of about 15 different Pubescens cultivars last year, Aji Largo was universally chosen as the best for flavor. The plants get absolutely massive, even for a Pubescens, and need to be staked well to support all of the pods. The pods aren't ideal for stuffing, but are insanely juicy, and have a sweet almost persimmon like flavor. One healthy plant usually gives me a good 80+ pods in a season. Since I am using most of these aji largo pods for bottled sauce, I will be putting 5 plants in 7 gallon pots next week.

P. Dreadie Scotch Bonnet-This will be my second year growing this variety, and I was really pleased with the heat and flavor of the pods I grew last year. I plan on tinkering wih these pods in the kitchen with dishes, and in sauces this Summer. 2 plants going in 10 gallon pots next week.

Mini Red Rocoto-There isn't much to say here except, "wouldn't it be nice to have the same flavor and heat of a rocoto, without it being the size of an apple?". This is a great variety to quickly kick up the heat on a salad, pickle, and generally snack on. It's a bit sized rocoto for pete's sake! 2 plants going in 10 gallon pots next week.

I'm also growing some veggies as always:

Ping Tung Eggplant
Japanese Eggplant
Rosa Bianca Eggplant
Black Egg Eggplant
Black Beauty Eggplant
Tomatillo
Okra
San Marzano Tomato
Costeluno Gemovese Tomato
Beefsteak Tomato
Mortgage Lifter Tomato
Brandywine Tomato

Herbs:
Quilquiña
Huacatay
Culantro/Shado Beni
Oregano
Sweet Basil
Lemon Thyme
Rosemary

Pics coming next week while transplanting outside.
 
Very cool Dale! I'll be looking forward to whatever you make with your chiles this year, and good luck this season. Cheers!

 
 
Bhuter said:
Very nice, Dale! Peach Bhut...a favorite of mine, too. I try to grow it every year. I just ate some of a frozen peach bhut earlier today. Weird. Great, flavorful list! I hope your grow produces an abundance for you! You're gonna have an easier time keeping the pods separated. Lol.
Thanks! I'm looking forward to a bounty of delicious pods, with little to no unexpecteds or duds among the bunch.
 
Good to see you back Dale!
 
I too have gravitated more towards growing what we like to eat everyday. In fact the majority of my grow is geared towards what the wife likes. I still have some heat there, as I'm still experimenting as to which hots I want to continue to grow.
 
Good luck this season!
 
Thegreenchilemonster said:
I'm focusing this year on peppers I eat every day, and peppers I use for my sauces. Usually I grow a good 20+ varieties, but this year I am sticking to only 6. I am growing 8+ plants of many of these varieties, so it will still be a pretty packed garden. One omission that might be noticed is aji amarillo. I absolutely love aji amarillo, but I still have 4 full gallon bags of aji amarillo pods from last year in my freezer. That will last me through 2019.

My list is as follows:

Peruvian Red Rocoto-These are great for stuffing, fresh sauces, fermented sauces, kebabs, etc. A classic Peruvian pepper, that is very productive in my area. So many of my South American friends ask me if I have any for sale or trade in the Summer, that I doubled the plants this year. 8 plants will be going in 10 gallon pots.

Aji Limo-I cook with this Capsicum Chinense almost every day. It is in my opinion, the ultimate pepper to provide flavor and heat to any fish/seafood dish, plus it's amazing with chicken. This is THE pepper used in Peruvian ceviche, which is my all time favorite food. I use this for just about everything. I'm growing out some seeds from the aji limo plants I grow every single year, but also growing out some seeds from a pack a friend of mine brought me from Peru this January. 9 plants will be going in 7 gallon pots next week.

Peach Bhut Jolokia-Great building heat, great non floral flavor. This is the one pepper in the 800K SHU+ category that I really enjoy cooking with. I am growing out extra plants this year for my passion fruit and guava ghost sauce. Super prolific plant, and an early bloomer, compared to many of the other peppers in it's category. 8 plants going in 7 gallon pots next week.

Aji Largo-Based on taste tests with many seasoned chile heads in my area, out of about 15 different Pubescens cultivars last year, Aji Largo was universally chosen as the best for flavor. The plants get absolutely massive, even for a Pubescens, and need to be staked well to support all of the pods. The pods aren't ideal for stuffing, but are insanely juicy, and have a sweet almost persimmon like flavor. One healthy plant usually gives me a good 80+ pods in a season. Since I am using most of these aji largo pods for bottled sauce, I will be putting 5 plants in 7 gallon pots next week.

P. Dreadie Scotch Bonnet-This will be my second year growing this variety, and I was really pleased with the heat and flavor of the pods I grew last year. I plan on tinkering wih these pods in the kitchen with dishes, and in sauces this Summer. 2 plants going in 10 gallon pots next week.

Mini Red Rocoto-There isn't much to say here except, "wouldn't it be nice to have the same flavor and heat of a rocoto, without it being the size of an apple?". This is a great variety to quickly kick up the heat on a salad, pickle, and generally snack on. It's a bite sized rocoto for pete's sake! 2 plants going in 10 gallon pots next week.

*Update! I will also be growing the following peppers:

Aji Charapita
Numex Big Jim
Aji Panca
Aji Dulce
Shishito

I'm also growing some veggies as always:

Ping Tung Eggplant
Japanese Eggplant
Rosa Bianca Eggplant
Black Egg Eggplant
Black Beauty Eggplant
Tomatillo
Okra
San Marzano Tomato
Costeluno Gemovese Tomato
Beefsteak Tomato
Mortgage Lifter Tomato
Brandywine Tomato
Imperial Star Artichoke

Herbs:
Quilquiña
Huacatay
Culantro/Shado Beni
Oregano
Sweet Basil
Lemon Thyme
Rosemary
Lemon Grass

Pics coming next week while transplanting outside.
 
I'm going to be giving out a few Peach Bhut, aji limo, and aji largo plants to a buddy of mine, which frees up some space. I've added aji charapita, Numex Big Jim, aji panca, aji dulce, and shishito to my grow this year as well.

I also planted 4 imperial star artichoke plants in the ground earlier this week.
 
I plan on posting a bunch of plant pics on June 1st to truly update this thread. I have lots of peppers, tomatos, eggplant, squash, and cucumbers flowering right now.

I figured I'd share the reason I prune my rocoto plants the way I do. Here are a few of my aji largo(Pubescens) plants. This plant grows tall, lanky, and gets absolutely covered in pods. I have had this variety snap many a limb from too many pods on a branch when some wind hits.

These plants may not look like much now, but they were essentially sticks with no leaves last week.

Notice how there is a new shoot growing from just about every node? This plant will be able to withstand mother nature's fury all Summer this way. Granted I may have to wait an extra few weeks for pods, but these plants are going to be dense barked up bushes once the big pod loads hit.
 

Attachments

  • 20180524_190809.jpg
    20180524_190809.jpg
    110.3 KB · Views: 90
  • 20180524_190817.jpg
    20180524_190817.jpg
    106.1 KB · Views: 86
  • 20180524_190827.jpg
    20180524_190827.jpg
    115.5 KB · Views: 73
Same three aji largo plants 2 weeks later

Gotta love the early season rocoto pruning!

Starting to bush out well, and flower. I can't wait to dig into some of these delicious, spicy, and juicy aji largo pods in a few months!
 

Attachments

  • 20180605_191732.jpg
    20180605_191732.jpg
    111.5 KB · Views: 80
  • 20180605_191742.jpg
    20180605_191742.jpg
    136.1 KB · Views: 89
  • 20180605_191759.jpg
    20180605_191759.jpg
    136.2 KB · Views: 80
So, a buddy gave me this pack of seeds when he came back from Peru. I figured what the heck, I'll do a bulk grow of these, since everyone always asks me for aji limo pods. I have 7 plants from this seed pack getting absolutely massive in 10 gallon pots right now.

I noticed that the plants looked pretty leggy, compared to the aji limo plants I grow every year, but I figured it must be the ferts kicking shoot growth into overdrive. I also noticed that there were flower buds growing, but only 1 per node, which is extremely unusual for an aji limo(Capsicum Chinense).

Well, a flower opened up today, and low and behold...clearly a Capsicum Baccatum

Here is a pic of the pack of seeds my friend gave me, with a flower next to it, on a plant from those same seeds, growing in my garden. The package of seeds clearly shows legit aji limo on the picture, and clearly states that it is a Capsicum Chinense.

WTF, now I have 7 giant mystery Baccatums from Peru growing in 10 gallon bags. Hopefully the pods end up being some badass, new to me Baccatum cultivar. I haven't had a Peruvian pepper I didn't like, so it's not all bad. I'll have several buckets full of whatever these pods end up being, so heres for the best!

Time to hit an IPA in the garden, and soak in this beautiful Summer evening
 

Attachments

  • 20180605_193305.jpg
    20180605_193305.jpg
    100.9 KB · Views: 80
  • 20180605_185311.jpg
    20180605_185311.jpg
    106.8 KB · Views: 80
Hey Dale, my aji oro, giant red, and peruvian red all fork about 6 inches above the soil and grow completely horizontally from that point.
How do you get your plants to grow vertically?
 
Genetikx said:
Hopefully those baccatums end uo being a welcomed surprise. Your plants are looking happy and healthy

That new england ipa looks pretty delicious too, like a glass of summer
Yeah, I'm hoping the mystery Baccatums turn out well!

NEIPAs are fantastic gardening brews
 
Back
Top