Tick's 2015

Runescape · Apr 7, 2015

Tick said:
2 Star of Turkeys:

Cant wait to see what pods you get...

Tick · Jun 5, 2015

So I finally have the time (and a working computer of my own again at home) to post a quick update - mostly of my wilder plants. The weather quickly warmed up in May, especially during the days but, of course, this last week had record cold temps again. Even so, the plants have done well outside - even the galapagoense, which suffered last spring when they were young seeedlings. I've been bringing in the new wild seedlings at night and during the cool spells to be safe.

C. galapagoense, year 2:

Chiltepin Sonoran Orange x CAP 691, F1, year 2:

New wilds from cathyssocool - left: CAP 546 frutescens, right: CAP 212 chacoense:

left: CAP 469 praetermissum, right: CAP 1491 eximium:

Only 1 eximium came up, and they can't self. Fortunately, I bought some rocoto seeds after getting the eximium and only one of those came up as well:

So, if all goes well, I'll have rocopicas next year.

2 new pure S. cheesemanii, I'm thinking last year's galapagos tomatoes weren't so pure (I'm also growing those again):

~~CAP 525 frutescens, I think - it looks a bit like the chaco above so I'm wondering if~~ it's a purple-flowered chaco:

What I have as the purple-flowered chaco, which looks now like a frutescens to me:

Then. again, chaco 212 is starting to get bigger leaves as well so maybe it's too soon to tell.

Cumari pollux cross:

Coco Reaper F2:

It's recovering nicely from a very nasty disease that hit about 11 plants including all my Star of Turkeys, several 7 pots (a 7 pot brown died) and my 2 Large Orange Thais for the Growdown (not that they had a chance to win).

This other Coco Reaper F2 is also recovering but was hit a little harder and lost a few more leaves:

The dry and sunny May helped stop the disease as I was able to get the plants out in fresh air sooner than I expected.

CXC5 F1, my chinense cross for color and flavor:

Tick · Jun 24, 2015

All hybrids in this update!

First some F1 fun -

Cumari Pollux F1:

CXC5 (chinense cross, CGN 21566 is dad):

CXC4 (chinense cross, half-superhot):
http://s1182.photobucket.com/user/PeteMaws/media/P6176852_zpsxxmb0u0a.jpg.html
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Now a few F2s -
3x Chiltepin Sonoran Orange x CAP 691 F2s (F1 parent on right):

Biggest F2, sort of looks like CAP 691:

Its flower - pretty typical, unlike CAP 691:

A flower from its sibling on bottom left in picture; plant looks like biggest but possibly more interesting anthers:

Sibling that seemed different over the winter:

Now I know why! -

Outcross! But strange that it only has 1 flower per node, at least so far.

13 CXC2 F2s - chinense cross, half superhot. 2 sets, each from different F1 parents:

Flower on biggest plant of group:

14th CXC2 F2, much farther along for at least one big reason......

.... it's been enjoying life in Kentucky!

- Tick

Tick · Aug 22, 2015

It's more than about time for another update! Lot's of other stuff going on and computer issues were part of the delay.

The other part is that many plants were stalled for quite a while and I was becoming quite unimpressed with my gardening attempt this year. The conditions have maybe been too hot and dry at times along the walkway on the south side of my house. More importantly, my first major repotting was rushed and I was off. I don't have a fixed potting mix recipe and I mix/refresh soil in part by "feel". I've reused a lot of last year's soil (which probably contained a good bit of the previous year's) and probably did not put enough new nutrients into it. Water retention also varied from pot to pot as I had mixed small batches quickly. Anyway, when I finally repotted again less than a month ago, I was much more carefull and the plants seem to have appreciated it. It's finally been wetter and that may be helping some recent growth spurts. Hope it stays warm as many plants still have a ways to go.

Some plants/pods -

Purple-flowered chacoense:

Up close:

It is the fastest growing of the wild seeds I got from cathyssocool this Spring and now I know it's not CAP 525.

This is CAP 546 - should be a frutescens:

Flowers have a long stem like frutescens, but only a single very white flower per node and I think the plant is more like an annuum. I don't think I mixed-up the seed, as I only started some pubescens alongside it.

This plant is a frutescens, should be CAP 525:

Plant is vigorous but its pods are small.

Delicate looking chaco, CAP 212:

Coco Reaper (CAP 502 x Reaper) F2:

Up close:

The other Coco Reaper is a little behind, but now getting buds.

Now some fully superhots,

7 pot caramel:

7 pot brown:

I really need to repot - pods look great, but there are only 2 and it's in a 6-8" pot still.

Year 2 "ghost" pepper I got from a pod given to me from Jamaica:

Plant is my biggest, but has only now has some tiny flower buds forming. It looks a lot like a bhut I grew a few years ago, but the leaves are maybe a little rounder. That bhut was also slow to produce, but not this slow. It makes sense that a plant direct from Jamaica might mature late as there's a year round growing season there.

Tick · Sep 7, 2015

Labor Day update:

CAP 546:

The IPK database describes its immature pods as white as you can see above. It also says it's a frutescens - I think it's a annuum and a nice one at that!

Now some hybrids:

frutescens (either Malagueta or Bradley's Bahamian) x CAP 691 F1 has pods after 2 years:

Chiltepin Sonoran Orange ("CSO") x CAP 691 F2 #1:

CSO x CAP 691 F2 #2 - now has clearly yellow anthers like CAP 691:

Here are its unripe pods:

(Bhut x Bradley's Bahamian) x monster naga:

CXC4 F1 - superhot x interesting chinense, tastes a lot better than I expected:

Pods from 3 of the 14 F2 plants that I grew of another of my half superhot crosses, CXC2:

The last is my favorite phenotype in terms of pod appearance so far and is also one of the more productive. The middle pod is from an under potted plant but is the biggest and most solid so far. I've tried 3 ripe pods from other plants so far. All were more orange than the yellow one above. 2 were quite mild (and one fairly tasty). 1 had a nice quick sting and decent flavor - I may grow F3s from it, but I hope to find even hotter ones. Perhaps in the set above?

I caught a lot of insects when I was a kid but I had never seen one of these until it crawled across one of my pepper plants:

Wasn't sure if was a beetle or a cricket at first. Turns out it's the latter and known as a handsome trig.

- Tick

Runescape · Sep 13, 2015

Nice pods, yo.

That S. cheesemanii looks pretty neat. Any pods on the Star of Turkey plant?

Tick · Sep 13, 2015

Runescape said:
Nice pods, yo.

That S. cheesemanii looks pretty neat. Any pods on the Star of Turkey plant?

The 3 Star of Turkeys were among the dozen or so plants that got a nasty disease this spring. It was a shame because they were very attractive seedlings and my daughter had picked them, from among some extra seeds that came from Pepperlover, to grow. They've recovered and are again attractive plants but they were a bit behind and I haven't given them too much attention. However, one is in a decent sized pot and has a smallish ripe pod as well as at least one newer one developing. I also gave one away and I believe it is doing quite well.

The true Galapagos Tomatoes did poorly until I repotted for the second time. (Bad soil mix?) One is now quite big, but still has no flowers and the season is getting late. Hope I get a few tomatoes before frost! The ones I grew last year were much faster - I have a few of those as well. Still waiting on rocoto and eximium as well...

- Tick

Tick · Sep 22, 2015

It's been an odd growing year - many of my plants stalled earlier. However, last week was very warm here for this time of year, in the upper eighties if not nineties, as was the week before. The above average temps have given a late season boost to the plants and many are quite big, at least for the pots they're in. But now temps are dipping into the forties tonight. I'm hoping frost will come late this year, but I need a bunch of plants to start ripening ASAP!

I don't want to over winter much if possible this year, but I'll probably have to bring a few of the new wilds and maybe some F2 crosses in to hopefully get decent seed stocks.

Here's some wilds:

CAP 469, C. praetermissum:

The above pic is from almost a week ago and now it's got some pods setting and lots more flowers - I think I'll get a few ripe ones if I can find a sunny place indoors for it.

CAP 212, C. chacoense:

Only a few flowers, maybe one set pod.

CAP 525, C. frutescens:

I'll get at least 3 pods before I have to bring it in. I thought it was big and weedy (especially for the smallish pot it's in) but not productive, however, it's about to explode into flowers so it looks like it could be a nice frutescens to grow if not started so late. I'm looking forward to tasting it.

I started 5 CAP 691 x Bhut F2s even later than the above wilds - it was late in April, I think. One of them started flowering much earlier than the others even though they were all in the same size pots and roughly the same size (except for a runt):

Pods are a little smaller than the F1's and are a nice shiny light color when unripe like CAP 691:

So far it's my choice to grow F3s from as I like the pods and the plant form. Actually, it's not really a choice as none of the other F2s have even opened a flower yet though it being so much earlier is an even bigger plus.

- Tick

Tick · Oct 18, 2015

Well, It's supposed to not only be the first frost but also a freeze tonight. It's late and the temp is 42F at the moment, so I'm not sure if it will happen, Anyway, the plants that I hope to ripen pods on and/or possibly overwinter are in the basement as it's going to be cold the next 2 nights. Others aren't so lucky....

First though, C. eximium, CAP 1491 finally flowered a few weeks ago:

Here's most of the plants earlier today:

7 pot caramel:

It's in the biggest pot that I carried in. Not fun doing so, but it's my favorite superhot so far. Great heat, but little chinense flavor or that aftertaste that many supers have, and so full of pods. It had an early flush of ripe pods and I hope more ripen and then I'll try to make a powder - I think it would be great in chili.

CAP 546 might need some fertilizer but its pods have nice colors:

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I grew 14 F2s of my CXC2 cross and here's a more typical one:
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It produced some early pods, then stalled like many of plants this year. Pods are medium size, not that hot and taste is ok. Despite being half superhot, the pod I tasted had lower heat than an habanero. Flavor was typical chinense, but a little sweeter.

This F2 produced well despite being in a small pot and the one ripe pod so far was on the large size:

The pods had thicker flesh than I hoped for and don't have the most interesting shape. However, the ripe one had a nice light yellow color, unlike the more orange color of the F1s and majority of the F2s. It was really crisp despite being left on the plant for a while. It also has the best taste by far - sweet and with little of the hab/typical chinense taste. Depending on how the below 2 plants' pods taste, I may grow some F3s from it.

This F2 is a messy sprawler but its pods are consistently a nice triangle shape with interesting texture and it's perhaps the most productive:

The pods are med-small, ~1.5", but might also be ripening to a bright yellow:

It also seems to have more pods per node than the others and nice big flowers.

This F2 is also productive, so much so that it fell over on a windy day and I had to stake it up:

Pods are big, at least 2.5" long and quite wide on top, with a nice shape and texture:

They appear to be ripening orange-yellow, and in a cool striped way. They also look like they'll be hot - can't wait to try them.

I'm already probably too secretive about the parents' of some of my crosses (it's probably easy to guess what some are anyway). Well, here's another "secret" F1:

I've been growing some baccatums...

Finally, the late started rocoto is my tallest plant, but no flowers:

- Tick

Runescape · Oct 18, 2015

Crap, hopefully your plants pull through.

How was the heat on the Coco Reaper?

What phenotype are you looking for? Something w/ great taste, heat, and productivity I suppose lol.

...and I gotta ask, how'd the Star of Turkeys fare?

Oh, and what variety is that?

Tick · Oct 19, 2015

Runescape said:
Crap, hopefully your plants pull through.

How was the heat on the Coco Reaper?

What phenotype are you looking for? Something w/ great taste, heat, and productivity I suppose lol.

...and I gotta ask, how'd the Star of Turkeys fare?

Oh, and what variety is that?

Hey Runescape,

Here's a better pic I took of the plant you asked about:

It's an accidental cross, CXC2 x CGN 21566. Thought it was a CXC2 F2 at first as it's in the earlier picture with all 14 F2s together. I thought maybe some recessive genes came together for increased anthocyanin amounts, but also considered that it might be an outcross. It's quite clear now that it has characteristics of 21566. Oddly, CGN 21566 didn't seem to be one of the bigger pollen producers last year, which I noticed when I did use it for another, actually somewhat similar intentional cross. More interesting is that I have only 2 other apparent outcrosses among the plants I started from last year's seed and it's seed came from the F1 plant that I actually made some effort to isolate. I also think this plant came from the same pod:

That plant does not seem to be an outcross, but it does have huge light green leaves. Unfortunately, despite being very vigorous, it only set pods recently. The CGN 21566 cross was started at the same time, and it has produced very well for such a late start.

I tasted the Coco Reaper F2 earlier in the summer. While it's not my own cross, I have to admit that it was very good. I've never had a Reaper but I've heard they're sweet and good tasting, as was this. Very nice clean taste. The piece I ate gave me hiccups, so it must be pretty hot. A coworker who also tries the peppers thought it was not super-level hot (he can take more heat than me). All in all, I think if an hab is 350K and a bhut 1 million SHU, it was maybe 600K? I'm no expert though. The plant is also a nice shape and I'll grow it again. I put a pod in a soup I made tonight. I also added a pod off an F1 Bhut x Bradley's. I tried a piece of both and this time the Bhutx seemed hotter which surprised me, though I did try it first. They were quite different in flavor despite both being a mix of chinense and frutescens.

Your basically right about the pheno I'm looking for in the CXC2s with other traits like interesting pod shape and texture a big plus if I come across them. I would prefer more yellow than orange, but that's secondary. Big, impressive pods whould be nice but not necessary.

I'll take a pic of the Star, but it's really not that impressive. I do want to taste it as I've heard it has a unique flavor.

- Tick

juanitos · Jun 14, 2016

hey you growing this year man? you had some cool varieties.

Tick · Jun 17, 2016

Hey Juanitos,

Thanks! I am growing this year, just haven't had time to post yet. I have a decent number of plants including F2s and F3s of some of the above crosses and a couple of new varieties, including one CAP 1151 (baccatum), a variety I couldn't get to germinate last year. At the moment there is an aphid attack that has been messing up the new growth a bit, but ladybugs and other predators have finally arrived. If the plants survive that and a big party at the house this weekend, I'll probably start a 2016 glog soon.

Good luck growing,

Tick