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annuum Jalapenos from Mexico

I have given some thought to the comment about the seeds not germinating. That may prove to be a totally valid point, as I have had just such an experience with store bought manzanos.
I'll remain optimistic because I have obtained Serrano peppers from the same store, removed, dried and planted the seeds and thus far, I have gotten a 100% germination rate. Only time will tell and only a little as I threw several seeds into a paper towel and a baggie last night. We'll soon see.
Now, regarding hybrids. That will take a little more time to determine. Hopefully that will also be proven false. But, in anticipation that they will grow true, I will plant a half dozen of them.
 
As Indiana Jesse said,kinda,a BIG thing in Mexico these days with the smaller growers especially,Mansanto etc. are luring the growers to grow the Hybrids instead of the landrace stuff.
(Seeds are not stable to regrow,insure a market forever.+ if the guy down the road grows non mansanto stuff,and is competition.Monsanto etc. can test to see if their patented hybrid crossed-demand $ from the grower or force them to fall in line...$ talks in some places more than others.Monsanto Etc. know where to send their $ to get the desired results.)
 
People think it's a joke about the habanero name thing,it isn't,it protects landrace stuff and semi insures a market for non hybrids from seed pushers to some extent.
 
By growing landrace stuff only,a grower can now possibly sell to a specific market at a possibly higher price (since hybrids are a dime a dozen) to buyers who insist on the real thing these days.
 
It can offset the choice by growers to grow GREAT LANDRACE stuff compaired to growing high output plants that crank out tasteless BUT PRETTY looking pods.
 
texas blues said:
Environment helps somewhat.
 
Genetics I reckon is also a factor.
 
Several years ago I saved seeds from store bought Mexican xalapa's.
 
They grew out exactly the same as what I had bought.
 
And same size as shown in the above pic.
 
If its a jalapeno, no matter where its grown, its still a real deal jalapeno.
 
They're the most popular and most widely distributed chile on the planet.
 
This is logical & true! For starters, Mexico is large place & has many growing zones,especially when it comes to altitude & the effects from other factors like volcanic soils some places but not always & so on. I've traveled widely in Mexico (& make a point of doing all the large markets)  & most peppers I see there are very similar to what I see in USA. Sameo with other veggies except you see more of the odd stuff we only have in USA larger cities or where Mexicans/Mexican Americans tend to live or nearer the border. Lots of sun down there but otherwise a plant gets what it needs & volia!
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Jamison said:
I can almost guarantee you those seeds won't sprout.
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An accurate statement Sir. I was not able to get one seed out of probably a hundred or so to germinate. Funny though is the germination rates of Serranos obtained from the same market. nearly 100%.
I had someone inquire of the Xalapas while traveling in Mexico. He was unable to locate any. So my quest goes on. I have thought of asking the market to special order some ripe ones.
 
Get you some Biker Billy seeds
(buckeyepepper)
 
They produce like crazy and have very good heat and clean flavor
 
Well, I am always open to tasting a pepper I have never had before as well as the ones I have, again. But I don't think Biker Billy Jalapenos are the same as what I am looking for.
 
I picked up some more pods tonight. One of them is just showing signs of ripening.
Any reason to think my luck with germination might change using what seems to be a more mature pod?
 
I was surprised that none of the seeds from past pods would germinate when seeds from a cousin annuum would, and at 100% ratio to boot.
 
OK, I just de-seeded the pod I mentioned above. The seeds seemed hardened and mature. Some were dark in the middle approx 10%. the rest Are opaque. What are the odds that any of these may be viable. Just looking for opinions, good guesses and/or hard facts.
 
FRIGGING A!!!
The search is over.
Thursday night I threw all the seeds into a folded paper towel, moistened it and tossed it into a zip lock bag. I just checked it minutes ago and it appears I have multiple seeds preparing to sprout. I have one definite sprout that went immediately into a jiffy. I suspect I will be planting more sprouts this afternoon. I am going to be anxious to see what these seeds actually produce.
 
Update
 
Seedlings are producing second leaves and I have placed 80% of them outside to begin hardening off while it is overcast. I will retain some indoors as to not place all my peppers in one basket, so to speak. I would be concerned about the remaining growing season if they were anything other than annuums. I feel confident that I will be able to get these plants to produce at least one pod each, which is totally acceptable to me as, as of a month ago I was looking at scratch. I will be isolating these into a group by themselves as to retain as much original genetics as possible. next year will tell if the store bought xalapas are in fact hybrids or not.
 
Jeff, just wondering how the xalapas were doing; did they flower or produce any pods?  Are you going to try and over winter?
 
I have like 40 plants crammed together in a shipping crate from work(will post pics later). they have flowers and pods have set on several. Time is running short with temps are dropping, but fortunately we are talking about annuums and not chinense so I may be able to extend the season just a bit. strangely my brown morugas have not missed a step in attempting to fruit even when temps hit the high 40s last month. I do have 2 Xalapas set aside for the grow room if all else fails and/or just to have some xalapas in Dec if all works out. All I need is one mature pod for next years grow but I am sure I will at least get one pod if not more to sample.
 
CAPCOM said:
I have like 40 plants crammed together in a shipping crate from work(will post pics later). they have flowers and pods have set on several. Time is running short with temps are dropping, but fortunately we are talking about annuums and not chinense so I may be able to extend the season just a bit. strangely my brown morugas have not missed a step in attempting to fruit even when temps hit the high 40s last month. I do have 2 Xalapas set aside for the grow room if all else fails and/or just to have some xalapas in Dec if all works out. All I need is one mature pod for next years grow but I am sure I will at least get one pod if not more to sample.
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Best of luck and keep us posted. Oh, and save seed to spread around too!
 
xalapas in box.JPG

 
The 2 black 3 gal containers to the left of the crates are going into the grow room b4 the real cold gets here.
 
There has been a recent influx of warmer weather which has had positive effects on my peppers. As you can see from the following pic, things are looking good. see any resemblance to the 1st pic in the topic???
 
 

Xalapa (1).JPG

 
you'll have to excuse the orientation. I have tried to rotate the image a dozen times and it keeps posting 90o to the left.
 
I can recall when I bought my seeds that Burpee had at least one large variety.  And I just looked and they actually have two.  One is a hybrid that reaches 5 inches.  Now I wonder, will you get less peppers though?   I would just assume have a greater number of smaller and faster maturing ones if that is the case. 
 
Hot Mama Bearz said:
I can recall when I bought my seeds that Burpee had at least one large variety.  And I just looked and they actually have two.  One is a hybrid that reaches 5 inches.  Now I wonder, will you get less peppers though?   I would just assume have a greater number of smaller and faster maturing ones if that is the case. 
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There are a couple of reasons I have put so much emphasis on growing these peppers. #1 and probably foremost is, I really like the peppers I had bought from the store and wanted to make them more available than driving 15-20 miles and shelling out the cash. #2 and this one is due to the question that arose at the onset of the topic was to determine if in fact these peppers were hybrids or would produce true to the parent plants. all indications so far is, not hybrids. but that is based at this point on little more than visual observations. The full development of the pods, the taste test, (obviously) and subsequent generations are still needed to make a definitive assertion. And maybe then, even an official review by Nigel to give the pepper some credibility.
 
You mentioned growing the higher volume, smaller and faster maturing one vs the large pod variety, why not both? Both varieties have their uses. I like to think of this one a the 12" sub or steak dinner pepper. Meaning one pod will last the entire sub or 16 oz top sirloin and baked potato dinner.
 
Growing season is all but over and still I have these flower boxes soaking up whatever is left of the "14"s waning sun. The pic of the pod in #35 is still growing and filling out as well as several others. I am growing anxious to taste testing these pods to confirm they are in fact the peppers I have been in pursuit of.
 
A little more time.
 
I finally took one pod for a taste test. Although the pod taken was larger than most common jalapenos, it was still immature for this type of pepper. The seeds were not kept because they were not mature either.
The initial taste was very grassy, more than usual for a typical annuum but it may have a lot to do with the immaturity of the pod. There was heat present and considering the immaturity of the pod, the heat was encouraging enough to forge on with the project. The pod previously pictured is still on the vine as I am trying to allow it to ripen on the plant if at all possible. I may bring the planter boxes indoors this week as night time temps are growing increasingly hostile.
 
I decided to harvest the pods from the planter boxes last night. Although they have not started to turn color, I feel they have been on the plant long enough to have produced mature seeds. I do still have a couple plants in their own containers that I will allow to continue to grow without interference. At least for a little while longer anyway.
As far as the ones I harvested, I guess it is time for a taste test. One moment,
 
 
Well, Unlike Michael, I got satisfaction!
The flavor and burn are IDENTICAL to the pods I have been getting from the store. Only one thing now remains and that is procuring viable seeds from at least one of these pods.
As I said, I have pods still on a few of the plants that I will not touch till they mature to red. Of the pods I have taken, I will remove, dry and isolate seed by pod and conduct a random germination test to determine % of successful germination per group.
 
As I type this, I am still snacking on the pepper. Man! These are tasty. And quite warm.
 
I have worked hard to get these pods to where they are. And at any time this thing could have fallen apart for any number of reasons. Unviable seeds in the beginning, aphids, genetics and even the unfavorable growing season. That they are what they are, ultimate success is but a seed away.
 
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