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]

Peri Peri "African Devil", one of my favourite plants. The plant is setting a lot of flower buds and the earliest buds are already flowering. At my thumb the first pepper after I gave the plant a relatively soft trim.

I also want to try to make my own crosses this season. It is an idea that has resided in my mind for quite some time now, but @ChilliCrosser 's posts have given me the necessary "kick in the butt" to materialize these ideas into something more tangible. I would like to start with an interspecific cross between peri peri (f) and a chinense (c). I have tried f x c as well as c x f, but both attempts resulted in aborted flowers. These are first steps, and as long as f is flowering, I will try again and again until something comes out of it. I was surprised by the amount of pollen from f, especially compared to c, but it is not something I have been assessing rigorously in the past.

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[ahayastani]

Siete Caldos TS (Tapachula Strain). Siete caldos is a pepper from Chiapas that is grown especially in the highlands. Its name is translated as "seven broths" in English - 7 pot - but it is certainly not as hot as its Trinidadian cousin.

The pepper is also known as chile paloma or pico de paloma (dove beak). I have encountered this chile in two localities: San Cristóbal and Tapachula. Because there seems to be quite some variation, I will include the pepper origin in the name: TS = Tapachula Strain, SCS = San Cristóbal Strain. There might be more in the future...

I'm currently growing Siete caldos SCS and have sown TS a few days ago. It would be nice to compare them side by side in a few months time I think this is a semi-domesticated variety. The photo below shows Siete caldos besides habanero and is taken in the main market of Tapachula. The little bolsita (baggie) below costs M$10 (currently U$1 ~ M$20).

The following two photos show the diversity. The immature pepper is green or yellow (often with purpling); the ripe pepper is red.

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I used the peppers to make a simple pickles. I used whole peppers (without removing the seeds) and am pleased with the result. This is certainly not a hot pepper - my better half likes the pickles and she gives up on anything hotter than a jalapeño - but interindividual variability seems to be high.

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[PaulG]

You are definitely getting a grow together
there, my friend!

Do folk there use the habaneros green?

 

[ahayastani]

Do folk there use the habaneros green?

Most of the fresh chiles are sold "green": jalapeño, serrano, poblano, habanero. Only rocotos are sold ripe. Now that my own pepper plants don't provide me with enough "food", I regularly buy baggies of habanero and I ask for the "coloured ones" specifically.

 

[ahayastani]

Volunteer "X", doing very well. I'm still not sure what pepper variety it is, but so far "X" has most in common with jalapeño. I grew Craig's Grande and TAM jalapeño where I recovered "X". It doubt it will be Buena Mulata because of the growth habit of the fruits (I don't recall Buena Mulata peppers pointing upwards), although it could still be Espelette as well. We'll see

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[ahayastani]

Tshololo has begun to flower. Peppers, peppers, peppers... please

Big Sun understood the message and I spotted the first pepper.

 

[ahayastani]

Hangjiao 10 is flowering abundantly but most of the flowers are dropped. The plant is still growing though.

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Naga Dorset has entered the flowering stage as well

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[ahayastani]

Annum novum faustum felicem MMXXII


Many plants
Many peppers
No pandemics ​

 

[ChilliCrosser]

I also want to try to make my own crosses this season. It is an idea that has resided in my mind for quite some time now, but @ChilliCrosser 's posts have given me the necessary "kick in the butt" to materialize these ideas into something more tangible. I would like to start with an interspecific cross between peri peri (f) and a chinense (c). I have tried f x c as well as c x f, but both attempts resulted in aborted flowers.

Glad to hear you've taken the plunge @ahayastani Beware, it's both addictive and frustrating but ultimately rewarding when you find something special.

No messing, I see you're going for an interspecific right away! Not one I've tried, look forward to seeing the updates on how it goes.

 

[Alex_K]

The new plants look very healthy Dieter, i think you are doing a great job getting rid of the pests!
I'm interested in seeing how your pubescens adapts to your climate because... you know i never had good results with pubescens here!
The "Siete caldos" look amazing with the purple blush reminds me the Peru Scarlet Lantern that I grew in the past.

 

[ahayastani]

I'm interested in seeing how your pubescens adapts to your climate because... you know i never had good results with pubescens here!

At this moment, my pubescens plantlet is on par with the chinense plantlets that were sown around the same time.


7 Pot White. I provided both plants with a support. The plant at the left side in the two following photos was affected by mites in the seedling phase but recovered. It branched early during its development and is now a rather voluminous bush.

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Not only is the affected plant more voluminous, it also is setting out flower buds ahead of its colleague (2 photos left = affected plant).

Affected ​

Unaffected ​

 

[PaulG]

Hey, brother Dieter! Man, it is hard to keep up
with the @ahayastani Grow Train. You are reallyr
rollin' now, my friend. Can't wait for those such
balcony shots!

Happy New Year to you and your family as well,
Dieter. Is the leaf scratched while green and then
dried? I'd be disappointed if it's a PhotoShop.

 

[ahayastani]

Happy New Year to you and your family as well,
Dieter. Is the leaf scratched while green and then
dried? I'd be disappointed if it's a PhotoShop.

It is a Roman-period laurel leaf made of amber. It is inscribed with the acronym AN·N·F·F· which stands for ANnum Novum Faustum Felicem, or "Happy (and) Prosperous New Year" - the standard Latin new year wish. The leaf is on display in the archaeological museum of Aquileia, Italy (tweet).

 

[PaulG]

It is a Roman-period laurel leaf made of amber. It is inscribed with the acronym AN·N·F·F· which stands for ANnum Novum Faustum Felicem, or "Happy (and) Prosperous New Year" - the standard Latin new year wish. The leaf is on display in the archaeological museum of Aquileia, Italy (tweet).

Okay, definitely not a PhotoShop!
Way cool, I love stuff like that.

 

[ahayastani]

Some photos of my pubescens plantlet. The first image shows the seedlings on 2 Dec (sown 21 Nov), while the second and third image show the plantlet today (3 Jan). I only selected one seedling because I want to see how this species behaves in my climate. Seeds were taken from a pepper I bought on a local market. Vendors are from small communities, often from the Chiapas Highlands. I have the impression they grow a lot of rocoto there (for personal consumption, not commercially).

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There is a small local market that is organized once every two weeks. Local communities gather there to sell their produce, and usually one community is put in the spotlight. The organization of the market is part of a social program to improve the economic situation of these communities. Every vendor is accompanied by a social worker that assists in the buying/selling transaction. Some vendors have problems with numbers, others have issues with Spanish, but most don't know (nor "feel") how to sell.
The market has been temporarily suspended because the park where it was organized was invaded and occupied by migrants. I read the migrants have been "relocated" a few days ago, so I hope the market will be organized again soon.

The following images are from my cell phone photo archive. The big non-pepper in the first image is a cacao pod.

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[ahayastani]

Chile mazateco, a local chile de agua pepper. It is cultivated "commercially" in Mazatán (Chiapas) but only for local consumption. I had sown a few seeds on 26 Dec and the first seedling popped up. I really like the taste of this pepper. I'm still undecided whether I'll grow one or two plants.

I bought fresh peppers on the market. They cost M$20 for a baggie of ~12 peppers. Big peppers are sold M$20 for 7. They are traditionally stuffed (so you want them big), but I like them fried as well.

 

[CaneDog]

How cool to have the markets accessible to you - and fresh peppers at a buck a bag. I'm curious about the rocoto you selected to plant. Was it from the yellow pod above or a different one?

 

[ahayastani]

How cool to have the markets accessible to you - and fresh peppers at a buck a bag. I'm curious about the rocoto you selected to plant. Was it from the yellow pod above or a different one?

I selected seeds from a yellow pod, but a different one. I admittedly did not pay much attention to its phenotype, only to size (big) and taste (crunchy with some sweet). There is a lot of observable variation in the local pubescens population... I have tasted crunchy with sweet, crunchy neutral, crunchy with earthy tones, ... Influence of the soil?
I was going to save seeds of various peppers and offer them to a rocoto enthusiast, but then the market was suspended. I'll likely retake the idea once it reopens.

Concerning the buck/bag - note that the minimum wage now is M$ 170/day (increased 22% this year). Most locals earn M$5000-7000 per month (U$1 ~ M$20).

 

[CaneDog]

Cool idea about the rocotos. To be able to sample and select from such a variety of fresh pods is a big advantage. Hopefully the soil and environment won't change it much from what you're targeting.

Yep, I suppose a buck/bag and the affordability is a relative thing, but at least fresh is fresh!

 

[PaulG]

Is that a bowl of Mazateco peppers,
@ahayastani?

My seeds will hit the dirt in end of
February or beginning of March. Will
be watching yours with interest.

Some of the Chili de Agua I grew in
the past were mild sweet at the blossom
end, but real firecrackers at the stem end!