AHayastani's GLOG 2022

Welcome to my GLOG!


I have a small urban terrace garden where I grow mainly peppers in containers. My location is Chiapas, Mexico. The local climate is tropical with pronounced dry and rainy seasons. The temperatures can sometimes be too much for the plants to bear (especially around Easter), but in general they manage. The climate makes that I can grow peppers year round, although pest pressure is really high. Especially mites are a problem... I apply neem oil copiously, but it does not always work...


This GLOG will follow my 2022 pepper endeavours. Enjoy

 

[ahayastani]

[reserved for editing]

Previous GLOGS:

• AHayastani's ГЛΟГ (2020-2021)

Currently growing

Seed sources:

• BaCr: Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (rareseeds.com)
• BaSk: Badskin (Belgiquestan)
• CF: Chris Fowler/Welsh Dragon Chilli (Wales)
• CSz: Chilli Seedz (Aussielandia)
• MX.F#: my own seeds; # indicates the generation, original seed source in parentheses: MX.F1 (CF) means I'm growing the plant(s) from my own seeds and that the parent plant was grown from CF's seeds. MX.F2 (market/San Cristóbal) means that it is the second generation of plants I'm growing from my own seeds, and that the original parent plant was grown from material obtained at the market in San Cristóbal.
• SCP: Space Chilli Peppers (Italy)
• SLP: Semillas La Palma (Canary Islands)
• T-E: Towns-End Chili & Spice (USA)
• THP: Texas Hot Peppers (USA)
• VTL: Vertiloom (Belgiquestan)

Subjective appreciation symbols: attractive to pests // attractive to pollinators // I don't know what to make of it // disappointment (so far) // good (may grow again in the future) // excellent (want to grow it) // hot, hot, hot... // exquisite (flavour, raw) // favourite in food preparations // handles well the local climate //

variety​	subjective appreciation​	seed source​
(non) KS White Thai​	​	THP​
7 Pot White		T-E​
Aji Ahuachapan		THP​
Aji Dulce Rosita		THP​
Antep Aci Dolma	​	CSz​
Big Sun (habanero)		CSz​
Bih Jolokia Caramel		THP​
Black Betty (Red)		T-E​
Black Ghost		CSz​
Criolla de Cocina	​	MX.F1 (BaCr)​
Çorbacı (Corbaci)		VTL​
God Stopper (7 Pot Primo Yellow X)​	​	CSz​
Hangjiao 10 "After Glow"	​	THP​
Jaloro (jalapeño)		CSz​
Naga Dorset		T-E​
Peach Bhut Jolokia SS​	​	THP​
Peppadew	​	MX.F1 (CF)​
Peri Peri "African Devil"​	​	forum/CaneDog​
Primo x Butch T		SLP​
Sarit Gat		BaSk​
Scorpion Large RFC		T-E​
Scotch Brain		THP​
Siete Caldos SCS		MX.F2 (market/San Cristóbal)​
Siete Caldos TS		market/Tapachula​
Sugar Rush Peach Stripey (SRP Stripey)		THP​
Taj Mahal Pink/Peach		T-E​
Tshololo		CSz​
Whynot		SCP​

 

[ahayastani]

(non) KS White Thai is one of the few plants that survived last mite infestation. The plant does not look healthy but it is still producing! New leaves and shoots are developing so I'm confident the plant will soon be back in the "prime league".

This plant has been a barrel of surprises. I wanted KS White Thai, but the pheno was off. I didn't ditch the plant at the time and it started producing a ton of peppers. While many other plants suffered and struggled, this plant continued to deliver. Its taste is good but not extraordinary.

 

[CaneDog]

Looking forward to following your grow again, AH. Hope you have a great season!

 

[skullbiker]

Good luck on your next season. Arm yourself well to fight those bug battles! I may scale back a bit this year, we shall see.

 

[Pr0digal_son]

Wettable sulfur is very hard on mites.

 

[PaulG]

Off and running, Dieter! Good luck this time around;
looking forward to seeing your balcony full of plants
again!

 

[Downriver]

Best of luck with your grow @ahayastani! I'll be following along as well.

 

[talas]

Best of luck to you A in your New growing season.

 

[ahayastani]

Thanks all!

I don't believe it will be any easier this season, but I do hope that the experience I've gathered will help me to make it more manageable, and ultimately yield me more successes. And if Lady Fortuna doesn't wan't to materialize these successes in the form of peppers, that at least she endows me with more "experience" for the following season .
The 2021 season was truly - pardon my language - a shitty one in many aspects: it didn't rain much in the rainy season (rest of MX was normal though) and many pests (trips, mites, mealybugs) have proliferated at a time in which they usually are held at bay by the weather. Combined with my lack of experience in the tropical environment, you can imagine the most likely result.

Arm yourself well to fight those bug battles! I may scale back a bit this year, we shall see.

I have also considered that, scaling back... But I don't think it will work out. I made several changes in the planning of my growth though:

• I will be growing more hots (habanero and up) and less milds. I had too many mild peppers last season and made the crowds very happy, but I didn't grow enough variation of hots to satisfy my own appetite;
• I won't be dedicating effort this season to growing wild varieties. I currently have flexuosum seeds germinating, and I recently gathered a pequin-shaped pepper from the semi-wild that I might give a try, but apart from these plans there won't be any wild-growing projects this season.

looking forward to seeing your balcony full of plants
again!

Lady Fortuna willing, it should be full again by the time you are moving your plants outside. Fingers crossed

 

[ahayastani]

God Stopper, apparently a 7 primo hybrid. I obtained the seeds from Australian Chilli Seedz as part of a test purchase. I don't know what to make of the myth spun around this variety, but I liked the pictures and prospects of a decent hot pepper. The plant is doing well and looks pretty robust to me (compared to other varieties sown around the same time). I transplanted it to its final container about two weeks ago, and the plant now seems to respond by forming side shoots.

Locals would certainly disapprove of its ominous name.

 

[Alex_K]

I hope you can get rid of these pests and have a great growing season there in Mexico!

Good luck!

 

[ahayastani]

Aji Dulce Rosita. I obtained the seeds for this pepper variety from THP, but I noticed they don't offer it anymore. I keep an Excel list with all seeds I have/had and copy the vendor's www information into the list, but I left it blank for this variety... According to the internet, Aji Dulce Rosita is a non-hot chinense that hails from Venezuela.

I've had several issues with this variety in the past. I believe it's the fourth time I'm growing it (1x no germination, 2x perished seedlings because of pests) but now the plants look decent I'm growing two plants and both are now in their final container.

Some of my pepper seedlings were affected by mites very early on. Damage was minor, however, and the seedlings recuperated quickly. A handful of seedlings responded by branching from the very beginning. One of the aji dulce rosita plants formed two main branches, but the view from above in the picture below shows that one branch has continued to grow "normally", while the second branch looks like a minor side branch now (an affected 7-Pot White is currently growing two branches of the same size).

 

[talas]

Nice Ahaystani that your honest about your growing and experience over the years ,we learn a lot over time as gardners and moving to different areas even seemingly with similar growing conditions can be problematic.
It's nice to see you keep trying to grow Aji Dulce Rosita it's a fine plant to grow and I think you have cracked this time .. let's hope the pests give you some peace now.

 

[ahayastani]

Peach Bhut Jolokia SS. Seeds were obtained from THP. According to results from the forum's search engine, SS is an acronym for (Pepper Lover's) "Selected Strain". I won't be growing Bhut Jolokia proper this year, though I have several "analogues" ready to fill in the gap: aside from Peach Bhut Jolokia SS, I'm also growing Black Ghost, and Shabu Shabu is germinating as we speak.

I removed most of its leaves when I transplanted the pepper to its final container since many had indications of Cercospora. The dry season has begun now and its propagation is much easier to check. I have the impression this will become quite a sturdy plant.

​

God Stopper now clearly has some flower buds as well I know it's still an underwhelming sight, but it certainly is an emotional moment
​

 

[ahayastani]

When I was cleaning up the terrace garden a few weeks back, I found a pepper plant growing in the dirt accumulated around a plastic growing back. It was already flowering and had a mini-pepper. The plant was clearly experiencing stress... I "saved" it and planted it in a new growing bag. Sorry for the lousy first photo, but I believe it's still possible to visualise the situation.

​

It was transplanted on 21/11, and this was yesterday (5/12):

​

The plant has dropped its flowers and is now also aborting its fruit. It is, however, also developing new leaves and stems. I'm curious about the identity. It looks like annuum, its flowers were completely white. Candidates that grew near that spot last season: two types of jalapeño, Espelette, Buena Mulata.
​

Nice Ahaystani that your honest about your growing and experience over the years ,we learn a lot over time as gardners and moving to different areas even seemingly with similar growing conditions can be problematic.

A news show with only good news is a fraud, even in North Korea Some don't want to talk about problems - which is ok - and others speak about them. But they can't be denied.

I'm giving up on Aji Lemon and derivatives.... I've tried Lemon Drop several times and the plants refuse cooperation... Problematic growth, attractive to pests. Strawberry drop last season was more of the same. This season I wanted to try Aji Pineapple again (would be the third time) and nope... Attracted thrips early on, but the plant does not recuperate well (other plants did recover well). I'm going to put a cross over this project. I might want to try again once I've got land and different growing conditions, but for now it's *game over*.

 

[talas]

Definetly an annuum but hard to say what it is till more growth and pods but glad you rescued it and sorry to hear about the lemon drops and perhaps another baccatum may suit the area you grow in better let's hope so and you try with more success in the future.

 

[PaulG]

@ahayastani - Nice save on the 'volunteer', Dieter! It's
hard not to give the volunteers some opportunity after
they have put in the effort to germinate, and, in this case,
actually try to grow up and be productive. Nice save, brother!

 

[Mildfruit]

Im also looking forward to follow this (next) years glog Nice seed selection so far!

 

[ahayastani]

7 Pot White, seeds bought from T-E. I'm currently growing two plants. Both were affected as a seedling by mites but recuperated. One seedling formed two main branches (second image; I guess because of damage inflicted by the mites to new plant tissue, perhaps the natural equivalent of "topping"), whereas the other plant continued developing in a "normal fashion" (first image). Both plants are in their final container now, and the branching plant is developing a more "bushy" appearance. Will this result in more peppers (by weight or by number)? We'll see