glog NJChilehead's 2025 GLOG

Great update, RPFH and de Seda are giants!
Aji panca is very slow here too... lots of vertical growth, needs a garden, doesn't seem like a pot-loving variety.
Combining native plants to attract pollinators is wonderful!

A little update for the week:

As noted on another thread, something developed on my Aji Lemon Drop. It developed on the growing tips, and I did suspect that it was stress related (thinking that some good nutrients and maybe a little shade cloth in the heat might have rectified it), I decided to cull it to prevent any spread to adjacent plants. Last year I had something devastate both of my watermelon plants in a very short time, and it subsequently spread to my tomatoes in an adjacent bed. I'll opt to get new seeds for the Lemon Drop next year and try again!

Meanwhile, things are starting to pick up now in the garden. The chinenses are starting to develop multiple fruit per node (I love it when that happens!) and all are setting fruit. Oddly, the Mayan Red is really falling behind the other ones, but it's hanging in there despite being the caboose.

Two shots of the Orange Habanero, one taken last night and one today. I think I'll take advantage of the night photos once in a while, it really seems to lend some interesting contrast!




Aji Chombo. There's just no way to get all of the details of all of the buds, flowers and new fruit on any of these, but this one probably has the widest canopy of any of my chinenses (rivaled only by Congo Black), and it's loading up beautifully:



Congo Black, not so productive -yet- but loading up the buds and also with some big pods on it:



Petenero, showing that characteristic flying saucer shape and awesome productivity. These Guatemalan heirlooms are SOOO good and I firmly believe that they'll give any scotch bonnet a run for their money taste-wise!





I'm learning new things every time I look at the Rocotos. Last year someone, I believe it was @CaneDog hypothesized that Aji Largo might be a little more resilient to the heat than some of the others. It's looking like that's the case. While it still is aborting most of the newly-set fruit, it does seem to be able to sneak one through here and there, despite it being consistently in the upper 80's and low 90's during the day.




Aji Largos from fruit set back in April:



Aji Oro needs to get the memo that ripening is okay. Really, this one is making the de Sedas look like a Type A personality. That being said, now that we've hit the 9-week mark since intitial fruit set, I -think- I'm seeing some blushing on one of them. I can abandon the notion that I'll have to wait until my funeral to have my arms wired up and pass out ripe ones to friends and relatives when they kneel down to say goodbye.


Aji Oro also seems to be more susceptible to markings from the sun. I'm thinking (hoping?) that this isn't hard sunscald, but pigmentation that develops to prevent it. I've seen this happen before, and it went away as the fruit was ripening. Hopefully this doesn't affect quality of fruit!



I put the pepper stuff first to stay on topic this time, but if you're interested, here are some of my other gardening endeavors:

Fig Row, looking good. Around 200 fruit total on these trees, not too shabby.



Sungold tomatoes. I have one plant in ground that I trained into 3 main vines, and the flower clusters are incredible!



I've shared before that I grow carnivorous plants, but I don't think I've ever shared any of my Nepenthes (tropical pitcher plants) before. These are on my windowsill at work, and are my sanity plants, especially in the winter. I started growing these a little over a year ago and they've become another addiction! All but one was purchased (or gifted) as a very young plant with minimal growth, the last was gifted as a cutting with zero pitchers, so seeing healthy pitchers is the goal right now!

One of my first two Nepenthes, N x Rebecca Soper (N. ventricosa x N. gracillima). For any other Nepenthes enthusiasts out there, it really shows the influence of N. gracillima.



The second of my first two Nepenthes (purchased May of 2024), Nepenthes x St. Gaya (N. khasiana x (ventricosa x maxima). Despite being partially eaten by a cockapoo that we dog-sat last summer, it's produced some nice pitchers so far. Here's a pitcher that is almost completely developed and about to open:


This was a basal offshoot of Nepenthes x St. Gaya that was pinched off back in April or May and planted in a tiny pot. I didn't think it would grow so quickly but it's already trying to produce a pitcher (on the right)!



This is the first developing pitcher of Nepenthes ventricosa x hamata, which I bought as a young plant back in March. Nepenthes hamata has a very toothy peristome (lip) and produces striking pitchers because of the evil, toothy appearance. I'm really looking forward to this one developing.



Nepenthes "Lady Luck" (N. ventricosa x N. ampullaria), with some new and very healthy pitchers:



First healthy pitcher of Nepenthes ventricosa x ampullaria "Black Miracle":



Nepenthes "Bill Bailey" (N. ventricosa x N. singalana) given to me as a rooted cutting in March. Here are the first pitchers at the end of the tendril:



First pitcher of Nepenthes x briggsiana (N. ventricosa x lowii), purchased in May as a mislabeled, shoddy looking little plant at a local nursery:



Just to get an idea of the small size and growth habit of these plants at this time, an overhead view of Nepenthes ventricosa x ampullaria (L) and Nepenthes Rebecca Soper (R):

NJChilehead said:

I've shared before that I grow carnivorous plants,

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What do you feed your Audrey Jrs ??

Haha, yeah let me know if you need some hoomans...

You have things looking good in the garden state, NJC! That Aji Oro pod almost looks like a pear. I hope you like the flavor and heat on those. Great pic's of your carnivorous plants.

CaneDog said:

You have things looking good in the garden state, NJC! That Aji Oro pod almost looks like a pear. I hope you like the flavor and heat on those. Great pic's of your carnivorous plants.

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Thanks, I hope so too!

Marturo said:

What do you feed your Audrey Jrs ??

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My outdoor ones do just fine on their own (actually they're quite voracious) but I give the indoor Nepenthes a dilute solution of fish and kelp into the pitchers about once every 3 weeks, or when the pitchers first open. I also foliar feed them a little of that same solution. They've evolved to feed through the leaves and don't take fertilization well through the roots (more than a minute amount will kill them), so I have to avoid getting fertilizer into the growing medium.

ahayastani said:

Haha, yeah let me know if you need some hoomans...

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Please, I live in NJ, there are definitely hoomans I run into on occasion that I'd like to feed to them.

I saw the first blushes on a few Zapotec Jalapenos the other day. I decided to pull them and my wife made a few poppers for us for dinner. My standbys for jalapenos are usually poppers or jellies, but this year I really want to try making a jalapeno cornbread with them.



Also, my wheels have been turning as to how to expand my recipe repertoire, and I'm still interested in sweet and spicy pairings. On a whim, I decided to make a cherry-rocoto aji largo jam and it came out REALLY good. I'm considering other fruit pairings and am going to try a recipe with them at the end of the season to see how it goes!

Cherries are difficult to grow in the hot tropics, sadly enough; sour cherries are among my favourite fruits. Just look at those jars, one falls backwards from an anthocyanine overdose just by looking

NJChilehead said:

On a whim, I decided to make a cherry-rocoto aji largo jam and it came out REALLY good. I'm considering other fruit pairings and am going to try a recipe with them at the end of the season to see how it goes!

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Great idea! I made a similar one (but without the rocoto). The first thing I'd do is open one of your jars and put some ribs in it

SatanicFlatIron said:

The first thing I'd do is open one of your jars and put some ribs in it

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Not something that pops up in my mind, although we combine cherries with meatballs. Should put it on my list.

ahayastani said:

Not something that pops up in my mind, although we combine cherries with meatballs. Should put it on my list.

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Yes, I find pork pairs well with lots of fruit (plus chili peppers). My favorites are probably figs or lemon. Pork and figs were a typical combination in ancient Rome I also like apple, banana, and plum jams... sometimes unsweetened, sometimes with a little sugar, sometimes just like a regular sugary jam.

How do you make cherry meatballs?

SatanicFlatIron said:

Yes, I find pork pairs well with lots of fruit (plus chili peppers). My favorites are probably figs or lemon. Pork and figs were a typical combination in ancient Rome I also like apple, banana, and plum jams... sometimes unsweetened, sometimes with a little sugar, sometimes just like a regular sugary jam.

How do you make cherry meatballs?

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I've read in the past that meat and fruit pairings can be traced back to Middle Eastern (Persian or Arab) influences. Sicilians sometimes put golden raisins in our meatballs, and in other dishes. Meat and dried fruits like prunes, apricots and dates are just awesome in rice dishes too.

If any of you would ever like to try something really good, take your favorite pepper jelly and glaze a ham with it. Oh man is that dyanamite.

Here are some of those night shots that I mentioned upthread. Gives some nice contrast in the photos!

Chile Chocolate:


Jeromin:


Zapotec Jalapenos:


Aji Chombo:

Sungold Tomatoes:

Bahamian Goat:

Orange Habanero:


Petenero:



In other, very exciting news, my Tapachula Market Red Chile has begun setting fruit! Whoohoo! @ahayastani

It's looking great, and I'm not surprised your chombo is loading up - I was shocked at how many pods mine threw out last year. And they are tasty!

SatanicFlatIron said:

How do you make cherry meatballs?

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Check the video in this link (ingredients at the right): Frikadellen met krieken. (you can skip to 50 s, unless you want to learn how to make butter) No subs available, but if you sometimes work in the kitchen you'll know what it's all about. The sauce is thickened with cornstarch.

NJChilehead said:

Chile Chocolate:

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I'm impressed by their size, and I'm pretty sure locals here would be too. Congrats! But I'm especially happy to see that Tapachula Market Red is setting fruit. Now fingers crossed their taste won't let you down .

NJChilehead said:

I've read in the past that meat and fruit pairings can be traced back to Middle Eastern (Persian or Arab) influences. Sicilians sometimes put golden raisins in our meatballs, and in other dishes. Meat and dried fruits like prunes, apricots and dates are just awesome in rice dishes too.

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yes, the basis of our cuisine are the classic Greco-Roman Mediterranean ingredients (bread, olive oil, wine); in the north we had influences from European nomadic peoples (meat, butter, cheeses) which today are common in German and U.S. cuisine. Sicily was conquered by the Arabs, there are many dishes with dried fruit, spices, citrus fruits! And couscous After Columbus, with the introduction of tomato and pepper, regional cuisines exploded with a thousand dishes! We also introduced concepts from Austrian and French culture (kraphen, soups, sauces...) that later evolved in different ways. Well you can see I could talk for hours about cooking lol, Italy has always been so geographically and historically fragmented into small kingdoms, and conquered by literally everyone, that 10 lifetimes wouldn't be enough for me to try all the dishes This is the fun part, you only need to travel a few kilometers and you'll find different typical dishes (and people ready to talk about it endlessly)

NJChilehead said:

If any of you would ever like to try something really good, take your favorite pepper jelly and glaze a ham with it. Oh man is that dyanamite.

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I'd like to try as we don't have the glazed ham culture

ahayastani said:

Check the video in this link (ingredients at the right): Frikadellen met krieken. (you can skip to 50 s, unless you want to learn how to make butter) No subs available, but if you sometimes work in the kitchen you'll know what it's all about. The sauce is thickened with cornstarch.

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thanks, mmm! they inspire me a lot

So apparently my Aji Chinchi Amarillo heard me saying on another thread that my Aji Guyana and Sugar Rush Amarillo were both blushing and were both going to be my earliest baccatums to ripen, because in less than 24 hours, this happened. Guess I'm going to get a ripe Aji Chinchi Amarillo to try tomorrow! Looking forward to it, as @JAB Farms said it was really good, and I've read that from other sources as well. So this qualifies as an early C. baccatum, I suppose, because it was planted in ground on May 11th (76 days until ripening). We'll see what the others do this week!

That's impressive. I think I mentioned it before, but you have a quality short-list selection of Baccatum this season and they sure seem to be doing well for you.

...apparently Aji Guyana heard about my last message and said "oh no he didn't!" because I went outside today and saw this! I'm thinking I might just wait until Monday and do a side-by-side comparison. Sugar Rush Amarillo is still taking the slow and steady route, but maybe the paradigm there is that good things take time