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misc Jalapeno quest failed?

Sulsa

Sulsa

From the moment i started growing peppers i set out on a quest to grow my own tasty jalapenos.
Tired of all those tasteless supermarket jalapenos i figured i had to grow them myself to obtain that true jala flavor.
I've been growing them for a couple of years now, tried several varieties and overall they all did great.
All of them turned out to be very healthy and vigorous plants with great fruitset and although they always start producing quite late in the season
i never had issues with getting them ripe in time. All of them produced nice big thick fleshed juicy pods with nice corking, but all of them lacked that true jala flavor. šŸ˜­ Most varieties i tried also had near to zero heat (except the El Jefe wich had a nice kick)
What am i doing wrong here? Could it just be a climatological thing and will i never be able to grow true jalapenos in the Netherlands or is there something else? Should i start growing in open ground instead of containers, should i stress them more (let them experience drought or something) should i fertilize them with some magical potion or should i dance naked around them during the summer solstice?
Please help... i need tasty Jalapenos in my life!!!



Biker Billy picture taken today, great looking but again totally tasteless and no heat at all!

IMG_20231008_145918.jpg
 
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Sulsa said:
... I've been growing them for a couple of years now, tried several varieties and overall they all did great.
All of them turned out to be very healthy and vigorous plants with great fruitset and although they always start producing quite late in the season
i never had issues with getting them ripe in time. All of them produced nice big thick fleshed juicy pods with nice corking, but all of them lacked that true jala flavor. šŸ˜­ Most varieties i tried also had near to zero heat (except the El Jefe wich had a nice kick)
What am i doing wrong here? Could it just be a climatological thing and will i never be able to grow true jalapenos in the Netherlands or is there something else? Should i start growing in open ground instead of containers, should i stress them more (let them experience drought or something) should i fertilize them with some magical potion or should i dance naked around them during the summer solstice?
...
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I completely understand your feelings, I'm currently dealing with the same issue... my scotch bonnet plant is completely healthy with nice fruits growing. The fruits are delicious but they lack the heat that normally comes with scotch bonnets. Yesterday I ate one raw. No big deal, it was only jalapeƱo hot. Delicious sweet taste but the heat wasn't there. Those from the 2022 season, they were hot, but those from this season are softies... šŸ™„
 
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Sulsa said:
Biker Billy picture taken today, great looking but again totally tasteless and no heat at all!
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That's kinda surprising to me. I've grown Biker Billy (F1) for years. It's been the jalapeƱo I compare all others to, lol. Always produced a lot, good size, thick-walled, crunchy, juicy, flavorful, with typical jalapeƱo heat.

Biker Billy is one of the few hybrids I used to grow. Burpee was who released Biker Billy, so I always bought the seeds from them. Now, for the last 3-4 years, I haven't been able to find BB on the Burpee seed racks. I don't know if they stopped selling them or what. I think the last time I found them was like 2015 or so.

I do wonder about your seed stock. The pods in your pic look a little different from what I use to grow. Here's what they looked like in 2012. A little pointier, maybe?

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Anyway, I'm on the hunt for a new jalapeƱo as well, lol. Like SB, I like Mucho Nacho also. I haven't tried Emerald Fire yet. This year I grew Giant JalapeƱo. I got the seeds off the Seedtrain, donated by Pex Peppers, if I recall correctly. In addition to all the other jalapeƱo traits I'm looking for, this thing is BIG. I might be growing it again next year.

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It seems like there's several of us looking for the holy grail of JalapeƱos, lol. Good luck on your quest.
 
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skullbiker said:
If you haven't tried them and can get seeds, my personal favorites are Mucho Nacho and Emerald Fire. I have probably grown over 50 varieties over the last 30 years and these are currently the best to me. Good luck on your quest.
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I've been eyeballing the Mucho nacho for a while. With such a name they must be good right?
I will look into the Emerald Fire!
ahayastani said:
Commercial varieties aim for low hotness and big size. The same for serrano... šŸ˜•
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That's a sad thing! What's wrong with consumers nowadays? :crazy:

I will prefer taste over looks anyday!
Grass Snake said:
I'm still searching for that perfect jalapeno. If Zapotec was a little bigger it would be that Jalapeno.
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Zapotec is still on my wishlist.
Don't mind if they are a bit smaller, size isn't everything! šŸ˜
MarcV said:
I completely understand your feelings, I'm currently dealing with the same issue... my scotch bonnet plant is completely healthy with nice fruits growing. The fruits are delicious but they lack the heat that normally comes with scotch bonnets. Yesterday I ate one raw. No big deal, it was only jalapeƱo hot. Delicious sweet taste
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I found that the moment of harvest also has a lot of influence on the taste and heat on my Chinenses.
I aim at harvesting after a few days of sun and preferably at the end of the day. Strange cause most fruits in my vegetable(fruit)garden are harvested in the early hours to have their best taste. I think my chinenses have better and stronger flavor at the end of the day for some reason.
Sadly a few weeks of cold rainy weather makes for less tasty peppers.
Downriver said:
That's kinda surprising to me. I've grown Biker Billy (F1) for years. It's been the jalapeƱo I compare all others to, lol. Always produced a lot, good size, thick-walled, crunchy, juicy, flavorful, with typical jalapeƱo heat.

Biker Billy is one of the few hybrids I used to grow. Burpee was who released Biker Billy, so I always bought the seeds from them. Now, for the last 3-4 years, I haven't been able to find BB on the Burpee seed racks. I don't know if they stopped selling them or what. I think the last time I found them was like 2015 or so.

I do wonder about your seed stock. The pods in your pic look a little different from what I use to grow. Here's what they looked like in 2012. A little pointier, maybe?

Anyway, I'm on the hunt for a new jalapeƱo as well, lol. Like SB, I like Mucho Nacho also. I haven't tried Emerald Fire yet. This year I grew Giant JalapeƱo. I got the seeds of the Seedtrain, donated by Pex Peppers, if I recall correctly. In addition to all the other jalapeƱo traits I'm looking for, this thing is BIG. I might be growing it again next year.

It seems like there's several of us looking for the holy grail of JalapeƱos, lol. Good luck on your quest.
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Seeds came from SLP. I've been reading a lot of good things about the Biker Billy, that's the reason i tried them this year.
Yours definitely look pointier and have a lot more corking going on.
That holy grail is out there somewhere and must be found! šŸ˜€


Thank you all for restoring a bit of faith in the cause! I will continue my quest with renewed spirit and hope!
Since my household is saturated with Chinense and it becomes harder and harder to convince the Mrs. in the need to grow so much peppers every year i might turn a big part of the 2024 season into my search for the holy grail of jalapenos! :D
 
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ahayastani said:
Mexicans traditionally blame the Spanish for all that is bad in their society. That being said, colonists from Europe are believed to have actively selected varieties with less pungency
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Always easy to put blame on the past but the mexicans almost had 2 centuries to shape their society and shed all the bad that came from colonialism. It has proven to be not so easy though.
:think: On the other hand the colonial era has shaped the pillars for some deeply rooted issues that survived till today... i agree... blame the Spanish! šŸ˜

Europeans definitely had other ideas on how exotic produce should look and taste, wich is strange cause that makes it less exotic in my opinion....
The dutch and especially dutch horticultural specialist have had a big influence in all of this, so i say:
Blame the Dutch! :drunk:
 
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Sulsa said:
Always easy to put blame on the past but the mexicans almost had 2 centuries to shape their society and shed all the bad that came from colonialism. It has proven to be not so easy though.
:think: On the other hand the colonial era has shaped the pillars for some deeply rooted issues that survived till today... i agree... blame the Spanish!
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I'm going off-topic a bit here... but the idea of "Mexican Independence" is one of those great lies that are continuously repeated. The "great heroes" of the Mexican War of Independence, Hidalgo and Morelos, were killed by royalists. The insurgency was a failure and was reduced to guerilla warfare and local conflicts. However, when the Spanish king was captured and was obliged to accept liberal reforms, the Mexican royalists changed opinion and decided it would be in their (economical) advantage to become independent from Spain. And so it happened... Mexican royalists and what remained of the rebellion joined forces and proclaimed the independence of Mexico. So this "independence" was just a technicality: even though Spanish rule was over, colonial rulers (and mind-set) remained. As a matter of fact, the crown of the First Mexican Empire was offered to the king of Spain (who refused)...

Sulsa said:
The dutch and especially dutch horticultural specialist have had a big influence in all of this, so i say
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I'm p1ssed the Dutchies replaced all those delicious carrot varieties by orange ones...

Sulsa said:
Blame the Dutch! :drunk:
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H31neken... I'm impressed they can have this pass for beer šŸ¤Æ Imagine aliens visiting earth and their first drink is H31ne... we'll all be annihilated.
 
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The quest for awesome jalapenos continues!
Will be growing quite a lot jalapenos this year. List down below.
Hope to find me a keeper! Will keep y'all updated when it's harvest time.

Jalapeno El Jefe
Jalapeno Emerald fire
Jalapeno Mucho nacho
Jalapeno Jalafuego
Jalapeno Tinkerbelle
Jalapeno Farmers market
Jalapeno M
Jalapeno Zapotec
 
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My favorite the last few years has been the Big Guy Jalapeno from Burpee.

I have found that two pods from the same plant can have quite different levels of heat; one may be quite hot for a jalapeno, another will have barely any heat at all. However, their size makes them excellent for poppers or Atomic Buffalo Turds.
 
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You might want to try Lemon Spice, Pumpkin Spice, and Orange Spice. Some say Orange Spice is the hottest jalapeno.

I have grown Lemon Spice. The ripe flavor was excellent, and there was a nice heat level. It was ok green, but for green I would prefer a more traditional jalapeno.

Lemon Spice ripened relatively early, and remained crisp at the fully ripe stage.

The other Jalapeno I grew (Craigā€™s) took much longer to ripen, and by the time it was fully red, it wasnā€™t very crisp.

I havent grown orange or pumpkin yet, but I plan to grow those eventually.
 
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spicy.curry said:
You might want to try Lemon Spice, Pumpkin Spice, and Orange Spice. Some say Orange Spice is the hottest jalapeno.

I have grown Lemon Spice. The ripe flavor was excellent, and there was a nice heat level. It was ok green, but for green I would prefer a more traditional jalapeno.

Lemon Spice ripened relatively early, and remained crisp at the fully ripe stage.

The other Jalapeno I grew (Craigā€™s) took much longer to ripen, and by the time it was fully red, it wasnā€™t very crisp.

I havent grown orange or pumpkin yet, but I plan to grow those eventually.
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I'm looking for that classic Jalapeno taste even when green. Heat doesn't matter so much (plenty of other peppers that provide that for me)
Having high expectations on the Zapotec and the jalapeno M wich should be heirlooms.
Most modern crosses i tried are great producers and strong healthy plants, but they all lack that original taste.
 
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spicy.curry said:
I donā€™t see Early Jalapeno discussed much, but it seems to be the standard to which the commercial hybrid peppers are compared.

I plan to try growing it eventually.
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As a matter of fact. I grew it last season SC, lol. Here's my notes: "Early and very productive. Fruit is on the smaller size, 2ā€-3ā€ max. Wall thickness medium. Taste is kinda weak, Heat is mild. Too small for poppers.". Seeds from Trade Winds Fruit.

So, there's pluses and minuses I guess. Depends on what you're looking to do with them.
 
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