Downriver - 2021

Well, I hear tell it's (past) time to start a Glog, so why not give it a try. I've been on here for years and always enjoyed reading them. So, I thought it might be fun to write one for a change...or not? lol
 
Anyway, for this year's grow, I came up with a few themes. First, I'm participating in a couple of the THP grows, namely the Growdown Throwdown and the P. Dreadie SB grow. I'm doing a Bhut grow and a Jalapeno grow. I've already had some successful seed pops. Left half - Chinense, right half everything else (three weeks later). Needing some potting up.
 

 
Also, I'm attempting to do an “old seed” re-stock. I'm going back to the original seed I received many years ago from folks and try to isolate and produce new seed stock. They have to germinate first of course, lol.
 

 
Then, there's starting tomatoes April 01, but I need to finish up the pepper starts first. More on toms later.
 
So, here's the players this season (hopefully):
 
Chinense

 

[Downriver]

Lovely to see the transition photos through the Season,will do that myself next year and you can see the full extent of Nothing to that lush grow.Nice one.

+1, @talas

Thanks guys! I've always liked "before & after" pics, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

 

[Pr0digal_son]

Very happy to see you growing seed from John Fiedler. He was a very close friend of mine and this community.

 

[Downriver]

Very happy to see you growing seed from John Fiedler. He was a very close friend of mine and this community.

Yes, John was a very kind and giving person. He was definitely a mentor to many, as was John Taylor. Fiedlermiester took some of the best photos of peppers (among other things) that were available at the time, and was everyone's go-to reference. He is missed.

 

[Downriver]

So, we made the first pass through the annuums, picking all that were ripe. Unfortunately, I didn't take many pics because Mrs. DR processed them and froze them. Just a tip for those who don't know – NEVER complain about not being able to take pictures before pepper pods are processed, unless you want to process them by yourself forever more. How many pics of peppers do we need anyway lol.

This is a representative sample of what we picked.

Clockwise from top-left: Papri Paprika, Red Bell FL, Santa Fe Grande, Hong Gochu, Fresno



We also have picked several pods off what I'm calling Wincaf Orange. The original seeds came from a pod I picked up at a produce-share table in the cafeteria of a local hospital. It was orange and about the size of a ping-pong ball. I am pleasantly surprised with this one. Nice pepper!



Numex Orange Jalapeno. Smallish pods for a jalapeno, but a nice spicy punch.

 

[Downriver]

Another pepper I'm growing this year is the XL Antep Aci cross, from @Pepper-Guru . It is the growdown-throwdown pepper for 2021. I certainly won't win, but it's fun to compete lol.

I started with three plants, thinking I would select the best one for the competition. As it turns out, I didn't have to worry about that. The first one was bitten almost in half by Mr. Bunny. I took a few slivers of bamboo and some bailing string and fashioned a splint. I didn't have high hopes, but it decided to survive lol. Not much production, but still, it survived! The second plant was completely girdled by a cutworm. It chewed in a circle around the stalk, and ate all the way to the core for almost an inch. I tried to wrap it, but there's really nothing you can do after the damage is done. Only one plant left, so that's my competition plant lol.

L-R: Rabbit, cutworm, competition plant



I really like the peppers on this plant. Nice-sized, productive, fairly thick walls, surprisingly spicy. Rich says they have no heat, so his low flame taste-buds are clearly shot lol. These peppers are spicy jalapeno hot, easily. Look at the inside of this pepper. That moisture in there packs some heat! I'll definitely grow these again. Also, probably one-third of the peppers have those green thingies growing from the placenta. I've seen this occasionally in other peppers, but not to this degree. No clue as to cause.

 

[PaulG]

@DownRiver - those green thingies are internal proliferations.
They are a form of parthenogenesis, i.e. production of fruit
without fertilization. I see it a lot in my red habaneros and
some other chinenses.

 

[Downriver]

@DownRiver - those green thingies are internal proliferations.
They are a form of parthenogenesis, i.e. production of fruit
without fertilization. I see it a lot in my red habaneros and
some other chinenses.

Thanks Paul. I remember that, now that you mention it. Old age setting in I guess lol.

 

[Downriver]

The forecast a few weeks ago said tonight would be 39F. They have upped that to mid-40's, so things should be fine. No threat of freeze for at least the next 2 weeks, which is good. There is a threat of rain starting Sunday however, for most of next week. Therefore, I plan on picking whatever chinense are ready on Saturday.

One of those I have growing is the Purple Thunder – Mystery (original seeds from @PaulG ). Some of the early pods are starting to color up, but the majority are still purple. Fingers crossed I can still get a harvest. One thing's for sure, it likes to grow. Easily the tallest pepper plant in the garden – about six feet from the ground to the highest branch.

 

[talas]

Gardens looking great D and love seeing your orange pods and Numex are in my grow next year as for the parthenogenesis in those XL Antep Aci cross is really bad mm was going to grow those next year might leave them now.
Purple Thunder – Mystery are looking great from @PaulG sure they'll be ready soon nice weather not getting to cold yet and hope the rest of the grow comes in before things turn to cold.Best.

 

[PaulG]

Glad to see the PT Mystery coming along for you, @DownRiver.
That was the only PT variety I was able to get isolated seed from.
I see it has the gigantic growth habit of the other PT varieties.
You should get some nice, gnarly redpods from it if the weather
cooperates for a little longer. My PT F4 yellow are taking forever

to ripen, but @Glen_'s F6 has ripened up a number of pods already.

Looking forward to seeing your results in the PT Community Grow.

 

[PaulG]

Woah, don't know what happened to the last post...

 

[Downriver]

So, it's been a little while since an update here but things have been hopping, since the weather continues to cooperate. First frost now looks like it will hold off until first week in November sometime.

Started picking the chinense, some more than others. Also trying to keep up with the processing lol – drying, saucing, fermenting, etc.

Paper Lantern Habanero is a production beast. I've probably picked 4 times this many, and the plants are still loaded. I've been growing this pepper since 2011 (my original seeds from @buddy) and have been selecting for a larger pod ever since. This year, many pods are like the ones I'm holding, some 5 inches or more. One of my 3 favorite peppers. Prolific, nice heat and flavor. Versatile.

 

[Downriver]

Tepin x Lemon Drop m2 – Original seeds from @TrentL. This is the second year I've grown this pepper. There were two distinct phenotypes, one I call Bullet and the other I call Round. I kept seeds separate last year and grew them out again this year. The Bullet/Round trait continued. Very productive pepper. Mild to medium heat.

Bullet pheno


Round pheno

 

[CaneDog]

Hey DR. Nice to see the late season coming through for you. The pods look great - so do your P. Dreadie pods in the other thread!

 

[Downriver]

Hey DR. Nice to see the late season coming through for you. The pods look great - so do your P. Dreadie pods in the other thread!

Thanks CD.

With the late start and all the bunny issues, I didn't think I'd harvest much of anything. This first-frost delay is saving my season.

I grew Beth Boyd SB from @PaulG last year and it was a great plant - a little more productive than PDSB. However, I think the P. Dreadies have a more classic bonnet shape and some of the pods are HUGE lol. It's no slouch in the production dept either, just not quite as prolific as BBSB. Both have great flavor and heat.

 

[Downriver]

I already posted over in the P. Dreadie thread about the Scotch Bonnets I grew this year. I'm re-posting it here, just for continuity.

=======================

I grew both the G2 (2018) and G3 (2020) P. Dreadie Scotch Bonnets this year. Thanks for sharing the seeds with me @Sawyer . Special thanks to @windchicken has well.

Both plants produced well. I think the pheno of the G2 is a little more traditional, but the G3 wasn't bad either. Both plants generated some HUGE pods, as well as a few with mini stingers. Both conditions occurred more in the G2 than the G3.

G2 pods


G3 pods

 

[Downriver]

NUMEX Jalapenos – Orange Spice and Lemon Spice. I planted pumpkin as well, but it got bunnied. The orange spice has good heat, the lemon – not so much. Also, the lemon placenta is more like a “core” - solid, thick and almost fills the entire pod. Anyway, production is good (especially the orange), it's just they're a little small for my liking for a jalapeno. It would be tough to make poppers outta these lol, but I guess it could be done. Not sure I'll grow them again.

 

[Downriver]

Death Spiral and Devil's Tongue White – both hotter than hell. Straight to the dehydrator with these. I think they'll make a good powder.

 

[PaulG]

I'm with you on the Spice Jalapeño varieties, @Downriver.
Have tried them twice and not real impressed
for growing here.

 

[Downriver]

Picked a few Purple Thunder Mystery pods. Hoping I can get another handful or two before the freeze. It's forecast for Tuesday night - 11/02.