catchthebear 2019

mattspeppers · Jun 14, 2019

Thanks DW!

Yeah, Tuffy is a boy. A big old tabby cat.

We do have a girl tortoise shell calico named Tippy that looks just like your Becky, though. Think I've heard male calicoes are fairly rare for some reason.

mattspeppers · Jun 20, 2019

It's been raining here pretty much non-stop. Starting to see some pods showing up despite it all.

mattspeppers · Jul 7, 2019

It's hard to enjoy being out in the garden with the heat and humidity and swarms of mosquitoes around here, but I'm a bit overdue for an update. Some photos from last weekend.

Thunder Mountain Longhorn
Mutant Candlelight Crosses
Red Currants
Variegated Jalapeno
Kangaroo Apple
Hot Pops Purple
Mangosteen from Puerto Rico
Piper Nigrum (Black Pepper)
Pixwell Gooseberries

mattspeppers · Jul 8, 2019

Three weeks between photos:

First pic: June 14th
Second pic: July 8th

Slowly but surely.

CaneDog · Jul 8, 2019

Wow, it's going to get dense in there soon! How does this scale compare to your previous grows? I'm definitely up a bit this season.

mattspeppers · Jul 8, 2019

CaneDog said:
Wow, it's going to get dense in there soon! How does this scale compare to your previous grows? I'm definitely up a bit this season.

Yeah, I can't wait! This is at least double what I did last year. And there's another 100 or so down on the driveway... lol

I have a garden down by the pond as well, which has been flooded twice now. Everything looks awful down there, but luckily that was all just extras.

PaulG · Jul 9, 2019

Nice grow, Matt. That should keep you
hopping once harvest time rolls around!

Wiriwiri · Jul 12, 2019

Hey Matt..Nice photos of your plants...all looks great...nice place you have there.

Now a plant you have has caught my eye..the piper nigrum...I am fascinated by that plant,more so that I bought one last yr
and brought it indoors when the temps dipped to the low 60's & it did well
till late winter when it dropped many leaves...Despite my keeping the humidity up by all means.
It was in a 3 gal container but it was root bound so I transplanted.
As of now I see some new leaves starting out but it's a slow grower so I have to wait & see what happens.

My ? is how did you keep it going during winter & did you lose any leaves?
When I saw your photo showing the beginning of flower formation I was very impressed.
So tell me how you did it & congrats on getting it to bloom.

mattspeppers · Jul 12, 2019

wiriwiri said:
Hey Matt..Nice photos of your plants...all looks great...nice place you have there.

Now a plant you have has caught my eye..the piper nigrum...I am fascinated by that plant,more so that I bought one last yr
and brought it indoors when the temps dipped to the low 60's & it did well
till late winter when it dropped many leaves...Despite my keeping the humidity up by all means.
It was in a 3 gal container but it was root bound so I transplanted.
As of now I see some new leaves starting out but it's a slow grower so I have to wait & see what happens.

My ? is how did you keep it going during winter & did you lose any leaves?
When I saw your photo showing the beginning of flower formation I was very impressed.
So tell me how you did it & congrats on getting it to bloom.

Hey Sandy!

Thanks for the kind words.

I haven't really done anything special with the piper nigrum. Not that I did consciously, at least. I have transplanted it several times - up to it's current decent sized nursery pot. It has survived two winters here now in my house in front of a window. It hasn't lost any leaves or given me any problems. The soil I use is a Pro-Mix / Bumper Crop combination. I use that for most everything I pot up. Mainly because I don't know any better and it's been working out well for me for the most part.

The blooms (?) are turning an orange color now. Not sure if that's good or bad! Ran out and took a pic of that and the plant for you to see

Hope your season is going well!

Also, I'm growing some Wiri Wiri peppers this year too. Mine do not appear to be round like I've seen in other photos. Maybe they were crossed with something or maybe I mislabeled. Don't recall where I got them at this point.

PaulG · Jul 12, 2019

Hey, Bear, good to see pods coming on for you!

Wiriwiri · Jul 12, 2019

Hi Matt,
Thanks for replying ...what may be the issue is the radiator was ~1.5 ft away,so that could be a factor...it was near a window also.
I'll move it to another place in the fall & see.I am a bit concerned about the yellowing on your plant,I've read a lot on the plant but
never any mention of yellowing,they are all green...if I read anything I'll let you know.Nice of you to share a photo

This is a typical photo I encounter in my readings.

Definitely not a wiriwiri,xed ? I got the seeds from my brother in Canada who got it from a Guyanese family where the plant originated.
I have a decent amt of plants growing as I save the pods in the freezer & use them almost daily...it''s tiny almost as tiny as Wild Brazil.
I'll send you some pods @ the end of summer if you want,or if you prefer just the seeds...not an issue either way.
I noted some folks sell Mariwiri for Wiriwiri .I have both but prefer the Wiriwiri...it's a winner in my book.
I;ll post photos of my plants as they load up with pods.
Happy Summer.

mattspeppers · Jul 12, 2019

PaulG said:
Hey, Bear, good to see pods coming on for you!

it definitely is! Thanks Paul

Here are a few more:

mattspeppers · Jul 12, 2019

wiriwiri said:
Hi Matt,
Thanks for replying ...what may be the issue is the radiator was ~1.5 ft away,so that could be a factor...it was near a window also.
I'll move it to another place in the fall & see.I am a bit concerned about the yellowing on your plant,I've read a lot on the plant but
never any mention of yellowing,they are all green...if I read anything I'll let you know.Nice of you to share a photo
This is a typical photo I encounter in my readings.

Definitely not a wiriwiri,xed ? I got the seeds from my brother in Canada who got it from a Guyanese family where the plant originated.
I have a decent amt of plants growing as I save the pods in the freezer & use them almost daily...it''s tiny almost as tiny as Wild Brazil.
I'll send you some pods @ the end of summer if you want,or if you prefer just the seeds...not an issue either way.
I noted some folks sell Mariwiri for Wiriwiri .I have both but prefer the Wiriwiri...it's a winner in my book.
I;ll post photos of my plants load up with pods.
Happy Summer.

Yeah, that yellowing has me curious. I don't know what's going on. Last year it put out those same green blooms, but they just stayed green all summer. This year they are quite a bit longer, too. Also, I had the plant in a mostly shady area last year, and this year I have it in mostly sun. I looked up 'piper nigrum flowering' just now, and there are some photos on Google images that do somewhat resemble mine a bit. So hopefully it's not a bad thing and mine is just figuring out what the heck it's doing in Indiana. I will keep you updated

And for sure! I would definitely be down for a pod trade once things ripen up. I searched through my email and found where I picked up the Wiri seeds. https://chilifee.de/Wiri-Wiri Mine do seem similar to those.

Happy summer to you too. Been a hot one here lately. Sitting here all sun burnt and mosquito bitten tonight.

Wiriwiri · Jul 12, 2019

Last yr's Wiri

mattspeppers · Jul 20, 2019

Hot as heck out lately. My plants seem to be loving it, but I'm not. I'm ready to head back up to Alaska. Starting to see more things ripening up every time I check. Been busier than I'd care to be and I'm having issues uploading photos for some reason. Hope everyone reading this is having a good season so far!

Trinidad Red Cherry

Bleeding Heart Yellow

Variegated Jalapeno

Chilly Chili

Cleaning out my freezer yesterday. Did end up cutting most of these in half. Drying using the old screen door method.

Kangaroo Apple

Double Peruvian Serlano

CaneDog · Jul 20, 2019

Lot's of cool stuff CTB! Glad your weather is heating up and getting things done - glad on the plants' behalf anyway.

mattspeppers · Jul 20, 2019

CaneDog said:
Lot's of cool stuff CTB! Glad your weather is heating up and getting things done - glad on the plants' behalf anyway.

Thanks CD! Digging those Tovarii (and all the other wild) photos over on your thread.

I'll have to try to get some decent photos soon of the wilds I have going out there. Only plants I've noticed pods on so far are still the Flexuosums, but hopefully the others aren't too far behind.

CaneDog · Jul 20, 2019

catchthebear said:
Thanks CD! Digging those Tovarii (and all the other wild) photos over on your thread. I'll have to try to get some decent photos soon of the wilds I have going out there. Only plants I've noticed pods on so far are still the Flexuosums, but hopefully the others aren't too far behind.

Nice about the flex's. Hope the others come through soon enough. I think I may have mentioned already, but my flex's are still mostly small plants (despite their time growing) and aren't holding and producing pods yet, even when they set. I have a big purple flex that I think is going to soon and a standard flex that appears not too far behind it.

Did you post photos of your flex's podding? Did I miss them somehow? Would be cool to see!

EDITED: Because apparently I can't type. :rolleyes:

mattspeppers · Jul 20, 2019

CaneDog said:
Nice about the flex's. Hope the others come through soon enough. I think I may have mentioned already, but my flex's are still mostly small plants (despite their time growing) and aren't holding and producing pods yet, even when they set. I have a big purple flex that I think is going to soon and a standard flex that appears not too far behind it.

Did you post photos of your flex's podding? Did I miss them somehow? Would be cool to see!

EDITED: Because apparently I can't type.

Nice about that purple flexy! Something else I need to add to my list. And nah, I don't think I've posted any here of that yet... Here's my best looking plant. I'm having a hard time getting anything to upload today, but I'll work on getting a few more up after this.

mattspeppers · Jul 20, 2019

Cumari Pollux

Tubocapsicum anomalum - Wild Japanese Pepper

Cap 212