GyO presents: '24 BONNET BONANZA + revenge of the fifth

FinInGermany · Aug 24, 2024

growyourown said:
... i'm not a breeder/geneticist, i just always grow a shitload of plants way too close to each other, and i don't really care what happens, i just let it happen. i only said F2 to sound smart.

Love you attitude to breeding, bud. "Stick 'em in the ground and let nature do what she does best!" :dance:

NJChilehead · Aug 27, 2024

@growyourown I really want to hear feedback about your taste test of the Ecuadorian Red PFH! I'm growing them for the first time this year and really can't wait to try one.

growyourown · Aug 27, 2024

i picked the other one that is ready but i did not do any tasting or processing of everything i harvested on sunday. the ones i cut up for the dehydrator last week were very juicy:

IT SQUIRTED ALL OVER MY FACE!

NJChilehead · Aug 27, 2024

growyourown said:
i picked the other one that is ready but i did not do any tasting or processing of everything i harvested on sunday. the ones i cut up for the dehydrator last week were very juicy:

IT SQUIRTED ALL OVER MY FACE!

Wow! Man I can't wait to try them.

growyourown · Sep 1, 2024

taste tests below!

but first some pics:

this is what i took off on sunday 25/8, top-btm l-r:
portugal/jal cross, jalapeno, fatalii, rio hualaga
SB yellow/orange and the one chocolate, congo x butch t, AOC, EPFH
SB red, aji cito, malawi bird, SRP

this is what i took off on thursday 29/8, top-btm l-r:
portugal/jal cross, jalapeno, SB safi, SRP, fatalii
SB yellow/orange, SB red, rio hualaga
AOC, aji cito, malawi bird

got a bunch of seeds and some pod bodies added to the dehydrator now, and froze the rest of what you see.

the taste tests!

ecuadorian pepper from hell: was very nice. essentially a red bell flavour but very sweet, maybe like cherries. the texture was not crunchy though, like no snap to the piece you bit off, it was much softer to bite/chew. although that might have just been overripeness causing that. heat was respectable, by no means overpowering but a good whole-mouth tingle to go with the yummy flavour. quite a good overall pepper, qualifies as a favourite in the below-habanero (medium?) heat sector. but if you want hotter and more nuanced (but not red) flavour, i would say that rio hualaga orange has this one beat. tried it last year and it blew my mind how good it was. TASTE: 8/10 HEAT: 3/10

fatalii: tasted good from what i remember before my entire mouth caught fire! very abrupt and strong heat to this guy, i had to drink several glasses of various (non-dairy) liquids to get the sting to die down. this type will work any place you would use a ghost pepper, and depending on your taste preferences you might like it better. they're about equal to me, but i feel the fatalii's heat to be somewhat "punchier" in the in-your-face way. TASTE: 6.5/10 HEAT: 7/10

scotch bonnet safi: apart from sheer pod size, this one did not impress me. although they were the earliest pods from the plant which may account for the lacklustre heat, the pods were by far the largest of any bonnet and fully coloured to red or super-dark orange. typical red flavour, with maybe a slight grassiness/immature aftertaste. the heat (nowhere near a hab level) took a while to come on, but then lasted for a good duration in the back of the mouth and throat. TASTE: 5/10 HEAT: 3/10

thanks for your interest!

things are still ticking along in the garden, i expect another good pull each week now it seems like. that's what happens when you grow over 70 plants though lol

peace,
-GyO

NJChilehead · Sep 1, 2024

growyourown said:
taste tests below!

but first some pics:

this is what i took off on sunday 25/8, top-btm l-r:
portugal/jal cross, jalapeno, fatalii, rio hualaga
SB yellow/orange and the one chocolate, congo x butch t, AOC, EPFH
SB red, aji cito, malawi bird, SRP

this is what i took off on thursday 29/8, top-btm l-r:
portugal/jal cross, jalapeno, SB safi, SRP, fatalii
SB yellow/orange, SB red, rio hualaga
AOC, aji cito, malawi bird

got a bunch of seeds and some pod bodies added to the dehydrator now, and froze the rest of what you see.

the taste tests!

ecuadorian pepper from hell: was very nice. essentially a red bell flavour but very sweet, maybe like cherries. the texture was not crunchy though, like no snap to the piece you bit off, it was much softer to bite/chew. although that might have just been overripeness causing that. heat was respectable, by no means overpowering but a good whole-mouth tingle to go with the yummy flavour. quite a good overall pepper, qualifies as a favourite in the below-habanero (medium?) heat sector. but if you want hotter and more nuanced (but not red) flavour, i would say that rio hualaga orange has this one beat. tried it last year and it blew my mind how good it was. TASTE: 8/10 HEAT: 3/10

fatalii: tasted good from what i remember before my entire mouth caught fire! very abrupt and strong heat to this guy, i had to drink several glasses of various (non-dairy) liquids to get the sting to die down. this type will work any place you would use a ghost pepper, and depending on your taste preferences you might like it better. they're about equal to me, but i feel the fatalii's heat to be somewhat "punchier" in the in-your-face way. TASTE: 6.5/10 HEAT: 7/10

scotch bonnet safi: apart from sheer pod size, this one did not impress me. although they were the earliest pods from the plant which may account for the lacklustre heat, the pods were by far the largest of any bonnet and fully coloured to red or super-dark orange. typical red flavour, with maybe a slight grassiness/immature aftertaste. the heat (nowhere near a hab level) took a while to come on, but then lasted for a good duration in the back of the mouth and throat. TASTE: 5/10 HEAT: 3/10

thanks for your interest!

things are still ticking along in the garden, i expect another good pull each week now it seems like. that's what happens when you grow over 70 plants though lol

peace,
-GyO

Okay after that, I'd love to hear your taste test for the Rio Hualagua-did you do one last year?

growyourown · Sep 1, 2024

@NJChilehead - from my last year's glog:

"i had 4 peppers ripen earlier in the season and taste was BEAUTIFUL on them; very sweet flavour with nice even heat. at first i was like "this is sweet like a carrot" but a second later i decided it's way better than a carrot, and flavoured more like an orange bell pepper, but even better-tasting. then i remembered the persimmon fruit, and how i was blown away the first time i tasted one. i don't remember what they exactly taste like, but i do remember it being unlike any fruit i'd eaten before, and these peppers gave me the same kind of feeling. it's very thick-walled too like a bell pepper which makes it texturally more enjoyable to eat."

NJChilehead · Sep 2, 2024

growyourown said:
@NJChilehead - from my last year's glog:

"i had 4 peppers ripen earlier in the season and taste was BEAUTIFUL on them; very sweet flavour with nice even heat. at first i was like "this is sweet like a carrot" but a second later i decided it's way better than a carrot, and flavoured more like an orange bell pepper, but even better-tasting. then i remembered the persimmon fruit, and how i was blown away the first time i tasted one. i don't remember what they exactly taste like, but i do remember it being unlike any fruit i'd eaten before, and these peppers gave me the same kind of feeling. it's very thick-walled too like a bell pepper which makes it texturally more enjoyable to eat."

Man I agree with you about persimmons, absolutely delicious. When I first read this, I misunderstood and thought you were saying that the Rio Huallagua tasted like a persimmon! I was about to start some seed and hope for the best!

growyourown · Sep 3, 2024

yeah i don't remember exactly the taste of the persimmon, but this pepper is very sweet in the same regard. also like i said EPFH like cherries, it doesn't taste like a cherry, but with a comparable sweetness and texture.

one taste @Tinkerbelle mentioned (i think about a rocoto as well) was apricot, and i think that agrees with what i taste in the rio hualaga. i don't eat apricots, but i remember they are sweet and "unique" orange-coloured flavour.

it may very well taste like persimmon though, i just don't remember what persimmon taste like, other than very sweet and unique.

NJChilehead · Sep 5, 2024

growyourown said:
yeah i don't remember exactly the taste of the persimmon, but this pepper is very sweet in the same regard. also like i said EPFH like cherries, it doesn't taste like a cherry, but with a comparable sweetness and texture.

one taste @Tinkerbelle mentioned (i think about a rocoto as well) was apricot, and i think that agrees with what i taste in the rio hualaga. i don't eat apricots, but i remember they are sweet and "unique" orange-coloured flavour.

it may very well taste like persimmon though, i just don't remember what persimmon taste like, other than very sweet and unique.

Can't wait to try them! Are you planning on adding any other Rocotos to your rotation next year?

growyourown · Sep 5, 2024

no i don't. i do have the giant yellow rocoto going this year that i haven't tried yet because they are taking their sweet time to ripen. i think i noticed one or two starting to colour up now.

i have an idea what my theme for next year will be. i will most likely do a few of the same rocotos again, but i am satisfied with the ones i have now.

NJChilehead · Sep 5, 2024

Looking forward to hearing your review of the giant yellow rocoto if you happen to do one! Next year I'm definitely throwing more Rocotos into the mix, provided my family and I like the taste of them (and based on everyone's reviews, I don't see how we couldn't). I'm strongly considering trying to overwinter at least one of my Rocotos, probably the turbo or Ecuadorian Red PFH based on their productivity so far. I really want to see the results of second year plant based on what I'm seeing at this point, and I'll definitely be smart and trellis or cage it next time. I'm going for a total of 6 Rocotos, so I'm thinking if I overwinter those two, I'll add Aji Largo, San Pedro Orange, Tatiana, and a chocolate one to round out the collection. I should really make a GLOG next year.

BTW, I didn't see whether you mentioned this-have you tried the yellow scotch bonnets yet?

growyourown · Sep 6, 2024

not yet, i had saved some pieces of various ones from the first picking, but it was getting too late i didn't want to eat them, then they sat in the fridge and were forgotten about. i have not cut up the ones i picked on monday yet, so maybe this weekend i'll do a few more taastings.

the giant yellow i am expecting to be more mild in terms of heat and colour/flavour profile, but we'll see if it has that same je ne sais quoi as the other rocotos i've experienced. may be a few weeks out on that one though

growyourown · Thursday at 12:26 AM

well fuck. look how long it took me to update this. i had something partway written up a month ago, but only saved on this site, and when my pc restarted i lost it. i really don't think i can put in all that effort again, but i will try to summarize effectively as this is obviously the last new post of 2024's grow.

THE GROW SEASON'S END WAS 13 OCTOBER.

two or more days of frost temps were called for so i harvested all pods the day before. the final pull was a lot, and quite a few ripened after the fact having been sitting in a box together for a couple weeks. i just chucked all the green ones at the end of it, as i was getting tired of processing.

overall results were great for me, as i know i am not a pro grower so don't put high expectations on myself.

for about 6 weeks during the peak of the summer, i was taking off 30-70 peppers every 5-7 days. greatest one-day haul was over 3lbs. the regularity at which all the peppers were ripening made the season feel bountiful and rewarding, despite no epic performance considering i did have ~70 fruiting plants going.

all told, i ended up with several large freezer bags filled of bonnets and of jalapenos, and many small bags of the other types. fatalii was a strong producer. aji cito and AOC were abundant. SRP were not as lively this year, nor were the rocotos.

wife is telling me i have too many peppers in the freezer, and i agree with her. for sure i need to at least use up all of the 2022 and 2023 peppers on some sauces. i bought a hot plate specifically to use to cook the sauce outside, but because it's winter i'll likely wait a few months before i attempt my first sauce since (gasp) 2019! early planning stage is to do one sauce using all my aji cito and AOC as the "neutral" base and then heating it up with some scotchies and/or superhots and not sure what other flavours i might add. a second sauce of all the brown-coloured peppers plus a bunch of red ones and maybe some rocoto for volume but also not sure what to add for other flavours.

i didn't dehydrate as much this year, most of it was only done for the purpose of recovering seeds. nonetheless i have a regular sandwich bag 2/3 full with various dried pods from this year. and i also have about the same amount from last year's grow that i never ground because i still had lots of each of a half dozen powders from before that to use up.

LESSONS LEARNED:

january 1st was too early to start. the biggest plants get way too big/root-bound/start flowering prior to plant-out, which hampers their future development. debating between the weekend of the 18th or the 25th to start this time, and considering topping the particularly eager plants (i've never done this before).

still too crowded. 70+ plants is excessive for my outdoor space, but i'm sure i will still try and jam that many in again. i am going to try my best to be brave and cull (or give away) plants that are slow/runty. i also have a pack of 10x 5-gallon fabric grow bags that i really should use to keep things more spread out in the planters.

don't give in too early. after those two consecutive frost nights before which i harvested everything, there followed three-plus weeks of safe temps which could have meant a lot more growth/ripening. i already had a tarp and heater deployed previously, and i should have toughed it out a few more nights for a few weeks of benefits.

processing peppers is tedious. one night a week spending 2+ hours chopping and preparing for freezer/dehydrator was my situation for much of the summer. but nothing can be done about this, of course, as all peppers grown must be checked inside for rot and often have the guts removed. the only remedy is to grow fewer peppers (chyeah, and monkeys might fly out of my butt).

growing a large amount of plants of one type is advantageous. with 18 jalapeno plants and 12-15 bonnets going in 2024, i was able to get enough of each to last two years, which means for 2025 i do not need to consider as many or possibly even any low- and medium-hot types and can focus on growing a large quantity of mostly the very- or super-hot varieties.

CLOSING THE BOOK ON 2024

i've no complaints about my season. everything went more or less as expected. i successfully grew all five major species, thanks to (frutescens) lotah bih (who was 0% germ/survival rate in 2023 on my original quest) giving me one fruiting plant this time around. i am unsure about malawi bird being a frutescens (because i had ordered something called malaga bird), but if it is (the ripe fruits did go soft on the plant), it's an easy one to use to complete the quest as it grew easily for me.

sorry for not updating in forever and that this wrap-up post is somewhat dry and with no pics. the old refrain that i'll try harder next year to be more active with the glog, but to be honest, as the season goes on and real pods are coming at you steady, it's a lot of effort just to process them, let alone photograph and glog every detail. but i might have a reason to want to show off my 2025 grow, so be ready for potentially pic-heavy posts in the next edition.

and now we all get to look forward to our next cohort. i have a theme, i have my seeds (finally, they were held up by the canada post strike), i have a rough idea of what i'm doing, and i'll begin working on turning that into a plan put to paper shortly. item #1: need to get potting mix...

stay classy, san diego

-GyO

NJChilehead · 2025-01-03T14:51:54-0500

growyourown said:
january 1st was too early to start. the biggest plants get way too big/root-bound/start flowering prior to plant-out, which hampers their future development. debating between the weekend of the 18th or the 25th to start this time, and considering topping the particularly eager plants (i've never done this before).

@growyourown when is your plant-out date? I'm starting some Aji Largo now, as an experiment, to plant out between 3/15 and 4/1, with a plan for an intermediate up-potting in between. I figured I would up-pot around 2/15-2/20 and then plant out in final pot size (6-7 gallons) between 3/15 and 4/1. You think I'm in a bad spot for the plants being set back by this?

growyourown · 2025-01-04T10:33:22-0500

i've no idea, nj. i just go from the 12-cell starter trays to a 4" round pot while they are inside, and then into the raised beds in mid-late may.

about being set back, i just think it's bad for them to max out their pot and stay there for weeks, as they will flower/pod and have no more room for root growth, and even when they go in the raised bed later, it feels like they've "given up" on growing any bigger, or it takes a month or more for them to snap out of their funk and start throwing out branches/shoots.

considering you say you are planning to be headed outside FAR earlier than i can where i am, i think you will be just fine. you also have the option to up-pot to the final size a week or two before they actually go out, since they will be remaining in that same container outside.

also don't forget, i am not a pro at this and am just muddling my way through. i am very easy-going and not interested in getting "serious" about gardening, so my advice is anecdotal and not rooted in science.