My real start of the season is still months away but I couldn't resist to put something in the soil already - Tasmanian Black! 
2022 - too early to get started...
- Thread starter MarcV
- Start date
MarcV
eXtreme
So here's the second ripe tasmanian black. Color was a very nice purplish red...
The inside was a bright red. There wasn't much purple lining present...
Taste was very sweet with a mild yet sharp heat. The wife liked it also but at some point she got hit by the heat. She experienced it as hotter than a scotch bonnet...
The inside was a bright red. There wasn't much purple lining present...
Taste was very sweet with a mild yet sharp heat. The wife liked it also but at some point she got hit by the heat. She experienced it as hotter than a scotch bonnet...
MarcV
eXtreme
Some new pictures of my plants...
Overwintered Papa Dreadie. Very nice and already quite large plant, lots of flowers but it doesn't really feel like setting fruits at the moment...
Papa Dreadie G3 2021 (seeds from @Sawyer ) doing great and setting lots of pods...
My favorite plant and also favorite scotch bonnet variety (for now), the SB Schneider Farms, is really getting huge and is growing lots of pods...
Same plant, other angle...
A couple of shots from the younger plants. I took more photos but I did a lousy job with the focusing and I didn't feel like taking the same pictures again
so I will only show the acceptable ones 
...
Scotch brains, just started flowering...
Schotch Bonnet HSH, magnificent plant although the picture doesn't do it justice. Nice big leaves without crinkles. Also just started flowering. I have high hopes for this one!
Tasmanian Black is remaining a small plant. It now has multiple ripe pods, I should pick them some time...
And a couple of young annuum plants that are actually a test germination of seeds from smoke-dried pods...
Another couple. The Espelette is not from smoke-dried pods but from original Piment D'Espelette farm seeds and one of my absolute favorite annuum varieties. I normally grow this every year but this year I failed to do so, being too busy trying/failing to germinate SB seeds. The still very young Espelette plant is already forming flower buds by the way...
I'm hoping to overwinter these 4 annuum plants...
Overwintered Papa Dreadie. Very nice and already quite large plant, lots of flowers but it doesn't really feel like setting fruits at the moment...
Papa Dreadie G3 2021 (seeds from @Sawyer ) doing great and setting lots of pods...
My favorite plant and also favorite scotch bonnet variety (for now), the SB Schneider Farms, is really getting huge and is growing lots of pods...
Same plant, other angle...
A couple of shots from the younger plants. I took more photos but I did a lousy job with the focusing and I didn't feel like taking the same pictures again
so I will only show the acceptable ones ...Scotch brains, just started flowering...
Schotch Bonnet HSH, magnificent plant although the picture doesn't do it justice. Nice big leaves without crinkles. Also just started flowering. I have high hopes for this one!
Tasmanian Black is remaining a small plant. It now has multiple ripe pods, I should pick them some time...
And a couple of young annuum plants that are actually a test germination of seeds from smoke-dried pods...
Another couple. The Espelette is not from smoke-dried pods but from original Piment D'Espelette farm seeds and one of my absolute favorite annuum varieties. I normally grow this every year but this year I failed to do so, being too busy trying/failing to germinate SB seeds. The still very young Espelette plant is already forming flower buds by the way...
I'm hoping to overwinter these 4 annuum plants...
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those Epelette plants get pretty big - I've planted 2 in the main veg garden and have had to stake them already 
MarcV
eXtreme
Do you make powder of the Espelette pods? I like to eat mine fresh. I tried making powder of my home grown pods but it tastes nothing like real Espelette powder. I frequently (as in "once per year") buy the "real" powder and fresh pods when they are in season from one of the farms with a web shop. Not cheap but soooo good! The "real" fresh pods also taste much better than those I grow myself...
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No won't make powder, eat them fresh like you. Although I do use them dried as well.
It's my first time growing Espelettes, I was gifted some seeds from a friend.
That's an interesting website Marc, thank you for the link
It's my first time growing Espelettes, I was gifted some seeds from a friend.
That's an interesting website Marc, thank you for the link
Good looking plants, Marc! 
MarcV
eXtreme
It's been a while since I posted a proper update...
Let's start with the HSH scotch bonnet...
The plant is reasonably productive. Pods aren't that beautiful phenotype that we know from the youtube posts of the Humble Servants Homestead but they aren't exactly bad looking either. Unfortunately no ripe ones yet so I still can't comment on their taste...
Let's start with the HSH scotch bonnet...
The plant is reasonably productive. Pods aren't that beautiful phenotype that we know from the youtube posts of the Humble Servants Homestead but they aren't exactly bad looking either. Unfortunately no ripe ones yet so I still can't comment on their taste...
MarcV
eXtreme
The last one is the Walton Farm scotch bonnet. Nice plant but the pods are also a bit behind in size...
That's it for now.
If you're wondering what happened to the other plants... well... like every year I start off with a lot of varieties and at some point I come to the conclusion that the room for all those plants simply isn't available. Even now it is a puzzle to give the ones that I have a proper place with a bit of room. Especially the overwinterers take up a lot of space. So with pain in the heart I had to eliminate some of the plants and only kept the ones that looked the healthiest and that appealed to me the most. I may or may not give the other varieties a try again next season.
And I know 2023 is too early to get started but I already have a couple of seedlings going with the intention to overwinter them (SB7J and 7 pot brainstrain growing and KSLS germinating). I'm doing this to try to avoid the seedling problems that I had at the beginning of this season...
That's it for now.
If you're wondering what happened to the other plants... well... like every year I start off with a lot of varieties and at some point I come to the conclusion that the room for all those plants simply isn't available. Even now it is a puzzle to give the ones that I have a proper place with a bit of room. Especially the overwinterers take up a lot of space. So with pain in the heart I had to eliminate some of the plants and only kept the ones that looked the healthiest and that appealed to me the most. I may or may not give the other varieties a try again next season.
And I know 2023 is too early to get started but I already have a couple of seedlings going with the intention to overwinter them (SB7J and 7 pot brainstrain growing and KSLS germinating). I'm doing this to try to avoid the seedling problems that I had at the beginning of this season...
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Thank you for the thorough update!
I’m growing the TFM this year, and like pretty much every pepper enthusiast I’ve fallen in love with the scotch bonnet flavor and heat profile. However, like yours, my TFMs (four containers, eight individuals) are mostly providing tasty runts…
I was trying to “skip to the best” with TFM, but now I feel compelled to hunt for a scotch bonnet with more consistent pods in my climate. I still want to avoid growing them all, though. Next year, I’m going to try Foodarama and Schneider Farms… Bike808 always praised Foodarama for its consistent pods, and you similarly with Schneider Farms.
I’m growing the TFM this year, and like pretty much every pepper enthusiast I’ve fallen in love with the scotch bonnet flavor and heat profile. However, like yours, my TFMs (four containers, eight individuals) are mostly providing tasty runts…
I was trying to “skip to the best” with TFM, but now I feel compelled to hunt for a scotch bonnet with more consistent pods in my climate. I still want to avoid growing them all, though. Next year, I’m going to try Foodarama and Schneider Farms… Bike808 always praised Foodarama for its consistent pods, and you similarly with Schneider Farms.
MarcV
eXtreme
I had this embarrassing situation at work last week...
Just like every year I take some of my peppers to work to dare my colleagues to eat a pepper. Of course none of them wanted to give it a try but I had to show them that I could eat peppers without problems, so that's what I did.
Ate one scotch bonnet... no problem...
Took another one... ate it...
But we were having lunch outside at midday in the burning sun (there was a heat wave at the time). Suddenly I felt a bit weird in my stomach and needed to get back inside, away from the hot sun. So back inside we went. I managed to get to the door step where I passed out!
I woke up again a bit later feeling a bit shaky. They almost called an ambulance to take me to the hospital. That wasn't necessary but I had done working for that day. One of my colleagues drove me home...
It hasn't stopped me from eating bonnets though...
Just like every year I take some of my peppers to work to dare my colleagues to eat a pepper. Of course none of them wanted to give it a try but I had to show them that I could eat peppers without problems, so that's what I did.
Ate one scotch bonnet... no problem...
Took another one... ate it...
But we were having lunch outside at midday in the burning sun (there was a heat wave at the time). Suddenly I felt a bit weird in my stomach and needed to get back inside, away from the hot sun. So back inside we went. I managed to get to the door step where I passed out!
I woke up again a bit later feeling a bit shaky. They almost called an ambulance to take me to the hospital. That wasn't necessary but I had done working for that day. One of my colleagues drove me home...
It hasn't stopped me from eating bonnets though...
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