favorite Of those with the most varieties of seed, which types are your favorite(s) and why ?

[Rhody]

After reading Dragon's thread in Hot Pepper talk, on the number of seed types members have, I often wondered with over 3700 varieties according to chiliman's website,

how would I be able to find and choose to grow the most interesting ones. Unless I did the logical thing and ask members who have the most wide variety of seeds,

and the most amount of experience growing them, how would I ever begin to find them in the first place.

Open question, which types of peppers (they don't have to be rare, but if they are, you could day so) are your favorites and why.

I have been growing going on five years this year and after hanging around here for the past two years discovered a ton of varieties I didn't know existed.

I will be growing fatalii (new), choc fatalii (new) and choc bhut again this year, have grown red cherry scorpions, brain strains, white bhut, moruga's.

and sadly unsuccessfully, sweet scorpions and purple bhut, long story but the plants died for one reason or another.

I have a really nice camera finally and plan to post pictures in my glog this season.

Lets hear your stories of how you came to be fond of your favs, and how you found or stumbled upon and grew some really awesome varieties.

Rhody...

 

[HwyBill]

Surely you will get as many responses to this query as you have replies. The great thing is that we have so many cultivars to choose from, and there are no right or wrong answers. It all comes down to personal taste.

Some of the important factors that determine a preferred variety, IMO:

- flavor preferences
- desired use of the fruit
- piquance tolerance
- grow type (indoors/outdoors/ground/containers/hydroponic)
- grow environment (grow zone/garden space)
- availability

Obviously issues such as production potential and level of maintanence are important to most gardeners.

I prefer chiles which are savory in taste, have a decent but not outrageous level of piquance, and are very hardy in maintenance and robust in production.

For this reason, I tend to prefer some of the hotter Annum spp., such as Cayenne, Kung Pao, Thai/African Birdseye, Tio, and de Arbol. Many of the Chineses spp. are a bit too hot for me to enjoy raw or whole, and I don't appreciate their very strong "fruity" flavor as much. However, I do use these varieties a lot in cooking (chili, sauce, salsa, dips, giardinaire, etc), so I still raise them.

In general, due to my fondness of gardening and generally all things chile, I grow at least one plant of every type I can get my hands on, and 2 or 3 plants for every type I know I particularly enjoy and want a nice cache.

 

[Rhody]

HwyBill,

When you said: "I grow at least one plant of every type I can get my hands on", that is my biggest problem, if I had the land and ability to grow a ton of different species I would, but sadly, I must be selective in what I grow. I can at best support about 50 or so plants in my situation, and plan to expand to new types in addition to the ones already started. I wish I had the setup PaulG has, it appears to be ideal and works for him.

I tried to to find sweet scorpion seeds, and PepperLover, Judy was sold out, but she said she would sent some pods this summer when they come in. I guess what I am looking for in particular, is some varieties that are on the high on of the heat scale, but have been crossed in such a way so that the underlying flavor is there without the massive heat. It would be cool to offer someone not familiar with supers two pods, one that captures the underlying flavor, and the second which has the heat. If anyone has seeds besides sweet scorpions that I am not aware of please chime in here.

Thanks...

Rhody...

 

[Spicegeist]

So you want a hot pepper and not really a superhot. You should grow my Maya Red Hab x Bhut Carbon F2:
http://thehotpepper.com/topic/35422-maya-red-habanero-x-bhut-jolokia-carbon-f2-closed/