Big jim vs Sandia

[peppero]

I would like some views from those of you who have grown BigJim and Sandia peppers; production and flavor, etc.

Thanks in advance.

jon

[Marcus1]

I grow Big Jims every summer for my farm stand. They are very meaty and have excellent flavor but can be very inconsistent when it comes to heat. One can be smoking hot and the next no heat. They are also harder to germinate for me than most of my other peppers. Another minus for me is that if there is any disease in my peppers the big jims will surely be the worst. Not familiar with the sandia pepper but see the NM chile institute has developed a improved sandia that is supposed to have thicker flesh and straighter pods than the original. My favorite chile for production and taste is a hybrid from Johnnys called Highlander. Marcus

[mdvpc]

I used to live right close to Hatch, NM. I can tell you Sandia is much hotter than NuMex Big Jim. I am used to eating hot chile, and I have had some Sandia that were super hot.

http://www.chilepepperinstitute.org/...sandia_select/

http://www.chilepepperinstitute.org/...numex_big_jim/

[geoffrey44]

Cant advise re Sandia.. but can give a bit on Big Jim.
I have two bushes and they are now three years old.This is in itself an achievement because in the cool Melbourne winters usually only chillies that are well protected last overwinter...and these are very much exposed to the weather. Prodigious cropper and a long,long harvest period...keeps flowering and producing well into the cooler weather.
Now the down side...Large plant (mine are well over 5 foot in height.....needs staking.
And the other major problem I have had is that the pods are very susceptible to mould and rot.. I usually lose about 20% but this is balanced by the very large volume of fruit.
The heat is a bit strange.There is little or no heat when green and only a low to moderate when fully ripe... It seems to be at its most intense when just in the colour change period and even then its not very intense... I would say no more than 120k SHU
Hope the above helps....
Geoff

[peppero]

First of all I will thank all of you for your responses. I hope to grow both this year but I always like to hear from others. I am hoping to be able to process the peppers into something similar to the canned large peppers that are sold under the Hatch brand name. Any experienced in doing this would also be appreciated.

jon

[4season]

I like Big Jim but as Marcus said the heat can be variable, even in one pepper. I was driving and the tip of the pod was like a bell pepper but the stem end was so hot it got throw out the window. Not littering, organic mulch for the roadside.

[Marcus1]

Jon, Never canned chiles but freeze a couple of bu. of various chiles every year. We take the time to peel them after roasting but know a lot of people that don't peel them. We put them in vacuum seal bags,( we freeze first then seal so the juice does'nt mess with the seal). and they'll last several years.

Good luck, Marcus

[peppero]

Thanks Marcus. We also freeze many of the peppers and it works so well.

jon

Jon, I've also got both started and ready to go into the garden, so I don't have much feedback to give. The Sandia's were seedlings from HomeDepot. I started my BigJim's from seed. The NM Chile Institute has released a Heritage BigJim, which is supposed to be a BigJim with improve flavor and production. That's what I started. I didn't realize the bushes could get so big as is Geoff's experience. Guess I'll find out...

I read somewhere that the typical "Hatch" chili is most often the NuMex 6-4. The NM Chili Institute also have release a Heritage version of the 6-4 which again is supposed to be an improved version both in flavor and production. Hopefully these will yield that great fresh-roasted flavor, you get from the street corners of Hatch during chili harvest season.

I also have a couple NuMex Heritage Joe E. Parker's ready to go in the ground. Looking forward to tasting the difference in each of these varieties.

Good Luck your BigJim's and Sandia's...

Mike-

[mdvpc]

Mike

I used to live near NM Chile Institute, and have grown Heritage Big Jim. I think you will find it far superior to the regular BJ.

With regard to the varieties grown in Hatch, I don't think you can say that 6-4 is the one most often planted. When I have visited with the growers, its clear they grow several varieties.

[geoffrey44]

Re my earlier comments re Big Jim Just did a head count and both bushes would have in excess of 50 pods each...pods being some5- 6 inches in length..Ripening nicely with little sign of the rot of previous years.This is somewhat surprising as the season has been quite cool and damp so far.
With regard to freezing I normally extract the seeds first and then put in small plasic containers..easy to label... never had a problem..last for years
Geoff

[Sun City Linda]

I'm growing Heritage NuMex 6-4 this year too. I had also heard about Heritage Big Jim which, hopefully is an improvement in heat consistency! The only Big JIms I ever tried were too hot for me but I'm kind of a sissy

[geoffrey44]

Just for the hell of it and because of this discussion I just went and picked a ripe Big Jim ( bright red )...Nothing to get excited about at all..I think you in the US describe a sweet capsicum as a bell pepper and this is what this was... mainly sweet and fruity with a tiny touch of heat on the finish...would hardly raise a blip on the SHU scale...Nice looking bush but not for serious pepper ( chilli ) freaks
Geoff

[Father'sDaughter]

I've only grown Numex Big Jim once and had to pick them still green at the end of the season. I was surprised that they had just a little heat, but after roasting and peeling, their flavor is what won me over. In cooking I can see adding them for their flavor and using a different pepper to provide the heat.

[mdvpc]

New Mexico green chile is to be picked green. Very little of it is left to turn red in the Hatch-Las Cruces area. 99.999% of the chile that is harvested and sold there is green.