where did I go wrong with my jalepeno peppers?

[sheeshshe]

OK, I got lost somewhere in here about all the big jim talk. so is the numex big jim in fact the jalepeno or the anaheim?

[garden5]

Apps, why do you say to prune the plant by 1/3 before you pot it and bring it in? I'm thinking about doing just this with my chili pepper plant.

Stella, I think the weeds are not from the seeds you planted. Rather, the seeds may not have germinated and the weeds did.

[tedln]

OK, I got lost somewhere in here about all the big jim talk. so is the numex big jim in fact the jalepeno or the anaheim?

It's an Anaheim type. You can eat them, but not with tostado chips.

Ted

[applestar]

No matter how big a rootball you manage to dig, you'll be cutting off a large portion of its roots, so you need to prune the amount of foliage the reduced root mass will support.

Also, remember that you don't want straight garden soil in containers -- not well draining enough, so you're going to be knocking/loosening off a lot of that soil entangled in the rootball, significantly disturbing the roots. It takes a while for the plant to recover from all that "transplant shock.". I like to feed with liquid kelp and AACT. As you know, I 'll be keeping any earthworms I find in the root mass, and if I don't find any, I'll add at least one... More likely at least two for a container this size.

[stella1751]

Stella, I think the weeds are not from the seeds you planted. Rather, the seeds may not have germinated and the weeds did.

Good thought, Garden5. However, I have to disagree. It wasn't a weed seed, not in sterilized starter mix and not sprouting exactly where the seeds had been planted and not technically identifiable as any Wyoming weed. In fact, I suspect no one has ever seen this weed before, as it was only a "weed" in the sense that it was undesirable

[stella1751]

OK, I got lost somewhere in here about all the big jim talk. so is the numex big jim in fact the jalepeno or the anaheim?

Sorry about digressing again, Sheeshshe! How are the jalapenos faring? I really think everyone is on to something with the chicken dung and its accompanying excess of nitrogen. Have you tried cutting back on their water, making them work a bit to survive?

[stella1751]

As you know, I 'll be keeping any earthworms I find in the root mass, and if I don't find any, I'll add at least one... More likely at least two for a container this size.

I accidentally left at least one earthworm when I brought the Habaneros in that year. I was fostering some animal shelter kittens at the time, and I saw them playing with something in the hallway. It was a fat old earthworm. Whoops. I must have over-watered

[garden5]

Well, then it looks like you got some rouge seeds in with your peppers. Did all the seeds look alike?

Apps, what kind of potting medium are you keeping you vegetables in? Will it be store-bought or homemade.

[stella1751]

Well, then it looks like you got some rouge seeds in with your peppers. Did all the seeds look alike?

Well, no that is of course possible but highly improbable, especially given the appearance of the seeds. I've never seen a young annual with a skinny brown twig for a stem, but I have seen young saplings that looked like that. I very likely got a plant experiment gone wrong. In fact, I find my thoughts leaning toward GMO.

[sheeshshe]

OK, so tell me the correct one that I want to purchase next year so I can switch it on my list

[stella1751]

OK, so tell me the correct one that I want to purchase next year so I can switch it on my list

I think, if you like Jalapenos and make lots of salsa, you should go with those Jalapenos Gigante Ted mentioned a while back. You can get those at Burpee.com. They are on my list

[sheeshshe]

excellent, thank you! what I had this year was a burpee but I don't remember what type and I don't want to get it out of my freezer since its packed with salsa and squash everything will come crashing out LOL!

[applestar]

Well, just to confuse you a little bit more, the named variety I'm growing is "Jalapeno M" which came in my souvenir of Arizona multi-seed hot pepper packet, and it's very productive although the size is ordinary. It's a bit more blunt-ended than the 2nd generation Jalapeno from a plant I bought from my favorite herb lady last year.

But if you're looking for big peppers, these are not it.

[sheeshshe]

really it doesn't make too much of a difference to me on the size I don't think.... as long as I get more than 2.. Oh big woop!!! I have another one growing now... so I may just end up with 3 if frost doesnt kill it first HAHA

last year I got a wopping 1... and it wasn't even spicy. picked too soon I suppose.

[soil]

did your plants have lots of flowers? and possibly fall off. or just no blooms at all. sorry I don't want to read the whole thread.

[tedln]

I will probably wait for the "Macho Nacho" variety grown by Bonnie Plants and sold every spring at Walmart and Home Depot. Jmoore mentioned growing them this year and reported they grew very large peppers. I suspect the Bonnie plants are grown from Burpee "Gigante" seed. I don't think Bonnie is known to produce seed, they seem to only grow and furnish plants to retail outlets. That means they have to buy their seed in bulk from someone else.

All of my seed germinating space will be taken up next year by heirloom tomato seedlings. I had really poor results growing peppers from seed this past spring and I don't want to waste another spring trying to germinate them and then need to buy them retail. I'll germinate more tomato varieties and let someone else germinate my peppers.

I've noticed in the last couple of weeks that most grocery stores in my area are now carrying the extremely large jalapenos. A couple of the stores have identified the peppers as "grown in Mexico". To me, that means they either are not hybrid and are widely grown as an OP variety or some seed producer (possibly Burpee) is producing a lot of hybrid seed and is distributing it widely. It then seems to be resold as seed or seedlings or harvested fruit under many names.

It's a little hard for me to believe that numerous seed producers suddenly developed a new "Giant" jalapeno hybrid within a couple of years of each other.

By purchasing large seedlings of the macho nacho, it also allows me to get a larger plant into the ground earlier. That results in harvestable fruit earlier than normal. I may let some fruit mature to the red color, harvest some seed, germinate that seed; and see if it grows true. I think I can accomplish it in one summer.

Ted

[stella1751]

Well, just to confuse you a little bit more, the named variety I'm growing is "Jalapeno M" which came in my souvenir of Arizona multi-seed hot pepper packet, and it's very productive although the size is ordinary. It's a bit more blunt-ended than the 2nd generation Jalapeno from a plant I bought from my favorite herb lady last year.

But if you're looking for big peppers, these are not it.

Ah ha! I found a pack of those too when I was rifling through my old seeds. I'm glad to hear they're productive. I probably won't have space for them next year--I want to try those Jalapeno Gigantes--but maybe two years from now. Any idea what the "M" stands for?

[sheeshshe]

there were flowers but not a ton of them. only a couple of the flowers produced peppers

[sheeshshe]

just wanted to let you all know that I am eating chips and salsa right now got the go ahead from the surgeon ROFL! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

[csvd87]

HAHA, Awesome!

I need my wisdom teeth out soon...

[tedln]

Hey sheeshshe,

Congratulations, I am so happy you can now enjoy your chips and salsa. I guess your gonna need to buy a few of those giant jalapenos to spice your salsa up. Probably to late this year to start a new crop.

I did find something interesting today on the Bonnie Plants website. Bonnie supplies most of the seedlings to the big box retailers around the country. I was looking for some information on onion transplants. I noticed on their pepper page, they actually have available two varieties of the giant jalapenos. We have discussed the Mucho Nacho variety, but the Mammoth variety is apparently even larger. Both varieties are detailed on this page.

https://www.bonnieplants.com/tabid/420/c/183/Default.aspx

Bonnie has 62 growing and distribution centers around the United States and some in Canada. They do not furnish all varieties of their vegetable seedlings to all areas of the country. That means the customer will not know if a particular variety will be available in his or her area until the plants are delivered to the retailer in the spring. That makes it a lttle hard to plan ahead.

Ted

[stella1751]

Hey sheeshshe,

Congratulations, I am so happy you can now enjoy your chips and salsa. I guess your gonna need to buy a few of those giant jalapenos to spice your salsa up. Probably to late this year to start a new crop.

I did find something interesting today on the Bonnie Plants website. Bonnie supplies most of the seedlings to the big box retailers around the country. I was looking for some information on onion transplants. I noticed on their pepper page, they actually have available two varieties of the giant jalapenos. We have discussed the Mucho Nacho variety, but the Mammoth variety is apparently even larger. Both varieties are detailed on this page.

https://www.bonnieplants.com/tabid/420/c/183/Default.aspx

Bonnie has 62 growing and distribution centers around the United States and some in Canada. They do not furnish all varieties of their vegetable seedlings to all areas of the country. That means the customer will not know if a particular variety will be available in his or her area until the plants are delivered to the retailer in the spring. That makes it a lttle hard to plan ahead.

Ted

My Home Depot stocks Bonnie plants. It also has a policy allowing customers to special order any product available on its website. I wonder whether it would allow a special order on these. It stands to reason its garden center orders certain plants, right? I think it would be worth a shot to ask for these if you wanted them.

For now, I think I'll probably be sticking with Burpee Jalapeno Gigante seeds. That might change, though, when spring rolls around

[sheeshshe]

oh yes, salsa every day! weeeeeeeeeeeee!!! and yeah, my garden is startig to slow down, the nights are getting cool... can't start new plants now.

[tedln]

Stella,

I'm not sure how much input the retailers have into the plants that will be supplied and sold every spring. I visited with one of the Bonnie regional sales people at a Walmart this past spring. It sounded like Bonnie did all the analysis of what sold best at each location and determined what would be stocked. I know everything is unloaded from the Bonnie trucks ready to sell with the store (Walmart or Home Depot and Lowes) tags and bar codes attached. I've asked clerks at stores when certain products would arrive and even what products would arrive in the spring. They never know. One clerk said they will know what they will be selling when the truck arrives and is unloaded. I recently asked a Home Depot clerk when they will begin selling fall garden plants. He said they don't know until the truck arrives.

Ted

[stella1751]

I suspect you're right, Ted. That would explain the Black Diamond watermelon and Heatwave tomatoes stocked by the Casper, Wyoming, Home Depot. I bought the Black Diamond for my cousin's wife by mistake at the end of June last year. I just never occurred to me to check the maturity date on the tag until I was planting it. She wanted watermelon, and I assumed Home Depot would be selling short-season varieties

Burpee sells good, healthy plants, too. If I decide I don't want to start seeds, I'll probably order plants from it instead.

[garden5]

Ted, you said that you had trouble starting peppers. Did you use a heating mat under the seedlings? Peppers especially like the soil to be about 70F when germinating.

Heat can make the difference between pepper starting failure and success.

[tedln]

Ted, you said that you had trouble starting peppers. Did you use a heating mat under the seedlings? Peppers especially like the soil to be about 70F when germinating.

Heat can make the difference between pepper starting failure and success.

I didn't use a heat pad, but I did start them outside in a cold frame that was well over 70 degrees. I also started tomatoes at the same time and they did fine. I may try a warmer location next spring if I try to germinate peppers.

Ted

[garden5]

Ted, you said that you had trouble starting peppers. Did you use a heating mat under the seedlings? Peppers especially like the soil to be about 70F when germinating.

Heat can make the difference between pepper starting failure and success.

I didn't use a heat pad, but I did start them outside in a cold frame that was well over 70 degrees. I also started tomatoes at the same time and they did fine. I may try a warmer location next spring if I try to germinate peppers.

Ted

Hmmm, perhaps it was too warm? Maybe the humidity was too high and the plants got damping off? Possibly the soil was too sandy (sandy soil yields the lowest pepper germination rates).

I hate it when a seed-starting attempt goes wrong, but keep trying. You are bound to find the best way, sooner or later.

[sheeshshe]

I wanna say that it wasn't warm ENOUGH for the peppers to germinate. I plant mine all at the same time with the tomatoes and other seedlings I start and everything sprouts and the peppers never do until it gets really hot outside and my greenhouse heats up super hot. then they sprout.

[garden5]

Peppers love that warm soil. One thing I've found out is to germinate them under lights. Now, I've not found this to help with the actual germination (though some say it does), but it keeps them from getting leggy. I germinated some early this year, but could not have the lights where I had the plants (kept them in this tight area since it had heat) and they all got leggy after just a day or two without the lights.

[csvd87]

Peppers love that warm soil. One thing I've found out is to germinate them under lights. Now, I've not found this to help with the actual germination (though some say it does), but it keeps them from getting leggy. I germinated some early this year, but could not have the lights where I had the plants (kept them in this tight area since it had heat) and they all got leggy after just a day or two without the lights.

If you read somegeek's thread "My First Starter Attempt..."
at the end he compares putting 6 bhut jolokia seeds in a pot covered with saran wrap in his server closet with only heat no light and has 1 seedling after 3 to 4 weeks where as he puts 6 in a pot covered with saran wrap and puts it under his light and gets 5 in 7 days.
[url]https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13054&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=105[/url]

Its the thread that really inspired me

[garden5]

Peppers love that warm soil. One thing I've found out is to germinate them under lights. Now, I've not found this to help with the actual germination (though some say it does), but it keeps them from getting leggy. I germinated some early this year, but could not have the lights where I had the plants (kept them in this tight area since it had heat) and they all got leggy after just a day or two without the lights.

If you read somegeek's thread "My First Starter Attempt..."
at the end he compares putting 6 bhut jolokia seeds in a pot covered with saran wrap in his server closet with only heat no light and has 1 seedling after 3 to 4 weeks where as he puts 6 in a pot covered with saran wrap and puts it under his light and gets 5 in 7 days.
[url]https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13054&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=105[/url]

Its the thread that really inspired me

That thread is great, it gave me hope for my peppers while they were seedling growing in the winter waiting for transplant. I was afraid they were in too small containers and would be too root-bout by spring. Safe to say, it all went well.

I thought about his experiment, but the way I see it is this, the pepper seeds are buried in the dirt, so they won't seen any light until they germinate, anyway .

Here's my theory: The light got the top layer of soil much warmer than just the ambient heat in the closet. Thus, there was faster germination. What do you think?

[csvd87]

I know it was here we were discussing Jalapeno varieties, well I was at the farmers market today and I found one called El Jefe, they are about 4" long and about 1 1/4" wide. they seem like monsters to the ones I am growing.

[garden5]

I know it was here we were discussing Jalapeno varieties, well I was at the farmers market today and I found one called El Jefe, they are about 4" long and about 1 1/4" wide. they seem like monsters to the ones I am growing.

Yeah, back to the jalapenos. What's funny is, I'm growing (at least to my knowledge) regular jalapenos, yet I'm finding that if I leave them on the plant long enough, they top out at 3, mayyyyyyybe 3 1/2 inches. I'll bet if you let those giant jalapenos stay on the plant until you start seeing some cracks, you could eek out a 5 incher .

[csvd87]

I know it was here we were discussing Jalapeno varieties, well I was at the farmers market today and I found one called El Jefe, they are about 4" long and about 1 1/4" wide. they seem like monsters to the ones I am growing.

Yeah, back to the jalapenos. What's funny is, I'm growing (at least to my knowledge) regular jalapenos, yet I'm finding that if I leave them on the plant long enough, they top out at 3, mayyyyyyybe 3 1/2 inches. I'll bet if you let those giant jalapenos stay on the plant until you start seeing some cracks, you could eek out a 5 incher .

I woulda taken a pic of that El Jefe next to one of mine, but I ate it haha I chopped it up and put it in a salsa I whipped up last night involving other farm market veg. I used 1 Green Zebra tomato and 1 Lemon Boy. and 1 El Jefe (coulda used 2) and some salt... If it wasn't at 10pm I woulda gone out to find some cilantro. oh and some of a leftover red onion.