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Chilli Geekery 2013
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tai haku



Joined: 17 Apr 2011
Posts: 472

PostPosted: Sun Mar 17, 13 6:23 pm    Post subject: Chilli Geekery 2013 Reply with quote
    

Time for another year's chilli growlog. Having got rid of all my plants last year to try and beat a pest invasion I'm starting afresh. Last year I feel like I overdid the number of varieties. I want a lot of plants again this year but not so many varieties - the idea being I can collect the same (or very similar) pods from 3 or 4 plants - this worked well for me in my first years as a chilli grower only for the wealth of variety to lure me into chaos so.....

Annums.....
Broadly speaking I'm planning to grow 2 (or possibly 3) types of annum pepper - primitive wildtype pequins to feed the grinder and Jalapenos for poppers and maybe a green jalapeno fermented mash sauce. In the ideal world I'd be able to get fresh jalapenos from a market and not bother growing them but I can't so I will. Someday when my dreams of an autowatering monstrous chilli tunnel are realised this type of thing won't be an issue.


the grinder needs feeding!

C. annum "Armish Bush"
A nice productive pequin. 'nuff said.

C. annum "Calusa Indian Mound"
The info I have on this one is that it is "from nature center,Boca Raton, Fl., native Florida pepper thought to be extinct, found on an old Calusa Indian mound". As I'm a sucker for peppers with history I had to try this one even though it may be much the same as all other wild Floridian peppers. Supposedly it gets massive and is prolific which is good because the grinder needs feeding!

C. annum "Chiltepin Sonoran Orange"
A chiltepin variety from Sonora which ripens orange not red - self explanatory.

C. annum "Early Jalapeno"
This seems to be the preferred Jalapeno for most people in northerly climes on account of fruiting earlier than most others.

C. annum "Jalapenos Cracked"
This is a seed strain isolated from pods collected in Jalapa city, Mexico after which Jalapenos are named. It is supposedly hotter, sweeter and crunchier than most US varieties. It also corks (or cracks) vigorously. In Mexico corking is a mark of quality appreciated in peppers, in other countries like the US and UK it is often seen as a blemish to be erradicated. I want my peppers authentic and corky.

C. annum "Padron"
I want at least one dish of green grilled padrons and I don't trust waitrose to deliver.

C. annum "SuperChilli"
I want a single bush of a thai type plant for use in stirfries and so on. SuperChilli seems to be the variety everyone recommends.

Chinenses
I have two requirements from my chinenses this year - searing heat and fruity awesomeness in some pods and far less heat and even more fruity awesomeness in others.

C. chinense "Bonda ma Jacques" - a yellow hot pepper from St Lucia that a lot of you rate as the best of the hot chinenses. After trying and failing with the similarly highly rated Fatalii for a couple of years I'm hoping to see great things from this.

C. chinense "Tobago Scotch Bonnet"
A mild scotch bonnet - maybe something that's going to be usable for stuffing and poppers. I don't know much about this one but I'm hoping it will be to scotch bonnets as Trinidad Perfume is to habaneros.

C. chinense "Trinidad Perfume"
I love this pepper and will probably grow it every year I can. It is such a unique taste and so flavourful - I'd try to compare it to something else but it's really amazing. Grow and eat this pepper!

C. chinense "Trinidad Scorpion CARDI yellow"
Potawie, a grower I've a lot of respect for said "Its one of my new favorite chiles, I'd grow a field of them this year if I had enough seeds. Great flavor and heat, not crazy hot like other scorpions. Also very productive for me" That's enough to get me growing.

So my plan for next year is to use 5 Quadgrows. I realise I could probably shotgun together a similar system but growing as I do in my conservatory the neatness of the quadgrows really appeals and I doubt I could produce something so neat or self contained. I've just potted up the first 3 Quadgrows.

Without further ado I proudly present.....

The Pequin Quadgrow:


1 X C. annum "Armish Bush"
2 X C. annum "Calusa Indian Mound"
1 X C. annum "Chiltepin Sonoran Orange"

Amish Bush is flowering massively already. I think this would probably make an excellent plant for both window and bonchi cultivation. I'll be interested to see how big it ends up in the quadgrow.




Calusa Indian Mound looks like it'll make a much bigger plant. I have two of these but one is either a twin embryo or 2 plants that came up very close to each other and fused. Again I'll be curious to see how that works out. I toyed with nipping the weaker one out but decided to see how it turned out


Sonoran Orange went in slightly later than the others. I toyed with keeping it under the lights for a bit longer but decided that, as it's an annum I'd just pot it on now and let it go.


and now, introducing......

The Jalapeno Quadgrow

2 X C. annum "Early Jalapeno"
2 X C. annum "Jalapenos Cracked"
Early impressions are that Cracked is vastly more vigorous than Early. It depends to be seen how it fruits of course but it has germinated faster and better, grown bigger and is flowering already.

Cracked:




Early:


Finally for now I bring to you........

The mild chinense Quadgrow



2 X C. chinense "Trinidad Seasoning"
1 X C. chinense "Trinidad Perfume"
1X C. chinense "Tobago Scotch Bonnet"

Trini Seasoning has gone off like a train. Massive lush leaves and a few flowers....




Tobago Scotch Bonnet has done similarly well


Slightly worried about Trini Perfume - I have two seedlings both displaying this mottling. I'm hoping they are just displaying a deficiency and not a virus. We will see.


Seedlings for the other 2 quadgrows are still too small so are under the lights for a bit longer. They look good though!

DorsetScott



Joined: 23 Oct 2011
Posts: 500
Location: Bournemouth
PostPosted: Fri Mar 22, 13 9:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Epic Post.
I'm still a variety man myself, off the top of my head it's 19 this year (although a few are the super hot ones, just to see)

tai haku



Joined: 17 Apr 2011
Posts: 472

PostPosted: Sat Mar 23, 13 11:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Last couple of year's threads for contrast:
2011 Chilli Geekery: https://forum.downsizer.net/about62915.html
2012 Chilli Geekery: https://forum.downsizer.net/about67981.html

Back to this year's grow - I think this must be the earliest I've had seedling chinenses popping flowers.....





Marches



Joined: 13 Dec 2011
Posts: 171
Location: Nr Peak District, England
PostPosted: Sun Mar 24, 13 9:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I might grow chillis myself this year.

tai haku



Joined: 17 Apr 2011
Posts: 472

PostPosted: Thu Apr 04, 13 7:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

and so it begins......

Amish bush ironically growing like it's turbocharged

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator


Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism
PostPosted: Thu Apr 04, 13 7:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Don't you still have snow down there? I'm sure I've asked before but do you heat & light them?

tai haku



Joined: 17 Apr 2011
Posts: 472

PostPosted: Fri Apr 05, 13 7:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Treacodactyl wrote:
Don't you still have snow down there? I'm sure I've asked before but do you heat & light them?


Few flakes/hail stones last couple of days but not really no.

and yes, they've spent december/jan/feb under lights.

tai haku



Joined: 17 Apr 2011
Posts: 472

PostPosted: Sun Apr 07, 13 9:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    


amish bush


amish bush


cracked jalapeno


calusa indian mound


calusa indian mound


trinidad seasoning

tai haku



Joined: 17 Apr 2011
Posts: 472

PostPosted: Thu Apr 11, 13 6:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

and so as of sunday my masterpiece is complete. All 20 quadgrow slots filled:

Some of the plants I put in today are still quite small but the sonoran orange chiltepin I put in that was small romped away so I'm hoping these will follow suit.

The last two quadgrows have sat empty til today but now I can at last submit for your consideration:
The Caribbean Hot and Yellow Quadgrow:


2 X C. chinense "Trinidad Scorpion Yellow CARDI"
2 X C. chinense "Bonda ma Jacques"

The two Trinidad Scorpion CARDI Yellow - these look like they will go alright.


2 measly Bonda Ma Jacques......

and

I worry for these. I've had runty Fatalii whenever I've tried them and I wonder if Bonda (which sounds very similar) will be the same. Perhaps there is something in their genetics I'm not providing for?
and lastly, with a sense of mild unease that I should have used this one for something else, I present.....

The Random Leftovers Quadgrow:


1 X C. annum "Padron"
1 X C. annum "Super Chilli"
1 X C. chinense "Trinidad Scorpion Yellow CARDI"
1 X C. chinense "Trinidad Perfume"

Super Chilli:


Trinidad Perfume


TS CARDI yellow


baby padron


All this means that this is the final growlist:
Annum
1 X C. annum "Armish Bush"
2 X C. annum "Calusa Indian Mound"
1 X C. annum "Chiltepin Sonoran Orange"
2 X C. annum "Early Jalapeno"
2 X C. annum "Jalapenos Cracked"
1 X C. annum "Padron"
1 X C. annum "Super Chilli"

Chinense
3 X C. chinense "Trinidad Scorpion Yellow CARDI"
2 X C. chinense "Trinidad Perfume"
2 X C. chinense "Trinidad Seasoning"
2 X C. chinense "Bonda ma Jacques"
1X C. chinense "Tobago Scotch Bonnet"

feel like this is a good list for the first go round with the quadgrows. Once I have a better feel for them I'll hopefully be able to cut some of my must have's into lesser numbers and find room for some more species and perhaps some nagas/bhuts - totally failed to get germination this year.

Meanwhile as of today, my first chinense pod of the season!

tahir



Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45389
Location: Essex
PostPosted: Thu Apr 11, 13 8:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I've had better results with fatali than any other habanero type

tai haku



Joined: 17 Apr 2011
Posts: 472

PostPosted: Fri Apr 12, 13 5:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

tahir wrote:
I've had better results with fatali than any other habanero type


that's what everyone says!

tai haku



Joined: 17 Apr 2011
Posts: 472

PostPosted: Sat May 04, 13 5:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

So last week over at Chillis Galore I posted:
taihaku wrote:

Jalapeno Cracked is growing away very solidly and one of the two plants is already carrying a fairly decent fruit load. I may be proved wrong by overall yield and flavour but so far this is looking like a much better strain to grow than Early Jal if you have a greenhouse. This is one of about a half dozen pods so far:

Untitled by WLA, on Flickr

I don't have a direct comparison but appear to be getting monumental early fruit set compared to previous years.

Jalapenos Cracked


Amish Bush


Trinidad Seasoning




Trinidad Perfume


Tobago Scotch Bonnet


only thing not setting so far is Calusa Indian Mound which is steadfastly dropping flowers in favour of getting enormous.


talk about tempting fate. This arvo I posted this over there:

taihaku wrote:
Erm. +1 for the idea of staking even your stoutest big plants. Where's the sobbing emoticon.

Fare thee well Trinidad Seasoning plant #1, alas we hardly new ye.


Was moving my quadgrows around to get better access to all the plants when I noticed this had broken off at soil level. Not sure if it was the movement that did it or if it simply happened earlier in the day and I just noticed it. Either way it's gone. I pruned the stalk heavily and speared it in the pot in the hope it'll take as a supercutting but I think that highly unlikely. I'm sure the stem will shoot again but at a cost of months growth.

In the meantime this is a measure of the more immediate loss the number of flowers on the plant show the opportunity cost as immeasurable.


I ate the big one. Good taste like a hab crossed with a green bell pepper. Hotter than I was expecting. Will be staking everything else shortly.


Luckily I don't have to end on that sad note. This week a couple of newcomers have arrived at the party....

Early Jalapeno.




Calusa Indian Mound has been dropping flowers for ages. In my experience (limited) with the tiny primitive chillis if they do this they tend to eventually set a monster hoard of peppers. We can but hope.




Continuing the come to the party analogy if the two above have just arrived and Trini Seasoning has already gone home with alcohol poisoning then Jalapenos Cracked is at this point tending bar, telling cool anecdotes and flirting outrageously with that cute girl who lives down the road, the one you thought was too cool to turn up; behold it's majesty:

tai haku



Joined: 17 Apr 2011
Posts: 472

PostPosted: Sun May 19, 13 3:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I'm back from hols.
First things first plants seem to be doing ok

I guess 10 days in the CI sun with no additional water and looking after this is testament to the workability of the quadgrows for self-watering.

Ridiculous pods on Jalapenos cracked...



note the total lack of corking thus far on them; I've been expecting heavy corking on it so will be interesting to see if that kicks in.

Trinidad Seasoning...


Secondly look what I found in my isolated panamanian rainforest lodge.....


good enough to come home with me....

murdrobe



Joined: 03 Jun 2010
Posts: 189
Location: Blackburn, Lancashire
PostPosted: Tue Jun 04, 13 11:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

How tall do your chilli plants typically get? I have a trough on my windowsil at university and the tallest (Carolina Reaper) is over 4ft now and i have to somehow get it home at the end of the month in a car so im concerned...

tai haku



Joined: 17 Apr 2011
Posts: 472

PostPosted: Wed Jun 05, 13 9:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

4 feet for a chinense variety (like Carolina Reaper) is pretty close to full size normally. You can get them much much bigger than that with hydro or year on year growing but I rarely get anything much over 5 feet.

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