Okay, that sounds similar to my expeiences..
Isn't NJ the garden state of the north?

I'm in sort of xone 6. with the river it is almost zone 7.

This rainy year is leaning toward Zone 5.. but I think Zone 6 will prevail.

I have these mild peppers that I love... either Italian Frying peppers or Chilies.. I just know that they are mild, very prolific and go from green to red. unlike some peppers that become green, then yellow and finallly red.

Cowhorns are definitely a keeper as I really likje thge flavor of peppers in my pasta sauce.

Right now I am letting my tongue cool down.

I am trying to taste test the peppers and I think my tongue can feel the effects of the last test. maybe have to wait hours between tastes. these are very hot.

quote:

Originally posted by beansprout56:
HotSalsaMan,

From here on out, referred to as HSM, cuz it's too much to type, dammit!

We are getting early cooler temps, here too, and I HATE it...just wondering what area (State, and general area) you live in?

Vicki

I had a frost on Sept 12 this year. it killed a few things but most made it ok. the ice was thick on the leaves. I was out at 7 am. most damage was to some leaves. the peppers were all fine. they can go a little lower.

It was a close call since I was totally unprepared for the cold. Most of the damage was to the squash and pumpkin leaves. but all the plants lived. interesting the new grow tips of the squash got hit the hardest. probably more tender. the older leaves did better but some died at least in spots.

the pumpkins and squash have been going down hill since then. the peppers are doing great. the tomatoes look like they are ending the season for most of them. one variety is still like new green with no damage.

quote:

Originally posted by wasrabbity:


I'm in sort of xone 6. with the river it is almost zone 7.

This rainy year is leaning toward Zone 5.. but I think Zone 6 will prevail.

Zones are all about winter not about summer. the zone refers to what plants can survive the winter. the colder the winters the lower the zone. zone 5 is -10 F for the winter low. while I will guess that zone 6 is 0 F for the low. and 7 would be +10 F for the low. and 8 is now +20 for the low. zone 9 would go to 30 F or just barely below freezing. and zone 10 should be no frost.

this does not tell us the important information about the summer. it does not indicate the time from last spring frost to first fall freeze. it does not indicate the high temperatures during the summer and it does not indicate the rainfall.

thus a zone 5 in Maine is much different from a zone 5 in Ohio when talking about the summer. Ohio should have a much longer season between the freezes and a much warmer summer. Maine will have a shorter season and be cooler. this affects heat loving plants like tomatoes and peppers. but too much heat and tomatoes and peppers will not set fruit.

I appreciate this information. I swear it is different here within 1 mile (as the crow flies) of the river. It doesn't get as cold in winter, gets hotter in the summer. We almost have an earlier last frost date and later first frost date than exsists just 15-20 miles from here north or south. The temperature difference is enough to keep me from wanting to move... unless I go home.....(OHIO)


So you guys are all about HOT PEPPRES? I have Aji Limo, Serrano, CAYENNES and Mariachi's in pots. I just have 1 or 2 of each but I was thinking it would be fun to have those producing on the back porch.

I have never found any peppers that have produced inside in the winter as if they were still outside in the summer. A few peppers on some varieties will show up eventually, but many, if not most, will not even flower, even under very good lighting (though HPS will trigger flowering, but too much if used the entire winter). I have also found that the old growth will not produce as much as new growth, so I prune them way back, and let them grow mostly new growth, then give them a boost taward the end of the time indoors by placing them under HPS light, which triggers the flowering. One time I did this too early, and ended up with far too many blossons, and the peppers would have been too numerous for the plant to support full sized, so I removed about 2/3 of them! Now I just do this a few weeks before placing outside, and I have very early peppers, to keep me supplied until the main crop starts producing.

BTW, Hotsalsa, I tried rooting and they all rotted, as I noted above, so now I have a bunch of cuttings in fiber, with 3 different dips tried, to see if they work. I'll keep you posted. I got basil to root incredibly quickly in the same soil, so it doesn't seem like it would be something in that, but you never know...maybe basil is sort of antibiotic, in a way.

Dave

Pepper updates:

As for production, I can tell which produced the most by the jars of dried peppers lining my counter, and Japones is defiinitely the winner - almost a full gallon from 3 plants, plus some frozen as well, and this was the only Thai/Chinese type to have any lost to pepper maggots. Thai Superhot had the least, only about 3 cups - less than the ones with just 2 plants. As for heat, the Assams got hottest of the thai types, but ripened very late, so I probably won't plant again, though the flavor is good.

Still no luck rooting in the fiber, though there are 3 out of 12 still alive, though it doesn't seem like there is any new growth...time will tell.

Dave

This was all very interesting. Thanks, Dave and others who contributed to this Pepper thread.
I am planning to bring some peppers inside this year and put some in the greenhouse, too. I am not sure the greenhouse will keep them happy, but we'll see.
I was wondering if growing different varieties close together would change the flavor of the peppers, but I am guessing that it only affects seed purity?
My chiltepins are much bigger this year and I was gonna blame the jalepenos that share the table with them on my porch this year. Last year, they were tiny and super hot when ripe.
I saved seed from them last year and planted again but they sure look different. All the other peppers last year were planted a good distance away in the main garden.
Interesting to read about using vinegar to get seeds to sprout. I had no luck sprouting chocolate habenero or purple jalepenos.
Very nice pictures, too Dave! Nice to meet you HSM. Welcome to the OG forum.

gp,

I have grown chiltepins from 4 different seed sources, and they were all different! Different sizes, numbers, plant sizes, and one had incredibly thin stems throughout the plant, even though it was around 3 feet tall. They were all hot, but one - aviculare - was the hottest.

You are right about it only affecting the seeds when plants are close together, which is why I rarely save seeds, unless I am taking precautions to isolate them, which isn't worth the trouble unless it is a pepper I can't find again, and want to keep planting.

Dave

pepperhead212 -
Can you contact me with your mailing address? I have a gift I want to send you.
The gift is: 5 Dorset Naga Peppers seeds, direct from the U.K.; and 5 seeds of the following varieties: Cayenne, Aji Rojo, Aji Yellow, Habanero Orange, Scotch Bonnet Red, Scotch Bonnet Yellow, Jalapeno, Tabasco, Tepin, Thai Bangkok Upright, Purple Tiget, Rocoto Orange, Red and Yellow.

I know you've likely grown some of them already, but I can think of no other pepperhead I'd like to give them to, especially the Dorset Nagas. You must, of course, report back on how blistering they really are!

I can be reached at Shelley(underscore)Baptie11(at)msn.com if you are interested.

Sounds great, loamie! I have been looking for a source for those DN seeds - only found plants so far.

Please e-mail me so I can get your address...I tried a few times and it came back 'site not found', even after changing to all lower case, to see if that could be the problem.

Dave

try it again, then I'll remove the url.

Dave,
If you have success growing those DN seeds, I hope that you'll isolate some flowers (if not whole plants) to save some seeds for sale/trade. I've been looking for DN seeds for a while now and have had absolutely no luck finding any (especially any that I can afford) - but if you have some next year, I'll know that they're from a reliable source and will trust your heat rating on them too

Let us know!

That's what I was thinking, too, dhedrick. I've only got the 5 seeds and don't trust myself to do them justice. The packet says they are a hybrid, but I was under the assumption they were selected from a heirloom?(And a hybrid can be de-hybridized, with time and carefulness). I cannot help with the actual growing of the peppers- that's pepperhead's job, but I can help with the de-hybridization.

I got these seeds from "skaill" who posted in the Naga Dorset thread in Seed Swap. Paid a pretty penny for them, too, but utterly worth it just to satisfy my curiousity. So they are direct from the U.K's source breeding stock.

Just tried again - this time through yahoo. I remember another time with someone else a message would not go through on yahoo, but did on at&t, but this time it may be reversed! Cut and pasted the address and message, so it is identical...time will tell.

I have tonight what you probably had weeks ago, Loamy...my first freeze warning! I harvested 26 poblanos and countless jalapeños from just 3 plants of each, and dug up a gold bullet and red savina, and potted them. The rest, I figure, I have so many of, and so little time to do the other things today, I'll take my chances. The ones with almost all on them ripe I cut off at the root and put them on my back porch to ripen. Unbelievable numbers of peppers still out there...what a waste.

Dave