THG Pepper Contest: My Contenders

[stella1751]

It's getting close to the end up here. The average first frost is three weeks away. I took photos of my contenders. The longest so far, a green pepper still on the plant, is 9". I just picked two red ones today. The longest of those, which are hanging up behind the pepper bed, is 8.5".

[img]https://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/mitbah/Peppers_4.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/mitbah/peppers_3.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/mitbah/Peppers_2-1.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/mitbah/Peppers_1.jpg[/img]

They're all feeling a bit droopy right now at noon on a 90+ day. The tallest plants are working on their fourth foot. Gosh, I LOVE these pepper plants!

The day before the first slated freeze, I will strip leaves away and take photos of my longest beauties. I don't think I will get an 11+ incher this year, but I might make 10".

Okay. That's what I've got. Competitors, let's see your peppers!

[SPierce]

I don't have any peppers yet, but my bell pepper plant just hit 4 and a half feet. yyeehaw! Obviously, any bell peppers aren't going to beat your 9 inches, but... next year I'm going to try and see what I can get

Yours are looking fantastic!

[DoubleDogFarm]

Okay. That's what I've got. Competitors, let's see your peppers!

Thanks for setting up Stella. Her is my best Pepper. Peppercorn.
[img]https://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h300/eric_wa/Dogs%20%20Jacob%20and%20Pepper/DSC03364.jpg[/img]

Stella that looks like pepper heaven. Facing mostly south and a white wall for light reflection. Looks like you will give use a run for our money. I have no peppers this year. Maybe I will take your challenge next year, under hoophouses.

Eric

[stella1751]

Dang it, Eric! You know I'm a sucker for dogs. I will have to settle for second this year unless, of course, Peppercorn is really, really tiny, like a Maltese/Labrador cross.

I just strung 300 Super Chilies for drying. I can't breathe

[stella1751]

I don't have any peppers yet, but my bell pepper plant just hit 4 and a half feet. yyeehaw! Obviously, any bell peppers aren't going to beat your 9 inches, but... next year I'm going to try and see what I can get

Yours are looking fantastic!

SPierce, the contest is two-pronged: the longest pepper (I win!), and the heaviest pepper (I might win ). Hey. Why don't we make it three-pronged: the hairiest pepper (Eric wins).

[SPierce]

I don't have any peppers yet, but my bell pepper plant just hit 4 and a half feet. yyeehaw! Obviously, any bell peppers aren't going to beat your 9 inches, but... next year I'm going to try and see what I can get

Yours are looking fantastic!

SPierce, the contest is two-pronged: the longest pepper (I win!), and the heaviest pepper (I might win ). Hey. Why don't we make it three-pronged: the hairiest pepper (Eric wins).

I *might* be able to contend for the heaviest. Maybe! I guess we'll see what happens if my pepper actually makes any peppers! Right now, I have it inside the house because I don't want it to get bowled over by heavy winds

[DoubleDogFarm]

I just strung 300 Super Chilies for drying. I can't breathe

Sounds like you are doing well with peppers.

I *might* be able to contend for the heaviest. Maybe!

Wait a minute, Peppercorn weighs ...... Oh, never mind.

Eric

[SPierce]

I just strung 300 Super Chilies for drying. I can't breathe

Sounds like you are doing well with peppers.

I *might* be able to contend for the heaviest. Maybe!

Wait a minute, Peppercorn weighs ...... Oh, never mind.

Eric

[stella1751]

I just strung 300 Super Chilies for drying. I can't breathe

Sounds like you are doing well with peppers.

I *might* be able to contend for the heaviest. Maybe!

Wait a minute, Peppercorn weighs ...... Oh, never mind.

Eric

Peppercorn would weigh more than my entire pepper crop, which is considerable. I put the entire dog's weight at 80-90 pounds. You're going to have to settle for the hairiest. And, if memory serves, a peppercorn is not even in the Solanaceae family. We're letting the dog enter the competition solely based upon its stunning good looks and that suspiciously crooked lip. (Is your dog laughing at me, or is it laughing at my drooping pepper plants?)

The Super Chilies are an extraordinary discovery for me. Last year, a friend sent me seeds for NuMex Big Jims, Yellow Habaneros, and Fish peppers. One of the seeds produced an oddity. I couldn't figure out what this pepper was, so I asked THG members for help. We finally decided it was a Super Chile.

It's a cute ornamental pepper, maybe 2' tall if it stands on its lower branches, and it grows its peppers like spikes on a dog's collar. I thought it would make a nice substitute for flowers in the 1' x 5' boxes I have in front of my street garden bed, so I saved some seeds. I wound up with 22 plants and promptly developed a blood clot that kept me out of the garden for over two weeks.

When I recovered enough to stagger out to the garden, I put five plants each in the two 1' x 5' boxes and the remaining twelve in a bed I had meant for corn. I wasn't able to prep the beds. I was able to dig the little boxes, but I planted the remaining twelve by simply digging holes, shoving the plants in, and tamping down the soil.

Those Super Chilies went to town. Given the worst conditions any plant of mine has ever endured, they settled in to producing like mad. I've given at least 600 peppers away, and today I strung at least 300 more. By the time three weeks have passed, I'll have another six or seven hundred little peppers.

My friends love 'em. They are super hot. I tested one for taste (I'm not a hot pepper fan), and I had a headache for the rest of the day.

I think these will be a staple for me from now on. They will grow in any kind of soil. They seem to thrive on an absolute minimum of space. I am told they are extremely tasty. As for production, they are like the rabbit of the plant world. They just keep on producing. Amazing. I am seriously sold on these peppers.

BTW, if anyone wants seeds, let me know. I've set aside several for seeds for next year, and I can collect some more.

[garden5]

Wow, it sounds like you've gotten a great harvest so far! Your plants look amazing!

Mine are doing alright, but 300? Looks like you win for quantity as well.

Lets see: heaviest.....hairiest.....longest....What about hottest?

I'm growing the bhut jolokia this year and it's rated for about 1,000,000 scovilles. Perhaps I'm a contender for that one.

Eric, why don't you grow peppers, climate?

[DoubleDogFarm]

Eric, why don't you grow peppers, climate?

Climate has a lot to do with it. It's difficult enought to grow tomatoes. Hoophouse will get me in the game.

Eric

[soil]

my super chilis have tons and tons of peppers, already harvested well over 1000 off of 5 plants and its barely just begun. they will continue until frost. why do you hang your super chilis? seems like quite a task when all you need to do is spread them out to dry somewhat, and then toss them in paper bags to finish. they are thin skinned so they dry pretty fast. its things like thicker Serrano, jalapenos that need to be dried with care.

for the most though ill have to give that to the birdshit thai pepper. very very tiny but the plants produce amazing numbers of peppers. very very flavorful and very very hot. but smaller than a dime.

I don't think I can compete with the longest or largest this year.

[DoubleDogFarm]

for the most though ill have to give that to the birdshit thai pepper

Are we talking about my dog again.

Eric

[stella1751]

my super chilis have tons and tons of peppers, already harvested well over 1000 off of 5 plants and its barely just begun. they will continue until frost. why do you hang your super chilis? seems like quite a task when all you need to do is spread them out to dry somewhat, and then toss them in paper bags to finish. they are thin skinned so they dry pretty fast. its things like thicker Serrano, jalapenos that need to be dried with care.

for the most though ill have to give that to the birdshit thai pepper. very very tiny but the plants produce amazing numbers of peppers. very very flavorful and very very hot. but smaller than a dime.

I don't think I can compete with the longest or largest this year.

I'm hanging them because it is fun. I have them hanging outside my office window. There is a trellis behind the peppers. I want to hang all my peppers there to dry. Every time I glance up from my computer, I see all my great loot. I think it's greed or pride of possession.

They're awfully pretty, too. They look like a witchdoctor's necklace.

Hate to go off topic, but I want to make a chili pepper blend. I have Super Chilies, an Anaheim type (pics above), and several different varieties of Habaneros. The Super Chiliies are hot, probably just a tetch hotter than a jalapeno. The Anaheim's are regular hot, about the same range as a jalapeno, maybe less. The Habaneros are, well, Habaneros.

Can anyone recommend a ratio among these three for the best chili powder?

As for the competition, I hate to be immodest, but I've got this one in the bag. My HBC II"s are already arguing over placement of the trophy

[soil]

I like to dry them separate. and then grind them monthly separate, once powdered the chili's loose quality pretty fast.

I have the seeds from the giant chili peppers I got from the mexican farmers market. next year ill get them started early and give you a run for the prize. the dried peppers I got the seeds from were over 11 inches.

[DoubleDogFarm]

BTW, if anyone wants seeds, let me know. I've set aside several for seeds for next year, and I can collect some more.

Yes please.

Eric

[stella1751]

Eric, I think I discovered the mystery of the Super Chile I got last year. Pharmer Phil sent me some NuMex Big Jim seeds, along with two other kinds. I never knew what packet the Super Chile seed came out of because my dog got into the seedlings, knocking them out of their pots so he could suck the fish emulsion from their roots. Gotta love/hate a Catahoula mix, right?

Anyway, I saved seeds from that Super Chile, using them this year. Smack dab in the middle of 11 Super Chilies rose this extremely odd looking pepper. As it progressed, I could see it was a bastardized version of a NuMex Big Jim: leaves, growth pattern, pepper shape and the way they hang from the plant. However, it is different from a NuMex in that it is incredibly prolific, putting on peppers all over the place, and the peppers and plant are considerably smaller than a NuMex.

I am a tad slow. I assumed my Super Chile had crossed with last year's NuMex, giving me this one solitary plant. It seemed weird, given that the other Super Chilies from the same pepper were Super Chilies, but a litter of puppies can have more than one father, so I decided the same applied to plants.

This morning it hit me: I bet one of the Super Chile seeds reverted back to a NuMex parent from Pharmer Phil's place. The NuMex seeds he gave me must have been pollinated by a Super Chile, right?

Long explanation! I thought you should know, though. You are more knowledgeable about these kind of things than I am. Can the third generation, which is separated by about 100' from any other pepper variety, reliably produce Super Chilies, or is there a chance there will be future NuMex/Super Chile oddities in the next batch?

BTW, if you still want seeds, PM me with your info, and I will get them out to you as soon as they are ready

[lakngulf]

Well, I don't have any "four legged" pepper, but here are a couple of entries. I literally had to pull some weeds in order to see the pepper plants. Enlarge the shot to get a better view of the peppers

Here is a variety shot: Sweet banana and multi colored Bell
[img]https://i854.photobucket.com/albums/ab104/lakngulf/001-mcl-2011/IMG_0169.jpg[/img]

Jalapeno peppers are doing great but hard to see inside the healthy leaves
[img]https://i854.photobucket.com/albums/ab104/lakngulf/001-mcl-2011/IMG_0175.jpg[/img]

Those are sorta standard and bland, and probably not winners, but maybe we could make up a new category "Best background shot for a pepper plant"

[img]https://i854.photobucket.com/albums/ab104/lakngulf/001-mcl-2011/IMG_0172.jpg[/img]

[stella1751]

Lakngulf, those are drop-dead gorgeous peppers, clear winners in the bathing suit competition, but can they sing or dance? Four of mine have been working on a little barbershop number called "Shine on Harvest Moon."

I did a double-take on the last picture. It looks like it's growing right in the water

[lakngulf]

Ok, one more entry from down south:

[img]https://i854.photobucket.com/albums/ab104/lakngulf/001-mcl-2011/IMG_0182.jpg[/img]

[stella1751]

OMG! Those are all so incredibly beautiful! How long is that yellow one in the very front? I am quaking in my boots; that looks as long as or longer than mine

[garden5]

Stella, how hot are your chillies?

My hottest is 1,000,000 scovilles, but although Guiness recognizes it as the world's hottest, there is some debate that others are truly hotter. So, what's your hottest?

[stella1751]

Stella, how hot are your chillies?

My hottest is 1,000,000 scovilles, but although Guiness recognizes it as the world's hottest, there is some debate that others are truly hotter. So, what's your hottest?

My hottest is the Habanero, which I think is 1,000 scovilles, but don't quote me on that. I know it's either ten times or a hundred times hotter than the Jalapeno. Would that make it 10,000 scovilles?

I'm seriously thinking about backing off on peppers next year. Every year, I grow from two to four beds of hot peppers. They are such beautiful plants with such beautiful glossy produce, as is evidenced by LaknGulf's photo, and they really communicate to the gardener when conditions are just right or horribly wrong.

They are my favorite plant to grow. There's just one problem: I don't like hot peppers. The hotter they are, the less I like them. My HBC II's will make excellent chile rellenos, and I like those, but how often can you eat chile rellenos in one week? Peppers don't last much longer than that in the fridge, and they are difficult to stuff once they've been frozen. And I am reluctant to pick any before they turn red because I have become obsessed by seeing how big they will get

This year, maybe I will try grilling them. Last year, Ted mentioned that he liked to grill his and eat them between two slabs of bread. Has anyone else tried this with your Anaheim types?

[soil]

make chili powder, that way you can add just a dash for flavor and not burn your face off. over time I bet youll build a tolerance to the heat.

hot peppers are really good for your health, I eat them everyday pretty much.

[garden5]

Stella, how hot are your chillies?

My hottest is 1,000,000 scovilles, but although Guiness recognizes it as the world's hottest, there is some debate that others are truly hotter. So, what's your hottest?

My hottest is the Habanero, which I think is 1,000 scovilles, but don't quote me on that. I know it's either ten times or a hundred times hotter than the Jalapeno. Would that make it 10,000 scovilles?

I'm seriously thinking about backing off on peppers next year. Every year, I grow from two to four beds of hot peppers. They are such beautiful plants with such beautiful glossy produce, as is evidenced by LaknGulf's photo, and they really communicate to the gardener when conditions are just right or horribly wrong.

They are my favorite plant to grow. There's just one problem: I don't like hot peppers. The hotter they are, the less I like them. My HBC II's will make excellent chile rellenos, and I like those, but how often can you eat chile rellenos in one week? Peppers don't last much longer than that in the fridge, and they are difficult to stuff once they've been frozen. And I am reluctant to pick any before they turn red because I have become obsessed by seeing how big they will get

This year, maybe I will try grilling them. Last year, Ted mentioned that he liked to grill his and eat them between two slabs of bread. Has anyone else tried this with your Anaheim types?

Hmm, I'd guess the habaneros to be about 100,000 scovilles.

Jalapenos are about 5,000-8,000, so 10X would put you close to the 100,000 mark, which sounds about right for habs. 100X would put you around the half to 3/4 million mark...kind of high (but not unheard of) for habaneros.

Well....so far it looks like I'm in the lead for the heat category .

[stella1751]

Garden5, you will definitely beat me in the heat category! Habaneros are as hot as I care to go. I'll bet you have to wear gloves when you pick yours!

[jal_ut]

I am green with envy. I can't get the peppers to do a darned thing this season.

[lakngulf]

I am green with envy. I can't get the peppers to do a darned thing this season.

I'll trade you a bucket full of peppers for a bushel of that corn you grow !!

[soil]

we grow more than a few really hot peppers. I don't know the exact numbers in my plants, but here is what the average website says they are at. and I'm told my peppers are hotter than other local farmer who I have given seed to.

wild chili tepin - 100,000-260,000
orange habanero - 150,000-325,000
rocoto/manzano - 225,000-350,000
red savina habanero -350,000-575,000

[stella1751]

My favorite Habaneros are the big yellow ones. They are really quite attractive. This year (and probably next) I am using up a Habanero mix I bought a few years ago. There are peach, chocolate, orange (regular), yellow, and something I never did identify. It's long and skinny for a Habanero, and it turns yellow.

I am having a super Habanero year, plant wise. I finally gave them the space they need, and the plants are roughly two feet tall and two feet wide. This after having been denuded by hail last June. Yeah, I know that is small for you southerners, but it's not too shabby given the cold May and June we had up north.

They are loaded with peppers, but they are all still green right now. I'm pretty sure at least one of the plants is a yellow. It is covered with BIG green peppers. At least four are the long, skinny, yellow ones, odd for a seed variety mixture.

One more month. That's all I need. One more month. Then I'll have tons of great Habaneros to play with for my chili powder project!

[soil]

One more month. That's all I need. One more month. Then I'll have tons of great Habaneros to play with for my chili powder project!

tell that to the peppers I got from thailand, they are taking FOREVER to start fruiting. they havent even started while my super chili's have over 100 peppers on them, most of them turning red.

good luck on the habs, ever considered a mini cold tunnel/cover for it. I'm thinking of covering the whole hot pepper bed with a small hoop tunnel to extend the season a few weeks to a month.

[garden5]

Soil, it looks like you're the main competition for the heat category!

I know how you feel about your peppers. I've got "big Thai" (which aren't so big) that are still green. However, 2 of my bhut jolokias are red.

Tell me, you've grown these types before, when do I know that they are at their peak ripeness/hotness? I tried growing them last year, but the ghost peppers got hit by the frost, so didn't get as far along as I am now.

Thanks for your tips.

[soil]

if your growing bhut jolokias you win, not that I'm trying to win. except for when I eat my own food, then I am a winner everytime.

well it really depends on what you want them for. and how you personally like them. I take my habaneros real late because I want to dry them, which is a few days after they are fully colored. otherwise fresh they are too hot to eat. the thai chilis are good for green curry paste just before they turn red, so when you see the slightest tinge of color, or you can let them go until they are fully red, firm, and smooth for red curry paste or drying. for seeds you want to leave them on the plant until they start to shrivel some. and then let them dry off the plant. when dry collect ripe seeds.

so as always the answer is it depends.

if you save the seed from the thai you purchased. chances are you will get some variation, which is good. ive been selecting for the more pointed, thin and hot/flavorful ones. rather than the original straight, smooth and kind of fatty peppers.

[Stella Blue]

I'd like to post my entry for the artistic category. Shown here are chile, hot cherry, serrano, hungarian wax, bell, aneheim, and ornamental.

[img]https://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g75/LillianLizStellaDoug/2011/peppers008.jpg[/img]

[DoubleDogFarm]

[img]https://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g75/LillianLizStellaDoug/2011/peppers008.jpg[/img]
No matter how I turn my head, I can't tell what time it is.


Eric

[stella1751]

StellaBlue, hands down, you win. That is beautiful! If you could come up with 11 more vegetables, you could make a very attractive calendar

[lakngulf]

StellaBlue, hands down, you win. That is beautiful! If you could come up with 11 more vegetables, you could make a very attractive calendar

I agree. Beautiful arrangement. My primary purpose for growing peppers is the beauty they provide about this time of the year. But your display takes the cake......hmmm that's an idea, peppers in a cake design.

[garden5]

if your growing bhut jolokias you win, not that I'm trying to win. except for when I eat my own food, then I am a winner everytime.

well it really depends on what you want them for. and how you personally like them. I take my habaneros real late because I want to dry them, which is a few days after they are fully colored. otherwise fresh they are too hot to eat. the thai chilis are good for green curry paste just before they turn red, so when you see the slightest tinge of color, or you can let them go until they are fully red, firm, and smooth for red curry paste or drying. for seeds you want to leave them on the plant until they start to shrivel some. and then let them dry off the plant. when dry collect ripe seeds.

so as always the answer is it depends.

if you save the seed from the thai you purchased. chances are you will get some variation, which is good. ive been selecting for the more pointed, thin and hot/flavorful ones. rather than the original straight, smooth and kind of fatty peppers.

Soil, thanks for the tips. I usually let my Thai peppers go until they turn red. My picking question was revering to the bhut jolokias. I've never gotten to the point that they turned red. One has been red for about a week. I'm wondering if it is about ripe, or if it will get hotter if I leave it on?

I should probably let one stay on long for the seeds. In fact, I think it was you I was telling about saving seeds from my frost-bitten bhut jolokia plant last year. I had three peppers at three stages of ripeness. The seeds sank when I took them out of the peppers, then they floated when put in water after they dried. Funnily enough, even a few of the floating seeds from the less-than-red pepper sprouted and grew this year. However, they were in a bad spot, where they were shaded by the other plants so they did not get that big.

Anyway, my big bhut jolokia is in a pot and has close to 2 dozen peppers on it. I think that if a pepper is red for week, it's probably ripe enough?

My Thais...now that's another story. Last year I planted what were supposed to be "Big Thai," but they only get about 3-4 in. long, so I must have gotten a bad/mislabeled pack. Anyway, they were also supposed to be hybrids...I saved seed from them anyway.

This year, they look just like last year's plants....so maybe they weren't hybrids after-all?

I like your quote: when we eat from our gardens we are all winners!

[stella1751]

I just went out to pick some peppers. I'd picked 5 when I noticed a spot of red color deep within the recesses of one of the plants. It took some doing, but I extracted it without breaking any branches or dislodging any green peppers. It's the curled one in the photo below. I ran a tape along its length on the outside, twice.

I got a 12" pepper!

[img]https://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/mitbah/FrankenChile_1B_Oct_3.jpg[/img]

Yah, it's scrawny. You'd be scrawny too if you grew up next to those bruisers and never saw any sunlight

[DoubleDogFarm]

Wait, Timeout. I'm throwing in the red flag. Lets go upstairs to the replay booth.

After further review, Stella's pepper measuring is no good. To much stem on the fruit and it's measurement is ineligible.

Pepper will be placed on the chopping line. 1st pound and 10 to go.

Eric