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Only growing 2 types next season

D

dragon49

This is the end of my 3rd season and I had my best crop so far. My zone is not ideal for growing chiles and my garden doesn't get full sun all day. I've had many types produce nothing at all, and others only producing a few peppers. This years biggest disappointment for me was a rocotto (Capsicum pubescens) that didn't produce any peppers at all! I did a great job of sprouting it and put a beautiful bushy plant in the ground. It produced a number of beautiful little purple flowers, but nothing else. It has a good hot and sweet taste.

I had a good crop from 2 breeds:

1 - Super Chile:
With it maturing in 60-70 days, this is great for my zone. They are small plants and easy to maintain. I had 5 or 6 good producers. I'll plant a few more next year.

2 - Aji Limon, AKA Aji Limo, AKA Lemon Drop. I rate this as the world champion of Chile's. It has good heat, and citrus flavor. The riper ones have a less "harsh" heat and more citrus flavor. I didn't count, but probably got
close to 50 peppers from the 1 plant in my garden. My growing season was too short for this type and nothing got yellow on the plant, but they are ripening inside. The plant was between 1 1/2 and 2 feet tall. I'll plant at
least 5 next year.


I don't feel like experimenting any more and will grow these 2 types only next year.
 
super chilis are great, mass producing plants...and make great powder....

not trying to be a smart ass here or anything, but Aji Limon and Lemon Drop are two different plants...pod shape is definitely different...I like the taste of the Aji Limon but don't like the taste of the lemon drop...

another short season pepper that mass produces 6" long, pencil thin pods is the Super Cayenne II hybrid...great producer...

good luck with your grow...
 
All I got for my efforts the first year I attempted growing pubes was a lot of pretty purple flowers as well. This season I've harvested a few pods thus far and hope to get a few more before the season ends. Next year I'll attempt to shield them from the harsh summer heat here in the deep south. Their taste is fantastic and definitely worth the additional effort.

I'm a fan of the Lemon Drops too. The seed stock I received from Beth @ Peppermania is superb, taste is nice with a citrus/sweet tang and makes fantastic powder for using in breading for fried fish and anything else you want to embellish with a little lemony heat. :)

I don't think I could restrict myself to only two chile varieties though; too many are waiting over the next hill. ;)
 
For alabamajack - There are pics of the peppers in question:

http://www.thehotpepper.com/topic/17841-lemon-drop-pics-and-a-review/page__p__379266#entry379266

Which ones are they?

For the alaskan324. This season, I failed with habanero's, jalapeno's, various belle's, and 2 or 3 other types that I can;t think of now.

Thanks
 
About the Rocoto:

What's funny is I have a Rocoto Red that didn't want to do a damn thing. Just as you described, it was a nice big bushy plant with loads of flowers--that all drop. It really seemed to be growing good though, for the most part. I read that the species preferred cooler temperatures. But, it *was* relatively cool earlier in the season (especially at night)! I was still skeptical, because though it was quite warm during the summer, my plant only received morning sun and shade the rest of the day. I figured...80-85 degrees, can't be THAT bad, could it? I live in Ohio, not some southern state which would have likely been in the 90s and 100s much more often (maybe the high humidity here has something to do with it). I asked about it on this board, and some people confirmed that the plant just likes it cooler and will start going crazy once the weather cools down.

Ironically enough, the weather did finally cool down and... guess what? I recently picked my first red-ripe Rocoto (I was completely shocked) and noticed that the plant is growing even better now (it kind of slowed down overall growth during the mid-summer, seemingly along with the heat), and it has several good-sized green peppers. So it might not be too late for yours yet. Apparently not only do they prefer cooler weather, it almost seems like they depend on it. I'm bringing mine indoors for the winter--it's one of my container plants that hasn't been damaged from blowing over from the wind (due to its intended placement where it will receive less sunlight, and by extension, heat), and it's very big and healthy looking. And damn it... after all that suspense wondering if I'll ever see a pepper off this thing, and finally seeing it take off... I just can't throw the poor thing away.

Not to mention, its peppers taste pretty good and unique, IMO...
 
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