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My germination has been a little slow this year. I've been battling aphids inside (although the pyrethrins have pretty much wiped them, at least for now), and have been experienced a fairly high amount of SSDS (sudden seedling death syndrome) this year for some reason (I think it's the Jiffy...

Truth. The good news is that with gardening even though the initial investment can be high, it gets a lot cheaper after that since you can reuse potting mix to an extent, save seeds, reuse pots and , make your own compost, use less electricity since you have a greenhouse, buy less produce from...

Starting from seed is much better. You get a far larger selection to work with and you'll be able to put out much healthier, more compact, and further along plants than if you buy them. And it's a lot cheaper. I can start and raise 100 plants to 8-10 inches tall for probably less than $100...

I don't really think there are any dangers, especially if you use a starter, it's a very common practice in Mexico. Diana Kennedy has been making her own pineapple vinegar for decades and keeps a large stock of various ages of vinegar on hand. I don't think it's any more dangerous than brewing...

I don't think they'll notice.

Here's one of my overwintered plants, a Butch T that's about 2 feet tall in a 1 gallon pot. :fireball: I didn't cut this one as low as most of the others. It gets practically zero light, just what seeps in through the spaces in the blinds but still looking good. I think he's ready to go...

Who here makes their own vinegar? I make pineapple vinegar and banana vinegar, which are commonly used in Mexico and often made at home. It's great for marinades, pickling jalapeños, salad dressings, salsas, hot sauces, etc. and it's really easy to make. And it's made mostly with the...

Maybe the seeds you bought were refrigerated? I think seeds stored at room temperature usually sprout quicker. Where did you buy them from and what varieties?

I believe the world's hottest pepper is the Bonnie orange habanero or Chef Jeff Caribbean red, both of those had labels on them last year in the nursery that said they were the world's hottest, so it must be true. And it's a good thing their name is "Herbs R Us," because those are some really...

The hardiness zone map has been updated for 2012, the first update since 1990. I went from 5B to 6A. :party: Anyone else change zones? http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/

Peppers are a lot slower to germinate and slower growing than tomatoes. 9 days isn't very long. 7/38 is almost 20%, if 1/5 of your seeds sprouted at 9 days then you're doing pretty well. They're on their own schedule aren't going to pop in unison. Even if you take a bunch of seeds all of the...

If you start them ASAP I think you might be able to get a small to moderate harvest in. Should be about 6 months until the frosts start there? You could also order some plants from cross country nurseries or thechilewoman.com if you can't find much locally.

I don't know what a "petin" is but I've never noticed pubescent leaves on pequines or chiltepines...

I've seen bird's nest soup (seriously), but never bird's nest cheese. :eek:

The red and green El Yucateco are sold in most grocery stores, unfortunately the xxxtra is hard to find. The xxxtra hot and Caribbean El Yucateco are much better tasting than the red, green, or chipotle imo.

What I want to know is what's up with the packages of shredded yellow, or yellow and white mixed cheese in the grocery stores mysteriously sold as "Mexican" cheese. Who told them that Mexicans eat cheese like that and what about it is supposed to make it "Mexican?" I've eaten in a lot of...

Is it me or does that look like it would tip over/blow over quite a bit?

You're zone 6 or 7 according to the map I just googled, zone 5B here. I think you may have it backwards, higher number= warmer climate.

There's still about 2 months before I'll be able to leave plants outside, and you have a longer growing season than I do, so you should still have time.