What's the best pepper questions?

[drew51]

I too am experimenting with peppers. But my experience would be completely different than Texas. Living in the Midwest it's tough to find good peppers that work. We had a very cool summer, so this year was not a very productive year. Some peppers that worked for me might not work at all in TX.
Anyway for others in the Midwest info might be useful.
1. bell type - Yellow Monster Pepper
2. Sweet not bell type - Doux D' Espagne awesome pepper!
3. Paprika/drying.. Leutschauer Paprika Pepper, has some heat.
4. Mild hot - Peppadew, the most prolific pepper I ever grew.
5. Medium hot - nothing fits here that I have grown.
6. Hot - Fish Pepper, I love these very much they grow well here. Can be used when white or red. Also Malagueta is an awesome hot pepper.
7. Super hot - On super hots I like to make jerk sauce. Hooked on it from my 4 trips to Jamaica. I grow Ministry of Agriculture Scotch Bonnet, which look more like habineros than scotch bonnets. The red scotch bonnet is also nice.

[Gerardo]

1 Chocolate Pepper has done well for me. Corno di Toro red also.
2 The Nardellos keep pumping out, and they taste great.
3 Don't do drying ones, too many already available here.
4 Czech Black work great for me. Pretty purple flowers, black/garnet fruit.
5 Serranos
6 Chiltepin
7 No desire for mucosal lining (top and bottom) torture.

[MendozaMark]

Originally Posted by greenthumbomaha

I'll attempt an answer to your first category, the bell pepper.

I've been trying to grow a decent bell pepper for years, and they have always been very thin walled. I thought it was the climate or soil at fault. Spent a ton of money on pepper seeds from many quality seed companies, primarily OP.

Last year I saved seeds from a giant bell I bought from a farmers market grower that also sells to my local grocery store on Monday. I am guessing they use a hybrid seed and I am very happy with how the plant turned out. Wish I could find out what variety they are. I only got 8 seeds from the biggest pepper on the plant (no complaints it was huge).

Hybrid peppers were discussed in a thread last year. The drawback is you have to buy them in huge quantities and they are costly.

- Lisa

Thanks Lisa, I actually did the same thing, got bell pepper seeds from a huge store bought bell. They did great and i have around 20 + overwintered bells that are flushing out nicely. I was not expecting to keep so many but they refused to die. I didn't bother planting any seeds of bells this year. The only reason I listed the bell category is for future considerations and i didn't want to discriminate. I am not a big green bell pepper fan. I prefer other sweet peppers that are more appealing in the immature stage to me. That being said red bells are nice and they were the last to come off the plant producing for almost 6 months from seed. 2 days ago, I broke down and had to buy a red bell.

[MendozaMark]

Originally Posted by drew51

I too am experimenting with peppers. But my experience would be completely different than Texas. Living in the Midwest it's tough to find good peppers that work. We had a very cool summer, so this year was not a very productive year. Some peppers that worked for me might not work at all in TX.
Anyway for others in the Midwest info might be useful.
1. bell type - Yellow Monster Pepper
2. Sweet not bell type - Doux D' Espagne awesome pepper!
3. Paprika/drying.. Leutschauer Paprika Pepper, has some heat.
4. Mild hot - Peppadew, the most prolific pepper I ever grew.
5. Medium hot - nothing fits here that I have grown.
6. Hot - Fish Pepper, I love these very much they grow well here. Can be used when white or red. Also Malagueta is an awesome hot pepper.
7. Super hot - On super hots I like to make jerk sauce. Hooked on it from my 4 trips to Jamaica. I grow Ministry of Agriculture Scotch Bonnet, which look more like habineros than scotch bonnets. The red scotch bonnet is also nice.

Fish I have going in seedlings. I also have a Jamaican Yellow Bonnet type (Remi's sample seeds) It germinated amazing easy, where as my habs are much more stunted. I never had Jerk sauce till last year when I found a real nice recipe to use up some habs. It was amazing although allspice is expensive here. That's why i wanted the bonnet. I would really love to get the official pepper though. The super hots are more for my wife and for market interest. I will also make a crazy hot sauce with them, but not use personally. I will look up Doux D' Espagne, Peppadew and Malagueta.

Thanks for your input !!

[Worth1]

mark I once lived in an area in West Texas that was 2,500 feet.
Now I live well below that.
Thank god the wind isn't as bad.
Try climbing out of a 124 foot tall oil derrick with the wind blowing 50 to 60 MPH and the snow going sideways I was crazy when I was younger.
Well any way I looked at pictures on the internet trying to get a better idea of what you are into there.
History plays a big role in what people eat and the Spanish aren't know for hot fiery food.
I looked for Mendoza pepper and chili market and found almost nothing.
I then looked for pictures for Mexico city pepper and chili market and it was loaded.
But then I looked for peppers in Argentina and found much more.
It seems as though Argentina is as demographically diverse as Texas is too, depending on where you live.
When you go to the average store here in town most of the gringos are buying bell peppers and the Mexican Americans are buying jalapeno, pablano and serrano.
I almost never find myself picking these peppers with another gringo and am always in competition with a older Mexican American ladies in the poblano section.
The Habanero peppers are not that popular.
If I were you I would try.
Red and yellow mushroom.
Red and yellow corno di toro.
Guajillo.
Lemon drop AKA ají limon.
Chili Arbol.
Bulgarian carrot.
Pablano.
Aji amarillo.
Rocoto.
With these chilies I can make anything dried or fresh and as hot or mild as I want it to be.

Worth

[MendozaMark]

Originally Posted by Gerardo

1 Chocolate Pepper has done well for me. Corno di Toro red also.
2 The Nardellos keep pumping out, and they taste great.
3 Don't do drying ones, too many already available here.
4 Czech Black work great for me. Pretty purple flowers, black/garnet fruit.
5 Serranos
6 Chiltepin
7 No desire for mucosal lining (top and bottom) torture.

I will look up the Czech black, the others i have on hand are in seedling form except the choc bell (have seeds).

Thanks !

[MendozaMark]

Originally Posted by Worth1

mark I once lived in an area in West Texas that was 2,500 feet.
Now I live well below that.
Thank god the wind isn't as bad.
Try climbing out of a 124 foot tall oil derrick with the wind blowing 50 to 60 MPH and the snow going sideways I was crazy when I was younger.
Well any way I looked at pictures on the internet trying to get a better idea of what you are into there.
History plays a big role in what people eat and the Spanish aren't know for hot fiery food.
I looked for Mendoza pepper and chili market and found almost nothing.
I then looked for pictures for Mexico city pepper and chili market and it was loaded.
But then I looked for peppers in Argentina and found much more.
It seems as though Argentina is as demographically diverse as Texas is too, depending on where you live.
When you go to the average store here in town most of the gringos are buying bell peppers and the Mexican Americans are buying jalapeno, pablano and serrano.
I almost never find myself picking these peppers with another gringo and am always in competition with a older Mexican American ladies in the poblano section.
The Habanero peppers are not that popular.
If I were you I would try.
Red and yellow mushroom.
Red and yellow corno di toro.
Guajillo.
Lemon drop AKA ají limon.
Chili Arbol.
Bulgarian carrot.
Pablano.
Aji amarillo.
Rocoto.
With these chilies I can make anything dried or fresh and as hot or mild as I want it to be.

Worth

Thanks Worth. The two mushrooms and Guajillo, don't have so i will look them up. I had a Rocoto type till 2 days ago when i knocked the small tray over sent seed and soil everywhere...lol. Since the seeds are dark brown i couldn't find any to save. I have way too many plants as it is...so nothing to cry over.

I know the gringo feeling here and since price tags are not always to be found, I often get the gringo price too. Luckily i have a pretty good idea of whats what, and also now know where to shop. You are very correct on the diversity within Argentina. Mendoza is very Spanish and Italian in terms of tastes and cuisine. I may have to get my peppers/pepper products to Buenos Aires market. Its a much more diverse population with good size communities of non-Argentinians that love hot peppers. My wife is from Liberia and she has many connections to the African community in BA which tend to love the hots. She is really the reason i started to grow them. Its been a great experience too, I really have expanded my diet/cooking so no pepper goes to waste. I make many Mexican and hot Chinese inspired dishes and i am always scouring for new ideas to use both sweet and hot peppers. This year i want to make a smoker and see where it takes me. 3 years ago, i was a hot pepper wimp with the Jalapeño too much for my bland taste buds. I am not into super hots or making youtube videos but i love to cook with peppers and adjust the heat accordingly.

Cheers and Thanks !

[Worth1]

Mark some of the best cheese I have ever had came out of Argentina.
It always baffles me when someone says Spanish food when they are talking about Te-Mex or Mexican food.
The two types of cuisine couldn't be farther apart.
As for hot I have yet to see anything eaten or sold in Mexico that is as hot as what they sell in the US for so called pepper heads.
That is one of the reasons I try to buy stuff like salsa/sauce made in Mexico and farther south.
More flavor and less heat because they know how to make it.
Worth

[Worth1]

Mark yesterday I was at the store and of all things I saw manzano chilies.
I looked on line and to my surprise they are also called rocoto but these were orange but they still had the black seeds in them.
I tried the canned red ones from Peru and they weren't to bad.
So I tried one when I got home and the thing was good real good but in a bit the heat kicked in.
I looked on line and they said from 15,000 to 30,000 scoville.
On another site they were from 100,000 to 150,000.
These things must be around 150,000.
I'm saving all of the seeds.
It is by far one of the best tasting HOT chilies I have ever had.

Worth

[MendozaMark]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Mark yesterday I was at the store and of all things I saw manzano chilies.
I looked on line and to my surprise they are also called rocoto but these were orange but they still had the black seeds in them.
I tried the canned red ones from Peru and they weren't to bad.
So I tried one when I got home and the thing was good real good but in a bit the heat kicked in.
I looked on line and they said from 15,000 to 30,000 scoville.
On another site they were from 100,000 to 150,000.
These things must be around 150,000.
I'm saving all of the seeds.
It is by far one of the best tasting HOT chilies I have ever had.

Worth

Just taking a break from dealing with an aphid attack on my peppers I haven't eaten a rocoto pepper yet. I have heard excellent things about them although they are not very well known. Sometimes they call them locoto peppers too, I assume those are the hotter type of rocoto. My neighbour dropped me off seeds from a fresh pepper. I didn't see the pepper but the flesh was red. Unfortunately I knocked over the tray that I had them seeded in. I only had about 12 seeds so i didn't bother saving any. I do recall reading that you can overwinter a few types and they can handle freezing temps and stay in the ground. They can also get very large. They belong to their own pepper family, Capsicum Pubescens so they are unique. I will ask my neighbour where he got his and see if i can get a couple of peppers to try and use for seed.

For anyone interested here is a Wiki link on the family Capsicum Pubescens.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsicum_pubescens

Interesting you are seeing them in a local market, although i have seen ads for a giant Mexican Rocoto. Let me know how they do fr you, very interested in these and Baccatum peppers.

Cheers !

[Worth1]

Mark when I walked in the store my eagle eye spotted them from 25 yards away.
It was as though I had found gold there was no price and they didn't have them listed at the cashier counter yet.
I had to tell the lady what they were so she could go find out the price.
Only 2.50 a pound or so.
Compared to the Habs that are around 6 a pound that is a deal.
I read where the things could produce fruit for up to 14 years.
They have huge bins of them at the Fiesta market in Austin.

Worth

[biscgolf]

Originally Posted by Worth1

I read where the things could produce fruit for up to 14 years.


Worth

when i was growing them they barely produced any pods the first year, more prolific thereafter but never a truly heavy yield.