Help out a poor, teary-eyed Jalapeno growin' rookie...

[gssgarden]

windsng225, Where did you order your black hungarian seeds from?

This year I tried Goliath Jalapeno from Totally Tomatoes and it was wonderful.
The HOTTEST and biggest one I've grown. Granted I've only grown about four different jalapeno plants from different growers BUT this one will be back for sure.
Great for my famous jalapeno shrimp boats stuffed with cheeses, chives and topped with a shrimp!

I THINK I have some seeds left if anyone wants a few but I have to double check.

If you're a jalapeno fan, this is one to check out.

Greg

[barkeater]

I grew Goliath too for the first time this year. They are huge! Great stuffed with cheese, wrapped with bacon and cooked on the grill.

They'll be back with the Early Jals and Garden Salsa next year, plus Kung Pao for drying.

[organichris]

I sorta wish I would have planted at least one jalapeno plant this year. Its not too late but I don't have any room left. I like them but I prefer the flavor of serranos. I like to eat jalapenos when they are fully ripe, red, juicy and sweet.

[barkeater]

I grew Serrano Del Sol 2 years ago, and I agree the flavor is great. However, the yield was very low. Maybe it's my climate, or are there other serranos that are more productive?

[kelleyville]

I grow most of my peppers in pots far smaller than five gallon buckets and they seem to do just fine. I also bring them into the garage in the winter and keep them alive. My H messed up and left my two year old tobasco's out in the weather this year and killed them, but I have three jalapenos that made it through winter. I just clip them back and away they go in the heat of summer.

I like the variety Early Red Jalapenos for turning into chipotles!

Kelley

[organichris]

Kelley,

That's pretty amazing. I've never actually heard of anyone keeping pepper plants over the winter. Do you plan on taking those three into next year too?

[kelleyville]

I did this by accident the first year. My pepper plants in pots never did anything but get stems and leaves until late October one year. When we moved that year in December, the plants were full of peppers, so I took them with me. Some got lost in the shuffle of other pots and got left outside and died, a couple came in the house and went in and out as the weather permitted, but only one, a tobasco got remembered, watered and brought in and out faithfully. That plant rewarded me plenty!

I will keep doing it as space allows. I hope to have a greenhouse soon to accomodate all the things I don't want to die over the winter Second year on the tobasco I had better production. Have no idea about third year as my husband killed this one last winter!

If the jalapenos produce, yes I will bring them in again! and again, until they die out.

I did the same thing with the potted tomatoes I moved last year. However they only lasted until February in my garage. Mostly because they were neglected. They produced all winter though! I figure had I cut them back they might be growing still now but moving tomatoes is not fun!

I got the idea I could continue doing the peppers that way after reading an article about a woman who grew chili peppers in pots outside in summer and inside in winter. She had the same plants for years at a time!

Kelley

[kelleyville]

These are the three that made it over winter...two just Jalapeno and one Jalapeno Early. The early is the smallest one. These all just got repotted in larger pots, but actually they did not need it. The roots were compact and all in the center of the #1 nursery pot. the tallest one will have fruit on it soon!

Seems after over wintering they take longer to get going but when they do they go like crazy!

[coronabarb]

"I grew Serrano Del Sol 2 years ago, and I agree the flavor is great. However, the yield was very low..."

Must be your climate. I grew a serrano pepper a few years ago in a raised bed and had hundreds of peppers on it. The plant got much bigger than I expected. The hottest jalapeno I've grown was picked from a plant in a neglected area that received very little water. That pepper was so hot that just 1/4 tsp in my food was too much, and I do like hot. I don't need my jals THAT hot! Thankfully, the ones in my raised beds are just hot enough.

I've had pepper plants grow for 2 yrs. I have a Thai chile in a pot that is going on it's third year and putting out new leaves. We don't get much in the way of hard freezes here.

[ddsack]

I agree, it's hard to get the Serrano's producing very quickly up in the north. They really prefer it hotter. It seems like my plants grow well, but they don't really get loaded with pickable size peppers til late in the fall, about the time it might freeze. So I end up with one big harvest that I pack whole into freezer ziplock bags. If you whack the frozen bag on a counter, the peppers separate and you can pick out what you need for one time use.

I have dug up and brought peppers in the house for the winter, but every time I end up bringing aphids in too, despite soaping down the plants first. Wouldn't be so bad if they just stayed on the pepper, but they get on my other house plants and this year totally mangled the bouganvillia blossom buds before I realized they had hopped over from the peppers. It's a constant battle all winter. I think I've got them licked, and then a month later, Hello? If I do it again, I will only bring in peppers grown in pots isolated on my upper deck where they have less chance of encountering aphids. And before bring in, I will soap-spray every three days for two weeks to catch any late hatches.

[Bobbisox]

Originally Posted by windsng225

I have grown the scotch bonnet and actually hate them. They are way too hot for me. This past season I grew jalapeno's and Hungarian black jalapeno's. They were delicious, both. I found that the Hungarian black had a smokey taste to them and not as harsh as the green jalapeno's. Both are great in fresh salsa. I froze quite a few of both.
joyce

Joyce, thank you so much for that information, I will give them a try. We love jalapenos; we have one "pet jalapeno" that has been in one part of the yard for 4 years in the ground. It produces all year long so I have the red ones I love for stuffing for poppers, but the black smokey flavored ones sound great for my purposes too. When you froze yours, did you blanch them and leave them whole or what?