Frankenchile

[stella1751]

Soil, I think my neighbor has an open bag of sand; I can probably borrow a cup from her. I wonder whether I should buy a bag of compost. I could dig in the center of one of my bins, but I don't know what kind of animal life I might wind up bringing in the house.

Garden5, I've got three cuttings soaking right now. I looked at the plant this morning, and I really don't think it will bear further pruning right now, so I think I'll take the next three cuttings from my second-best plant. We appear to have nine more days of decent weather in store.

It doesn't look like the peppers have grown significantly since their last measurements of 11" and 11.5", so they may actually mature for me in time! I never thought I'd say this, but I hope they are done growing. I really do want to bring the parent plant inside for the winter.

[tedln]

Peppers seem to love sitting in a sunny windowsill and watching it snow outside. I've seen some beautiful ones grown that way. They were also productive in the windowsill. I've heard of people cutting the plant way back when moving it from an outside garden site to an inside pot. I saw one web page where the guy trimmed the roots severely in order to create bonsai pepper plants with thick stems but still fit into small pots. They seem to be pretty adaptable. If you already have house plants, you may want to isolate the pepper from those other plants for awhile to make sure you are not transferring outdoor garden pests inside to feed on your house plants.

Ted

[tedln]

Stella,

If the seeds make, I would love to try them. I decided to attempt growing from seed again. If you kept the envelope with the cucumber seed, you have my address. If you didn't, let me know and I will pm it.

Thanks

Ted

[soil]

Soil, I think my neighbor has an open bag of sand; I can probably borrow a cup from her. I wonder whether I should buy a bag of compost. I could dig in the center of one of my bins, but I don't know what kind of animal life I might wind up bringing in the house.

if you don't have any compost ready, I would go buy a bag of good quality wormcastings. if the comapny you find sifted the castings really fine, you might want to consider adding a little more sand and perlite to make it nice and well draining.

you should have good success, I am going to bring in more than a few peppers this winter for early planting next spring.

[stella1751]

Stella,

If the seeds make, I would love to try them. I decided to attempt growing from seed again. If you kept the envelope with the cucumber seed, you have my address. If you didn't, let me know and I will pm it.

Thanks

Ted

Yes. You are on my list. I won't know how many seeds until I crack 'em open, but I'm worried. Never having saved seeds before, I've never counted how many seeds a pepper makes. When I used a NuMex Big Jim late last month, I decided to practice saving its seeds: Twenty-Eight Seeds. That was it!

I don't know whether that is normal or not for peppers. Like I said, it never occurred to me to count each seed. It just always seemed like there were tons of 'em. 28. Please.

Is that normal?

[tedln]

I usually have more seed than twenty eight when I strip the seed and membrane out of a jalapeno. I don't know if there is a set number of seeds per pepper. I would think the longer the fruit is, the more room is available in the seed chamber and therefore more seed. The only reason any plant makes fruit is to produce seed for continued existence of its species. If you wind up not having enough, don't worry about it. I will take some if you have it. You might be better off sending seed to folks who have better luck germinating pepper seed than me.

Ted

[garden5]

I'll bet you get at least 70 out of that big 11 incher.

28 doesn't sound like much at all, but I'm assuming this was from a chili pepper. It seems like different types of peppers have different amounts of seed. I got at least a hundred from one of my bell peppers, and I've probably gotten 50 from a jalepeno.

I know when I cut open one of my Thai peppers, there weren't that many seeds in it at all .

Really, I've found that my biggest problem is getting pepper seed that's fully mature. My bell peppers I got seed from were left on the plant till they changed color and almost began to rot. The seed looks good, so far.

My banana peppers, on the other hand, were harvested for seen when they were large, yet the seed still looked thin and brown around the edged once dried. That's what my saved jalapeno seeds looked like last year and not a one sprouted!

I definitely recommend sprouting a test-batch of seeds once you harvest and dry them, to make sure they are viable.

[soil]

Really, I've found that my biggest problem is getting pepper seed that's fully mature. My bell peppers I got seed from were left on the plant till they changed color and almost began to rot. The seed looks good, so far.

I find its best to harvest the pepper, and let it sit and mature as much as possible on the counter( next to a sunny window preferably). even until it becomes a dried chili. then the seeds are always fully mature and dried well.

I used to take the seeds out fresh and let them dry separate and didn't get as good of germination.

[rainbowgardener]

Thanks soil, nice tip. This is my first year saving my bell pepper seeds and some of them don't look fully mature. I will try your tip with one of the last peppers.

I had one pepper we ate last night that had zero seeds in it, even though it was turning red on the plant and other peppers from the same plant had plenty of seeds. I guess there's just a certain amount of randomness!

[garden5]

Wow, thanks Soil!

I never would have thought that the seeds would continue to mature while the were off the plant .

I'll have to give this a try with one of my banana peppers since I can't seem to get and mature seeds from those, yet.

[soil]

ok now that I read my post again I don't want anyone to get confused, you want it to ripen as much as possible on the plant if you can. but if say frost is coming in a few days and its not a very young pepper, you can ripen it on the side, let it dry, and then collect the seed. if you don't have frost coming, you can let it ripen on the plant as much as possible, then let the chili dry. once dried you can take the seeds out and there ready to go. this may not be the fastest way, but I'm in no rush because I cant plant peppers until may next year.

only take seeds from the best of the best! weak decisions now will affect the seed saver later on.

[garden5]

ok now that I read my post again I don't want anyone to get confused, you want it to ripen as much as possible on the plant if you can. but if say frost is coming in a few days and its not a very young pepper, you can ripen it on the side, let it dry, and then collect the seed. if you don't have frost coming, you can let it ripen on the plant as much as possible, then let the chili dry. once dried you can take the seeds out and there ready to go. this may not be the fastest way, but I'm in no rush because I cant plant peppers until may next year.

only take seeds from the best of the best! weak decisions now will affect the seed saver later on.

I kind of figured that's what you meant, Soil .

I definitely agree with saving seed from the best. I read that you don't want to save seed from a pepper with any type of disease.

[stella1751]

It's been six days since I potted my Frankenchile cuttings, and they look very healthy. It's early days, yet, but I think the willow tea did the job. I potted the cuttings in my old 1.5" African Violet propagation pots. With those tiny pots, I could tell when the plant had rooted by lifting it up and looking for roots at the bottom. Nothing yet, but I think the cuttings will make it.

The more I think about it, the more certain I am that this is the best method for over-wintering a desirable plant. Given my lack of inside space, it will be November before these plants become excessively large. I'm also wondering whether limiting their pot size will help to diminish the plant size.

Best of all, if this works, I could take cuttings from these plants late next April and have them ready for setting out by June 1! No worrying about germinating seeds indoors in less than ideal conditions. And, should I be so fortunate as to grow peppers indoors from them, I will be absolutely certain their seeds will produce an F2 generation from the original plant.

This is a superb idea. I can't tell everyone how grateful I am for the ideas and help you have given me in this thread. Wow. I feel like my gardening hobby just took a whole new direction

[gixxerific]

I just picked some frankenchille's myself. They are a tiny bit shorter but bigger around. Too bad I don't know what they are. I can't remember what I planted there. But as soon as I saw them I thought of you Stella.

[stella1751]

I just picked some frankenchille's myself. They are a tiny bit shorter but bigger around. Too bad I don't know what they are. I can't remember what I planted there. But as soon as I saw them I thought of you Stella.

I saw some great chilies at WalMart last week. They were about 7 or 8" long and, flattened, about 3" at the top. I think they are Curtis's Big Chili II's or the Biggie Chile. They were stunningly attractive.

The WalMart up here always has enormous produce. I bought some bells from them a few weeks ago. I needed 2 cups worth for a recipe. Not knowing how thick were their walls, I bought 5 peppers, just to make certain I had enough. There were 2 cups of chopped pepper in each one.

[tedln]

We haven't bought bell peppers for a while. At .89 each, we can do without. I stopped buying asparagus when it went to $3.89 per lb. When everyones gardens become winter dormant, summer squash rises from $1.69 to $2.89 per lb. We can probably afford the higher prices, but the principle is more important to me than the price. I don't know why, but tomato prices seem about the same winter and summer. With all the gardens dormant, I would think tomatoes would go sky high. Water melon prices didn't decline any in late summer like they usually do. Sweet corn was as low as five ears per dollar this summer. I can't raise that cheap. It went as high as $0.65 per ear the year fuel prices went sky high and they were converting most corn to corn sugar and ethanol. Farmers put more acreage in production and the price has leveled. Strawberries became very cheap this summer. It go so low, many farmers were simply plowing there straw berry plants under. It cost more to harvest and pack than they could get on the market. I still haven't figured why the containers of spring salad greens are so expensive at $4.89 per container. I've planted a lot of salad greens for a fall garden and we will have it in a spring garden. It simply won't grow here in the high summer heat. I haven't had any luck with Swiss chard planted in the summer time. I will plant a lot in an early spring flower bed. If I like the chard as a salad green or a cooked green, we will be eating a lot of it all spring and summer.


Ted

[gixxerific]

I still haven't figured why the containers of spring salad greens are so expensive at $4.89 per container.

Ted

$4.89 that is ridiculous. I have been getting a good sized bag of fresh local mixed spring greens from my local country store when I don't have any for about .85.

[stella1751]

Ted, you must live in a high-price area. Those Bell peppers I bought were .68 a piece, and they were huge. I thought it was a good price, but I don't buy a lot of produce.

[garden5]

Glad to hear things are going well with the cutting experiment, Stella .

How long did you soak them for in the willow tea?

I've read that it's actually not necessary to soak a cutting until you see roots, since these roots that form will not be of much importance when you pot the cuttings....apparently they produce different kinds of roots if they are in water or soil.

[tedln]

Since acetylsalicylic acid or aspirin is the active compound in willow, I wonder if an acid tablet would accomplish the same purpose as the willow tea.

Florists commonly use and recommend an aspirin tablet in the water to lengthen the attractive look of cut flowers.

Ted

[stella1751]

Glad to hear things are going well with the cutting experiment, Stella .

How long did you soak them for in the willow tea?

I've read that it's actually not necessary to soak a cutting until you see roots, since these roots that form will not be of much importance when you pot the cuttings....apparently they produce different kinds of roots if they are in water or soil.

Garden5, I just soaked them overnight. It's now been 7 days, and the cuttings still look as crisp as they did the day I potted them. I looked for roots this morning, felt my heart race at the sight of a faint tendril of white on the bottom of one pot, and plucked off a dog hair.

Oh well. I think they're going to make it.

I always wondered about that aspirin florists recommend, Ted. That answers a question. I also heard sugar is good. I wonder why.

[garden5]

Thanks for the specifics on the willow tea . I've heard of it before, but was uncertain on the details.

I's be interesting to do a side-by-side comparison with the asprin and the willow tea.

[csvd87]

Stella, its been a while since an update, care to share on how your Frankenchiles are fairing? How are the cuttings? Mine failed, 2 weeks in the gel pack with no roots formed, It was starting to curl up and die. I have had better results with powder hormone and a wet cotton ball in a glass.

[stella1751]

Stella, its been a while since an update, care to share on how your Frankenchiles are fairing? How are the cuttings? Mine failed, 2 weeks in the gel pack with no roots formed, It was starting to curl up and die. I have had better results with powder hormone and a wet cotton ball in a glass.

Curtis, I am sorry to hear about the gel-pack failure. I hope the cuttings weren't from one of your favorites! How soon did you suspect they wouldn't make it? I still can't tell with mine, and it's been 18 days now.

Two of the cuttings are still hanging in there, with no signs of failure. One is beginning to look a bit limp, though, and I have my doubts that it is rooted. I am tempted to remove the plastic baggies and give them a tug, just to see whether any of them are rooted. That's what it said to do in the instructions, but I am afraid. I'd rather hope the two made it than know that they didn't

This morning I was thinking I should start three more, just in case. The plant has enough new growth to give me three more healthy starts, and today the wind is slated to blow, which generally means a weather change, At this time of the year, the weather rarely changes for the better. Besides, the weather couldn't conceivably be any better than it was this past week.

I do believe I have discovered why the HBC II was discontinued: They never turn red. I imagine there are ten-year-old plants out there, still laden with green chilies from their first year, their gardeners daily visiting them, as I do mine, to see whether there's the slightest change in color and always, as do I, walking away in disappointment. Change, already!

[csvd87]

Good to hear yours are still doing well, I know what you mean about the waiting for red.. My bells refuse to change as do my Jalapeno's

[stella1751]

After replying to your last post, I decided to be brave and remove the plastic baggies. While pulling the first one from the tray, I managed to drag the entire tray forward, dumping it upside-down into the sink. I am such a clutz!

One was rooted. I managed to shove it back into the pot; I'm crossing my fingers it lives. Another was partially rooted, resisting a slight tug. That one didn't turn completely upside-down, so I didn't disturb its new roots too much. The other one, the first one I decided to check, is dying. I don't think it set so much as one little root tendril.

They are now baggie-less. I'll know in two or three days whether or not that first one will make it. In the happy event that it does make it, I now have a question regarding pot size: What is the absolute smallest pot I could put these in to restrict their size indoors? The mature plant would probably go 5' to 6' tall, given unfettered root access. If I put them in a small pot, maybe something from 8" to 12", will that limit the plant's size and get them through the winter?

Our winters up here are long, running from sometime in October to sometime in March or April. They will need to be potted until May, at the very earliest, for a total of 8 months. I went through a container-garden experiment several years ago, and I found then that peppers will grow in virtually any size pot. Plant size and productivity is limited by the size of the pot.

However, I've never tried such a large plant in a pot before. My peppers in the experiment year were Hot Cherry, Hungarian Wax, Jalapeno, and (I think) some ornamental, all with a mature height of 3'. What do you think? What's the smallest pot I can get away with on these fellows?

[csvd87]

I know what you mean Stella, I managed to bump my lamp enough that I didn't notice it fall down and burn all the top new growth on one of my chocolate beauties and after that I pruned it got rid of the burnt dead foliage and let it try and recover, it did, so I took it downstairs to water it(bottom water) brought it up stairs and dropped it, spilling all the soil. That plant is a trooper, I just a couple of weeks ago potted it up because it took such a beating, it has been flowering. Also, good news, My Red Beauties are blushing
A 1 gallon deep pot, but I have had some growing pretty well in a 4 quart-ish sized pot, keeping it well pruned of course.
Oh and my cutting I was trying out was just a Banana Pepper, no big deal. A good pizza topping, but not my favorite pepper.

[stella1751]

Congratulations on the Red Beauties starting to turn! I looked them up online, and the first website I went to, Tomato Growers Supply Company, began their description with "A red bell pepper widely adapted to reliably turn red in almost any area of the country." Maybe that's my problem. I had no idea some peppers didn't turn red. They wouldn't say that if people didn't have a problem, right?

I've never had a pepper not turn red, but if the Frankenchilies don't get their act together, this will definitely be my first time for this particular situation!

I liked reading about the trials of your Chocolate Beauty. Poor thing! I am seriously more clumsy than the average gardener, and most of my seedlings, well, the ones that live, survive despite me, not because of me. This morning the one I tossed on its head into the sink is alive, maybe even well. I am going to dig in the basement for a decent pot for it and the other one that might make it. I should have a few in the gallon range down there.

Thanks for the advice!

[csvd87]

Thanks, Ya, I'm starting to think my Jalapeno's are a variety that doesn't turn, however, they have been on there for quite some time. Maybe the frankenchile's don't turn, but who knows. It took my Red Beauties probably 20 to 30 days after they were mature size and feel to finally blush.

My Chocolate Beauty is a Beauty, loaded with flowers and it almost froze last night. Nothing in the forexast even close to freezing, but I have a sort of mini climate at my house where just up the road the lawns were frost covered. But we were fine, must be all these trees. I also have only the Comox airport to go by for the temp, and it is right next the ocean and usually 3 degrees or so warmer in the colder months.

My other chocolate beauty that is fruiting has me worried, supposed to be Bell shaped fruit, but they are looking like Trinidad Scorpions. I'll go take a photo and upload it in a bit.

I know my Sweet Cayenne will turn red, I had some weird stuff happeneing with that plant, did really well, then started to die, produced a few tiny fruit, turned red in a week.. so I picked them and chucked them out. now it is loaded with 8 to 10 inch fruit all yellow, I had one spoiled, went all spngy and rotten, so I just pitched it.

[garden5]

I'm glad to hear you're having success with your cutting experiment!

I might try the same with my ghost pepper plants this winter. The seed are expensive and the plants take a long time to bear fruit. I'll be bringing mine in for the winter, since the peppers are still green and frost is probably only about 2 weeks away. One of the plants was eaten pretty heavily by the deer, so it's mostly stalks with a little foliage....sound's like a good candidate for making a cutting.

I'm thinking that a one gal. pot should be fine for the peppers, just be sure to prune the plant when you plant it so that the now-smaller/restricted roost system doesn't have to support as much top-growth.

I've had pepper plants mature to a height of 1 ft.....and that's in the garden, thanks to voluntary pruning by the deer . They still grew fine and produced, though.

How is the dying cutting coming along?

[stella1751]

My Chocolate Beauty is a Beauty, loaded with flowers and it almost froze last night. Nothing in the forexast even close to freezing, but I have a sort of mini climate at my house where just up the road the lawns were frost covered. But we were fine, must be all these trees. I also have only the Comox airport to go by for the temp, and it is right next the ocean and usually 3 degrees or so warmer in the colder months.

I gardened once on a place with an undulating landscape, some spots higher than others. I can't remember which, I think it was the lower spots, but one portion would freeze or at least suffer freeze damage while the other remained unscathed. I think it was the lower levels, that the fog would settle in there and then freeze the plants. It was weird and annoying I'd never remember from year to year to plan my garden around that.

My two cuttings are alive! What have I learned from this experiment, other than to exercise more care when removing one from the tray? I learned that the soil must be moist, not wet. The two that are surviving haven't had a drink for almost 3 weeks, and their soil is still moist. Those baggies really keep the moisture in. I'm betting that's why I lost the one I did lose.

Today, if I find the time, I am going to start three more. I feel very good about two of these cuttings, but I don't want to take a chance that they won't make it through until transplanting. There are two days left of good weather before the cold moves in, so I need to get my cuttings either today or tomorrow or chance losing the opportunity.

I love this idea of propagating cuttings! I can't imagine why I haven't been doing this all along.

[garden5]

My Chocolate Beauty is a Beauty, loaded with flowers and it almost froze last night. Nothing in the forexast even close to freezing, but I have a sort of mini climate at my house where just up the road the lawns were frost covered. But we were fine, must be all these trees. I also have only the Comox airport to go by for the temp, and it is right next the ocean and usually 3 degrees or so warmer in the colder months.

I gardened once on a place with an undulating landscape, some spots higher than others. I can't remember which, I think it was the lower spots, but one portion would freeze or at least suffer freeze damage while the other remained unscathed. I think it was the lower levels, that the fog would settle in there and then freeze the plants. It was weird and annoying I'd never remember from year to year to plan my garden around that.

My two cuttings are alive! What have I learned from this experiment, other than to exercise more care when removing one from the tray? I learned that the soil must be moist, not wet. The two that are surviving haven't had a drink for almost 3 weeks, and their soil is still moist. Those baggies really keep the moisture in. I'm betting that's why I lost the one I did lose.

Today, if I find the time, I am going to start three more. I feel very good about two of these cuttings, but I don't want to take a chance that they won't make it through until transplanting. There are two days left of good weather before the cold moves in, so I need to get my cuttings either today or tomorrow or chance losing the opportunity.

I love this idea of propagating cuttings! I can't imagine why I haven't been doing this all along.

I'll bet that the baggie is the key. I've read on propagating plants, and one of the consistent recommendations, now that I think of it, is to have some type of enclosure the keep the humidity up. However, he did caution against leaving it on too long (causes mold), so it may be best to just keep it on long enough for the plants to root.

Keep us updated on your progress .

[stella1751]

Garden5, the literature says that you use the baggie because the leaves must feed the plant until roots form, which makes sense. I used to do this when propagating African Violets, and it worked like a charm. Like Curtis, I once tried the water method, soaking the ends in water until roots formed, but, like you said in an earlier post, the cuttings rarely survived the transplant into real soil.

Two of my first three cuttings are still alive this morning. They aren't what you would call perky, but they don't appear to be fading. I think they will make it. I'm going to leave them alone until they look thirsty. I have a tendency to over-nurture plants to death, and I think they will fare better without my assistance

I started three more this morning. I took bigger prunings this time and used a deeper baby pot for them. I am about out of time, weather-wise. After today, my winter respite is at an end. As of tonight, I will begin covering the bed each night again. I must know whether or not the first ones made, and I must know soon. Otherwise, the donor plant needs to come in the house for the winter.

Ending on an extremely positive note, I see a very faint orange-y yellow-y tinge in the tip of the top chile. I noticed it yesterday and was worried I was imagining things or that the sun was hitting the plant just right to create a mirage, but it's still there this morning. The Frankenchilies might be starting to turn! Once they've done that, I won't be as reluctant to dig up their parent.

[csvd87]

as promised.. sorta. photos of my "bell" peppers

Chocolate Beauty
[img]https://i487.photobucket.com/albums/rr235/binchnunker/Garden%20Pics/IMG_9576.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i487.photobucket.com/albums/rr235/binchnunker/Garden%20Pics/IMG_9573.jpg[/img]

And my Red Beauty
[img]https://i487.photobucket.com/albums/rr235/binchnunker/Garden%20Pics/IMG_9577.jpg[/img]

I thought I saw the same thing on my Red Beauty, just looked like a reflection or mirage, turns out it was starting to turn red

[stella1751]

Curtis, it's no wonder they call them "Red Beauty"! That's an extraordinarily beautiful pepper! How exciting for you that it has finally begun to turn! I am especially interested in how quickly it is happening. I think it was only two days ago that you mentioned they had begun turning.

Thanks for the photos. I scoped out the the background, too, analyzing the pots you are using and so on. I dug through the basement and came up with three pint-sized pots and three gallon-size. The pint-sized pots will make a nice transitional pot once the roots on my cuttings are firmly established, but I am displeased with their appearance (they don't match) and secretly suspect this project will give me an excuse to spend more money on pots I don't need. I love buying pots. It's a vile habit, one I thought I had broken after my container-experiment year.

Right now, I am waiting to see roots at the bottom of the pots on the first two. Given the rough treatment they endured two or three days ago, I think I should let them become root-bound before I transplant them into the new pots.

It's fun to think that I can garden, sort of, all winter long!

[digitS']

I once worked at a greenhouse and we had a "propagation bench" set up.

This was a rose greenhouse and those plants were purchased so this wasn't a high-priority tool but it looked fairly sophisticated to me .

The set-up was a raised steel bench filled with perlite. A couple feet above the perlite was a pvc pipe and emitters (if I've got the right word). The fittings didn't sprinkle the plants with water, they misted. That misting occurred about every 2 hours, if I remember right. The entire bed was surrounded with clear plastic film.

The misting was sufficient to cause a constant - drip, drip, drip - from the bench. So, there was some flushing of the perlite, I suppose.

The thing worked wonderfully! All sorts of plants were started in there.

Now, I know peppers are perennials but they look like they would be difficult to root. Best of Luck to You on this, Stella.

BTW - the Weather Service tells me that my own "Growing Degree Days" are almost the same as for many communities in Wyoming. So, that's the average here and we hit it just about exactly this year. However, we are going to have a late 1st frost . . !

Steve

[stella1751]

Steve, there are two Wyomings when it comes to weather: West and High Plains. I'm in the latter. West gets more cold and snow; High Plains gets more wind. Our average first frost is September 22. This year it hit on September 6. Mother Nature made up for her sloppiness, though, by giving us almost five weeks of decent weather afterwards

BTW, I spent most of my adolescence in Eastport, Idaho, a little town on the border. It was lovely!

The bench you described is fascinating. I can't figure out how they would transplant, though. Did they pull the plant and transplant it bare-root, or did they scoop it out and plant it with perlite in its roots? I like that misting idea. A person could mist with a nutrient rich spray and do without the baggies.

I went with a 1/1/1/1 mix of my soil, vermiculite, perlite, and peat moss. I think it is working. Either that, or one of the cuttings survived despite it. Yes, I have a house pepper! I let the soil on the two living cuttings dry out until the plants were looking peaked. I watered them last night, and this morning one of them looks very vigorous. It stands to reason it is rooted for me to get that kind of a response, right?

The other one isn't dead, but I didn't notice any difference between dry and wet states. It could still make it. Nevertheless, what really, really matters is that I probably won't have to dig up the donor plant. Yay!

[csvd87]

Yay, I have 4 peppers turning on that plant. but my Jalapeno's refuse to turn, same with my sweet and long slim cayennes. and since my Filius Blue has died, I am replacing it with a tobasco. I got my seeds from Fatalii in about 1.5 weeks, which is really fast considering they are from finland. Anyways, I got a free pack of Short Yellow Tobasco seeds along with my Bhut Bell, Bonnet Bell, Chocolate Fatali, Brazilian Starfish, and CAP 1478, also a free sample of what I think is a chili licorice (not sure, its finish)

The Tobasco I am growing is looking quite healthy in its early stages, got its true leaves in about 9 days

Anyways, I hope your Frank's are ready to turn. I also wanna say this, I had a Serrano that I bought from the farm market, fully green, dark green. I nibbled off the end and then for some reason sit it on the counter and forgot about it, after a couple weeks I noticed the tip started to turn orange, during its slow drying process it was maturing on the counter, it turned fully red once I placed it in my (grow box... Cardboard box with a lamp shoved through the side) I'm testing the seeds now.

[digitS']

. . . BTW, I spent most of my adolescence in Eastport, Idaho, a little town on the border. It was lovely! . . .

There must be only a very few people who can say that they did some of their growing up in Eastport, Stella! A few of us are just lucky, eh?

. . . The bench you described is fascinating. I can't figure out how they would transplant, though. Did they pull the plant and transplant it bare-root . . .

That's it! . . . just pluck the plants out and pot 'em up.

S'

[stella1751]

Yay, I have 4 peppers turning on that plant. but my Jalapeno's refuse to turn, same with my sweet and long slim cayennes. and since my Filius Blue has died, I am replacing it with a tobasco. I got my seeds from Fatalii in about 1.5 weeks, which is really fast considering they are from finland. Anyways, I got a free pack of Short Yellow Tobasco seeds along with my Bhut Bell, Bonnet Bell, Chocolate Fatali, Brazilian Starfish, and CAP 1478, also a free sample of what I think is a chili licorice (not sure, its finish)

The Tobasco I am growing is looking quite healthy in its early stages, got its true leaves in about 9 days

Anyways, I hope your Frank's are ready to turn. I also wanna say this, I had a Serrano that I bought from the farm market, fully green, dark green. I nibbled off the end and then for some reason sit it on the counter and forgot about it, after a couple weeks I noticed the tip started to turn orange, during its slow drying process it was maturing on the counter, it turned fully red once I placed it in my (grow box... Cardboard box with a lamp shoved through the side) I'm testing the seeds now.

Curtis, I had to look up the CAP 1478. You are always growing peppers I've never even heard of. This one looks perfect for your indoor collection! I can't decide whether I like that flower or not. It's ugly and beautiful at the same time, like a Black Widow spider.

I don't remember you posting that the Filius Blue had died. I remember one died, maybe from over-watering. Man, I am very sorry. That one was a beauty.

Yesterday I needed peppers for a recipe. I had stripped the NuMex Big Jims bare, so I picked two peppers from the Frankenchile plant that I like the least. Not its biggest ones, just a couple of 8-inchers. What a treat it was to finally taste one! Very mild heat, borderline sweet, with a thick, crunchy wall. It's a good pepper, not as hot as I would like, but this plant is in the bed whose prep I blew this spring (more compost than soil), so I'll withhold judgment until I taste the real McCoys in my good bed.

Fall is here. The Frankenchilies still haven't turned. I do believe I deluded myself into thinking they were turning. I tell myself they aren't turning because of the weather, but the Habaneros, Fish, Big Jims, and Super Chiles are all turning, so that's not it. I have, so far, four different Habaneroes: Regular (Savino?), Orange (pointy), Orange (rounded), and Chocolate. There's another Habanero variety out there, but I don't know its name. It's tiny and hasn't turned yet.

I think I won't see red Frankenchilies this year. Next year, maybe, but not this one. I'll give 'em a fair shot next year, not planting them late as a substitute for Big Jims