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stella1751
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I agree. I can't say when was the last time I visited the tomato forum. This year I have been primarily interested in peppers.csvd87 wrote:I think there should be a pepper forum on here. its a broad enough topic. already a tomato forum. my 2 cents anyways.
I sliced the two big Frankenchilies open today. Someone in another thread said I didn't have to wait until the pepper was dry to get the seeds. Because that advice suited what I wanted to do anyway, I followed it
What gorgeous seeds these are! And huge, too. Some of them are easily twice as large as the orginal seeds. By the time they dry, I suppose they'll only be about 1.25 or 1.5 the size of the originals, but these are nevertheless terrifically exciting seeds!
I am told two weeks should dry these seeds. I want to start one, maybe two, plants in the house once the seeds dry, just for fun. Has anyone started a pepper from seed to maturity, all in the house? What kind of problems might I anticipate?
That's a good idea, CS. I've considered that, too.csvd87 wrote:I think there should be a pepper forum on here. its a broad enough topic. already a tomato forum. my 2 cents anyways.
I just think that if a site gets too specialized, you end up loosing discussion contributions. I mean, if there are too many separate forums, some folks may not bother to check them all regularly. So, your subjects will have fewer, but more specialized replies. I guess that wouldn't be such a bad thing, but I just think that if a thread is in a forum that gets more over-all views, it will get more replies. Those replies may be from a person who only checks the general forum now and then, but may still have some pretty interesting views to lend.
It seems like although it is a broad enough topic, there may not be that many folks who will be following it.
Of course, I could be wrong and it may be a great idea. I guess it's up to the webmasters. I'm sure that the idea has come up for discussion seeing as how long we have gotten this thread
. Anyway, perhaps this should be a good pole to post in a another thread 
. Anyway, I'm taking this thread too off-topic 
.Back to the peppers......Stealla, I fixed the second link in the list on drying peppers in case you didn't see it.
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stella1751
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Garden5, I read both sites. They were interesting! I think I'm one of those people who is happiest when she is worrying. I've been worrying that my peppers will rot, that they won't have any seeds in them, that the seeds will be dark and ugly.
Last night I harvested the seeds from the two big Frankenchilies, the Super Chilies, the Fish peppers, and one each of a red, a chocolate, a yellow, and a weird yellow Habanero that looks like an Aji. With the exception of the red and chocolate Habaneros, which had very few seeds in them, I had nothing to worry about. I got fine seeds that are now drying all over the house!
What a fun garden year this has been!
Last night I harvested the seeds from the two big Frankenchilies, the Super Chilies, the Fish peppers, and one each of a red, a chocolate, a yellow, and a weird yellow Habanero that looks like an Aji. With the exception of the red and chocolate Habaneros, which had very few seeds in them, I had nothing to worry about. I got fine seeds that are now drying all over the house!
What a fun garden year this has been!
Stella, I did manage to get 1 immature pepper from my filius blue before it died from overwatering. I think I will venture out tomorrow and pick up a couple 2700 lumen fluorescent tubes for my table.
I just think that with the popularity of the pepper, and the massive amount of varieties, having a pepper specific forum would be a good thing. I've scoured around gardenweb's Hot Pepper forum, but I'm not all that impressed with it or its layout, but it seems to be pretty active still.
I just think that with the popularity of the pepper, and the massive amount of varieties, having a pepper specific forum would be a good thing. I've scoured around gardenweb's Hot Pepper forum, but I'm not all that impressed with it or its layout, but it seems to be pretty active still.
Stella, you sure can grow peppers to maturity indoors. Your biggest concern will be pot size and nutrients. You'll have to add a liquid fertilizer periodically when you water. There was a good thread on here where a member grew some pepper plants pretty large indoors, in small containers even. I can not find it for anything, but I'm pretty sure one of the members who was in it was "Somegeek." I'll let you know if/when I find it.
CS, I slept on it, and your idea is sounding better and better. If it was promoted heavily enough, I'll be we could get a lot of pepper enthusiasts. I looked around online and there are a few pepper sites that are pretty active. Perhaps the mods (or one of us) should post a new thread with a pole to see how popular it would be.
Anyway....back to the peppers.
Stella, I've heard that a pepper seed is sufficiently dry if it snaps when you bend it. Will you do a germination test-batch with your seeds before you put them in storage?
CS, I slept on it, and your idea is sounding better and better. If it was promoted heavily enough, I'll be we could get a lot of pepper enthusiasts. I looked around online and there are a few pepper sites that are pretty active. Perhaps the mods (or one of us) should post a new thread with a pole to see how popular it would be.
Anyway....back to the peppers.
Stella, I've heard that a pepper seed is sufficiently dry if it snaps when you bend it. Will you do a germination test-batch with your seeds before you put them in storage?
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stella1751
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Garden5, I think this is the thread you meant: [url]https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13054&highlight=peppers+indoors[/url]. I read through it. This will be a complicated process!garden5 wrote:Stella, you sure can grow peppers to maturity indoors. Your biggest concern will be pot size and nutrients. You'll have to add a liquid fertilizer periodically when you water. There was a good thread on here where a member grew some pepper plants pretty large indoors, in small containers even. I can not find it for anything, but I'm pretty sure one of the members who was in it was "Somegeek." I'll let you know if/when I find it.
Stella, I've heard that a pepper seed is sufficiently dry if it snaps when you bend it. Will you do a germination test-batch with your seeds before you put them in storage?
I want to start one Frankenchile each from the two big peppers. I will be too anxious about them to wait until spring. They will also be my first second-generation plants, well, besides the garlic I planted two days ago, but I won't know about the garlic until late March. I want to see what the big peppers will do. Will they have mottled leaves like a Fish or crinkled leaves like a Habanero, or will they look like the parent plant? Fun!
I am hoping that, if I restrict their pot size, they won't get terribly large. Last year, I started them on April 16, and I didn't set them out until June 16. They could have made it longer in their baby pots, but they were pushing it. Maybe I will be able to prune them, too, to keep them small. By the time the end of March rolls around, we will have the occasional 50 degree temperature. Even if it's that cold, they will benefit from going outside to take in some rays.
That's assuming they germinate. Yay. Something new I can worry about
Don't worry, Stella, you'll do fine. If you can grow tomatoes from seed, you can grow peppers. You just have to keep the soil a little warmer for germination.
I'm not sure if that was the thread I'm thinking of or not. I remember a picture of 1ft. tall Habanero(?) peppers sitting on a work bench under a light with green peppers on them. They were growing in what looked like square-ish Tupperware containers This could be the thread and I just missed the photo I'm thinking of
. I'll Have to go back through it. It is an interesting read, regardless.
I'm not sure if that was the thread I'm thinking of or not. I remember a picture of 1ft. tall Habanero(?) peppers sitting on a work bench under a light with green peppers on them. They were growing in what looked like square-ish Tupperware containers This could be the thread and I just missed the photo I'm thinking of
. I'll Have to go back through it. It is an interesting read, regardless.-
stella1751
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I saw that, Curtis, thanks! I noticed, though, that he was talking about growing herbs indoors, not peppers. All I can do is try. With any luck, by the time they start to get super leggy, I will be able to get them outside.csvd87 wrote:stella. check the last page of that thread. he grew habs and other peppers in tiny containers
Right now, I am nursing cuttings and drying peppers in my seed starting set-up, so there's no rush. Besides, the seeds haven't finished drying yet. Someone said to give them at least two weeks. Then I suppose I'll either do the hammer test or just plain plant them.
The Frankenchilies are drying, one drop of moisture at a time. These peppers seriously like to take their time about virtually everything. Following is a photo of them hanging out with a few little friends. The big ones are along the back. There are a few from the other HBC II plants on the right side. The rest are Fish, Super Chilies, and Habaneros.
[img]https://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/mitbah/Dried_Peppers_1-1.jpg[/img]
This is kind of fun. However, the more they dry, the more certain I am that I will probably wind up with only one or two tablespoons of powder. The Fish peppers have already dried to a fine, translucent papery texture. I'm going to start many, many peppers next year, and I am going to dry them all outside!
Opps, Stella, I meant that last one to be directed at G5, my bad.
Anyways, my peppers seem much happier to be inside in there new.. new location in the much warmer mud room, I harvested 3 Red Beauty peppers yesterday, and I have 2 more turning, and about 10 of my 30+ Jalapeno's fully mature. Its a tiny plant too, but loaded, same with my Sweet Cayenne, about 25+ pods on it, not a big plant, no mature pods yet. hmmm I should go check on my turnips, I kinda forget about them since I moved them to the back deck away from the deer.
I am also attempting some cuttings of my red beauty and my sweet cayenne, I bought some rockwool at a hydroponics store I found in town the other day, seems to be what people are using for cuttings, seems easy too because you can see the roots and then you can direct plant the rockwol cube into soil. I am also trying some cuttings in soil to see what works better.
Anyways, my peppers seem much happier to be inside in there new.. new location in the much warmer mud room, I harvested 3 Red Beauty peppers yesterday, and I have 2 more turning, and about 10 of my 30+ Jalapeno's fully mature. Its a tiny plant too, but loaded, same with my Sweet Cayenne, about 25+ pods on it, not a big plant, no mature pods yet. hmmm I should go check on my turnips, I kinda forget about them since I moved them to the back deck away from the deer.
I am also attempting some cuttings of my red beauty and my sweet cayenne, I bought some rockwool at a hydroponics store I found in town the other day, seems to be what people are using for cuttings, seems easy too because you can see the roots and then you can direct plant the rockwol cube into soil. I am also trying some cuttings in soil to see what works better.
I had a frost this morning 
,but my 3 chili pepper plants were under buckets, so I'll have to see if they survived or not.
Curtis, I had a feeling you were directing that at me. I'll have to take a look.
Stella, I've got a lot of Thai chillies that I'm seriously considering grinding into powder. How are you drying them? It loos like you have them on a heating pad. I think I will dry mine by splitting them and leafing them on a paper towel in the kitchen. Perhaps I'll put them in the oven whenever I get done using it and it is cooling down. With the frost outside, I'm sure that there is pretty low humidity in the air.
,but my 3 chili pepper plants were under buckets, so I'll have to see if they survived or not. Curtis, I had a feeling you were directing that at me
. I'll have to take a look. Stella, I've got a lot of Thai chillies that I'm seriously considering grinding into powder. How are you drying them? It loos like you have them on a heating pad. I think I will dry mine by splitting them and leafing them on a paper towel in the kitchen. Perhaps I'll put them in the oven whenever I get done using it and it is cooling down. With the frost outside, I'm sure that there is pretty low humidity in the air.
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stella1751
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Curtis, this rock wool sounds interesting. What is it made of? My cuttings are still just hanging in there. They have not put on one new leaf. Last week I moved them to a heating pad under fluorescent lights. I mist them once an hour with seaweed spray. Still no signs of growth. There's no do-overs anymore, either, so I am doing everything but standing on my head to keep them alive until they can establish roots.
I think I did something stupid. The instructions said to slice the cutting at an angle where it joins a node. That way you can increase the amount of surface to root. Well, I reasoned that if a little bit of surface was good, a lot would be better. I picked joined mini-branches of leaves and split them down the middle. I think most of my possible rooting surface is stem, not node, which worries me as I struggle to keep them alive. One root would do it. Just one root.
Garden5, I started drying mine by hanging them from a thread. However, my house is drafty, and I think they were drying too slowly in the cool air. I sliced them all open, removed the seeds, and placed them on a heating pad under the fluorescent light. They seem to be genuinely drying now, but it will still be a very long time before they are ready to grind.
Applestar said they can be dried in a gas oven, which is ever so slightly warmer because of its pilot light. Unfortunately, I have an electric oven, so I can't do that.
It's all good. This is the first time I have extended my garden by moving plants and projects indoors. I think it's great! As long as I am fighting to keep my precious Frankenchile alive, I am still gardening
I think I did something stupid. The instructions said to slice the cutting at an angle where it joins a node. That way you can increase the amount of surface to root. Well, I reasoned that if a little bit of surface was good, a lot would be better. I picked joined mini-branches of leaves and split them down the middle. I think most of my possible rooting surface is stem, not node, which worries me as I struggle to keep them alive. One root would do it. Just one root.
Garden5, I started drying mine by hanging them from a thread. However, my house is drafty, and I think they were drying too slowly in the cool air. I sliced them all open, removed the seeds, and placed them on a heating pad under the fluorescent light. They seem to be genuinely drying now, but it will still be a very long time before they are ready to grind.
Applestar said they can be dried in a gas oven, which is ever so slightly warmer because of its pilot light. Unfortunately, I have an electric oven, so I can't do that.
It's all good. This is the first time I have extended my garden by moving plants and projects indoors. I think it's great! As long as I am fighting to keep my precious Frankenchile alive, I am still gardening
[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral_wool]All about rockwool[/url]
It sounds like you are doing better than me with my cuttings. I just snipped off a branch and stuck it in a 4 in. pot with some compost .
I'm not too concerned about the cuttings since I did pot and bring in my 3 ghost peppers. They were under buckets when a frost hit, and I'm not entirely convinced they made it. However, I'm not positive they didn't make it, either. I suppose I'll have to wait and see.
With how much you're doing for them, I'm sure you cuttings will pull through.
It sounds like you are doing better than me with my cuttings. I just snipped off a branch and stuck it in a 4 in. pot with some compost
.I'm not too concerned about the cuttings since I did pot and bring in my 3 ghost peppers. They were under buckets when a frost hit, and I'm not entirely convinced they made it. However, I'm not positive they didn't make it, either. I suppose I'll have to wait and see.
With how much you're doing for them, I'm sure you cuttings will pull through.