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Marturos 2024 Glog.

It's that time of the year, cold & gloomy outside, & inside the magic is happening. Those little green pepper plants are pushing up
towards the artificial sun. Who came up first? The early Jalapeño, Serrano, & the Sugar Rush Stripy. A little game we play LOL.

This is the best set up we have ever had before. 4 LED grow lights 2 heating mats, room stays at 66 F at night & 74 F during the day.
With 22 varieties & 50 plants we hope to have a real special grow for the 24 season, with a lot of great tasting peppers. 😀

When I joined THP I had just moved from Fluorescents lights to the new LED lights. Outside everything is about the same, it's the indoor
adventure that has changed for the better. Compact high output grow lights, heating mats instead of heating cables without thermostats
it's a lot of fun once again.

This is my first Glog. Welcome to the ride. :welcome:



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Grow list:

1. Antep Aci Dolma
2. Aji Panca
3. Aji Strawberry drop
4. Sugar Rush Stripy
5. Aji Pineapple
6. Aji Chombo Amarillo
7. Aji Fantasy
8. Pasilla Oaxaca
9. Pasillo Apaseo
10. Pasilla Mixe
11. Chilhuacle Negro
12. Aji Chombo Rojo
13. Aji Rainforest
14. Brazilian Starfish
15. Jamaican Scotch Bonnet
16. Aji Charapita
17. Jigsaw ( ornamental )
18. Poblano Rojo
19. Early Jalapeño
20. Serrano
21. Lesya
22. Datil
 
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Aji Strawberry Drop or Strawberry Drop. Not a large plant however it is full of peppers.
I have been watching 2 peppers turn from yellowish green to a bright red, picked up one today & it popped off. 😃

They smell like a sweet ripe bell pepper with flavors of Jalapeño & Serrano they smell very little of heat.
Taste is sweet & tangy plenty crunchy with a serrano level heat good eaten raw like salad or anything you would use serranos for.

This plant would do well in a pot as it's short, & trepideria in it's habit.


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Aji Pineapple. This plant needs a lot of space it's bushy & needs staking.

When first cut it smells floral & sweet with a little spicy smell, not like a Jalapeño smells but more tropical.
The heat is very nice with a sweet flavor, it would make a great Amarillo Salsa or Aji Pineapple with Pineapple, hot sauce.

We will grow this one again only in a garden all by themselves. 😀


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The plants are all healthy & loaded with peppers now starting to ripen up.
If I need to do a taste test for anyone on the Scotch Bonnet, well I suggest you just grow a plant or two, it's that goood.


Sugar Rush Stripy flower.
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My lunch pepper today. 😃 A fresh ripe Scotch Bonnet.
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Early Jalapeño
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Pasilla Mixe
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Antep Aci Dolma.
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Chilhuacle Negro.
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Aji Fantasy.
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Chili Poblano Rojo.
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Marturo said:
This is the Aji Chombo, thanks to @Downriver 😀

I have to say, if you like Scotch Bonnets & don't mind a little more heat this is one to try. I have never grown the red Scotch bonnet
& have not tasted it either, so this could be a red Bonnet type pepper for super flavor & very spicy use.
We picked one & cut it in half, no seeds yet however the smell was sweet with a tropical bent & yes you can smell the :mouthonfire: .

Mrs. Marturo likes Scotch bonnets & eats a piece from a fresh pepper now & then. She took a piece of Aji Chombo put it in her mouth & spit it out toot sweet LOL. This is not a snacking pepper, it does flavor & spice most things like bean soup & spaghetti sauce etc.






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@Marturo I've grown the red scotch bonnet from tomatogrowers.com, and it's a great pepper! It was reminiscent of a Caribbean red habanero with slightly less heat and more fruitiness. Just wanted to throw that in there, since you mentioned that you've never grown the red scotch bonnet. It's a great pepper to have in your garden.
 
NJChilehead said:
@Marturo I've grown the red scotch bonnet from tomatogrowers.com, and it's a great pepper! It was reminiscent of a Caribbean red habanero with slightly less heat and more fruitiness. Just wanted to throw that in there, since you mentioned that you've never grown the red scotch bonnet. It's a great pepper to have in your garden.
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Sounds like a tasty pepper, The Aji Chombo is also very fruity & very :hot:

The Aji Chombos are just full of peppers.

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NJChilehead said:
I'll have to add them to the grow list for next year! Do you prefer the Aji Chombo red, or the amarillo?
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I have 3 Aji Chombos this Season, 2 from Baker Creek & 1 from @Downriver.

So far the only color I have seen so far is this red color on the @Downriver plant. The taste is fruity & very hot.
One interesting thing so far is the difference in shape. The Aji Chombo from @Downriver has a shape more like a Habanero
& the 2 plants from Baker Creek have a more Bonnet shape. This is gonna be very interesting. 😄

I saw a pod getting color on one of the BC plants so I can taste it soon. I have to say about the plants, they are very strong
& so far need no supports.

The @Downriver plant.
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Marturo said:
I have 3 Aji Chombos this Season, 2 from Baker Creek & 1 from @Downriver.

So far the only color I have seen so far is this red color on the @Downriver plant. The taste is fruity & very hot.
One interesting thing so far is the difference in shape. The Aji Chombo from @Downriver has a shape more like a Habanero
& the 2 plants from Baker Creek have a more Bonnet shape. This is gonna be very interesting. 😄

I saw a pod getting color on one of the BC plants so I can taste it soon. I have to say about the plants, they are very strong
& so far need no supports.

The @Downriver plant.
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Click to expand...

Cool, keep me posted on the Baker Creek one, and if you recommend it, I'll add it to the grow list next year.
 
NJChilehead said:
Cool, keep me posted on the Baker Creek one, and if you recommend it, I'll add it to the grow list next year.
Click to expand...
I'm also growing two Baker Creek Aji Chombo plants this year, and I've been pretty impressed with the plants. The one in the pot is not doing as well--poor quality potting soil, I think--but it's got healthy growth and some pods already, including the ripening one in the first photo.

The plant in the ground is growing low and full of peppers. I did not catch all the pods in this 2nd photo, but I think you can still see 12-15 here. I'll be happily growing more Baker Creek Chomboes next year. Agreed with @Marturo re: no need for support stakes. The plants are strong and healthy.
 

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First full size ripe Baker Creek Aji Chombo.

The pod when cut has a floral candy like smell.
As soon as you chomp down a squirt of hot lava covers your mouth & burns everything it touches.
First piece was hot however the second piece started burning in waves, you could get the flavor as the burn comes & goes a lot.

So what would you use this pepper for? I believe anything you would use a Scotch Bonnet for, just use less. The flavor is intense
as is the heat, this is one pepper we will grow again.



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This is an Aji Chombo on the @Downriver Plant that should be yellow. We will see in the next few days. Two very small early Chombos on this plant were that tomato orange/ red color so we will keep our fingers crossed.
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Marturo said:
I've been waiting a year for some fresh POPPERS. :party:
We have been growing this Early Jalapeño for so long I can't remember where we got it.
This season we grew 5 plants, all are growing great & loaded with peppers.

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Aren't jalapeno poppers the best?!

Also, regarding the Aji Chombo, that's a nice looking pepper! I think I'd use it for pickled peppers although this year I'm planning on playing around with fermentation and seeing how making some hot sauce goes. Next year my red chinenses that are in the pipeline include West Indies Red, Red Savina Habanero (from a reputable source this time), and Mayan Red Habanero, all three of which came highly recommended from others. I grew the W.I. Red a few years ago but it was the comedy of errors with seed starting soil and overall weather that year and the harvest was largely kaput on that strain. I grew an off-brand Red Savina about 20 years ago and was disappointed, but people have encouraged me to source some from a good, reputable supplier and that they're awesome, and then the Mayan Red Habanero I really want to try to satisfy my curiosity about them. I'm not sure if I have room for the Aji Chombo because I have so many others planned but it really sounds like a winner. Do you strongly recommend that I bump either Red Savina or W.I. Red for them?
 
NJChilehead said:
Aren't jalapeno poppers the best?!
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Love um so much. :dance:

NJChilehead said:
room for the Aji Chombo because I have so many others planned but it really sounds like a winner. Do you strongly recommend that I bump either Red Savina or W.I. Red for them?
Click to expand...

Maybe you could squeeze just one plant in. 😃

I have grown many other Habaneros over the years, however after getting into Aji peppers my tastes have changed.
Scotch Bonnets, Aji Mango, Aji Pineapple, Aji Rainforest, Aji Chombo, Aji Charapita all have a strong floral smell with many flavors.

This season I am watching those who are growing the Red Scotch bonnet for taste reports, perhaps I will add a Red Scotchie or 2 for next season.

I got this Red Hab from a fellow pepper head in the UK, it's the Pele Tower Red Habanero. Great plant with many very Red pods.


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Pretty pepper, lower right.


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@Marturo definitely try the red scotch bonnet next year, I don't recall if I mentioned it upthread here or on another GLOG but it's a really nice, fruity pepper. I sourced mine from Tomatogrowers.com. I figured there might be variations in the strain. Just today I picked up some red scotch bonnets from the Trenton Farmers Market (where I picked up the original Scotch Bonnet, TFM back in 2004) and the ones I picked up today are larger and have a different morphology than the Tomatogrowers one. I'll report back on those after a taste test but they're definitely beautiful pods. Most of the pics I've seen of red scotch bonnets most closely resemble the Tomatogrowers strain though, and they're really nice.
 
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