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thoroughburro 2023, kith and kitchen

I’m just a week or so away from my first round of seed starting, and The List has stabilized.

As the title suggests, I’m focusing on a more shareable garden, this year. My high heat tolerance is well satisfied by sauces and flakes, so it’ll be a mercy to others and not much sacrifice to me if I cook more with mild or heatless peppers and lean into condiments for my own spice satisfaction.

Capsicum annuum​

4 Gogoşar (pronounced “gogoshar”; also transliterated as gogosar, gogosari, etc), a heatless Romanian variety whose name is confusingly also used generically for red pepper. My partner has very fond memories of this large, pumpkin-shaped pepper being roasted and then stuffed or preserved. They’re also used fresh, like red bell pepper. I had to import these seeds from a Romanian seller on Ebay who at first resisted since US customers had been leaving bad reviews for unreliable shipping. I assured her I would leave a good review regardless of ever getting them. It all worked out, and now of course I’m that much more invested in growing the variety…

4 Quadrato d’Asti Giallo, a superlative, heatless yellow bell pepper from Asti, in northern Italy. I grew this last year and, although the pods were stunted in only 5 gallons of soil, I was extremely impressed with the thick flesh and excellent flavor. Together with Gogosar, these should account for most of our “vegetable pepper” usage.

4 NuMex Heritage 6-4, well known as a choice, but mild, New Mexican cultivar. I grew Big Jim last year, but it was too hot for my partner to enjoy when used as the base of, for example, chile verde.

4 Jalapeño Zapotec, nearly rejected for again being too hot for my jalapeño-popper-loving partner, it found a place as my primary fresh spice pepper for pico de gallo and other fresh salsas. I’d find a place for it regardless, really; I find it a very compelling pepper.

4 Jalapeño TAM, this is the jalapeño to hate if you despise the near-heatless jalapeño products which took over the mass market: it was developed by Texas A&M University to be a commercial (but open pollinated) crowd pleaser. It should be exactly right for my partner’s poppers, and thus allows me to grow my Zapotecs!

4 Chiltepin O’odham (pronounced something like “OH ohdahm”, the apostrophe representing a glottal stop; they’re fascinating), a really tempting chiltepin collected from a sacred mountain. I struggled to choose a chiltepin for the year, especially because my dried Chiltepin Hermosillo Dwarf from last year have been amazing… but I do want to see if the berries of a non-dwarf might be a bit bigger, and I’m a sucker for a good origin story.

4 Stavros, an apparently choice Greek pickling pepper of the general type known in the US as “golden Greek pepperoncini”. “Pepperoncini” terminology is an absolute minefield, which is a shame since so many of us developed an addiction to them in childhood (thank you for that if nothing else, Papa John’s). This seems to be the only specifically named cultivar widely available, so it was an easy choice.

Capsicum chinense​

4 Orange Habanero (SLP) and
4 Orange Habanero (CPI), let one of these be the harpoon which slays at last this white whale, please god! This will be the third year I attempt to accomplish the original goal of this now-major hobby, which was to replace my no-longer-locally-available favorite sauce (El Yucateco XXXtra Hot Kutbil-ik) with homemade. The first year, I began too late and only whetted my appetite; last year, I put all eggs in the Habanero Oxkutzcab basket, which was too fruity for purpose. I’ve realized I need a bog standard habanero for the sauce I crave. Hopefully one of these will do.

4 Habanada (also using seeds collected from @HellfireFarm), which will allow me to make a medium-heat, taste-alike version of my signature sauce for more sensitive friends and family. This technique, of substituting some of the spicy variety with a heatless version to make a mild sauce, works so well that the smell, texture, and damn near the flavor are almost identical to the real deal. I hope to slowly create more heatless varieties of sauce peppers to allow this for each sauce I make. Someday.

4 Bahamian Goat, which saved my bacon when Habanero Oxkutzcab proved unsuited. It’s bulletproof and super productive with no downsides. It would almost be hubris not to grow: oh, you think you’re so good you don’t need the Goat at your back? It’s a good luck pepper.

4 Hot Paper Lantern, which I failed to see through last year. These have an almost universally excellent reputation, and in general sound like another pepper with all pros and no cons. I tend to like those! In addition, Johnny’s offers a yet more lauded version which was apparently the pride and joy of one of their breeders, Janika Eckert. I expect great things!

2 7 Pot Jonah, which I fully expect to regret growing. The capsaicinoids all over everything around processing time was a bit annoying last year. This year, I know to dedicate a separate cutting board and generally be more aware of the invisible menace which accumulated capsaicinoids become. Even so, I expect processing a superhot into sauce to be an ordeal. But I do want that sauce. I want a sauce in my repertoire which can make me think twice. Plus, I already thought of a good name.

2 Ají Charapita, which I grew from RFC seeds last year. I wasn’t sure if I would grow it again, but it’s lovely and compact, and looks amazing filled with glowing berries. We made a present of the single harvest of the single plant we grew, packed in vinegar, and it was both surprisingly beautiful and tasty. This seedline from Peter Merle was collected by him from a wild (or, I would suspect, naturalized) context along the Amazon, near Iquitos where the variety is common. I don’t expect it to be appreciably different to RFC’s, but the extra provenance is cool!

2 Redfire, also known as CAP 691. An enigmatic wild (or naturalized) red chinense which @Pr0digal_son described temptingly here. I’m hoping this has deciduous pods…

Capsicum baccatum​

4 CAP 455, which was the most productive pepper I grew last year, as well as the tastiest heatless red. The large jar of refrigerator pickles leftover has seen heavy use in chickpea salad sandwiches. I intend to devote a future season to more widely exploring baccatum, but this one is essential.

Capsicum frutescens​

4 Tabasco, which sure, yawn, but that unique flavor is still my absolute, must-have favorite on breakfast eggs. I’ll be surprised if I can make an acceptable substitute, but taking a shot at it will be my first fermented sauce project.


It’s a smaller grow than last year, in order to allow room for a burgeoning interest in herbs and a tentative branching out into other veg. As long as my choices work for purpose, it should all be more than enough!
 
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I noticed the beginning of a second hook in the rockwool above the first.

I wouldn’t have noticed it if I hadn’t looked over the photo multiple times, and I also checked later today than usual. Together, I judge: it doesn’t count until tomorrow.
 
7 Pot Nebru experiment. Soaked seeds on the left, unsoaked on the right:
1677883288990.jpeg


Results (in days to first visibility)

Soaked then Cubes: 8, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?
Soaked then Pellets: ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?
Unsoaked then Cubes: 8, 8, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?
Unsoaked then Pellets: 7, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?

I notice roots here and there hinting at who will be next. The early trend seems to be that the unsoaked seeds are ahead by about a day to a day and a half. It’s still all to play for! 😉
 
7 Pot Nebru experiment. Soaked seeds on the left, unsoaked on the right:
1677883288990.jpeg


Results (in days to first visibility)

Soaked then Cubes: 8, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?
Soaked then Pellets: ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?
Unsoaked then Cubes: 8, 8, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?
Unsoaked then Pellets: 7, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?

I notice roots here and there hinting at who will be next. The early trend seems to be that the unsoaked seeds are ahead by about a day to a day and a half. It’s still all to play for! 😉
Hey @thoroughburro your pellets seem oversaturated with water; you could squish them gently so that they do not retain excess water (detrimental to germination and root development).
 
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A squeeze would not produce any water… I think they might look wetter than they actually are due to the top lighting.
Ok cause they look soggy onyour pic!
 
7 Pot Nebru Experiment Update:

1677965838461.jpeg


Results (in days to first visibility)

Soaked then Cubes: 8, 9, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?
Soaked then Pellets: ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?
Unsoaked then Cubes: 8, 8, 9, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?
Unsoaked then Pellets: 7, 9, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?

Unsoaked seems to be maintaining its lead. Hard to know, at this point — could be the beginning of a high germination rate, or as easily the end of a low one. For grow-out purposes, I only wanted four containers of 7PN, so we’re already in the black. 😁

A few varieties graduated from and now surround the airing tray:

1677966046778.jpeg


I ran out of coir before finishing, so I’ll pick some up in a bit and finish tomorrow. Feels good to be potting!
 
Late update post today, but the photo and tally are from the usual time.

1678065367823.jpeg


7 Pot Nebru Results (in days to first visibility)

Soaked then Cubes: 8, 9, 10, 10, 10, ?, ?, ?
Soaked then Pellets: ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?
Unsoaked then Cubes: 8, 8, 9, 10, ?, ?, ?, ?
Unsoaked then Pellets: 7, 9, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?

Is the Soaked group making a comeback?? Also, the pellets are well behind in both groups. I let the tray air out longer yesterday and today.

(Potting up continues; update tomorrow.)
 
Late update post today, but the photo and tally are from the usual time.

1678065367823.jpeg


7 Pot Nebru Results (in days to first visibility)

Soaked then Cubes: 8, 9, 10, 10, 10, ?, ?, ?
Soaked then Pellets: ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?
Unsoaked then Cubes: 8, 8, 9, 10, ?, ?, ?, ?
Unsoaked then Pellets: 7, 9, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?

Is the Soaked group making a comeback?? Also, the pellets are well behind in both groups. I let the tray air out longer yesterday and today.

(Potting up continues; update tomorrow.)
Do you have a meter to check the ph difference between the cubes and the pellets?
 
1678122926019.jpeg


Results (in days to first visibility)

Soaked then Cubes: 8, 9, 10, 10, 10, 11, ?, ?
Soaked then Pellets: ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?
Unsoaked then Cubes: 8, 8, 9, 10, 11, ?, ?, ?
Unsoaked then Pellets: 7, 9, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?

The cubes on the outside corner of each group have reached full germination, with 4 sprouts each. It could as easily mean nothing certain, but I wonder if they were enough drier to matter. And yes, MarcV, at least in the conditions I provided the cubes seem to be a clear winner regardless of pretreatment.

A separate consideration is that the cubes are truly ugly and contrast very poorly with green seedlings. I think the nicer brands, like Grodan, are not quite as… urinary.

The initial round of potting up is done:

1678123444808.jpeg


Below, Tray 4 and its airing out tray have been combined, on the left, waiting for a few laggards (Gogosar Anileve, CAP 455, Tabasco). Tray 5, with the bought in replacements, Bolivian Rainbow, and the 7 Pot Nebru experiment is just visible on the right.
 
1678207411063.jpeg


Results (in days to first visibility)

Soaked then Cubes: 8, 9, 10, 10, 10, 11, 12, 12
Soaked then Pellets: ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?
Unsoaked then Cubes: 8, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, ?, ?
Unsoaked then Pellets: 7, 9, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?

The presoaked seeds in cubes have completed germination at an admirable 100%. The very poor result from the pellets so far leads me to suspect a procedural issue — maybe they’re too moist, as Bou suggested? Hm.
 
I'm using pellets every year and always have very good germination rate (as long as seeds are viable and temperature is under control!). Pellets should not feel "heavy" and as I wrote before, If you gently squish the pellets there should be no water coming out (maybe a few drops, maximum). Another way to tell they're too wet is when you smell them, they should have that nice fresh peat smell, not a rotting smell (eggs, sulfur smell). I hope this will help.
 
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