Pretty impressed by...........

[ShowMeDaSauce]

A few varieties that are new to me this year. Considering we have been getting pounded by rains, lots of clouds and less that ideal conditions overall.
 
Aji Oro from a seed trade. Man this thing just grows like mad once it took off. This little guy has more nice size pods already than i got all last year from 3 other rocotos. Pods currently on my best mini red are still much smaller.
 
Bolsa de Dulce from seed trade. What a beast. The suck ass weather dont seem to phase it one bit. A little leggy but nothing horrible and plenty of blooms. All three are very healthy looking plants.
 
Sugar Rush Peach from RFC seeds. Stellar germination rate. A bit slow after up potting but fast to bloom. They have put on amazing amount of low growth the last couple weeks in spite of the rains. I expect these will go crazy once we start to get a more normal summer weather pattern.
 
TFM bonnets from Trents seeds. Under lights not much different than my Dreadies but more tolerant of the crap weather we have been getting. One i got in a fabric pot is taking off very well and the others in hard pots are outgrowing the Dreadies.
 
More F ing rain today!!!!

 

[ShowMeDaSauce]

Oro and my larger mini red for comparison. Realize the mini red is many months older too.

 
The mini is covered super tiny pods

 
 
Better shot of the Bolsa vs SRP

 
Its a pod monster or at least it will be very soon.

 

 
TFMs on the right and my best TFM just got a couple pods

 

 
Found this today when i went out to check plants after the rain. JPGSs are starting to grow more too. Not that impressed with plant size yet but.........
 
Got pods?...

 
Oh yeah and almost ripe too. Camera didnt pick up the true color very well. It is certainly peach. So first ripe pod is going to JPGS from Juanitos seedlings!!!!!!

 

[Bicycle808]

Although they taste pretty good, JPGS isn't my favorite SuperHot in terms of flavor...but they are my favorite in terms of growing. They're just early and heavy producers that consistently bless me with tons of awesome-looking pods. Unbeatable in terms of those parameters. And, unlike some plants, they just keep growing even after seemingly having shifted into production mode. Those things are usually pretty big shrubs by the end of October.

 

[Harry_Dangler]

Lookin' great Sauce.

 

[solid7]

Although they taste pretty good, JPGS isn't my favorite SuperHot in terms of flavor...but they are my favorite in terms of growing. They're just early and heavy producers that consistently bless me with tons of awesome-looking pods. Unbeatable in terms of those parameters. And, unlike some plants, they just keep growing even after seemingly having shifted into production mode. Those things are usually pretty big shrubs by the end of October.

 
I haven't grown out either Judy or Jay's PGS yet, because the seeds I got didn't germinate last time around.  Giving it a go as we speak, actually.  But I just wanted to chime in and say that Brazilian Starfish are the one plant that dominates my garden.  They grow.  Really fast, really large.  And damn, they are always making pods.  Non-stop.  In the first season, my plant shot up to 6' tall in almost no time.  Now, in the second year, it's got a huge, cool looking knobby mainstem, that looks like it's gonna tree trunk on me.  It's almost 7' right now, early in the season.  And did I mention, this is the one pepper that EVERYONE in my family loves.  So, it's staying. (I almost culled it last season, because the early peppers tasted weird and had no heat)
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For the OP - I ended up getting 4 varieties of Rocoto to produce down here for me in the last 18 months.  It was slow going at first, but when they decided it was time, they really went.  I had 4 varieties: Cuzco, Aji Oro, Red Rocoto, mini Red Rocoto.  Of these, mini Red was my favorite.  Absolutely delicious.  In fact, they're still producing, even in the blistering heat.
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The Red Rocoto is one of my "forever" plants, in a huge planter on my back porch.  It's been an up and down struggle, battling the elements.  Sometimes, I feel like it's barely hanging on.  And the bugs seem to know when it's having a rough time - particularly the scale and root aphids.  But, I think I've got it dialed in, and can keep it going.  She had a rough adaptation to our "suddenly summer", but I think it's stabilized, and is just like it was when I got it last summer.

 

[Bicycle808]

My Starfish haven't ripened yet, but the plants are robust growers and they both have a lot of lil green pods on them. I'm stoked to try them.

As far as the JPGS goes, I'm only familiar with the Jay's version using that acronym. AFAIK, Judy at Pepperlover had a superficially similar strain she calls "Peach Bhut SS," where the "SS" stands for "special selection." And I was under the impression that the PBSS doesn't have any Scorpion genetics in the mix? But, tbh, I never grew it... this is my third year growing JPGS; I'm pretty much committed to those...

SMDSauce, how many TFMs are ya working with? I'm growing a bunch of those, again. They're probably my favorite Scotch Bonnet.

 

[ShowMeDaSauce]

I can only remember getting a couple ripe mini red pods last year. All the rest just fell off the plants. Same for Miraflores yellow rocoto. For whatever reason this aji oro seems far less fussy and pods easily sofar. We have not hit close to the normal heat yet and night time temp swings are good. Nights are nice and cool for the most part. I did get to sample some mini reds a friend in Idaho sent me. He had the same seeds i had.....VERY tasty pepper. That is the only reason i started two more late last year inside. I was hoping to see production before our weather heated up. It worked but now its time to see if it holds on to those pods.
 
Brazilian Starfish will return next year. Absolutely loved the one i had last year. One of the best tasting peppers ive ever tried fresh. Avoid the placenta and nearly anyone could eat them. Awesome in cukes and onions salad.
 
My first attempt at JPGS were seeds from RFC. Not a single one out of 20 germinated. I tried twice then ordered three seedlings from Juanitos. One pant had some cold damage in shipping. Looked like it would die but then started producing a good amount of new leaves lower on the stem. Its out front isolated in a huge pot and still much smaller than the two plants in back........I have several other REALLY hot peppers to compare them against this year.....Naglah Brown, Trent's "Big Brown Bhuts", Scorpion, Scotch Brain, CCN Reapers and CCN/PepperLover's Dragons Breath. All of which look really good except the big brown bhuts in a raised bed. They just started to put on some new foliage but are far behind the others.
 
I have three TFMs going from Trent's seeds. One is really nice, one is ok and the last one could be better. Last year 4 Dreadie bonnets produced more pods than i could deal with so i should be fine.

 

[acs1]

SMDS, very nice garden. Plants all look very healthy. Awesome....

 

[ShowMeDaSauce]

I avoid most types that make me a slave just to get a handful of ripe pods. They got to be something i really got to have such as the aji panca. I got a ton of effort in these 2 mini reds this year and it will be the last time if i dont get a good harvest from them. Aji oro had super slow germination and super slow growth when it was a sprout. Other than that its rocking and my gut tells me its gunna be a winner. Aji panca are simple to grow. They just take forever to produce a ripe pod.
 
The Bolsa de Dulce look flat out killer. Plants are really freaking big and almost effortless. I had one i held back as a late start. It exploded within two weeks after i put it in a pot. Its the plant right behind the two in fabric pots.
 
I can only devote so much "real estate" to fussy and/or low production plants. If its easy to grow then i can tolerate it to some extent. If i can by them fresh locally i just buy them. Its not worth all the time, effort and more importantly space i could have used for other plants. That is the only reason i got 7 aji panca in ground. I cant buy them locally at all other than paste and they are simple to grow. They just take a lot of time to produce.
 
This was my year to experiment and go heavy on the hot stuff. While at the same time still have a good supply of ripe jalas and aji panca. Next year will be more routine and stuff i liked this year will be added to my "favorites" list.

 

[solid7]

If you like Aji Panca, have you grown out Aji Amarillo, or Aji Arnaucho?  Recommend both varieties, very highly.  I can't have a pepper garden ever again without Aji Amarillo.
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I try to have at least one "high maintenance" plant per year.  For the next X years, as long as I can keep them, it's going to be my mini red and Red Rocotos.  They've definitely been worth it.   

 

[ShowMeDaSauce]

I have 2 aji arnaucho going atm. VERY easy pepper to grow with great production even when small. I grew them last year too. Stunning plant when peppers are in multiple stages of ripening

 
Last years plant in its "rainbow". Around mid July

 
 
Aji Amarillo is on the list for next year. I did not risk it this year with all the other "first time" for me varieties. It was a toss up last year and i went with the panca instead. While i cant get them locally i can get very good amarillo paste. For the kind of food i like, the panca is a little more flexible and i loved the flavor of the pods i grew last year. I thought mine was better than the panca powder i bought.

 

[solid7]

Aji Amarillo, for me is on par with a jalapeno.  When you get the taste for them, they're on the same level, in almost every way. (but with a bit different character)
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Arnauchos are great little peppers.

 

[Bicycle808]

...JPGS ....I have several other REALLY hot peppers to compare them against this year.....Naglah Brown, Trent's "Big Brown Bhuts", Scorpion, Scotch Brain, CCN Reapers and CCN/PepperLover's Dragons Breath.

JPGS are though as hell. My first year growing, I bought a single plant from CCN simply bc I had seen pics on the "gnarly pod" thread on THP and thought they looked cool. Due to my ineptitude and an Aphid infestation, that JPGS lost every single leaf. It only had a couple when i planted it out, and those feel of soon after. I would have pulled the twig/Steen, but I felt bad bc it still had some lifelike color. Before too long, it sprouted a lot of new growth, and actually have me one nice-sized wave of gorgeous pods before season's end. Those things are durable.

As for the heat competition among your grow, I have trouble judging the JPGS's heat, for some reason, but it handily beats the Scotch Brain, and based on just the one Brown Naglah I had, the JPGS beats that too. I'd put five bucks on it being hotter than whatever you end up getting from the supposed "Dragons Breath" plant, lol.
Peach pods are weird. Deceptively hot,in my opinion. And JPGS is particularly deceptive, bc of the crazy delay in heat. It takes quite a few minutes to go from what feels like 100k shu to what feels like 1million shu. I've never seen any definite specs from a credible source, so I got no clue what the actual Scoville rating is.

I have three TFMs going from Trent's seeds. One is really nice, one is ok and the last one could be better. Last year 4 Dreadie bonnets produced more pods than i could deal with so i should be fine.

If your TFMs are anything like the TFMs I've been growing, you'll have plenty. Mine outproduced the Dreadies I've grown, plant for plant... And it seems like they will again this year. Best part is, after that first wave, some of those TFM pods are pretty big, as Bonnets go. The only ones I've grown that push out bigger pods were Freeport Orange SBs. Some of those were HUGE, relatively speaking.

 

[ShowMeDaSauce]

The Naglah came from MWCH seeds i got early last year. It took forever to germinate. I wanted a couple brown/chocolates to try this year. The big brown bhuts from Trent are supposed to be old Pepperlover seed stock. Seeds are from his pods last year and he claimed they were brutal.
 
I wasnt even going to grow the Reapers or the Dragons Breath. Pops saw them on CCN and got a wild hair. He wanted to grow the hottest peppers i could find and i was out of time to grow any from seeds. The plants look really good atm. Not huge but really healthy. I would have gone with 7 Pot Primo from original seed stock if i had the option.
 
I have 3 JPGS....
One always looked ok...not bad but not killer. Now its the largest.
One looked ok then podded and looked kinda crappy. Now it looks fine.
Last one looked like it was not gunna make it. Most of the foliage died up top.
 
This was after a couple weeks of nursing it back to health. He got a little sunburn too in the upstairs window so i moved him into a south facing kitchen window. I named him Stumpy.

 
He is almost double this size now.

 

[ShowMeDaSauce]

Couple more ripe...never had supers ripe this soon or even bonnets.

 
The aji arnaucho has one close....Well actually they are used anytime after green. I sampled a tiny orange one the other day and it was very tasty. They are hard to see but this plant has LOTS of pods on it.

 
Stumpy is doing ok but not as good as he could be. My other two JPGS are still quite a bit larger and greener.

 

[ShowMeDaSauce]

I got 2 more ripe JPGS today and 1 aji arnaucho.
 
TFMs are impressing the hell out of me.

 
Jaunito's Scotch Brains are starting to crank too....Love the look of these pods. Pretty uniform so far

 
Sugar Rush Peach really perked up after the temps went up.

 
So did the Bolsa de Dulce but they were already pretty big. Number of pods hiding in there is just sick

 

 

[acs1]

Your Jaunito's Scotch Brains look very interesting, are they super hots..?
 
Those Tidy Cats buckets look to be doing very well for you, plants look incredibly healthy...

 

[ShowMeDaSauce]

Dont think so....Hotter than bonnets but less than ghost.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CmzlP6Uyy8

 

[solid7]

I avoid most types that make me a slave just to get a handful of ripe pods.

 
I'm pretty much the same, but I really can't get away from my Wiri Wiri...  For me, that's easily, and hands down, one of the best peppers I've ever tasted.

 

[ShowMeDaSauce]

There are some i will grow. Such as antep aci dolma. You probably wont get more than a dozen pods off any plant. Granted they are good sized pods. This year i devoted one small raised bed and 2 spots in my jala patch to aji panca. I might get 20 pods off each plant. Cant say for sure yet because this is the first time trying them in dirt. All i remember is i did not get a huge amount off the one in a pot last year. Im just now getting a couple tiny pods on the ones in the raised bed.
 
Aji panca is a double wammy though...you wont get squat until later in the season. By then its hard for me to sun dry them.
 
Sofar this year has been a great experiment. Now i know the the bosla will likely produce far more pods than i can use. Same with the SRP. I also know if i want early supers, the JPGS is a clear winner. Ive got 6 or more sofar and the flavor is acceptable. Very glad i tried TFMs too. Nothing wrong with Dreadies but the TFM is a clear winner for more early pods. I had the same results last year vs MOA reds. I had a few ripe reds by this time last year. Its nice to know i will get two good waves of bonnets. The Dreadies came on super strong later but i could enjoy others earlier
 
Many others look promising as well but man them big brown bhuts took a long time to kick in gear. Glad i put them in dirt instead. I pretty much just leave them alone to do their own thing. I dont think ive watered them more than twice and only once with nutrients.