Current pepper list

For this update I thought make a list of my peppers to keep track of where I am with sowing and what varieties I have. I think I may have a few too many already and i have not sown the bulk of my annuum varieties. I will give away all the doubles and may lose a few annuum overwintered plants.

Propagator

Capsicum Chinense Manabi Sweet - Sowed November.

Capsicum Chinense CGN2150xxx - Sowed November.

Capsicum Chinense Cheiro Roxa - Sowed November.

Capsicum Chinense Habanero Manzano - Sowed November.

Capsicum Chinense Biquinho Amarelo - Sowed November.

Capsicum Chinense 7pot/pod Bubblegum - Sowed November.

Capsicum Chinense Habanero Hawaii Beach Pepper - Sowed November.

Capsicum Chinense Aji Dulce Amarillo - Sowed November.

Capsicum Chinense Aji Jobita x 2 - Sowed November.

Capsicum Chinense Habanero Big Sun - Sowed November.

Capsicum Chinense Habanero Red (Turkish shop fresh peppers) - Sowed November.

Capsicum Chinense x annuum Pimenta da Neyde - Sowed November.

Capsicum Rhomboideum - Sowed November.

Capsicum galapagoense - Sowed November - Not yet germinated.

Capsicum galapagoense Long - Sowed November.

Capsicum lanceolatum - Sowed November - Not yet germinated.

Capsicum chacoenese PI 260427 - Sowed November.

Capsicum chacoenese CAP 524 - Sowed November.

Not Capsicum parvifolium - Sowed November.

Grow area 1

Capsicum annuum Mirasol - Overwintered.

Capsicum annuum Superchilli F1 - Overwintered.

Capsicum annuum Cyklon - Overwintered.

Capsicum annuum Black Hungarian - Overwintered.

Capsicum annuum Serrano - Overwintered (may be on its way out).

Capsicum annuum Apache F1 - Overwintered.

Capsicum annuum Cayenne - Sowed October.

Capsicum annuum Sweet bonnet - Sowed September.

Capsicum baccatum Aji lemon x 2 - Overwintered.
Capsicum baccatum Mini bonnet (Brazilian starfish) - Sowed October.

Capsicum Chinense Paper lantern - Overwintered.
Capsicum Chinense Chocolate Habanero - Overwintered.
Capsicum Chinense Big Sun Habanero - Overwintered.
Capsicum Chinense Probably not Carolina reaper - Overwintered.
Capsicum Chinense Grafted Trinidad Mouraga Scorpion - Overwintered.
Capsicum Chinense Tobago seasoning x 2 - Sowed September.
Capsicum Chinense CGN21500 - Sowed September.
Capsicum Chinense Gambia red - Sowed September.
Capsicum Chinense Frontera sweet - Sowed September.
Capsicum Chinense Rocotillo - Sowed September.
Capsicum Chinense? (I think due to the growth habbit) PI260490 - Sowed September.
Capsicum Chinense Chupetinho x 2 - Sowed October.
Capsicum Chinense Itallian market Scotch bonnet yellow - Sowed October.
Capsicum Chinense Tesco Habanero yellow - Sowed October.
Capsicum Chinense Tesco Habanero red x 2 - Sowed October.
Capsicum Chinense Tesco Habanero red pointy - Sowed October.

Capsicum frutescens Gusto purple - Overwintered.

Capsicum praetermissum Cumari pollux  - Sowed September.

Grow area 2

Hard to get a photo and plants are recovering from aphid attack and subsequent spraying.

Capsicum annuum Tepin - Sowed November.

Capsicum baccatum Mini bonnet (Brazilian starfish)  - Sowed October.
Capsicum baccatum Aji crystal x 2 - Sowed October.
Capsicum baccatum Aji omnicolor - Sowed October.
Capsicum baccatum Aji Amarillo - Sowed October.
Capsicum baccatum Apple crisp - Sowed October.

Capsicum frutescens Tobasco - Sowed October.

Capsicum praetermissum Cumari pollux  - Sowed September.

Kitchen windowsill 

Capsicum Pubescens Rocoto Giant - Sowed September.

Capsicum Pubescens Rocoto Giant yellow - Sowed September.
Capsicum Pubescens Rocoto Large red - Sowed September.
Capsicum Pubescens Rocoto Mini - Sowed September.
Capsicum Pubescens Rocoto Montufar - Sowed September.
Capsicum Pubescens Turbo pube - Sowed September.

Dining room windowsill/door

Capsicum annuum Caldero - Overwintered.
Capsicum annuum Cheyenne - Overwintered.
Capsicum annuum Chenzo - Overwintered.
Capsicum annuum Thai dragon - Overwintered.
Capsicum annuum My F1 (Black hungarian x something bigger) - Overwintered.

Capsicum Pubescens Rocoto red -  Overwintered.

Solonum Nigrum Black nightshade - Collected from 2 locations.

Living room windowsill 

Capsicum baccatum Aji lemon - Overwintered.

Capsicum Pubescens Turbo pube - Sowed September.

Capsicum Pubescens Rocoto Large red - Sowed September.

Capsicum Pubescens ? - When I topped my rocotos I put all tops in a glass of water, this one rooted.

Bedroom windowsill

Capsicum annuum Tepin x 2 (One pot) - Sowed October.
Capsicum annuum Pequin - Sowed October.
Capsicum annuum Italian market big cherry - Sowed October.
Capsicum annuum Tesco yellow  - Sowed October.
Capsicum annuum ? x 2 (One pot) - Sowed October - Spares I should really ditch.
Capsicum annuum Two spares of different varieties twisted together from birth - Sowed October.

Capsicum Chinense Itallian market Scotch bonnet yellow - Sowed October.
Capsicum Chinense Tesco Habanero yellow - Sowed October.

Bathroom windowsill

Capsicum Chinense Chupetinho - Sowed October - My best plant of this variety seems to be liking the humidity.

Thats all at the moment, I will be starting off a few more wilds soon and then the bulk of my annuum varieties probably in February.

Chilli pepper update - Self-watering pot update and c.rhoboideum has germinated!

Firstly an update on the new reservoir I made for my self-watering pots.

The original post - Larger reservoir for self-watering pots

I made this in the hope that next spring when the weather warms up I can put lots of my peppers in these. This would mean I could keep them in small pots and save on soil. Also what limited me this year was keeping my very small reservoir pots topped up. This much larger reservoir should last them much longer and give them much more root space.

So as for the update. The kale I planted has grown a lot (I didn't realise just how much till I looked at these pictures).

Before                                                            After

The growth on top which I can start to harvest is very nice but what i was really testing was how well the plants roots grow in this reservoir. The roots have also grown a lot and are white and healthy.

Roots

So all in all. A success! looks like I will have to start saving up these poly-boxes as I think I will put many of my peppers in these next year.

The next piece of good news is many of the seeds I planted last week have germinated. Including  the Capsicum rhoboideum, which is meant to be difficult to germinate. One of the reasons for such successful germination rates is good quality seed. For this I have semillas.de to thank, as their seed always seems to be top notch. Also I seem to have most success, "doing it the old fashion way". planting seeds in moist compost in a pot rather than germinating first or using so other modern method.

So for anyone wishing to emulate my success germinating Capsicum rhomboideum

1. Good quality seed - Mine were from semillas
2. Moist compost in a pot (other methods may work but this is what worked for me)
3. Warmth\humidity - I used a heated propagator
4. Patience - Try to forget about them a bit. Not essential but I find nothing ever comes up when I keep checking all the time. Make sure they have enough water and then leave it alone for  a while.

Capsicum rhomboideum

Thats all for now, more updates to follow as more wilds come up and I start to pot them up.

Chilli pepper update - New seeds started

This week I finally started off a new batch of pepper seeds. I was waiting till I knew I had some space for them when they are potted on. I have moved stuff around and have made space for some of them, although I will need to find more space as time goes on.

I planted some wild species and some chinense varieties. I am holding off planting any of the annuum varieties I have bought till spring as these grow more quickly.

Labels (chinense to the right, wild species on the right)

I only started off one of each plant (2 seeds the strongest seedling will be kept), I may start more of these varieties at a later date as space permits.
I will start with the chinense varieties:

Manabi Sweet - I didn't actually order this variety, it came as a free gift with my seed order from semillas.de. A large low heat chinense variety. From the photos I can find, the peppers look like large versions of "habanero paper lantern", which I grew this year. More varieties of low or no heat chinense peppers are always welcome. They have all the fruity flavors chinense peppers have, without burning your face off. it also means you can add far more of that flavour to a hot sauce by combining them with hotter varieties.

CGN2150xxx - An F4 cross between "Scarlet lantern Peru" and CGN21500 (another variety with unique colouring that I already have a plant of). Peppers are fairly hot and ripen from purple to orange to red.

Cheiro Roxa - Another variety related or similar to CGN21500. Cone-shaped peppers mature from purple back to ivory yellow. The peppers in between colour is almost a cerise pink colour. Mostly I got this variety for the colour but the peppers are fairly hot and has chinense flavoring so still will be useful.

Habanero Manzano - Another free gift variety.  Not claimed by semillas, but some vendors claim this is a cross between a Habanero and a Manzano (Capsicum pubescens). This is highly doubtful as it not possible to cross these two species, also these seeds are white and you would expect to see some colour from the pubescens black seeds if these were indeed a cross. The reason vendors say this is peppers are Orange with thick salmon coloured flesh reminiscent of a manzano.

7pot/pod Bubblegum - The 7pot peppers come from Trinidad and are meant to be hot enough so that one pod has enough heat for 7 pots of stew. Bubblegum has an enlarged calyx that turns the same colour as the fruit when ripe. I don't normally like peppers this hot but am growing this variety to cross with others as the enlarged coloured calyx  is an interesting unique trait for passing on.

Pimenta da Neyde - Actually thought of as a cross between a chinense variety and a purple annuum variety. First discovered and named after Neyde Hidalgo. Peppers are purple black and don't really change colour. The pods resemble annuum pods but have the flavour and smell of a chinense. Another variety I have got mostly for hybridizing with other varieties.

Habanero Hawaii Beach Pepper - Another one I didn't order as I already have a large red habanero. Peppers are large boxy and ripen to a dark red. The description sounds very similar to "Gambia red", which I already have growing. It will be interesting to compare this, the Gambian red and the two varieties of red habanero I have collected from fresh store bought peppers.

Biquinho Amarelo - This is the yellow (hence amarelo) version of a variety I already have growing. The red variety I have labeled chupetinho but this just another name for biquinho. Pea sized peppers are round but with a point almost like an upside-down teardrop. the red version was one of my favourites when I grew it a few years ago. Plants were prolific, made great ornamental pieces and the peppers were very useful. Peppers are fairly mild with chinense flavour so were nice in salads and for pickling.
Aji Dulce Amarillo - Not a typo by the way, this variety name and the previous spell amarillo differently - Who knows why?  Anyway... Another variety that ripens to yellow. Its flavour and looks are very similar to a habanero, but without the heat. I have quite a lot of no or low heat chinense varieties this year as these should be useful round the kitchen. I would like to use the chinense flavour more in cooking and not everyone can take the heat, so these peppers should give them the opportunity to try some more of my food.
Aji Jobita x 2- Another low/no-heat chinense variety originating from Venezuela. Reportedly the best tasting of the low-heat chinense. Orange oval shaped peppers have a subtle chinense flavour with lots of brown sugar-like sweetness.
Habanero Red (Turkish shop fresh peppers) - I have collected two versions of store-bought red habanero and grown the seeds. This version came from a local Turkish shop, the other from a market in Italy. It will be interesting to compare these.  They were labeled scotch bonnet but I have pretty much ruled out that name. They were not Scotch bonnet-shaped, and they did not have the distinct flavour. Instead peppers were large, red and typically habanero-shaped.
Habanero Big Sun - I already have one plant of this variety that grew very well this year. Because this plant did so well I have started of some seeds from one of the fresh peppers. These were not isolated so could be an unintentional cross. Peppers are large, yellow and habanero shaped.

Habanero Big Sun

Next I have started of some wild species:
Capsicum Rhomboideum - The most un-pepper like capsicum, there is some argument about if it should be considered a capsicum at all. Originally Capsicum ciliatum, it was removed as Witheringia ciliates and then reclassified more recently as Capsicum rhomboideum. Plants are large upright and bushy. It has distinctly oval-shaped, hairy leaves. Yellow flowers make this species look very un-pepper like and more like many of the pepper relatives I am growing. the fruit is pea-shaped, red and is meant to have no heat.
Capsicum galapagoense - Small plant coming from you've guess it! The Galapagos islands. Closely related to c.annuum and c.chaconese. Plants look small annuum plants covered in fine hairs. reportedly difficult to grow and bloom. flowers look similar to c.annuum and also have the fine hairs. fruit is small round and very hot when ripe.
Capsicum galapagoense Long - As above except for the fruit it more oval shaped than round.
Capsicum eximium - A wild species from Bolivia more closely related to C.pubscens than any of the other cultivated species. Small plants produce attractive purple flowers with a lime/white center. Small round fruit grow on a long thin stem. Only meant to produce a small amount in first year, better in their second year.
Capsicum lanceolatum - A wild species with  leaves in pairs. Leaves can be round when small then very elongated when large. Again like c.eximium it has extremely attractive flowers. Each petal is purple down the centre midrib and white to the edges. Fruit is small, round and have very little or no heat.
Capsicum chacoenese PI 260427 - C.chacoenese bear small white flowers that look much more delicate than c.annuum flowers. PI 260427 originates from Argentina. Plants are small and many branched, with extremely hot pods.
Capsicum chacoenese CAP 524 - meant to be large productive plants that produce large yields even in low temperatures. Hopefully this will mean it likes my growing conditions. bullet shaped pods have a medium heat with good flavour.
Not Capsicum parvifolium - Semillas has this variety that has been distributed around as c.parvifolium but probably isn't. I have decided to grow some as these look more like a wild baccatum species, which I haven't got one of anyway.

There are a more wild species I would like to try and grow. For instance I have just ordered seeds for Ulupica Capsicum cardenasii. There is also a hybrid between C.pubscens and C.cardenasii called Rocopica that i am dieing to try so if anyone has seeds let me know.

Updates on these will appear once they germinate and I have some seedlings to show.