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chinense Yellow Scotch Bonnets

In related, tragic news, *&^%ing slugs keep eating my Scotch pods.  I picked one this morning that was rotting and stepped on it to get any slugs that might be inside of it and I could smell all of its Scotchy wonderfulness wafting up all the way from the ground.  Such a loss.  
 
Slug bait works wonders to protect plants if you apply it early in the season. Applying later in spring doesn't help as much since they're pretty much full adults and have already started to reproduce.
 
MikeUSMC said:
For flavor, I'd say the TFM is probably my favorite. Tried for the past 2 years, and I couldn't get the P. Dreadie to germinate, but I'm dying to try that strain. I still have a bunch of seeds for it (from a few different members here), so I'll give it a shot again next year. If anyone might have a SFRB of Dreadie pods they'd be willing to sell at the end of this season, please keep me in mind! :cheers:

(They're not all Yellow, but) Here's a post of pics of the different Bonnets I grew in 2016:
http://thehotpepper.com/topic/64964-mikeusmc-2017-grow/?p=1471536
 
I´m glad to hear i´m not the only one struggling to get these Dreadies to germinate.  I had the worst time of it, 2 years in a row.  The Dreadies and Scotch Brains both gave me problems; Yella Fataliis took longer than they should´ve, but ultimately i got >90% germ from those.  The Scotch Brains and Dreadies were basically duds for me.... but alllll the others popped right away for me, almost too easy.
 
I´m loving your Bonnet gallery from last year, Mike.  Good of you to show the quarter for reference, and the cross-section shots of the pods.  Foodarama pods are awesome, and you can´t really appreciate them fully til you cut them open....
 
I had good germination from my Dreadie seeds but the plants are not nearly as hardy as the MOA reds. Same potting mix, ferts and location but none of the Dreadies are growing like the MOA reds. My best one has lost its nice deep green now. The 2nd best one right next to it looks better and has gotten larger too. The MOA red next to them is twice the size and already has buds and flowers. I think i even saw a pod on it this morning.
 
TFMs are on the list for next year if i dont see a major improvement. The seedlings were sweet looking while inside on the window sill. Still smaller than the MOAs but looked really nice.
 
Holy complicated question.  For a seed to germinate it has to recognize that it’s time, trigger chemical reactions to switch from dormancy to growth, turn on a bunch of growth hormones, and a ton of processes to grow.  Any one of these hundreds of steps could have gotten buggered.  It's borderline miracle that it ever works.
 
Much shorter answer: inbreeding.
 
 
Fauxton said:
Those in-the-know, is TFM = to Trenton Farmer's Market?  I've heard both yes and no on this...
 
I´ve seen some folks claim that TFM stands for ¨true form.¨  Which is undeniably stupid, if true....but i don´t think it is true at all.  Semillas.de´s site calls the TFMs ¨true form,¨ and i´ve seen it repeated on some forums/FB.... most ppl seem to believe the Trenton Farmers Market story.
 
Which does make a lot of sense, as the Trenton market refers to itself as the TFM for short, and the guys from Sandy Acres Farms in nearby East Windsor, NJ have been selling bushels of awesome yellow and unripe green Bonnets from their table at the TFM for many years.  Sadly, in 2017, they lost their whole initial crop and brothermang had to order new seedstock....  Good news is, the pods they grew in 2017 were pretty rad.  Typically, Bonnets have 3 chambers to a pod, sometimes 4....  most of the pods i got from the market last year had 4 chambers, and many had 5!  They were also a little more warty/spiky than they were in previous years.
 
Long story short: i feel confident that it stands for Trenton Farmer´s Market because i´ve been there, bought pods, saved seeds, and chatted with the employees and even the head honcho.  Maybe, at some point, i´ll muster the courage to ask him whether or not he knows his bonnets are internet-famous on an international level, and see where that discussion takes me.
 
Maybe we ought to be referring to them as ¨SAF Scotch Bonnets,¨ but TFM is so well established...spamus, ppl´d get confused between that and Safi Reds.
 
TFM = trenton farmers market.  I can't remember exactly but I think a grower in 2008 purchased some pods from there and starting growing them, maybe scotch bonnet steve?     They get really big- 
tfm1.jpg

tfm.jpg

 
Cheers 
 
Bicycle808 said:
 
I´ve seen some folks claim that TFM stands for ¨true form.¨  Which is undeniably stupid, if true....but i don´t think it is true at all.  Semillas.de´s site calls the TFMs ¨true form,¨ and i´ve seen it repeated on some forums/FB.... most ppl seem to believe the Trenton Farmers Market story.
 
Which does make a lot of sense, as the Trenton market refers to itself as the TFM for short, and the guys from Sandy Acres Farms in nearby East Windsor, NJ have been selling bushels of awesome yellow and unripe green Bonnets from their table at the TFM for many years.  Sadly, in 2017, they lost their whole initial crop and brothermang had to order new seedstock....  Good news is, the pods they grew in 2017 were pretty rad.  Typically, Bonnets have 3 chambers to a pod, sometimes 4....  most of the pods i got from the market last year had 4 chambers, and many had 5!  They were also a little more warty/spiky than they were in previous years.
 
Long story short: i feel confident that it stands for Trenton Farmer´s Market because i´ve been there, bought pods, saved seeds, and chatted with the employees and even the head honcho.  Maybe, at some point, i´ll muster the courage to ask him whether or not he knows his bonnets are internet-famous on an international level, and see where that discussion takes me.
 
Maybe we ought to be referring to them as ¨SAF Scotch Bonnets,¨ but TFM is so well established...spamus, ppl´d get confused between that and Safi Reds.
What I don't get is:

Semillas' strain is in fact Trenton Farmers Market or a different one?

Btw, if anyone has ISO seeds for Trenton Farmers Market or Papa Dreadie I'm in for purchase or trade
 
Fauxton said:
Holy complicated question.  For a seed to germinate it has to recognize that its time, trigger chemical reactions to switch from dormancy to growth, turn on a bunch of growth hormones, and a ton of processes to grow.  Any one of these hundreds of steps could have gotten buggered.  It's borderline miracle that it ever works.
 
Much shorter answer: inbreeding.
 
I see people talking about ratios on the stuff in their soil and things like that. Do you do all the same stuff for every pepper plant or do different types respond better to different things?
 
Guitarman said:
Anybody tried Papa Joe's?
Yes. Perfectly fine Bonnets. The pods had some awesome idiosyncrasies-- way more corrugations. A really killer-looking pod, flavor is classic Yella bonnet. The plants weren't as productive as some of the other strains I grew under identical conditions but I'm only talking about 2 plants over one season so that's just one grower's limited experience. Overall, I'd say they were a great pepper and I'd be happy to grow them again, but they wouldn't be my first choice for yellow bonnets.

If you're looking for TFM seeds...
I got TFM seeds saved from Sandy Acres pods. Direct from the source, 2016. They grew true as F for me. I'm not sure I can say they're isolated, as I don't know what Henry's growing practices and fields are like but I'd happily send you a lil sack of them... Just lmk

PS- I have no clue if the semillas seeds are the same TFM or not, but you could ask Peter as he is a THP member. I will say that I've bought seeds from semillas 2 years in a row and I'm totally satisfied. Good germination rates, every plant grew true for me, and the prices are great. I've heard that you can get a hassle with customs or whatever, but I had no problem either time...
 
@Bicycle808, do let me/us know what you think of the "Walton" scotch - the good, the bad, how it compares, etc.   I'm in love with them, but haven't tried many Scotches to compare.  
 
 
 
Ghaleon said:
I've never known of anyone to dislike any Scotch Bonnet they've tried. I haven't even known of someone to say they're just okay. It seems like everyone loves them.
This is true, I guess. Never had one I didn't like, unless it was roached out and well past it's prime. I will say that I've had bonnets that weren't very bonnet-like, eg, the Safi Red. Great peppers, and I am growing then again this year, but they ain't really Bonnets.
Fauxton said:
@Bicycle808, do let me/us know what you think of the "Walton" scotch - the good, the bad, how it compares, etc.   I'm in love with them, but haven't tried many Scotches to compare.  
 
 
Well, to give you what little update I can, I have five of your plants in my Bonnet patch. They are growing strong and seemed pretty healthy, although it got hot as hell the other day and some of their leaves got scorched. Nothing they won't bounce back from, but it might have set them back a little. (Many of the plants in that bed suffered similarly...) But, so far I'm impressed with the Walton plants' vigor and growth habits. I'm looking forward to getting some pods from them; the way you described their flavor and aroma last year seemedd really appealing. I'll be sure to update you as the grow progresses...
 
Ghaleon said:
I've never known of anyone to dislike any Scotch Bonnet they've tried. I haven't even known of someone to say they're just okay. It seems like everyone loves them.
Scotches are the reason I'm growing peppers right now.  I grew maybe like 6 other varieties of peppers and didn't like any of them and was going to give up on peppers...and then...my Scotches ripened.  Now I'm obsessed with growing.  
 
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