Hello all! I'm a first year grower, and have been lurking on this and gardenweb for a couple months now. I finally got a place with sun and a large space so I decided to jump in both feet first and learn as I go. Been dealing with a lot of rain in Ohio this season and bacterial leaf spot (I don't think my pimentos are going to recover.)
So a couple things I've learned about this year that I'm going to try next year. All my peppers are going to be in containers, thats why my pimentos got effed, they're in the ground, but a lot of my others were in containers (but they're small) so I can bring them under the breezeway and they're thriving. Learned not to overwater them too. I think I'm going to try smartpots next year, but in another thread someone suggested Aldi reusable grocery bags. Is that all smartpots are? I think that'd be a great cheap alternative. I'm also going to try overwintering, I have a nice closed off area in the basement. And I read on gardenweb about Al's gritty mix and 5-1-1 mix, I think I'm going to try that once the season draws to a close.
Also, as a beginner I did the whole seeds from Lowes thing, and then had to get planters when I learned my first lesson of the year which is jiffy pods and the greenhouses will cause white mold to form on your seedlings if you don't lift the greenhouse off almost immediately. I had better luck once I start doing seeds in solo cups, another lesson learned, but since it was getting late in the season, I panicked and bought a bunch of planters. Which leads me to my question.
I figure next year/this winter I want to get into the whole SASBE thing. I got the typical peppers from Lowe's, but really want to get into the interesting ones. (I have one ghost pepper, but the rest are pretty much habanero, jalapeno, banana, bell, anaheim, thai, etc.)
So I'm starting my list for this winter/next year, I'd like to hear some suggestions or thoughts on them and any I should know about.
What I'm currently growing:
Jalapeno
Bell (I'm actually not a huge fan of bell peppers, at least not raw, but my friends are and I love to cook for people, so I'm growing one of those)
Cajun Bell (Which I assume is a hybrid, and is supposed to be a "spicy" bell, so I'll try to clone that at years end,I haven't eaten a pod yet, just ate a pod, judging by the mouth burn jalapeno type bell pepper, but they're looking good)
Garden Salsa (Another hybrid I assume, but it's pretty prolific so I'll probably try to clone that too)
Pimento
Italian Fryer
Habanero
Anaheim
Thai
Banana
Hot Banana
Hungarian Wax
Ghost
Great Marconi
Cayenne
Serrano
Cherry
Paprika (which i plan to make a smoked powder from, I love smoked peppers, I cant wait to smoke everything and not have only store bought chipotle)
Next year list
Aji Limon
Jimmy Nardello
Black Hungarian
Trinidad Perfume (or any mild habanero type)
Fish (Can anyone tell me how these taste?)
Fatalii
Sweet Datil
Manzano
Monkey Face (they look cool)
Poblano (I surprisingly couldn't find any seeds or planters locally)
Early Jalapeno (or early anything, I need to stop having green peppers!)
Hot Cherry
So anything I should be looking out for? I like heat, compared to my friends I have an iron tongue, although I'm sure compared to people on this forum I'm a lightweight (I can do habanero and I put my homemade chipotle hot sauce on just about everything.) So I'd like to give some of the superhots a try, if just for the novelty/making powders. And I think the Chinese have a better flavor, which is why I'm trying to find a milder version for less intense heat flavored dishes. I love me some chili oil/paste from asian restaurants which is why I got the "thai chile" planters, but I've heard of things like thai dragon and ho chi minh peppers, so I'm wondering if there's something more specific I should try out. I also love the look over black pods (I have black cherry tomatoes and black krims that I'm growing this year), which is why I'm looking for Black Hungarian for next year.
Last question, what's everyone's favorite cloning medium? The tomatoes only need water, I don't even need a rooting solution, but I tried to clone some peppers earlier in the season with just peat pods and rooting solution with no luck.
Thanks for reading!
EDIT:
Oh, already have a couple things I forgot. I also want to try fish peppers, can anyone tell me how they taste? I've found that the annums (at least store bought) just don't have a lot of flavor and I'd like to find some that deliver good flavor and heat. I can't wait to have these green ones turn red so I can have try red anaheims and jalapenos. Are fresno peppers just the same as a ripe jalapeno?
Also, during a test run of indoor growing, I left a couple tomatoes/peppers in the grow room and the tomatoes (no peppers or herbs/lettuce) got these tiny, tiny white bugs on them that were just on the main axiom. I tried to take a picture on the the tomatoes I pitched but my iphone wouldnt even focus on them. They don't move and it didn't appear to hurt the tomatoes, but I got nervous and chucked them all. (Sorry, bad descriptor, I'm assuming they are aphids or spider mites, but they're so small that I couldn't figure it out.) Double Edit: Eye balled them a little more. They have two "hairs" legs growing out what looks like the backside. So tiny, it's almost impossible to tell if its part of their butt or more legs.
So a couple things I've learned about this year that I'm going to try next year. All my peppers are going to be in containers, thats why my pimentos got effed, they're in the ground, but a lot of my others were in containers (but they're small) so I can bring them under the breezeway and they're thriving. Learned not to overwater them too. I think I'm going to try smartpots next year, but in another thread someone suggested Aldi reusable grocery bags. Is that all smartpots are? I think that'd be a great cheap alternative. I'm also going to try overwintering, I have a nice closed off area in the basement. And I read on gardenweb about Al's gritty mix and 5-1-1 mix, I think I'm going to try that once the season draws to a close.
Also, as a beginner I did the whole seeds from Lowes thing, and then had to get planters when I learned my first lesson of the year which is jiffy pods and the greenhouses will cause white mold to form on your seedlings if you don't lift the greenhouse off almost immediately. I had better luck once I start doing seeds in solo cups, another lesson learned, but since it was getting late in the season, I panicked and bought a bunch of planters. Which leads me to my question.
I figure next year/this winter I want to get into the whole SASBE thing. I got the typical peppers from Lowe's, but really want to get into the interesting ones. (I have one ghost pepper, but the rest are pretty much habanero, jalapeno, banana, bell, anaheim, thai, etc.)
So I'm starting my list for this winter/next year, I'd like to hear some suggestions or thoughts on them and any I should know about.
What I'm currently growing:
Jalapeno
Bell (I'm actually not a huge fan of bell peppers, at least not raw, but my friends are and I love to cook for people, so I'm growing one of those)
Cajun Bell (Which I assume is a hybrid, and is supposed to be a "spicy" bell, so I'll try to clone that at years end,
Garden Salsa (Another hybrid I assume, but it's pretty prolific so I'll probably try to clone that too)
Pimento
Italian Fryer
Habanero
Anaheim
Thai
Banana
Hot Banana
Hungarian Wax
Ghost
Great Marconi
Cayenne
Serrano
Cherry
Paprika (which i plan to make a smoked powder from, I love smoked peppers, I cant wait to smoke everything and not have only store bought chipotle)
Next year list
Aji Limon
Jimmy Nardello
Black Hungarian
Trinidad Perfume (or any mild habanero type)
Fish (Can anyone tell me how these taste?)
Fatalii
Sweet Datil
Manzano
Monkey Face (they look cool)
Poblano (I surprisingly couldn't find any seeds or planters locally)
Early Jalapeno (or early anything, I need to stop having green peppers!)
Hot Cherry
So anything I should be looking out for? I like heat, compared to my friends I have an iron tongue, although I'm sure compared to people on this forum I'm a lightweight (I can do habanero and I put my homemade chipotle hot sauce on just about everything.) So I'd like to give some of the superhots a try, if just for the novelty/making powders. And I think the Chinese have a better flavor, which is why I'm trying to find a milder version for less intense heat flavored dishes. I love me some chili oil/paste from asian restaurants which is why I got the "thai chile" planters, but I've heard of things like thai dragon and ho chi minh peppers, so I'm wondering if there's something more specific I should try out. I also love the look over black pods (I have black cherry tomatoes and black krims that I'm growing this year), which is why I'm looking for Black Hungarian for next year.
Last question, what's everyone's favorite cloning medium? The tomatoes only need water, I don't even need a rooting solution, but I tried to clone some peppers earlier in the season with just peat pods and rooting solution with no luck.
Thanks for reading!
EDIT:
Oh, already have a couple things I forgot. I also want to try fish peppers, can anyone tell me how they taste? I've found that the annums (at least store bought) just don't have a lot of flavor and I'd like to find some that deliver good flavor and heat. I can't wait to have these green ones turn red so I can have try red anaheims and jalapenos. Are fresno peppers just the same as a ripe jalapeno?
Also, during a test run of indoor growing, I left a couple tomatoes/peppers in the grow room and the tomatoes (no peppers or herbs/lettuce) got these tiny, tiny white bugs on them that were just on the main axiom. I tried to take a picture on the the tomatoes I pitched but my iphone wouldnt even focus on them. They don't move and it didn't appear to hurt the tomatoes, but I got nervous and chucked them all. (Sorry, bad descriptor, I'm assuming they are aphids or spider mites, but they're so small that I couldn't figure it out.) Double Edit: Eye balled them a little more. They have two "hairs" legs growing out what looks like the backside. So tiny, it's almost impossible to tell if its part of their butt or more legs.
from jersey. My head is now spinning. I might have some hot cherry for you at seasons end. Your lowes has a much better variety then mine. Good luck with everything.
