rocoto ... finally! These things ripen slowly.

Aji hombre

Aji hombre

My plants have been heavily podded since May/June--I thought I was going to have an early crop. Hah!
 
Just got my first one today. A few more are in the process of coloring up now.
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[SIZE=14pt]Nice looking pod![/SIZE]
 
[SIZE=14pt]I’ve just picked my first ripe rocoto. And I live in South Carolina, so it would have been a labor of love even without all the problems I've described below.[/SIZE]
 
[SIZE=14pt]I started the seed early in 2012, and by fall I’d got a few pods on the plant. I brought the plant inside and, in trimming it, managed to cut off the branch bearing the biggest pod. SNAFU 1.[/SIZE]
 
[SIZE=14pt]The plant overwintered successfully and, when I put it outside, it started to flower. A good looking pod formed, then one day the branch was broken off. I believe one of the cats was chasing a lizard. SNAFU 2.[/SIZE]
 
[SIZE=14pt]A little while later another pod was doing well when a branch fell out of a tree and nailed the plant, breaking off the branch with the pod. SNAFU 3.[/SIZE]
 
[SIZE=14pt]As you’ll appreciate, I was pretty pleased when a pod finally ripened to red last week. The pod was very juicy and sweet with a little heat, however I don’t think I’m going to try growing them again.[/SIZE]
 
Congrats! 
 
And... I'm kind of jealous! My overwintered plants (including 3 rocotos) got hit hard with aphids this spring. I bought ladybugs, which took care of that problem, but the weather here has been rather chilly and rainy almost all summer, so I keep having to haul them into the garage so they don't drown in their pots. But then, that means they're not getting enough sunlight. I've only recently found blooms on one of the three, and was excited this weekend to finally see the first pod just barely beginning to develop, let alone ripen! 
 
Kentishman - I'd suggest not giving up yet. So far I've found the first year to be dismal as far as production goes, but it picks up in the 2nd and 3rd years if you overwinter them. At least, that's been my experience. I have two from two years ago, and one from one year ago. 
 
My plants are semi-overwinters. I started them late last season and they grew big enough to give a few small pods (very late--like in December!). They got a great start this year and flowered and set fruit really nicely--and then they stopped growing and flowering and have spent pretty much the entire summer at around 1' tall, but with long branches weighed down by fruit. I have had a few pods drop, but mostly it's been just a waiting game for the pods to ripen. I've been looking forward to rocotos rellenos for a while!
 
I know I've got a good climate for C. pubescens, but my manzanos don't seem to know that.  They have been growing and flowering all season and the plants are twice the size as the rocotos now, but with no peppers yet. 
 
My overwinters got hit by frost. Twice in two weeks.
 
They weren't overwinters in the sense of chopping them back and bringing them inside, but they lived through the winter outside. Over   -    Winter.
 
They are bushy as hell but small since the new growth basically came from the bottom under the dead part. They are doing better than last year at this time.
 
Looks awesome!  I can't wait to try growing those next year.  With my climate it will take a portion of my cunning.
 
mctiggs said:
Looks awesome!  I can't wait to try growing those next year.  With my climate it will take a portion of my cunning.
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you will need to start indoors very early they take forever - for you December would be good  
 
Yeah I've heard ~120 days from transplant.  The date of last frost here is end May/early June and first frost is late Sept/early Oct.
I'm going to try them in pots as well as in-ground.  Not holding my breath on the in-grounders.
 
Can anyone tell me what the taste is like?  I've been looking around for a description, I can't really find anything coherent.
 
Taste? Like a rocoto, of course....  ;)
 
I'll describe my take on the reds, which are my fav - in a strange way, very much like a tomato, but not. Maybe a cross between a tomato and a pepper.... very hard to describe. 
 
mctiggs said:
 
Can anyone tell me what the taste is like?  I've been looking around for a description, I can't really find anything coherent.
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I find them extremely fresh tasting very juicy - almost like a green bell pepper (they are also very thick fleshed) - but they pack quite some heat

A nice pepper indeed - but they are locality readily available (4 cheap) that's why I debate growing them...
Al
 
Al-from-Chile said:
I find them extremely fresh tasting very juicy - almost like a green bell pepper (they are also very thick fleshed) - but they pack quite some heat
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yup. that's just what I say. I'm looking forward to trying them roasted over charcoal. I did this at the end of the season last year with some manzanos and they were fabulous. kind of like roasted New Mexicos but with more heat and flavor. The roasting mellowed what was (for me) a kind of harsh and unpleasant hotness that I find with the raw peppers (which is different from the kind of burn from a hot C. chinense IMO).
 
good thinking ... I need to try that, too ... I have 3 roc's in the fridge ... and my family doesnt eat too spicy (3 little girls :-) - so they go a looooong way here 
 
cheers,
Al
 
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