I Might Be Getting June Back!

[stella1751]

You will probably have better experience in how things turn out than I had with Big Chili, Stella.

I grew the "original" Big Chili and thought it was just great! Then, only the "II" seed was available. Okay, fine. Wonderful plants!

Then that seed wasn't available!!

Steve, what a coincidence. This spring I needed to replace some NuMex Big Jim seedlings my dogs had savaged. I dug through my old seeds file and found a packet of the original Hybrid Big Chile II. That's what I am calling Frankenchile because they are something of an odd duck:

[img]https://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/mitbah/Frankenchile.jpg[/img]

This photo was taken on September 7. They're both now at roughly 11.5" long. Because the bottom one is now touching the ground, I can no longer get a good measurement on either without chancing an accidental harvest, so all I know is that they're now over 11" and probably under 12".

You can't find seeds for the original II anywhere. All I've been able to determine is that Gurneys, ostensibly dissatisfied with the HBC II's sun resistance and productivity, replaced it with the Sahuaro, and customers want the HBC II back.

I think this original Hybrid Big Chile II is an excellent pepper to experiment with plant breeding on, especially because you just can't find these seeds anymore. Maybe I'll be disappointed, but then again, maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised!

Hey, I looked up the Cardon, which was new to me. I found a photo at [url=https://www.loganzenner.com/catalog/data/peppers_hot.pdf]Logan Zenner[/url], alongside the Anaheim and the Sahuaro. That's an attractive pepper. The HBC II most closely resembles the Anaheim 118, not the Sahuaro, which I thought was interesting.

I also looked up the [url=https://chile-pepper-seeds.net/numex-joe-parker.html]Joe E. Parker[/url], another one I didn't know. I should have known it was a NuMex. Anyhow, I found the foregoing link with a description of the plant that went beyond the standard blurbs in the glossies, and I thought you might find it interesting.

Einstein would have stumbled right along with you in the pepper patch. He had very little patience with people who refused to think outside the box, predictably taking and advocating the safe route.

Hey, do you remember the last time you planted the HBC II? I know I bought these seeds anytime between 1999 and 2004, but I don't know when the pepper was discontinued.

Thanks!

[digitS']

. . . Hey, do you remember the last time you planted the HBC II? I know I bought these seeds anytime between 1999 and 2004, but I don't know when the pepper was discontinued.

Thanks!

With the changes but minor differences in names, I'd forgotten "Biggie Chili!" That was the last, wasn't it?

I save my seed company receipts (altho' my gardening notes are random, at best) so I can check.

Interesting that Joe Parker is supposed to be a 30" plant. I'm sure that isn't atypical. It's just that cool Junes and cool nights thru the growing season keep peppers and other heat-lovers shorter than they may be in other parts of the world.

Yeah, I'm wondering where I'm going to find Cordon if I decide to go with that one again next year . Trying something new is fun but it seems to be that I'm having it forced on me! (The seed company where you found the photo of Cordon is a wholesale outfit, I believe.)

Reimers have Big Chili II listed. If I could figure out how to post a link, I would . . . but, you can do a search. Reimers seems to have some problems with customer relations so I don't know if they are real good to deal with. Just hearsay, I have never ordered from them.

I'll look thru the receipts soon and let you know!

Steve

[garden5]

Stella, you may be in luck with your saved seeds.

I've heard that companies will sometimes call a variety a hybrid when it's not. Partially to prevent folks from saving the seed, also because some folks view a hybrid to be hardier and more productive than a standard variety.

Also, it's supposedly easier for them to grow a op variety than an heirloom.

[applestar]

Trying something new is fun but it seems to be that I'm having it forced on me!

My on-going theme is self-sufficiency and what you said is a good reason to start growing Open Pollinated and/or Heirloom varieties and saving seeds. Thanks to Stella's quest and curiosity, I recently learned that going strictly Heirloom is not necessarily a good thing. But my suspicion that it will take a few years to come up with my own set of satisfied varieties for which I'll save the seeds from year to year. So even without outsourcing the seeds, you would get interesting new variations.

But I'm with Stella -- getting there is part of the FUN!

[csvd87]

I posted a link to Hirt's Garden Seedmart in the Frankenchile thread for the Big Chili II, I'll see if I can find it quick...
[url]https://stores.channeladvisor.com/hirtsgardens/Items/totally247134187?&caSKU=totally247134187&caTitle=Big%20Chili%20II%20Pepper%2035%20Seeds%20-%20Great%20on%20the%20Grill[/url]

[stella1751]

Today's Big Chile II isn't the same thing as Hybrid Big Chile II. I'm pretty certain it is a similar product sold under a similar name, a one-word difference that will hold the copyright lawyers at bay while duping the unwary into thinking they're getting the real McCoy. Sort of like clothes knock-offs and cheaper soda brands.

Sahauro is Gurneys' latest offering in the Big Chile line. It really makes me think. I wonder why they discontinued the first two? Everyone loved them; they had to have been big sellers. Why would they walk away from a good thing? Sometimes a powerful imagination can lead a person down fruitless paths.

Nevertheless, I like the hint of the sinister in my HBC II's past. It evokes images of money exchanging hands in poorly lit back alleys, and terrified people forever silenced by black-coated men with glittering black eyes. And here, years later, in a tiny backyard in a tiny cow-town in Wyoming, an innocent HBC II spreads its branches to the sky, producing peppers only 2" shy of the world record for chile length, under extremely undesirable conditions. Gardening is fun!

Applestar, what plants are you experimenting with? How many years have you been working with one line?

[stella1751]

In six more days, the weather will turn ugly, according to the 10-day forecast. Not a killing freeze, necessarily, but forecast lows in the low-30's. At this time of the year, six more days feels wonderful!

One of the Habaneros is starting to turn. I planted a variety mix, so I don't know what kind it is, only that it's not a standard. It's long and slender, was a dark green and will be carrot-orange. Is anyone familiar with this type?

I have red Fish peppers! I regularly harvest the NuMex Big Jims as they turn. I picked the Super Chilies clean to make chili last week. BTW, if anyone is looking for a spicier chili than you can get with other peppers, including Jalapenos, I highly recommend the Super Chile. I do believe that's the best chili I've ever made!

I'm thinking about growing these in my bee-attracting areas next year instead of regular flowers. They are the perfect size for small flower boxes and containers, put on tons of flowers and peppers, and are really pretty attractive for the roadside view.

Six more days until I begin to fret in earnest. Hurray!

[digitS']

. . . Hey, do you remember the last time you planted the HBC II? I know I bought these seeds anytime between 1999 and 2004, but I don't know when the pepper was discontinued.

Thanks!

With the changes but minor differences in names, I'd forgotten "Biggie Chili!" That was the last, wasn't it?

I save my seed company receipts (altho' my gardening notes are random, at best) so I can check.

. . .

Stella, I have a 2008 receipt from Totally Tomatoes with "Big Chili Hybrid" in the list. At least, that was what I was charged for . . .

Steve

[stella1751]

Thanks, Steve. That would be one of the other Big Chilies. The last time I bought from Gurney's was in 2004, when I purchased some really nice apple trees. That might be when I bought these seeds.

Unlike the other old seed packets in my collection, these don't have a date stamp, which might make them older than 2004. I can't remember when all the companies started stamping their seed envelopes with the year for which they were intended. I have some old Pennington organic dill seeds stamped 2003, so if there was legislation re: date stamps of seeds, then the HBC II seed packet is likely older than 7 years.