I started a new hobby this summer - I'm trying to grow different varieties of hot peppers.

Thing is, when I start a new hobby, I go all out -- I'm up to 12 different varieties now. (Not a big deal until you realize I live in a second-story apartment with a small balcony - doh!)

I'm wondering if anyone else here has tried growing different varieties of hot peppers, and fans of hot peppers in general.

Here's what I'm trying this first year:

• Habanero (orange)
• Thai Sun
• Cayenne
• Tabasco
• Giant Serrano
• Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Peter Pepper
• Arbol Chilis
• Jalapeno
• Red Hot Cherry
• Hot Banana
• New Mexico Big Jim

The first 6 are seedlings purchased at Wal-Mart a few weeks ago. (It was an impulse buy that started all this!). The next 5 are from seeds ordered online, and I planted like 10-20 seeds of each. The last one are seeds taken from dried Arbol chilis I have in the kitchen just to see if they'd grow, and to make an even dozen varieties.

Here are the six seedlings on May 21:


I hope these work out, and next year will have a better idea how they grow and which work better in smaller spaces. What stinks is I cannot leave them outside until it's 60+ degrees at night, which is still a few weeks away here in NJ.

So, who else likes eating the hot stuff? I know Turnbull is a fan. Anyone else?

There is already a cheech and chong thread :p

Watch out for those habaneros. When I was in New Mexico, they wouldn't even handle them without gloves on. I believe they were the green ones.

Geoff, if you are serious about these peppers, than you know that you must carry a micro pocket knife around with you.


Don Cardi

Last year my husband planted peppers. I think there were some jalapenos, but I'm not sure what other kinds. I know there were red ones. He took a few of those and soaked them in olive oil to flavor it.

I must admit that I cannot tolerate anything hot or spicy. I can't even chew cinnamon gum, forget about eating anything hot. I'm a total weenie when it comes to stuff like that.

Geez, you remind me of my dad, Geoff. :p

He's very much into gardening, and he literally built a greenhouse in our backyard. He's also got little patches of garden both in the back and side yard; I know he's got tomatoes, but I forget what else. My baby cousin was over one day and playing in one of the patches, so my dad and I simultaneously begin to walk around imitating Vito's teasing of Anthony in the garden... My dad's constantly giving away the stuff he's grown and asking me if I want to pick tomatoes.

I need to ask him if he has ever grown or is growing hot peppers. Good luck with this; I'll never understand gardening, but I gotta admire those who do.

The only pepper's I grew were the green bell pepper's in my vegie garden when I lived in Newport News. Good luck Don Geoff, keep us posted how they are doing. I hear the pepper's are good for the immune system.

I love hot stuff (which is why I love Letizia ) and consequently, I've tried quite a few of these peppers. I made some poppers last year that were dynomite, I used the banana peppers and the jalepanos. The banana peppers seem to be mild and sweet. The hotness varied in the jalepanos. I know the habaneros are quite hot. Either way, I had gloves on when I touched my peppers (ha! Partagas).

Turnbull is the resident expert on hot peppers (surprise surprise! :p ), but I think its a wonderful thing, having a garden. I love hot and spicy foods. I put hot sauce on anything you can imagine putting hot sauce on (and probably a few things you wouldn't). I eat dry jalapeño peppers with my pizza, as well. Habanero's, on the other hand, are a little too much. I'll take a bite of one here and there, and sporadically add some to my pico de gallo, but its not often that I use them. One time, my brother bet me $15 bucks I wouldn't eat a whole one. So he gave me the money, and I ate it, and I was suffering for the next 45 minutes. It was absolute agony!

Have a glass of ice cold milk around. Otherwise, your tongue will burn off.

Try a nice cold gallon, and a loaf of white bread, and a trash can, as you will probably puke it all back up!

Well no one said to eat the trashcan, too, silly! [/dumbass]

Hey, if it helps the pain go away... :p

I've got something better...



"Here Lloyd! This helps!"

I especially love mild jalapeño peppers a lot. But peppers in general increase the appetite and if you've heartburn you better stay away from them. I don't have such a good appetite but I can't eat peppers always because after a few straight days of eating various peppers it starts giving me heartburn.
JG, when your jalapeño peppers are ready, I'll break in your apartment and do my ODC thing as well! :p

It's a deal! But you won't have to break in.

Your dad must be pretty young then! :p I can't wait to get a real house and have a real garden or greenhouse!


The problem with growing plants is I get so damn impatient! And hence a tendency to care for them too much... but hopefully they'll make it!

I didn't mean age-wise...so touchy! :p

Shoot, just build yourself a mini-greenhouse on your balcony! You "care for them too much"? Do you sit outside every night with them and sing/talk to them? Just a warning, but that might be "too much"...

So you're saying I shouldn't take them into bed with me then?

Well, my dad does that with his tomatoes, so I don't see anything wrong with it.

:p

Now come on, this would be more fun!

You just want to be able to say that you went to bed with a "hot little pepper." Better yet, "some hot little peppers!"

How quickly an innocent question about gardening degenerates into trash (sighs). Now, I could understand the drift into innuendo if JG had asked about growing zucchini or cucumbers!

Returning to the topic.
JG, I was growing some hot peppers years ago, but it's a long time since I can't eat them, so I have to be satisfied with sweet Bulgarian peppers.
The most important thing about all peppers is that they like moist soil and dry air, at the same time. I have some on my balcony now, BTW.
Good luck!
Oh, and the greenfly loves them...

That's hilarious DJ!

And wash your hands THOROUGHLY before visiting the men's room, otherwise something else will burn off.

I wonder who inspired that bit of advice?

Which happened to my dad a long time ago in a galaxy far far away.

His actually did burn off. Literally.

He's a woman now.

Mick

Aphids love them, too. But misting with dishsoap water (especially under the leaves) seems to have taken care of most of them.

As for watering, from what I've read I'm under the impression they like to be moist (like all plants), but they actually prefer to be on the dryer side than the wet side. I've been watering every few days -- some water once a week. I'll just have to see how it goes, and learn for next year.

I wonder who inspired that bit of advice? [/b][/quote]It wasn't WHO inspired that bit of advice, but more of a WHAT inspired it! I saw that you were "pretty good with the knife!"

Don Cardi

UPDATE

Holy Cow! I must be caring for them pretty well....

When I got the seeds it said, "seeds can take from 10 days to 5 weeks to germinate, depending on the type of peppper." (I almost died seeing 5 weeks!) I planted them on Wednesday and a few broke the surface already in less than 2 days!!

They must really like the warm temperature sitting on top of my gas stove (from the pilot lights).

The plants I already have are probably a bit mad that the seedlings took their spot on the stove. It appears it's warm enough for them to go outside this weekend, but it's supposed to be rainy every day except Sunday.

Congrats JG!
Peppers know whom to love!
And they like to be outside and bathe in sun - according to my experience.
Only take care: all plants are jealous!!!

So, this is what it's like to be over the hill, huh? :p

Only, kidding Geoff. Well, good luck with that.I've never had the chance to eat anything homegrown, but it's supposed to have a lot more flavour (unsuprisingly).

When I start growing a few dozen 8-foot tomato plants, you can begin to worry!

I went to the local produce market, and saw habenero, cherry pepper, and jalapano plants. I of course thought of Geoff (then food, of course. :p ).

By the way Don J Geoff....
Becareful from your HOT PEPPERS...
I heard about a man from texas was eaten by his own HOT PEPPERS!!!
Scary isnt it...

Its just an advice, PLEASE becareful...

Don Zadjali

I was almost eaten by a dried habanero a little while ago. Let's just say, I gotta get rubber gloves! Couldn't open my eye for like 2 minutes!

Aww Geoff ya gotta becareful. We wouldn't want nothing bad to happen to ya. When I see ya this summer I'll bring ya a whole bunch of rubber gloves(my sis-in-law is a RN)

I told you to be careful!!!


*Don Zadjali

Am I the only one here that was thinking our Don was talking about a womans breasts when they first saw the title of this thread?

Well I guess that shows where my mind is. In the gutter where it belongs.

Oh man... no wonder a few sprouted up so quickly!
I think there were some grass seeds (not the fun kind ) in the seedling mix I used.

Some look like they could be peppers, though - in a few days I should be able to tell better. This batch may be way too late for this year unless I get some grow lights.

My babies are getting bigger! They're 7-12" now.



As for the seedlings, many are about 1" now (some are still sprouting yet, and some haven't started yet). But here's a pic for Turnbull of the future Thai plants...

Looking good! Now if I could only build up the courage to eat some of those.

I'm jealous of those peppers. I wish someone would have photographed me everyday. Looks like jalapenos are doing very good. 10"!! Holy cannoli! :p

If I had a dollar for every time I heard that... well, I'd still have to save up for a cup of coffee.

Would it do if I put this in my signature? That's a lot of commitment cause I don't like long sigs!

Quick Pepper Update: They're now 10-18" tall and almost ready to start flowering!

But I wanted to post this pic I took of my other new baby, my venus fly trap. I call this pic "Sooooo Close!"

Damn, I guess I can't fly around your apartment any more! :p

Do those Thai plants come in "stick" form?!?

I wish. Maybe if I had a 100 acre farm in Bolivia or something....

Wow - that VFT pic was taken yesterday, and I assumed the fly got away. But he didn't - he was in the dish, still alive and kicking! So I plopped him in there, and the VFT finally got a meal.

How did you manage to take that picture? Were you sitting there all day waiting? That lens must be something.

Okay, so I'll give away the secret to my photographic mastery...

Yesterday, there was a fly buzzing around a window so I lightly tapped him with a fly swatter. He wasn't able to fly any more, but was able to walk just fine. I plopped him onto the plant, but the biggest trap closed before he got in there, so he just walked around the plant amongst the smaller traps for a while, stradling the one in the picture. Apparently I flattened his "eye" so he couldn't see me get so close I guess -- so I snapped a ton of different pics of him. (The one posted is my favorite)

Later yesterday, I didn't see the fly any more, so I figured he got away. Just before, today, I went to water the plant and lifted the pot out of the dish, and there the fly was! Still alive and kicking, but grounded. So I plopped him into the large trap, and that's that. Had the plant for about a month, and he finally got his first meal.

Oh wait - what I meant to say was...... I got super power reflexes and snapped the pic! And the bug camouflage I put on helped me to not be noticed!

Huh! So that explains that broken leg that can be seen in the picture.

...and apparently that flattened "eye"

Is it me, or does it look like it has a pig snout?

Yeah, I just noticed. I skip looking insects in detail. They give me eating disorders. :p

At an eat-as-much-as-you-like restaurant tonight, me and friends had a competition to see how many Jalapeno peppers we could eat. I was runner up with 8. Totally damned hot! The more you drink the worse the burning gets.

Mick

Quit torturing flies, Geoff!

They're living creatures, too.

:p

That is quite an amazing pic, though.

Quite the pic! Now that you mention it his eye does look pretty flat. :p

The TRUTH is JG whipped "it" out in front of the fly and the fly was too busy laughing to notice JG took the picture :p

Now explain the flat eye on the fly!

Now explain the flat eye on the fly! [/b][/quote]well that's simple. When humans are shocked at seeing something so small they get bug-eyed...bugs get human-eyed :p

Well, that explains it.

As of today, my babies are now 13" - 22" tall!



And here's the good news....!!!!

Lovely pepper there, JG. Congrats!!

JG - congrats on your first pepper! Make sure you take care of it and if any boy peppers come, talk to them with a bat in your hand! :p

Your pictures come out really well - especially the one with the fly - what type of camera do you have?

Thanks, DB -- Yeah, this camera is pretty amazing! It's the 6.3 MP Fuji E550 ... it even records full motion video pretty well, too

I'll save your fingertip for the record. :p

My first-born -- one week later!



(A little blurry cuz taken in pitch black cuz I have no patience to wait! lol)

Geoff, this is beginning to sound like a '50's sci-fi movie. Any minute now, I expect to see Kevin McCarthy (or his likeness) everming from one of those plants...

Geoff, this is beginning to sound like a '50's sci-fi movie. Any minute now, I expect to see Kevin McCarthy or Dana Wynter (or their likenesses) everming from those plants...

Maybe Body Snatchers... but as long as it's not Little Shop of Horrors!

BTW - Some of these Thai plants have your name on it. :p This variety is good for small spaces / pots, but I have too many of them!

How's my favorite state treating you?

How they coming on after 2 years,do you still have them?

Nah, they die off at the end of the season. I didn't plant anything last year (I still have peppers in the freezer!), and this year I have just 2 habanero plants cuz I was running out...