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CaneDog 2019 Hirsute Pursuit – Rocotos, Wilds & Moar

So, here's the new glog for the coming season.  With the indoor grow culled pretty hard now I can focus more on getting ready for what's ahead.  Hoping for a great year, but I’m already a bit behind - the germinators are packed right now and I've still got a round of annuum seeds waiting for their turn.  I guess it wouldn’t feel much like pepper growing though if everything were going perfect.
 
My focus was going to be rocotos with a side of bonnets and some other stuff, but I found I kept planting more and more wilds. Eventually I just kinda went all-in with them and they took on co-main event status. 
 
I’ll start things off with some pics of some of the earlier pube’s.  There’s not too many at this point. Unfortunately, the vast majority just went into germination.
 
First off, Costa Rica Red.  This is the CRR with flattened triangular pods.  I also have an OW CRR that’s a 3-4 lobed “boxy” variety.  I didn't get true seeds off this one last summer, so I have a few of these growing and crossing my fingers they grow true.
20190305%20CRR%20(P)-R.jpg

 
Rocoto DeSeda.  These guys were from a bush I’d OW’d a few years in a row, but it didn’t make it through this winter
20190305%20DeSeda-R.jpg

 
 
Rocoto San Camillo
20190305%20SanCamillo-R.jpg

 
 
Gelbe Reisen Variant.  These are from true seeds off a plant I’ve been growing for a few years that was supposed to be Gelbe Riesen, but the pods are more orange vs yellow, rounder/less boxy, and just a touch smaller. I don’t know if it’s a natural variation or it might have crossed with a Costa Rica Orange, but it's a great plant. I have a few of these started and am curious what comes of them.
20190305%20GRV-R.jpg

 
 
Giant Yellow Rocoto.  Suppose I should pinch that bud off.
20190305%20GYellow-R.jpg

 
 
Recently hatched Gelbe Riesen sprouts (the parent plant has been a beast for me for a while now) and CAP 217 Hyper-Pube.
20190305%20Hyper&Gelbe-R.jpg

 
That’s it for the rocotos for now.  Will try to post up some pics of the early wilds in a little bit. 
 
CD
 
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DanMcG said:
That's another great set of pic's CD, thanks for sharing them. By the black background can I assume you take your photos at night? or maybe a black back drop?
 
Click to expand...
 
Thanks Dan.  They're all daytime shots.  No backdrop.  I've been having too much trouble getting natural light close-up photos with the wind we've been having so I went the easy way and used a synchronized flash. The flash overpowers the natural light so you get a well-lit subject, then either a black background or, if you take the time and effort, you can get a muted soft-toned background which I generally like better - sometimes the full black-out effect can be used very effectively though.  I've just been really busy lately so with the wind and all I'm using quicker/easier methods at times to still get decent results.
 
 
When I was looking at the breeding peppers today I decided I'd eliminate some of the competition on the JZ.  It's been producing many peppers for a plant its size, but the peppers have been very small and have averaged just under 1 seed per pod. I wasn't concerned because I have 3 other plants in raised beds and, having just potted up this JZ, my plan is to harvest beau coup iso seed pods off a future wave of pods once the plant is substantially bigger.  The red ripe pods are awesome on this plant!
 
Thing is, it appears I successfully crossed an Antep Aci Dolma to the JZ and I want the crossed pod as big and strong and full of seeds as possible, so...  competition has been eliminated - almost anyway, I left just a few pods on the plant. 
 
These, of course, are just the few that made it back inside.  None of them are even "green ripe," so the snacking wasn't great, but frankly some of them tasted about as good as other Jalaps I've had. Not terrible snacking.  Hopefully now the plant will put its energy into growing that JZ x AAD pod at the same time as putting on some size.  It has new growth coming on just about everywhere.
20190720%20JZCulls800.jpg
 
Hello CD,just saw the set up & it's really interesting using the Coleman Germinator.Is that what you used for
all the other wilds  you germinated?Would be interested in seeing how the method employed in summer versus
winter affects germination if any.
 
SO the waiting begins.Good luck with these.I'm pulling for you 100% & I'm  thinking positive all the way.
I would be checking in that there box  2 to 3 times a day or more than I care to admit. :shh:
 
 
Thanks wiri.  I mix it up a fair amount.  If you have any suggestions please share.  I'm always interested in better ways to do things.
 
The 2 "always" items for me with wilds are an h2o2 pre-soak and careful moisture control of the medium.  I don't let it get wet at all - I read a quote a while back I think was "similar to a moist cupcake" and I thought it was a pretty good analogy for what I aim for.
 
Warm germination species pretty much always get the germinator.  Pubescens and most wilds not so much.  I do many either under lights (winter) or at room temps (summer), so they're getting a temp range from maybe upper 60F's to mid/upper 70F's with night/day cycles.  The last wilds I germinated around June 1 were Cumari do Para and USDA Card and they did just fine this way.  Since galap's are from the equator, I figured I'd give them warmer conditions with better humidity control.
 
Thoughts from your experience?
 
Oh, and I'll be checking 2-3 times per day soon enough, but never more than that.   ;)
 
I  don't have anything much to add CD...my seeds,with one exception,   were done in late Spring 
versus Winter.Didn't use lights..I put them outside away from the sun & misted  as necessary.
I did have one this yr that germinated quickly in the  Aerogarden.& that was not to be...I still think
of that seedling & how it grew so fast ...what a pity.
 
I read  what Jukka Kilpinen wrote about growing conditions but did not see anything about the actual germination
technique he used.
Humidity yes...
Copied from Fatalli.net
'One growing hint might be that the plants don't take much water in from the soil (due to the lack of precipitation), but mostly from the air, which might explain the hairy structures of the leaves (the hairs increase the total surface area, which might help to absorb water).  During the Dry Season, fog occurs so often that it even gives the season its name, "Garúa", which means fog in Spanish.'
 
Its a fascinating plant yet so finicky... but worth the effort nonetheless.
Fingers xed.
 
 
 
 
 
wiriwiri said:
I  don't have anything much to add CD...my seeds,with one exception,   were done in late Spring 
versus Winter.Didn't use lights..I put them outside away from the sun & misted  as necessary.
I did have one this yr that germinated quickly in the  Aerogarden.& that was not to be...I still think
of that seedling & how it grew so fast ...what a pity.
 
I read  what Jukka Kilpinen wrote about growing conditions but did not see anything about the actual germination
technique he used.
Humidity yes...
 
Its a fascinating plant yet so finicky... but worth the effort nonetheless.
Fingers xed.
Click to expand...
 
I think he uses rockwool, or at least used to. I haven't particularly enjoyed working with it.  I'm curious, how fast was "quickly" for these?  
 
Just checked my Glog and it was 10 days.
 
I am tempted to put the one I revived under the  AG  lights...but don't want to push my luck...
it's the bottom of the 9th and I'm 1 run ahead so don't want to blow this save.esp.,
in front of the home crowd. :rofl:
 
CD man, what can I say? Always a pleasure stopping by and seeing what you've got going on and being impressed - sounds like nothing but good stuff happening despite the challenging weather this year. Those crosses are gonna be very exciting, and I like how you're going all in on the JZ cross - hopefully it bears fruit (pun intended)! :)

And the fact that the wilds are thriving says a lot about your approach, fingers crossed for the next germination batch as well! Thanks also for sharing details on your approach, sounds like a very thoroughly thought through method that a lot of people wouldn't mind trying... :)

Sent from my ZTE A2017U using Tapatalk
 
First post using site-based picture uploading. Let's see if I can do this right.
 
This is a red generally aji-shaped sweet pepper brought back from Peru. I've eaten a bite of a pod previously, but it was far too old to be remarkable. The flowers are pretty cool though and I'm looking forward to tasting fresh pods this year. 
20190725 Aji Sweet Red Peru.jpg

 
Flowers of:
 
Cusco Rocoto
20190725 Cusco.jpg

 
Aji Largo Rocoto
20190725 ALargo.jpg

 
Tovarii
20190725 Tovarii.jpg

 
And this guy watching over the netted hybrids as they hopefully set. Too bad the background wasn't better. Those eyes though. Will be on the lookout for a head-on shot in the near future.
20190725 Spider1.jpg
 
I'll drop one more here, rio huallaga.  I keep finding 1 or 2 tiny aphids here and there on the rocotos/purple clade plants and they're almost always on the actual flowers. Have found very few on leaves and the numbers just don't seem to increase.
 
Can you find Waldo?  He's a little out of focus 'cause I'm dialed in on those anthers.
20190725 Huallago.jpg
 
simp3204 said:
Those little dudes look delicious!
Click to expand...
 
Yeah, I hope they are Simp!  It's a fun plant to grow and some tasty pods with a decent rocoto kick would seal the deal.  I took a nibble off a green one that broke off and surprisingly it wasn't bad (not claiming it was particularly great green either).  I haven't tried a ripe one yet and I'm probably going to wait till tomorrow because right now my palate is all busted up from super hot chili dinner.
 
CaneDog said:
Can you find Waldo?  He's a little out of focus 'cause I'm dialed in on those anthers.
 
Click to expand...
 

Just so we're clear, we're dialed-in/focused on the plants pee-pee head ? (rhetorical)
 
Just a light jab because you real us in with your fantastic pics and great humor.
 
You know I've been following you for a while CaneDog - I just figured it was about time to make a post.
 
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