Don't Panic 2021 - No, Seriously... Don't Panic!

Let's get 2021 started!!!
 
My grow list is a blend of my yearly regulars, new peppers I want to explore, and unstable crosses.  Like a lot of people, I can never seem to grow enough pepper plants to satisfy all my desires, so I have to make some decisions.
 
I have a lot of Annuums on my grow list this year.  Even though they're not the hottest peppers, I always seem to find them useful.
 
2021 Grow List
 

• Jax - A cross from 2020 between a Jamaican Yellow Mushroom and another unknown pepper
• Bumpy Bottomed Sri Lankan Chili Red - A 2020 cross between a Sri Lankan Chili Red and another unknown pepper.  It had a bumpy bottom compared to regular Sri Lankan Chili Reds, and was thicker-walled.
• Jalapeño - One of my regulars.
• Sri Lankan Chili Red - I've found these to be good utility peppers.  I don't worry about it if I don't save every one of them.  I also like the fact that they often surprise you with a totally different pepper.
• Orange Thai - Another of my regulars.  I like the flavor and heat level of these peppers.
• Large Utility Cayenne - I shouldn't even call it a Cayenne anymore.  Over the years, my saved seeds for my Cayenne peppers have started to become unstable, and I started to get this larger version last year, but it is more like a pod than a regular Cayenne.
• Regular Utility Cayenne - I think this variety of mine is crossed or has somehow otherwise become unstable after several years of saving non-isolated seeds.  But it's a good utility pepper, and I like surprises.
• St Lucia Roxa (Chinense) - This is just my name for this pepper, I've never really been able to identify this variety.  I bought some seeds for a St. Lucia Seasoning pepper a few years back, and this is what grew instead.
• PGPG Bird Sausage Pepper - I got this cross from PaulG, where one of his entrants for the 2019 Growdown Throwdown grew out to be something totally different.  This one was really popular with the birds last year.
• PDN x 7 Pot Caramel (Jay Leno) Pepper (Chinense) - I got this cross from a SFRB I bought from Bhuter.  Since one of the peppers bore a resemblance to Jay Leno, I've started referring to it as the Jay Leno pepper.
• XL Antep Aci Cross - The 2021 Growdown Throwdown pepper.

I'm growing the following varieties from seeds I got from Atlantic Peppers Seeds

• Mulato Islero
• St. Lucia Sweet
• Aji Benito
• St. Lucia Seasoning
• Chimayo (New Mexico landrace)
• San Isidro Rocotto

I'm planning on growing 40-45 plants.
 
I've bought a special seedling deck for my AeroGarden, and I'm going to see how that works.
 

 
I started 30 seedlings this way on Saturday (Jan 23rd), and I'll see how they do.
 
I'll start the rest of my peppers on February 1st (to coincide with the official start of the GrowDown ThrowDown).

 

[skullbiker]

Things are looking pretty good there. You're catching on my friend, carry on. [emoji106]

 

[PaulG]

+1 SB.
 
Raised beds looking really awesome.

 

[DontPanic]

Here's one of my 2021 volunteers.  Hence, I've got no idea what the parent pepper was.
 
It appears to have some Orange Thai parentage in it, but it's larger.  I've been hoping for some Orange Thai crosses.  For me, it's always fun to get some random crosses.
 

 
 
And I've finally got a ripe Rocoto.
 

 

 

[skullbiker]

Here's one of my 2021 volunteers.  Hence, I've got no idea what the parent pepper was.
 
It appears to have some Orange Thai parentage in it, but it's larger.  I've been hoping for some Orange Thai crosses.  For me, it's always fun to get some random crosses.
 

 
 
And I've finally got a ripe Rocoto.
 

 

Some of my random crosses over the years resulted in some very tasty pods. I hope you get the same experience.
And, as Homer might say……….Mmmmmmmmm ROCOTO!

 

[DontPanic]

OK, I know this isn't much of a harvest, but I wasn't sure I'd get any rocotos.
 
Given the small pot I have them in, and the lack of sun they get, I'm pretty happy to get these three San Isidro's plus one I harvested a few days ago.
 

 
 
If this plant survives the summer, I might even get a fall harvest.

 

[PaulG]

Sometimes every pod is a victory. Mitch.

 

[ahayastani]

OK, I know this isn't much of a harvest, but I wasn't sure I'd get any rocotos.
 
Given the small pot I have them in, and the lack of sun they get, I'm pretty happy to get these three San Isidro's plus one I harvested a few days ago.
 

 
I had quite a bit of plants in the shade last growing season. The yield of these plants was low, especially compared to what it could/should be. However, if it is the only spot available and you compare it with growing not a pepper plant at all, than Paul's dictum is absolutely true. The plant gave you three+one pods, which is better then not a pod at all

 

[DontPanic]

It seems I never got around to revisiting my Glog since summer, so let me knock-out a short close-out summary highlighting the things that stood out the most in 2021 before I move on to next year's grow.

I've grown Small Orange Thai's for a few years now, and they continue to be one of my favorites. It packs a fair amount of heat, and I like the flavor. And growing them is really easy. They're not needy at all.

I also liked the Aji Benito (baccatum). It had a distinctive flavor with a heat level that's probably just below a Jalapeño. It's one of those baccatums that grows tall and will bury you in peppers. I don't know if I'll grow it every year, but I was happy I tried it.

I also had fun with my San Isidro Rocoto. I only got about 8 peppers off of the plant, but I consider it a success for my first attempt at a rocoto in my deep southern climate.

And, I was really happy with how well my Aerogarden worked out for starting seedlings. The seedlings I grew in my Aerogarden were well ahead of the seedlings I started in soil. I'll be using it again this year.

So, with that, I'm ready to move on with 2022!