Hello, Cappers.
It's been a year a and a most of a pepper season since we moved to our new garden site. So I've been somewhat busy re-building.
Pepper seeds don't last forever, but I have 138 pepper seed lots going back 8 years maybe. So. what to do to get a jumpstart?
A few did sprout last year; Inca Red Drop, Cabe Merah Panjang, and a 7 Pot Barrockpore that I thought I'd try to overwinter.
The Panjang and 7 Pot B I left in the garage grow-shelves and they did OK until early spring when aphids ATE THEM MERCILESSLY down to a stem and few leaf buds.
The Inca got front row in the living room windows and produced by spring one ripe pepper (who's 4 seeds sprouted!).
I did receive a treasure chest from Sawyer of Papa Dreadie and Sulu Adana seed, that I made sure worked, but my young plants were far, far from spectacular.
I got a few others to sprout, but I consoled my mostly bad pepper rearing this year by getting common plants from a local fruit stand/greenhouse; 6-Red Habs, 12-Jalas, 2-Cali Wonders, 1- Shishito, and even a Carolina Reaper.
Also my buddy in Richmond who grows hundreds of peppers (and a thousand or so tomatoes) hooked me up with a Red Bhut and something that turned out to be a Fish pepper. He had an off year too, and didn't have a great sprouting year either.
By this spring, I only had about a fourth of the garden in proper beds and the peppers got planted in inverted raised beds
I dug 6-8" down (which had been scraped to clean subsoil) and piled up the clay as an edge to the bed space. So they were raised a little I guess.
Then I filled with purchased leaf compost and mixed in some very rich topsoil that came from an old feed lot that was on the property years and years ago.
So by the end of Mayish, I had in the ground:
6+2 -Papa Dreadie
1-Red Bhut
1-Carolina Reaper
2-Beaver Dam
2-Jimmy Nardello
2-Ancient Sweet
1-Fish Pepper
12 - Jalapenos
6 - Red Habaneros
2 - California Wonders
2 - Sulu Adana
1 - Shishito
1 - Cabe Merah Panjang
1 - 7 Pot Barrackpore
and
I planted the mother Inca Red Drop in a pot, as a porch pepper
It was a new spot and no matter how good the ingredients, it takes some time to make "soil magic".
Most of the plant-out finally transitioned but it seemed like f.o.r.e.v.e.r.
I'll get some pictures out and another installment, but here is mother Inca today.
Thanks for reading.
JJJ
It's been a year a and a most of a pepper season since we moved to our new garden site. So I've been somewhat busy re-building.
Pepper seeds don't last forever, but I have 138 pepper seed lots going back 8 years maybe. So. what to do to get a jumpstart?
A few did sprout last year; Inca Red Drop, Cabe Merah Panjang, and a 7 Pot Barrockpore that I thought I'd try to overwinter.
The Panjang and 7 Pot B I left in the garage grow-shelves and they did OK until early spring when aphids ATE THEM MERCILESSLY down to a stem and few leaf buds.
The Inca got front row in the living room windows and produced by spring one ripe pepper (who's 4 seeds sprouted!).
I did receive a treasure chest from Sawyer of Papa Dreadie and Sulu Adana seed, that I made sure worked, but my young plants were far, far from spectacular.
I got a few others to sprout, but I consoled my mostly bad pepper rearing this year by getting common plants from a local fruit stand/greenhouse; 6-Red Habs, 12-Jalas, 2-Cali Wonders, 1- Shishito, and even a Carolina Reaper.
Also my buddy in Richmond who grows hundreds of peppers (and a thousand or so tomatoes) hooked me up with a Red Bhut and something that turned out to be a Fish pepper. He had an off year too, and didn't have a great sprouting year either.
By this spring, I only had about a fourth of the garden in proper beds and the peppers got planted in inverted raised beds
I dug 6-8" down (which had been scraped to clean subsoil) and piled up the clay as an edge to the bed space. So they were raised a little I guess.
Then I filled with purchased leaf compost and mixed in some very rich topsoil that came from an old feed lot that was on the property years and years ago.
So by the end of Mayish, I had in the ground:
6+2 -Papa Dreadie
1-Red Bhut
1-Carolina Reaper
2-Beaver Dam
2-Jimmy Nardello
2-Ancient Sweet
1-Fish Pepper
12 - Jalapenos
6 - Red Habaneros
2 - California Wonders
2 - Sulu Adana
1 - Shishito
1 - Cabe Merah Panjang
1 - 7 Pot Barrackpore
and
I planted the mother Inca Red Drop in a pot, as a porch pepper
It was a new spot and no matter how good the ingredients, it takes some time to make "soil magic".
Most of the plant-out finally transitioned but it seemed like f.o.r.e.v.e.r.
I'll get some pictures out and another installment, but here is mother Inca today.
Thanks for reading.
JJJ
I'm getting some seeds sorted out for next year, have gotten seed from a UFO that has the varigated green/white foliage like a Fish pepper, but a mist of ultra-violet over the plant too. So, I like some purty too.
. Nice looking pods J.
Owen Jack.