Turning up the heat!

[Zath]

First peppers of the year. I've got 4 different kinds going this time: Jalapenoes, Habaneros, Dragon Cayenne, and Pimiento Picante. I may pick up an Ancho if they still have one at the store later this week.

The first three were purchased as seedlings (since I misplaced my Hab seeds from last year), and the Pimiento is growing from seed. It got a late start, so it's really stunted. Anyway, pics!

Jalapenos less than a week after the first flowers.
1st Jalapenos by the_bugman_cometh, on Flickr

Cayenne flowering: (There's two small peppers growing already, but I don't think you can see them in the photo
Dragon Cayenne Flowering by the_bugman_cometh, on Flickr

I did notice last year that my Habaneros were a little on the mild side, so the peppers are in a new location where they'll receive much more sun and heat (I've heard ambient temp. plays a role in the heat of the peppers, dunno if that's true or not).

More pics as the plants mature. The cayenne are going to be fabulous once all the peppers turn red. I might have to hold off picking them in exchange for photo ops.

 

[corky]

looking good,i heard that you need to treat em mean ,low humidity,hot temps and not much water to get them at their hottest

 

[Zath]

looking good,i heard that you need to treat em mean ,low humidity,hot temps and not much water to get them at their hottest

Right, basically treat them as if they were in the Mexican brush somewhere. My problem in the past has been with over-watering them, but I think I kicked that habit this year. A good thing about peppers is that they are very vocal about their water needs. If you're the kind of person who looks in on their plants, however briefly, twice a day, peppers will tell you exactly when they need water, and perk back up about 45 minutes after you give it to them.

 

[corky]

that's the kinda plant i like,i should be getting some off a friend in a couple of weeks,hard to get good results in the UK without a greenhouse:-( good luck with em Zath

 

[Zath]

Not really an update...just extra pics taken earlier on the deck.

My peppers all laid out:
Peppers minus 2 by the_bugman_cometh, on Flickr

Closeup of the most recent dog victim:
Jalapeno chew-toy by the_bugman_cometh, on Flickr

And finally...the reason I have three less peppers than I wanted this year, and why last year's CP's were all destroyed and struggling:
Plant Destroyer by the_bugman_cometh, on Flickr

 

[hcarlton]

Good luck... I gorw 2 different kinds of Scorpion peppers, including the famous Moruga.... CO heat (with days occasionally soaring over 100 F) and low humidity does wonders for extreme spice, and I can vouch on that from personal experience

 

[Zath]

Good luck... I gorw 2 different kinds of Scorpion peppers, including the famous Moruga.... CO heat (with days occasionally soaring over 100 F) and low humidity does wonders for extreme spice, and I can vouch on that from personal experience

I'm going to have to look those up for next year. As much as I like hot stuff, I purposely avoided any kind of ghost peppers, or anything hotter than Habs, really. I like my mouth to be on fire....not my gut, 3 hours later.

I can't do much about the humidity though. It's pretty high in the VA summer (around 65-80% daily), so I may not be able to get them at their hottest. I'll trade you my not-quite-famous Mango-Habanero salsa recipe for a few of those Scorpion pepper seeds. )

 

[Acro]

My girlfriend and I just planted some "Peter Pepper" seeds.
If you haven't seen photos of them, you need to look them up! They resemble a particular part of the male anatomy.

Anyway, Zath, your plants are looking good and your dog is adorable!

 

[corky]

well my friend dropped off the chilli plants he promised me ,i have a Butch T Scorpion ,Red Scotch Bonnet ,Peter Pepper (think i can guess the body part ) and a mysterious no name ,now i hope for a nice summer,just googled a pic of a Peter Pepper and i can tell its religion

 

[Robster_24]

Very nice sized plants! I can never get peppers to grow that big!

 

[PsychoSarah]

I keep my plants in a room my dogs can't get to. Forbid they decided their pots would be great for marking their territory

 

[Zath]

Just a quick little update. Getting the first coloration on the cayenne. The Jalas are doing nicely. I want to leave them on long enough to turn red.

Dragon Cayenne by the_bugman_cometh, on Flickr

 

[NemJones]

Ive been waiting for my ghost pepper to get fruits all year, but for right now I only have flowers.

My seed grown Ghost pepper bush. Now about 2 years old, and getting massive. I dont know How im going to keep this thing over winter.

Small white flowers.

 

[Zath]

Christmas in July! Look at all the decorations!

Red Jalapeno by the_bugman_cometh, on Flickr

Dragon Cayenne 7-28-14 by the_bugman_cometh, on Flickr

^Those suckers are hot, even for Cayenne. It's getting time to harvest at least half of those. Fortunately I have a buddy who likes hot stuff even more than I do, which is good, because there's no way I'm eating 50+ Cayenne by myself, lol.