glog 2025 - LEAVE OR DIE

CHAPTER #01 - LIKE REPTILES

It's never too early to say "it's never too early to get started" so this year, to counterattack a possible fake summer effect like in 2024, I started 3 months in advance (18th of december).

Chiltepin cappuccino - 2024

I sterilized the seeds with a 9:1 water/bleach solution, and presoaked them for 24h, then I put them on paper towel on every heater of the house.

As soon as the roots emerged, I put them in soil (instead of waiting for the cotyledons to open on the paper, that maybe was causing more stress to the roots).
My friend gave me reptiles heatmats and a reptile UV lamp, that I'm using to heat the soil filled pepper cups (my apartment is cold, now I have 5C degrees more).

Soil is a brand new one, no more fungus-filled recycled one thanks!!

So, everything seems to be better and working well, apart from a big problem... I decided to go all-in and grow 130 varieties, even if I only have a small balcony. I couldn't choose what to remove, so I thought of putting 2-3-4 plants per pot. That's for two reasons: the first is that I'm insane the second one is that, having only 4 hours of sun per day, I realized that for my environment it may be better to grow small plants: I'll expect competition among them, and hopefully many small tastings.

I started with 60 varieties: wild ones, pubescens, and a mix of chinense and frutescens; to be fair, after all this babysitting I've already got the pepper burnout. Also, I'm already out of space! Time to mount a twin structure.

The wild ones I chosed are:
C. lanceolatum
C. chacoense
C. rhomboideum
C. tovarii
C. galapagoense
C. eximium
C. cardenasii
C. flexuosum
Also, a couple of C. rabenii, a couple of C. annuum var. glabriusculum, a C. baccatum var. baccatum, a purple flowered baccatum and some wild chinense/frutescens.

On late january/february I'll start with C. annuum and C. baccatum ones; mutants, variegated and F1 to F4 crosses included.
Some friends are trying to overwinter at home some of my last year's cultivars that couldn't set fruits (especially F1 and C. rabenii), anyway I sowed them again.

C. lanceolatum seeds surprised me because they are black and way smaller than any Capsicum seed I've had, included C. eximium.

I will also radically change the way I grow them outdoors, from the composition of the soil to the way I'll manage insects; but this will be told on march .

 

[SatanicFlatIron]

I started repotting a few C. annuum. It's getting very crowdy it's like hitting pinball multipliers

RPFH rocoto is a beast, maybe the biggest one. Here it needed to go to the bathroom before the transplant...

jokes apart, I repot plants in the bathroom (in the shower) because my house is very small. Every year growing pepper is a challenge here, and the current one is above all. So much work every day and the back hurts.. but every time I open my bedroom and see the plants, I'm really happy

The tallest ones are C. chacoense (the twins in the upper part of the pic), followed by C. cardenasii. Their way of growing is very different from the domestic species

I like the next little crowdy forest: C. chinense above, C. annuum var. glabriusculum on the right, purple flowered baccatum (C. baccatum x C. rabenii) below

having so many species is an open door to the admiration of different types of leaves.

NW chinense cross:

Some weird ones: a mutant

and the next one thinks it's an ostrich... it started growing firmly downward in the soil. I won't touch it, it's funny

 

[wiicek]

What a nicely looking bunch! I am jelaous of rocoto there, so big already!

but every time I open my bedroom and see the plants, I'm really happy

This. I was feeling weird having them in my bedroom when I was writing about it or talked with someone about that... like it wasn't something everybody could benefit from. xD

Excited to see how your jungle will expand there, grow and spread, taking the corner by force...

 

[SatanicFlatIron]

This. I was feeling weird having them in my bedroom when I was writing about it or talked with someone about that... like it wasn't something everybody could benefit from. xD

Thanks wiicek! I always joke with friends that I sleep with 300 girls (plants are females in italian)
Someone asks if they aren't bad for your health due to carbon dioxide, but I think it's not relevant. I just find the windows fogged up in the morning

I really hope rocotos will set fruits this year. And Red pepper from hell matches my username lol

 

[ahayastani]

I just find the windows fogged up in the morning

My windows would be too if I'd sleep with 300 girls.

 

[SatanicFlatIron]

push it to the limit... transplant progress: 80%
I had to move the bed to a corner
But I see the light at the end of the tunnel

These days I'm getting rid of all the frozen sauces, as well as making new ones. This year I would like to level up and start bottling them, especially the fermented ones, since the fermentation of raw sauces proceeds slowly in the freezer.

I cooked the "bollito misto" (very traditional northern Italian stew), pairing it with 9 sauces (the green sauce is the most used, I made two of which one with kiwi and habanero), and the American-style baked ribs with a red rub made at the moment (aji panca, chipotle, pimenton de la vera, garlic, date sugar, etc....). The ribs paired very well with a white chinense tangy jam made with the lemons I picked from a friend's tree, the tkemali (plum ketchup) and a lactic + alcoholic guajillo mole-type sauce.

 

[SatanicFlatIron]

Every year I make a lot of charts, but then I don't look at them anymore
This year I'm only making one, which shows the difference between species in terms of the days it takes for the root to come out of the seed, and then the days it takes for the cotyledons to open.

 

[CaneDog]

Spreadsheets and peppers! It can be really handy to have that data to look back on.

 

[SatanicFlatIron]

It can be really handy to have that data to look back on.

Thanks! Yeah I'm trying to make the chart more useful for my future self; I've edited it by inserting colors and indicating wild and crosses.
Probably adding the timing of the first flowers (for crosses) and the first ripe fruits will be a good addition to better schedule the cultivation next year, it would be nice to have all the flowers synchronized. Maybe anticipating some wilds and annuum might be a good move.

There are some outliars, e.g. old slow seeds or helmet heads, and some unborn ones (mainly old crosses, unripe peppers seeds and one bad seller lol), but it is not a problem. I noted the timing of the fastest seed to grow, instead of doing the average as in previous years which was a lot of work.
By cross-referencing the chart with the spreadsheet that indicates supplier and age of seeds I can get additional information on the viability.

 

[SatanicFlatIron]

Today, surprisingly, the first buds on C. pubescens and C. frutescens

 

[SatanicFlatIron]

Today I applied the first stakes to RPFH, C. cardenasii and aji amarillo, which by their nature tend to wander around

I found the first buds on some C. chinense, C. baccatum and C. lanceolatum

some more photos: C. rhomboideum, I like the shape of its hairy leaves

and some variegated/mutant ones:

 

[SatanicFlatIron]

In a couple of previous threads about hot sauces I was curious about trying some staples sauces (US and non-US), so I ordered the following products, many based on your recommendations. So thanks to all THP!

In Italy only the original Tabasco sauce is sold, so I had to order them from abroad. I also make hundreds of sauces (fresh or fermented), but the concept is a bit different in terms of consistency and flavors. In any case I wanted to go through this point to understand... and I understood why you abuse sauces I am also abusing them, in order to review them and try the various combinations.

What can I say... I really like Scorpion Tabasco, uk Carolina Reaper Encona, Frank's and Nando's peri peri. Each sauce has its own dish where I prefer it.
I still have some doubts about Crystal, which seems similar to the original tabasco but less complex.
The ones that disappointed me instead are Ghost Pepper Melinda (which is disgusting, has an artificial butter flavor (WTF?)) and especially the Habanero black reserve by Yucateco. I thought it had gone bad, but then I read on reddit that many compare it to the flavor of burning tires. It's really true, I can't stand it! Horrible!!!
Cholula is not bad but it contains suspicious aromas, I read that since it was acquired by McCormick (Frank's) they changed the recipe; now for Mexican I would like to try Tapatio and Valentina.

 

[ahayastani]

The chipotles in adobo are staple food in my family. Next time you eat bread with cheese (regular Gouda-style), add one or two chipotles. Perhaps some aguacate as well. I asume they are available in Italy?

 

[Bou]

The chipotles in adobo are staple food in my family. Next time you eat bread with cheese (regular Gouda-style), add one or two chipotles. Perhaps some aguacate as well. I asume they are available in Italy?

I like it too! I mix it with mayonnaise to spice up my sandwiches!

 

[CaneDog]

Me too, chipotles in adobo are the real deal! Those green and chipotle Tabasco sauces are pretty good too. I used to go to a local Chipotle (restaurant) and I probably used enough of those sauces each time that they lost money on my orders

 

[SatanicFlatIron]

The chipotles in adobo are staple food in my family. Next time you eat bread with cheese (regular Gouda-style), add one or two chipotles. Perhaps some aguacate as well. I asume they are available in Italy?

unfortunately I have some problems with some dairy products but I can try to invent something by combining yogurt and avocado (yes, here we can find two imported qualities, a greener one and a superior black one called Hass, which I usually buy to make guacamole which I love)

I mix it with mayonnaise to spice up my sandwiches!

I will do it very willingly! If I can I will wait to open the can until I make the mayonnaise

Those green and chipotle Tabasco sauces are pretty good too

yes, the green one is good on fried fish, green beans and tuna, to be honest it has a very lemony flavor, not jalapenos or any other green chili pepper, and it is the one from the brand in which I perceive the flavor of the fermentation yeasts the most, but I would say that as a citrus sauce, practically not spicy, it is good as it is I have not yet evaluated the chipotle one well since I am waiting to make some pork, on the rest of the combinations it covers the flavors too much and I cannot judge it

 

[SatanicFlatIron]

Just a quick update. I can't wait for the weather to settle so I can put the plants outside, it's still a bit chilly (5C to 14C, or 41F to 57F) and the plan to put them outside has been postponed until the end of the month, which was supposed to be today since it's spring.
I'm giving priority to the smaller plants in the center of the grow, while the larger ones or those that suffer from too much light are gradually positioned towards the outside

 

[Ohjay]

Those are some happy and healthy plants!
Like you I'm waiting for spring temperatures, but I suspect they will come much quicker to you in Italy

 

[SatanicFlatIron]

The day started with a little scare

then I remembered that I had already seen this thing, they are simply crystals caused by humidity (edema).

The spring sun this morning was too inviting, and the weather in the next few days seems particularly mild: so... plants outside!

Now I'll wait for them to adapt to the change of environment, especially to the breeze; I have put several stakes as a prevention.

In the next few days I will prepare a mix of water + sulfur powder / pure neem oil / Marseille soap, in the right doses, to spray every 15 days as a prevention against mites & aphids. They should all be compatible with each other.

And now a series of mixed photos

 

[CaneDog]

Awesome to see them out on the balcony, SF! They all look so green and healthy, too!

 

[SatanicFlatIron]

Awesome to see them out on the balcony, SF! They all look so green and healthy, too!

Thanks CD! I'm really already seeing clear improvements this year compared to previous years, even in the green of the leaves. I'm amazed at how you can get into the details of growing a plant, going from a generic green thumb to a specific one, understanding above all what nutrients are needed, how much water, the mistakes... for us enthusiasts every year is a fun game of searching for the right pot, the distance of the lights, when to start, the plants more or less suited to our environment.

Anyway, I didn't even have time to say "mild weather" because yesterday it hailed! (insert swear words in Italian here). No serious damage, but it's certainly a "harder hardening off". with 4 hours of the first real sun they've ever seen this morning, I'm already noticing a slight recovery from the general stress.