NH Jalapeños 2019 (Runty Lives)

Runty Lives! He's had a rough winter under the Aerogarden lights, but he's finally adapting well and setting fruit.

 
Runty's first born (Junior) has had a great run in the Aerogarden. This will be our third harvest from Junior.

 
Three seed starting experiments and the lone Cayenne from last summer. The seeds were started under the the AG lights and ran into problems. I had to replace the lights last year and I think there's something wrong with the replacements. Regardless, moving the starts into the window has done all three a world of good.

 
And finally, after seeing all your 2019 starts flood my inbox, I started my own 2019 yesterday. Might be a little early, but screw it, let's see what happens. My original plan was to wait till mid March, but I'll do another round then too. 5 Banana Peppers, 4 Hungarian Hot Wax, and 5 Jalapeños (Runty seeds).

 

 

[timegoat]

Ok, well past time for an update. First up, the late 2018 starts. They're doing great.
 

 
 
The lanky Feb starts also doing great.
 

 
 
The Aerogarden 5 plus Runty group shot. No close ups of these as we've been picking from them for fresh eats. The new growth has been very good.
 

 
 
The cayenne starting to ripen.
 

 
 
Hungarian and banana update to come.

 

[timegoat]

The Hungarians
 

 
 
One of the Bananas. Had trouble getting the camera to focus on the others.
 

 
 
...and look what came in the mail this week! Not sure how this is gonna go, so I bought 2 packets to cover my butt. Will probably try one in the AG over the fall/ winter and see how that goes first. I have been reading the relevant threads (thank you CaneDog and others) and learned as much as I can by reading, but now it's time to learn by doing.
 

 
 

 

[CaneDog]

That's awesome to see you adding rocotos to your grow!  Looks like it's been a solid season for you so far even despite the good weather coming late.

 

[timegoat]

That's awesome to see you adding rocotos to your grow!  Looks like it's been a solid season for you so far even despite the good weather coming late.

 

It has been nice since the weather perked up and even with the cold spring we're still in better shape than last year. The heat waves in July were a little hard to keep on top of, but no harm was done. We're back to normal NH summer weather now, highs in the upper 70s lows in the upper 50s lower 60s. Now if The Big Guy will keep these conditions till mid September or so, we'll be all set.
 
Which is why I'm dipping my toe into the Manzanos. I didn't realize until a PaulG thread that we have great conditions for them up here. In fact, if they're as comfortable into the 40s at night like the internet claims, theoretically I might get 2 extra months of the season for them. Plus we have an abundance of shade options. I'm looking forward to finding out if this all works. And if they don't like it here, I'm only out $12 plus shipping. Worth taking a chance on 'em.
 
My only disappointment this year is that Runty's offspring are quite mild with the heat. I figure I'll throw a bit of Cayenne into the jars when it comes time to can them up for a little extra goose. But what Runty lacks in heat, he makes up for with flavor. So, all in all he's a win.

 

[CaneDog]

My only disappointment this year is that Runty's offspring are quite mild with the heat. I figure I'll throw a bit of Cayenne into the jars when it comes time to can them up for a little extra goose. But what Runty lacks in heat, he makes up for with flavor. So, all in all he's a win.

 
Hey TG.  Have you considered adding another Jalap variety to your grow?  I started growing Jalapeno Zapotec this last year based on some strong endorsements and I'm already a big fan. It has a great flavor too, but also packs a decent kick of heat. Might compliment the Runty crew quite nicely.
 
Thread here. Plants can be quite productive - http://thehotpepper.com/topic/71873-zapotec-jalapenos/?hl=zapotec

 

[timegoat]

 
Hey TG.  Have you considered adding another Jalap variety to your grow?  I started growing Jalapeno Zapotec this last year based on some strong endorsements and I'm already a big fan. It has a great flavor too, but also packs a decent kick of heat. Might compliment the Runty crew quite nicely.
 
Thread here. Plants can be quite productive - http://thehotpepper.com/topic/71873-zapotec-jalapenos/?hl=zapotec

 

I've heard of them but never considered them until now. Wow! That thread may have sold me on giving them a shot at some point. However, I do have a few Jalapeno seeds left from my packet of mystery peppers from last year, and if I remember correctly they were hotter than Runty as well. I'm also sitting on a packet of Early and a packet of Jalapeno M that I bought last year and I really don't want to go anymore nuts with seeds than I already have. My seed box is nearly bursting as is. Ahh.. decisions decisions.
 
What I'll probably do is grow some of everything that I already have next year and see what happens. If I'm left disappointed again then maybe I'll get some Zaps. I was putting my hopes on Runty, but that was silly since his heritage is completely unknown. He is producing well, tastes great, and seems to be able to handle our climate which are all very good positives. Perhaps if I let them dry out a little I could up the heat?
 
Unrelated, I don't know what my "Cayenne" is but it's not any variety of Cayenne I've been able to look up. It's almost like it got crossed with a Hot Wax somewhere in it's ancestry. It starts light green then goes to yellow then ripens through orange to red similar to the Hungarians. It's not even the same as the other Cayennes that were in the kit it came from. It's cool looking for sure but I'd really like to know what it is. Ah well, this is what I get for flying blind.

 

[timegoat]

As an experiment I moved one of the Aerogarden 5 out front into full sun with the bananas. No worries about cross pollination as the bananas are at capacity and no longer blooming. But that doesn't matter anyway. I just want to see how much difference full sun makes compared to part sun on the deck.

 

[timegoat]

Added a second of the Aero5 to the front. This is the strongest of them and is currently dripping with new pods, blooms, and buds. Figured a good experiment needed more than one plant.
 

 
 
Meanwhile, the bananas are starting to ripen.
 

 
 
The elusive Bellapeño is also starting to ripen. A part of me wants to save seeds from this oddball, but it's on one of the weakest plants so... I dunno.
 

 
 
And the Not a Cayenne just looks awesome.
 

 
 

 

[timegoat]

 
Well, the season is starting it's wrap up. We're not done yet, but the slowdown has begun. We usually get a warm week or two in Sept and then it's all downhill.
 
The banana peppers have been harvested and canned and some seeds have been saved. The Hungarians will be next as they are lovely shades of orange and yellow.
 
Runty's mature pods have some good heat and I think my earlier heat issues were from eating them before their time. Some seeds have been saved from the stunted ripe pods but they are not the choice pods to save seeds from. The good news is some of the choice pods are starting to ripen so we should be in good shape there. We'll be harvesting the Jalapeños last.
 
I have some photos but no time to post them. Timegoat Jr is toddling and wants to get on my computer when I'm on it. He's eating right now so I have a few minutes for this update.
 
All in all a decent season.