2024 Peppers Started

[karstopography]

I picked up two Megatron Jalapeños and two Better Belle Bell Peppers today at the feed store. The only other Jalapeño I have planted was three Farmer’s Market Jalapeños. Jalapeños are one type we use a good amount. Megatron is billed as an extra early, extra large, and extra productive hybrid Jalapeño.

Better Belle is said to be a big and blocky bell pepper. I want at least a couple big and symmetrical ones to stuff. My other bell peppers are Jupiter, Sweet Bella, and Red Knight, but I only have one of each of those.

[karstopography]

My totals on plants transplanted are as follows:

Sweet little to no heat, non-bell types
Frank’s — 3
Gatherer’s Gold —2
Calabrian Caviar —1
Melrose —1

Sweet Bell types
Better Bell —-2
Jupiter —1
Red Knight —1
Sweet Bella —1

Wax
Hot Hungarian—2

Hot Mexican/Southwestern
Megatron Jalapeno—2
Farmer’s market Jalapeño—3
San Luis Poblano —2
Serrano T.—2
Big Jim Anaheim—1

Paprika/dehydration
Mini Piperka —1
Leutschauer —1
Aleppo—1
Feher Ozon—1

Reserve/Runts/No space available
Jupiter—1
Feher Ozon —1
Red Knight —1
Calabrian Caviar —1
Gatherer’s Gold —1

28 planted or soon to be planted

5 reserves.

[karstopography]

+1, Red Standard II. So now six bell peppers. 29 total peppers. Got rid of three broccoli plants to make the necessary space for Red Standard II and the remaining Better Belle. I think that’s truly it, done, finito.

[karstopography]

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The 29 (I think that’s the number) peppers are all settled in and growing. Blossoms are showing up. Too early to tell which ones will be extra good.

[karstopography]

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Peppers are doing their thing. I don’t bother with topping or removing early blossoms.

[CrazyAboutOrchids]

WoW! I can't even get my pepper seed to germinate and you have fruit on your plants!!! Looking good!

[karstopography]

Calabrian Caviar is a very delicious pepper. I dried the first four peppers, but then grilled the fifth. Much Sweeter than a red bell pepper I grilled alongside.

My single Calabrian Caviar plant has several green peppers on it. I plan on grilling them once they ripen. Likely the sweetest pepper I can think of, maybe Jimmy Nardello is as sweet. Calabrian Caviar had different flavor than Jimmy Nardello or Frank’s.

Anyway, Calabrian Caviar is a revelation. Frank’s pepper is nice, but all those plants are tiny, ground hunging dwarves and the peppers are susceptible to sunscald. Calabrian Caviar is a normal sized plant and seems well adapted to warm weather.

[PlainJane]

@karstopography where did your Calabrian Caviar pepper seeds come from? And is there any heat to it?

[karstopography]

I’m trying to remember where I got those seeds. No heat.

[karstopography]

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@PlainJane

I don’t have any prior experience with Calabrian Caviar, but the pepper has a distinctive growth pattern with holding the peppers upright through the entire ripening process. Seems to have heat setting ability which is nice in a sweet pepper.

A few of my peppers that I started from seed haven’t been true to form. Not sure where the mix up occurred. Could be a supplier issue or my own error. I can’t say definitively what I have is Calabrian Caviar or something else.

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One of these days I’ll pick through my seed collection and see where these seeds originated from.

[Seven Bends]

I received Calabrian Caviar in the MMMM this year (under the name Caviar Calabrais, I think) and it was a finalist on my grow list but lost out in the end to a bunch of red, orange and yellow snack peppers I'm experimenting with this season. Not enough room for all, and I was a little put off by most of the online descriptions mentioning a touch of heat, which I didn't really want. Glad to hear it's a good one, and just sweet.

[karstopography]

I received Calabrian Caviar in the MMMM this year (under the name Caviar Calabrais, I think) and it was a finalist on my grow list but lost out in the end to a bunch of red, orange and yellow snack peppers I'm experimenting with this season. Not enough room for all, and I was a little put off by most of the online descriptions mentioning a touch of heat, which I didn't really want. Glad to hear it's a good one, and just sweet.

My C. Caviar seed didn’t come in this year’s swap as I had started my pepper seeds long before the swap seeds arrived. Usually I can remember where my seeds originated. I’m now motivated to look.

[karstopography]

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The only seed packet or zip bag I could find related to Calabrian Caviar is the one in the photo above. I must have received those seeds in 2023 as I started my pepper seeds in late December of 2023.

Secret seed cartel has this pepper on their website. Looks identical to what I have.

[Seven Bends]

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The only seed packet or zip bag I could find related to Calabrian Caviar is the one in the photo above. I must have received those seeds in 2023 as I started my pepper seeds in late December of 2023.

Secret seed cartel has this pepper on their website. Looks identical to what I have.

That's exactly what my envelope from this year's MMMM looks like, with the same description, including "delish." Mine are 2022 seed also. Maybe you got yours from the previous year's MMMM?

[karstopography]

IMG_4362.jpeg

The only seed packet or zip bag I could find related to Calabrian Caviar is the one in the photo above. I must have received those seeds in 2023 as I started my pepper seeds in late December of 2023.

Secret seed cartel has this pepper on their website. Looks identical to what I have.

That's exactly what my envelope from this year's MMMM looks like, with the same description, including "delish." Mine are 2022 seed also. Maybe you got yours from the previous year's MMMM?

Must have been the previous MMMM. My most recent MMMM package came after I started the peppers.

[karstopography]

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Speaking of peppers, as usual, I struggle with what to do with them.

The way corked one is Farmer’s Market jalapeño. Those do make a good popper. Thick walls, meaty, not too hot. Great flavor.

The little red trapezoids are allegedly Aleppo peppers. Very fruity, a bit milder than a Fresno and much juicier and fruitier, less like cinnamon red hots.

[karstopography]

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Going back to drying the peppers outdoors. The dehydrator takes forever and isn’t really economical for what I’m doing. So long as I keep the dew and rain off, these dry outdoors on the copper nicely and without using any electricity.

I could probably cut the peppers up and dehydrate them faster, but I prefer to leave them intact.

[Seven Bends]

Some of the Koreans at our community garden dry their red peppers by spreading them out on a screen and then leaving them in their car parked in the sun. Not sure how long it takes, and I guess maybe you have to stir them around occasionally.

[karstopography]

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My 2024 stash of dried peppers, so far. These numbers should greatly increase. I’ve got a pile out on the copper. I lost a batch a couple weeks ago to rain. Weather looks good now though for drying outside.

I was about out of cayenne so these are a welcome sight.

Edit: photo captions should be switched.

[karstopography]

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Not quite the record temperature, but close at 158°. Cloudless, windless 92° day at 12:30. The copper doesn’t quite burn them as the contact points are scattered and underneath the peppers the metal is cooler. Slower to fully dehydrate a pepper on the hot copper than a 135° dehydrator overall, accounting for nighttime and other periods off the copper.

I like the peppers dried on the copper better than ones dried in the dehydrator. The flavor overall is better with the outdoor sun dried copper enhanced peppers.

My peppers as rule this year are very healthy and aren’t running into any issues.