Mitzi's 2019 - Grow, grow, grow your Bhut

Trident chilli · Jul 14, 2019

Great write up Mitzi .... I never over-wintered the NeBru .... are the pods a lot bigger in year 2. Did you get all the colour variations in the PDN x SB7J. Hope all your other plants push on good luck for the rest of the season

Mitzi · Jul 14, 2019

Devv said:
Mitzi, keep your chin up!

It's now mid July, I'm hoping for some positive news soon

Edit: I did read it all, hugs...

Youre a glutton for punishment!

Thanks, Im hoping for some positives myself.

Mitzi · Jul 14, 2019

Trident chilli said:
Great write up Mitzi .... I never over-wintered the NeBru .... are the pods a lot bigger in year 2. Did you get all the colour variations in the PDN x SB7J. Hope all your other plants push on good luck for the rest of the season

Yes, the Nebru 7 pods are really big this year although it hasnt set any more since going outside so Ive only got a few. I really like this pepper but Im not bringing any plants in this autumn, so it wont be overwintered again.

I dont know what colour variations the PDN x SB7J should have. The pods grow quite dark then turn orange. They are very small although the plant was in a very small pot until recently.

Im also growing your Matthew Arthur bonnet this year but the pods dont look very bonnet like. I remember you saying it should have been peach but was red so maybe its a cross?

P.S. Do you have a glog this year? Just looked and cant find it.

Devv · Jul 14, 2019

Mitzi said:
Youre a glutton for punishment!

Thanks, Im hoping for some positives myself.

LOL!

You know I had a killer pepper garden in 2014, then came 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. All of those were eh? Not so good, well, IMHO they kinda sucked. This year was OK.

Mother nature can truly be a hater for sure. We can only do our best with what we get

PaulG · Jul 15, 2019

[quote name="Devv" post="1642716" timestamp="1563053448
Edit: I did read it all, hugs...
[/quote]
Me too!

Keep the faith, Mitzi. It looks like you have some bright spots
In your grow. I hope some warmer July temperatures come
your way.

Mitzi · Jul 19, 2019

Most of the plants do look quite a lot happier now the weather has warmed up a bit. Some are still looking yellow and sickly - and that's plants that are outside in their final pots; I'm not talking about the ones still in tiny pots. I keep wondering if the compost is OK, but I'm mostly using Canna Terra Pro, fresh from the Hydro shop this year, and that's supposed to be good, isn't it?

I'm after some advice on Pimenta da Neyde - how do I know when the pods are ripe? Some of them are partially turning from black to a pinkish-purplish colour, which seems to be only on the underneath side of the pods, not on the top. The plant has been outside in its final pot since 18th June and the pods set indoors several weeks before that, so I'd say the pods must be getting on for two months since forming, so they should be ripening, shouldn't they? Or is PdN one of the chillies that takes months and months to ripen like some of the baccatums and rocotos?

Mitzi · Jul 19, 2019

Here's the good news:

The at-death's-door Chupetinho looks as if it is starting to produce some new growth from low down on the main stem. The roots don't look too rotten. Whether it's too late in the year for it to do much remains to be seen but at least it's showing willing.

First few small pods have set on both the indoor and outdoor Cseresznye Paprika plants. I had expected them to grow upright, like Alma Paprika, but both the (very large) flowers and the pods are hanging downwards. There's also one Monkey Face pod set and one Ethiopian Berbere but no jalapenos.

Two pods are ripening on the overwintered Matthew Arthur scotch bonnet (seeds from Trident.) They are a deep orange colour at the moment but I am expecting them to turn red. These pods set indoors before I put the plant out, but it is one of the very few which has set pods since going outside. In fact, it looks to be quite prolific. They don't look very bonnet-shaped but as long as they taste nice and have some heat, I'll be happy.

Another plant that has set more pods since going outdoors is Heefy's Guyana Rush. It is absolutely smothered in pods. Looking forward to trying those but I guess they will take quite a while to ripen. It's weird that this one plant, which was a runty little seedling and got potted up later than the others, hence me being confident it's Guyana Rush, is now flourishing whereas the bigger and seemingly better ones at seedling stage still aren't doing much. I've mentioned previously that they are supposed to be one Havana Gold and two Guyana Rush but I mixed up the labels. Still waiting for definitive IDs on them.

A few pods have finally set on the plant I was given last year just labelled "Habanero". They look more bonnet-shaped than most of my bonnets!

A couple more pods have ripened on the Nebru 7 and SB MoA, plus the first couple on the Bahamian Goat. It may be time to make some jerk chicken (or maybe just some chilli vodka ready for the forthcoming football season.)

Devv · Jul 19, 2019

Mitzi said:
Most of the plants do look quite a lot happier now the weather has warmed up a bit. Some are still looking yellow and sickly - and that's plants that are outside in their final pots; I'm not talking about the ones still in tiny pots. I keep wondering if the compost is OK, but I'm mostly using Canna Terra Pro, fresh from the Hydro shop this year, and that's supposed to be good, isn't it?

I'm after some advice on Pimenta da Neyde - how do I know when the pods are ripe? Some of them are partially turning from black to a pinkish-purplish colour, which seems to be only on the underneath side of the pods, not on the top. The plant has been outside in its final pot since 18th June and the pods set indoors several weeks before that, so I'd say the pods must be getting on for two months since forming, so they should be ripening, shouldn't they? Or is PdN one of the chillies that takes months and months to ripen like some of the baccatums and rocotos?

What I do on "new" for me plants is let the pods just start to get soft, so I can gauge ripeness. But, I just do that on the first one.

Devv · Jul 19, 2019

Mitzi said:
Here's the good news:

The at-death's-door Chupetinho looks as if it is starting to produce some new growth from low down on the main stem. The roots don't look too rotten. Whether it's too late in the year for it to do much remains to be seen but at least it's showing willing.

First few small pods have set on both the indoor and outdoor Cseresznye Paprika plants. I had expected them to grow upright, like Alma Paprika, but both the (very large) flowers and the pods are hanging downwards. There's also one Monkey Face pod set and one Ethiopian Berbere but no jalapenos.

Two pods are ripening on the overwintered Matthew Arthur scotch bonnet (seeds from Trident.) They are a deep orange colour at the moment but I am expecting them to turn red. These pods set indoors before I put the plant out, but it is one of the very few which has set pods since going outside. In fact, it looks to be quite prolific. They don't look very bonnet-shaped but as long as they taste nice and have some heat, I'll be happy.

Another plant that has set more pods since going outdoors is Heefy's Guyana Rush. It is absolutely smothered in pods. Looking forward to trying those but I guess they will take quite a while to ripen. It's weird that this one plant, which was a runty little seedling and got potted up later than the others, hence me being confident it's Guyana Rush, is now flourishing whereas the bigger and seemingly better ones at seedling stage still aren't doing much. I've mentioned previously that they are supposed to be one Havana Gold and two Guyana Rush but I mixed up the labels. Still waiting for definitive IDs on them.

A few pods have finally set on the plant I was given last year just labelled "Habanero". They look more bonnet-shaped than most of my bonnets!

A couple more pods have ripened on the Nebru 7 and SB MoA, plus the first couple on the Bahamian Goat. It may be time to make some jerk chicken (or maybe just some chilli vodka ready for the forthcoming football season.)

Nice to read you're getting some positive results, and it's not about the looks, like you already said. It's all about the flavor..

Bhut I must say... :pics:

You know we all live for the pics :shh:

Keep on keeping on!

Mitzi · Jul 23, 2019

Visited the greenhouse last night to feed & water - first time in over a week. The first (only) pod on the Dorset Naga had ripened but probably prematurely as something had got at it - there's a big hole in the tip. No more pods set although there are a few flowers. We've got a heatwave here this week so it's probably going to be too hot in the greenhouse for any to set.

Most of the plants in there have much smaller pods than I was hoping for. Bhut Jolokia Peach, especially, has lots of pods set but they are mostly tiny. I wonder whether I should remove some in the hope the remaining ones will grow bigger? Or maybe the pollinating insects aren't getting in the greenhouse so the small size is down to incomplete pollination? I really don't know.

Feeding and watering the outdoor plants at home, I managed to knock a small, unripe pod off one of them. Not sure which plant it came from. Had a nibble on it; the tip had a little bit of heat but as I worked up the pod the heat intensified considerably. Very promising.

There are a few ripe pods on SB MoA and Bahamian Goat (in the house,) Nebru 7, Matthew Arthur SB and maybe a Brazilian Ghost or two, outside. I haven't picked them yet, as I'm wanting them to get fully ripe (maybe slightly over ripe) to save seeds. First couple of Apaches are also ripe; that plant hasn't grown or produced as much as I expected, yet.

Although the greenhouse plants might be suffering, I think the outdoor plants will be loving this hot weather. It's a bit hot for me - my other half and I are fighting over who gets to sleep on the sofa tonight (it's downstairs, which is much cooler than the bedrooms upstairs.) "If you'd like the bed to yourself tonight, I'll sleep on the sofa if you want." "Thanks, but you're all right - I'm happy to sleep on the sofa, you can enjoy spreading out on the bed."

Mitzi · Jul 31, 2019

Apologies for cross post as I have also put this on the Harvest thread. This is what I picked on Sunday.

SB MoA in centre. Clockwise from top: PDN x SB7J (the small peachy orange pods), Brazilian Ghost, Nebru 7, Matthew Arthur SB (possibly x), Bahamian Goat, White (not) BBG7, Nagabrain Chocolate, Dorset Naga.

Most of these are from overwintered plants. Due to poor weather for most of the season, this year's plants are extremely behind.

(I have had earlier harvests of PDN x SB7J, Nagabrain Chocolate, Nebru 7 and SB MoA but failed to photograph them.)

Mitzi · Aug 7, 2019

Smaller harvest this week but a greater variety:

Realised I forgot to include the tiny Reapers and peach Bhut Jolokia I brought home from the greenhouse, so there should be even more. The greenhouse peach bhut is at least peach, although the pods are miniscule. The three red pods at the right of this photo are from the plant outdoors which is also supposed to be peach bhut. Clearly not.

The dirt specks at the bottom of the pic were a sign that one of the pods (two, actually) contained a nasty. Assume they are something like tortrix moth caterpillars. I'm having a big problem with them this year; far too many of the outdoor and greenhouse pods have holes in them.