Frankenchile

[garden5]

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

I'm sorry to hear about the filius blue dying. How did it happen?

Stella, I'm glad to hear about your success. If you pot up the Frankenchillies, you may get them to ripen indoors.

[applestar]

Overwintered hot pepper plants are said to flower and fruit earlier next season, so keep those cuttings growing!

From what I've seen, hot peppers can take severe pruning, so if I had an impossible to replace plant, I think I would still cut the mother plant back severely and bring it in... But that's me. . (I do understand your dilemma about wanting to let the existing fruits mature as long as you can, Stella.)

[stella1751]

Overwintered hot pepper plants are said to flower and fruit earlier next season, so keep those cuttings growing!

From what I've seen, hot peppers can take severe pruning, so if I had an impossible to replace plant, I think I would still cut the mother plant back severely and bring it in... But that's me. . (I do understand your dilemma about wanting to let the existing fruits mature as long as you can, Stella.)

Applestar, you can have no idea how high is my opinion of your advice! Had you not suggested I propagate the HBC II from a cutting, I would now, with freezing temps on the horizon, be seriously stressing. You did suggest it, however, and your timing appears to have been perfect. I glance at my Frankenchile baby sitting in the kitchen window and feel like I can handle the loss of this favorite plant.

I am still toying with bringing the mothership into the house. I might. I would like those blasted peppers to mature first, but I am coming to realize that this desire may be irrational. Funny. Despite having my Frankenchile midget perched in my kitchen window, I suspect I will still be out there, digging up my favorite ten minutes in advance of a wintry blow

[csvd87]

Well, my Filius BLue died of what I think was overwatering, it basically sat in a puddle for 3 days, it coulda been a fungal disease found in a bad batch of potting mix...

[csvd87]

guess what guess what guess what... I was looking at my peppers today and I lifted up part of the Jalapeno plant... THEY ARE TURNING RED!!!! Soon they will be seeded and stuffed with feta... then devoured.. by me

[garden5]

Stella, couldn't you leave the peppers on the plant and just bring the plant in and have the peppers mature indoors? I'm thinking that its better than letting the frost kill them.

CS, I've come close the killing my pepper by overwatering, myself. It was probably overwatering since I don't see a potting mix having bacteria or fungi in it strong enough to take down a fairly mature plant.

Do you jalapenos get filled with cracks before they turn red? I've never been able to get mine to turn. They get big, then start getting all of those woody cracks. I end up picking them in fear that they will get so many cracks they will be inedible.

[stella1751]

Stella, couldn't you leave the peppers on the plant and just bring the plant in and have the peppers mature indoors? I'm thinking that its better than letting the frost kill them.

Yes. That is the logical thing to do. I should. Because I am anticipating playing with the seeds next year, I am being irrational. I seriously want the peppers' maturity to, as closely as possible, mirror nature's method, so I am waiting for as long as I can. I fear that bringing them indoors will somehow interrupt nature's natural cycle, and my seeds won't be viable. I know; it's silly

Another, secondary reason is that this was supposed to be a tomato year. I was experimenting with heirlooms, and peppers played a poor second. Therefore, I have 21 plants in this 4' x 8' bed. I've grown more, successfully, in that limited space, but I've never tried digging them up. When the favorite Frankchile is disinterred, I will likely kill a Fish, the other Frankenchile, a NuMex Big Jim, and two Habaneros. There will be wanton destruction throughout the bed, a domino effect of plants dying left and right.

It's not a big deal. The other plants aren't anything to write home about. Nevertheless, I'd like them to have their fair shot, especially the Fish and the second Frankenchile. I want seeds from both of them, too, this being a seed-saving year

Right now, I still have time to vacillate, to stress and to sweat and to be indecisive. And I have the Frankenmidget in my kitchen window, bless its little taproot!

[csvd87]

Do you jalapenos get filled with cracks before they turn red? I've never been able to get mine to turn. They get big, then start getting all of those woody cracks. I end up picking them in fear that they will get so many cracks they will be inedible.

I haven't noticed any cracking, but the peppers are quite shrimpy. Perfect for feta stuffing for snacks during a hockey game, to pair with a Caesar. Well, I'll try and replicate the ones I get at the grocery store. Otherwise they will be stuffed with cheese, wrapped in bacon and thrown on the grill.

[garden5]

Stella, I can now see your reasoning. I guess I've no room to talk since I have a few pepper plants that I really really want to over-winter indoors, but am leaving in the garden so the peppers can get as close to ripe as possible.

CS, perhaps it's just the type of jalapeno I'm growing . I've got some more growing now and they are getting big. I'm toying with the ideas of just leaving one on permanently. It will either turn red, get covered in bark, or stay green and get hit by frost .

[csvd87]

The over winter dilemma is why I will be growing all my peppers in containers next year, all on my back deck. Too bad I have horrible southern exposure, since my yard is surrounded by trees. But they get their 6+ hours out there. Oh and also because I won't have room for 20 pepper varieties in my garden... that has some part to play.

[stella1751]

We froze last night. I didn't see it coming. The forecast low was for 41, so I didn't cover anything. I kicked myself when I went out at 6:30 AM and felt a Frankenchile leaf. It was stiff and coated in frost. Only the top leaves died, though, so it must have been a short-duration frost. Tonight I cover!

I've been thinking about it, and I'm really not certain I want to bring the mother plant inside for the winter. I've got this thing about bugs in the house. If I had no other choice but to bring it in, however, I would. I don't think I need to, now that I have a live cutting. I would like to keep the host plant alive until those peppers turn, though. I will be covering them until then. Two peppers, that's all I ask. Two red peppers. Is that such a terrible request?

I see the first pepper on the HBC II in the bad bed has begun to turn. It is definitely orange-y along a portion of its length. I'm betting serious money that the favorite will mature if I can just give it 10 more days. It could happen. It's not likely, but in a perfect world, it could happen

[soil]

if anything you can cut the pepper at the last moment, and hang it to slow dry in your kitchen(hopefully warm). high chances are it will turn red before it dries. I'm going to do this with some thai chili's that took forever to start producing.

[stella1751]

if anything you can cut the pepper at the last moment, and hang it to slow dry in your kitchen(hopefully warm). high chances are it will turn red before it dries. I'm going to do this with some thai chili's that took forever to start producing.

Soil, earlier in this thread, you mentioned that you left peppers out on the counter until they became dessicated. (I think that was your word.) I followed your advice on two Super Chilies, just to see how it worked.

It was really slick. I picked them when they were red, stuck them on a paper plate on top of the dryer, and left them until they were crinkly but still kind of moist. Yesterday I removed the seeds. All I had to do was tear a thin strip off along the length, flatten the pepper inside out, and then scrape the seeds onto the plate. The pepper itself was like one of those dried fruit rolls you can buy: supple but dry enough to work with.

Great idea! I liked it. I will definitely do the same thing with the Frankenchile peppers once I reach the stage where I have to pick them. Yesterday I picked four kinds of Habaneros, one of each kind, and three Fish Peppers, sticking them on the plate for drying. In two weeks, I will have seeds from them, too!

Oh. Word to the wise (everyone probably knows this): Wear gloves when scraping the seeds from the hot peppers. Duh. My fingers stung for the rest of the day!

[garden5]

Stella, I'm so glad that your Frankenchilli made it through the frost. If you are looking for a way to get 10 more days out of your growing season, why don't you look into making a low tunnel. Traditionally, they are done by bending PVC pipe in an arc over a row and they covering that with clear plastic. Of course, you could improvise and just make a structure large enough to cover the desired plant. For added nighttime warmth, fill some milk-jugs with water and paint them black. They will absorb the heat during the day and radiate it out at night.

I know what you mean about bugs coming into the house. I brought some dirt in from outside last year for seed starting and you should have seen all of those millipedes coming out of it!

[csvd87]

Oh. Word to the wise (everyone probably knows this): Wear gloves when scraping the seeds from the hot peppers. Duh. My fingers stung for the rest of the day!

I had the unfortunate event of using the bathroom.. about 3 hours after, not thinking that I just worked with habaneros.... I went out the next day and bought some vinyl gloves from wal~mart

or instead of the black milk jugs... stick some big rocks in a fire for a while, then take them out, wrap them in a wet towel, supposed to work well for tenting in the cold, principles are the same I guess.. although it might create to much humidity and then freeze...

[stella1751]

Stella, I'm so glad that your Frankenchilli made it through the frost. If you are looking for a way to get 10 more days out of your growing season, why don't you look into making a low tunnel. Traditionally, they are done by bending PVC pipe in an arc over a row and they covering that with clear plastic. Of course, you could improvise and just make a structure large enough to cover the desired plant. For added nighttime warmth, fill some milk-jugs with water and paint them black. They will absorb the heat during the day and radiate it out at night.

I know what you mean about bugs coming into the house. I brought some dirt in from outside last year for seed starting and you should have seen all of those millipedes coming out of it!

Garden5, I was able to finish one of my beds with a cold frame:

[img]https://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/mitbah/Poblanos_2008-5.jpg[/img]

Unfortunately, I was never able to finish the others There are peas in this one this year, and they are all over the place. One of the Frankenchile plants is in here, but it's not a favorite. I just wrap it in a small tarp to protect it. Next year, this bed will be all peppers. That will make a difference to the pre-winter blues. I had never thought to cover it in clear plastic, though. Will that protect plants from frost? I've just been using standard blue tarps.

Millipedes in the house? I'd set up a tent outside and leave them to their own devices. Those guys are seriously creepy looking.

[The Bearded Farmer]

Do you guys leave the plastic on your tunnel open on the ends?? Last year I closed it off and made sort of a mini greenhouse.

[stella1751]

Do you guys leave the plastic on your tunnel open on the ends?? Last year I closed it off and made sort of a mini greenhouse.

I haven't ever even used mine. I was surprised to learn that clear plastic would work, but it makes sense. It just didn't occur to me.

What kind of clear plastic do you use?

If I could seal the landscape timbers, it would be a greenhouse. I haven't yet figured out an organic sealant that won't wash away after a few waterings. I'm thinking about hide glue, but that will have to be for next year.

Nevertheless, if I could turn it into a mini-greenhouse like you suggested, I could probably set my peppers out in April next spring, extending my growing season by six to eight weeks. What's the lowest temperature you think yours can take, being in a greenhouse like this?

[garden5]

You can go to a hardware store and find Heavy clear plastic that they use for tarps for painting. When you put it over the hoops, it allows the sun's heat to warm up the plants. You really don't need to worry about using glue as a sealant with this method (sorry if I mis-read your post and you were talking about something else). You open up the ends, or on end on sunny days to avoid overheating.

I don't think it's the color of the tarp so much as the thickness of it that protects plants from a frost.

There was a chance of a frost the other night, so I put buckets over my favorite pepper plants. I also took soup cans and put them next to the plant, filled them with boiling water, and then put the bucket over the whole thing.

I can't say at to the effectiveness, however, since there wasn't a frost.

[stella1751]

That's exactly what I was wondering about, Garden5; thanks! I have tons of those plastic drop clothes stored somewhere, along with the paint I never got around to applying. I seriously think I will give this a try next spring on that one bed. I suspect I will start extra peppers, just in case. Somehow, I appear to have decided that, if the plants can't see the cold weather, they are less likely to freeze. I don't know where I got that from, maybe because there are no such things as see-through blankets and coats

The Frankchile plants are still all alive, thanks to my nightly covering routine. My two least favorite plants of the three have peppers that are turning orange at the rate of one square inch every four or five days. The numero uno Frankenchile, with its super-long peppers, refuses to budge on this maturation issue, though.

It has four days left to get its act together. On Sunday, winter arrives, with lows in the 20's. I am grateful for the extra time I have been given, but I think I'm almost glad to see the season end. Once you get to covering plants every single night for weeks on end, gardening loses some of its appeal. Besides, I'm eager to pick those peppers and get their final measurement. I could be wrong, but I think they may have squeezed out another half an inch of growth since I was last able to measure them!

[garden5]

If you do use those drop-cloths, it may be a good idea to double-them up, as they seem (at least the ones I've seen) to be a little on the thin side. Eh, I'm getting way ahead of myself.This season's not even over yet and I'm already planing out your next one .

Good to hear Frankenchili is still going strong.

Not so good to hear that your pepper season will be coming to an abrupt end this weekend. Do you think you're going to pot Frankenchili and bring him in now that you for sure (or at least as sure as you can be when it comes to the weather ) that you'll be getting a frost.

Oh, and how are your cuttings coming along?

[stella1751]

I might have lost the Frankenchilies last night. When I pulled the tarp off this morning, the inner side was encrusted with frost and the top leaves dusted with the stuff. I'll know in about two hours whether they are throwing in the towel. I hope not. I could still squeeze 2, maybe 3, days out of them before winter hits. Today and tomorrow will actually hit 70; then it's pretty much all over. If the plants didn't die last night, I'll harvest them Saturday afternoon.

We've been getting frosts regularly now. It's that time of the year when the night temps invariably drop below freezing. Everything is gone but the peppers and peas. Well, those silly beans keep holding in there. Last night may have been their last sleep with the living.

Those to the east of me, look out. We are currently under a weather advisory for a "Significant Weather Change" beginning Sunday and Monday. Heavy snowfall in western Wyoming and highs in the 40's on the high plains are expected.

I think I will need to dig up the mother plant. My cuttings are alive, but I don't like the way they look. Both attempted to put on one blossom each, but after that, I have seen no signs of new growth. I think today I should try repotting them in some Miracle Gro, just to see what happens and to see what their roots look like.

I have a plan for seed saving, one I think will be terrific fun. I plan to save seeds from the two biggest peppers on each plant, maybe the three biggest on the two best plants. Then I will start four plants from each pepper next year, making sure I label them. If I save seeds from eight peppers off three plants, odds are high one will prove to have been pollinated by its own kind. That way, I should be able to have my desired F2 generation, right?

[garden5]

I hope they make it. Hopefully, the frost clung to the tarp instead of the plants, or maybe only the top leaves got hurt.

I'm having second thoughts about my can of hot water method I posed above. You can read what I posted in the "Still No Frost" thread.

I also hope your cutting-situation gets better. It sounds like they've rooted, which is half the battle.

I found an interesting article on bringing peppers indoors. Well, it's not really interesting, but it's a different technique. I'll post it as a separate thread later.

Here's hoping your peppers made it through the night.

[stella1751]

The final chapter. I never thought a harvest could be so bittersweet. I will miss growing these guys; I can't tell you how many cups of coffee I have consumed over the past summer, sitting there and watching them grow. Here they are, the picked peppers from my favorite Frankenchile plant. The two center ones are the ones I've been watching and photographing:

[img]https://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/mitbah/Frankenchile_1.jpg[/img]

The final measurement was 11.5" for the bottom one (to the right in the photo) and 11.75" for the top one (to the left in the photo). Only 1.75" away from the world record. The biggest chilies I've ever grown and that done during the coldest summer I've ever seen up here. Next year, you betcha.

Now I need advice. How can I get these fellows to mature in the house? Leave 'em on the counter in the kitchen? Hang them from a rafter in the cool basement? Ideas would be greatly appreciated. I want my seeds

[stella1751]

Quick question: I have torn out every pepper plant but the ones on either side of my favorite. I see now that at the base of the favorite, there is a sucker growing, about 1" above the ground. I've seen this on trees before and have actually grown a whole new tree from a sucker like this when the original tree died.

This could be perfect. I think that if I cut the stem right above the sucker, I can transplant the sucker, not the whole plant. Best of all, I could use a much smaller pot for this plant than I had originally planned. Has anyone else done this?

[soil]

hang them, somewhere warm and dry. but not too warm.

[csvd87]

Those look great! the tips on my Red Beauties are bright red now and my Jalapeno's are turning orange :s

[stella1751]

I have eight of the peppers now hanging in the house: two from #2 and #3, and four from #1. Out of curiosity, I ate a 4" one from Frankenchile #1, just munching on it raw. It was way too hot for my tastes. I actually burned the inside of my lips, and they stung like crazy for half an hour. I threw the rest of the pepper in the compost bucket. I had expected it to be as mild as a Poblano, but this was closer to Jalapeno heat, maybe hotter.

The peppers look so small in the photo. I should have found something better than a 1' board to photograph them on. Now that they are hanging in the house, they look as big as ever.

The mother plant is doing well. I just lopped off the plant above the sucker and potted the plant slightly above the sucker's base. Turned out there were two suckers there, so I have double the chance of a sucker surviving. Right now, it's in my kitchen window until I can figure out where to put it. The kitchen window sill will be the coolest place in the house this winter, which might be ideal. If it can go slightly dormant for the next few months, it won't become monstrously large, and I can wake it in the spring prior to setting it back outside.

My timing was perfect. Right now, it's raining outside. It's been raining all night long. Had I waited until today, I would be working in the mud. Tomorrow winter begins, so yesterday was perfect for stripping that bed!

[digitS']

I don't remember the Big Chili that I grew as anything but mild, Stella.

It may be the maturity of the fruits. You have kept them going a good deal longer than I was able to. Also, pepper heat can be something of a surprise at times.

The Fushimi Sweet peppers that I grew last year had a real pleasant sweetness and flavor. I had more in 2010. The first ones were kind of hot!!

I don't know what happened but later, they were milder. This isn't at all what I'd expected - kind of backwards. Still, they are supposed to be sweet peppers and that's what they got around to being, sweet with no heat.

Steve

[stella1751]

I don't know about the Big Chile, but these are the Hybrid Big Chile II, which hasn't been around for a long time, probably six to ten years. I suspect they may get hotter than the Big Chile. I'd guessed the cross to be a Poblano and an Anaheim, but now I'm wondering whether it's not a Poblano and some indigenous New Mexico pod type. The one I ate couldn't have been more than three weeks old, just a baby to be that hot. I could still taste it this morning

I have had experiences similar to yours: same variety, different year or different bed, different degrees of heat. It will be interesting to see how these produce next year. Their 2010 bed gets watermelons next year

I just roasted all the HBC II's but the ones I'm saving for seed. I haven't a clue what I'll be doing with all these roasted peppers, so I took a plate to a neighbor and froze the rest. Last summer, Ted got me thinking about how good peppers smell when they are roasting, and I just decided to roast them all. The house smells great!

[csvd87]

well I planted seeds of a long sweet red pepper I bought at costco and the pods maxed out at around 3.5 to 4 inches. the pods I took seed from were around 8 to10 inches long. so be prepared for anything. they might even grow larger. I'll upload photos after work.

[csvd87]

ok no pics because I forgot by the time I got home, and now my battery is dead

[garden5]

Stella, congratulation on a successful pepper growing season.

It will be interesting to see what comes about from both the seed (you are going to save seen, aren't you) and the mother-plant.

I'd leave the pepper to save seed from to mature as long as possible on the counter-top. It may very well not do a thing, but I've had enough pepper seed not germinate because the pepper was too immature that I would let it ripen just because it would make me feel better .

I'm sorry I never had a chance to post the thread on bringing in the chili pepper plant in time for you to use the info . It sounds like you did well how you brought your plant in, anyways.

Did the frost level your garden?

[stella1751]

Garden5, I have peppers hanging all around the house, in groups of two. They are very slowly maturing. The two I have been photographing are changing differently from the others. Rather than first developing splotches of color near the top, like the other two and the NuMex Big Jims, the big ones are darkening all over first, like the hot cherry peppers do. I suspect they will turn a chocolate color and then go red. My fingers are crossed. I really want my seeds. I earned them!

I'm thinking about letting them dry completely. I think they would make a nice pungent chili powder. I also have a few Habaneros, Fish, and Super Chilies drying at the same time for seeds. I think I could grind all four varieties together, the bulk of the powder being Frankenchile, and make a pungent powder. Gary350 mentioned this in a thread a while ago, and I think it would be fun to try.

At the rate of the ripening and drying, I will be starting next year's peppers at the same time that I make powder. The seeds will go straight from pepper to pot

[csvd87]

ok here is my tiny offspring of that Costco pepper.

[img]https://i487.photobucket.com/albums/rr235/binchnunker/Garden%20Pics/IMG_9588.jpg[/img]

Thats it dead center (only 3.5 inches long), to the left are Anaheims, and just out of frame on the left is a baby bell , also in photo is Tetra Dill and my Red Beauty behind that)

Here is my winter set up (so far)
[img]https://i487.photobucket.com/albums/rr235/binchnunker/Garden%20Pics/IMG_9586.jpg[/img]

[stella1751]

I like your set-up, Curtis, especially the light table!

That is a huge difference in size between the Costco parent pepper and its offspring. Someone else mentioned this happening with seeds from store-bought produce earlier this summer; I think that member had tried a melon.

I teach argumentation and research writing. For those students who have trouble deciding what issue to write about, I offer a list of pre-approved topics, one of which is Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO's). I've read enough papers on the subject now to wonder how much of our store-bought produce is a product of biotechnology. There are no labeling requirements, so we don't know when we are buying regular produce or a GMO.

Like hybrids, I don't think the GMO's breed true, but I'm not certain. On the last paper I read on the subject, the student emphasized the incorporation of Bt and Ht traits, which mean the pesticides and herbicides are engineered right into the seed. We know hybrids won't breed true. What might happen when you have a hybrid GMO? It seems to me you would have a double-whammy for unreliable offspring.

This is why, much as I am amazed by the produce available at the major supermarkets, I am reluctant to try their seeds. GMO's appear to be safe, but their unfair advantage in terms of size and hardiness take a lot of the gamble out of growing for major farmers while introducing a greater gamble in the second generation.

[garden5]

Stella, how long does it take for your peppers to air-dry to the point that they are ready for making chili powder with?

How do you make the powder: mortar and pestle or food processor?

CS, nice set up! Do your peppers fruit under those lights? I've heard that the "cool" bulb fluoresctents are for vegetative growth, but I've had small pepper plants flower under them. However, I think that may have been since they were getting root-bound. I'm surprised at how many plants you can fit under one light.

Stella, good points about the GMO. I forgot about the incorporation of pesticides into them. It does make you wonder about the next generation.

[csvd87]

quick reply from work. first off thanks. most already had blooms when I brought them in. also I've read that peppers can fruit under blue spectrum. I can if need be, go get some warmer lights.

[stella1751]

Stella, how long does it take for your peppers to air-dry to the point that they are ready for making chili powder with?

How do you make the powder: mortar and pestle or food processor?

I don't know, not yet I thought Gary350's thread on making chile powder was fascinating. At the time, I thought I would try it next year, growing Super Chilies just for that purpose. Then I found out that the Frankenchiles are megahot, and it occurred to me that, what with the Habaneros, Fish, and Super Chilies I am also currently drying for seeds, I probably have what I need to make the powder this year.

I'll probably use my mortar and pestle. I don't have a food processor I believe is capable of grinding them down fine enough.

BTW, the big Frankenchile peppers went red in four days! First they turned chocolate and then, poof! they were red. I swear, there is something incredibly odd about that one plant. It just isn't like the other two. Their peppers are now slowly turning red at roughly the same rate they were maturing on the plant, a square inch every four to five days.

I keep thinking about how I started five seeds, getting two oddballs and three pepper plants. Two of the three plants produced as expected for this variety, 9" peppers that are maturing similarly. The one plant, though, put on peppers that were almost a foot long, and its peppers are maturing in a completely different manner from the other two's.

It's like I planted five seeds, got two oddballs, two normals, and one that is really extraordinary. Every time I look at that plant and its cuttings, which are hanging in there, I am grateful for all the great advice I received in this thread! I suspect I've got a one in a million pepper plant, and right now I would be really sad if I thought it was all over. (Either that or settling in to my new home in a warmer climate )

[garden5]

Here are some resources on drying peppers:

[url=https://www.scottrobertsweb.com/Ultimate-Guide-to-Drying-Hot-Peppers.php]Ultimate Guide to Drying Peppers[/url]

[url=https://www.howtodothings.com/food-and-drink/a2086-how-to-dry-peppers.html]How to Dry Peppers[/url]

[url=https://www.veggiegardener.com/how-to-air-dry-peppers/]How to Air Dry Peppers[/url]

Hope these help .

This is turning into some type of master pepper thread .