What pepper varieties are you growing for 2020

[AZGardener]

Here's my pepper list for 2020! I've only grown about 25% of these before, so suggestions are welcome!

Sweet Anaheim
Halaby
Tekne dolmasi
Bastan f1
NuMex joe e parker
Carmen f1
Leutschauer paprika
Rezha
Sweet banana
Wakefield warrior
Shishito
Tobago
NuMex big jim
Cubanelle
Syrian 3 sided pepper
Sweet pickle
Ajvarski
Kardoula
Turkish cayenne
Thunder mountain longhorn
Aji lemon drop
Serrano tampequino
Sugar rush peach
Black Hungarian
Fish
Early jalapeno
Purple serrano
Ks lemon starburst
Beaver dam
Red habanero
Peach ghost pepper
Chocolate chinese 7 pot
Jamacian scotch bonnet
Bulgarian Carrot

I've grown Shishito and it's a nice plant, doesn't get tall like some others, more of a bushy habit for me. Tekne Dolmasi is slow to germinate but it should come up, just later than the others, so don't be discouraged. Almost all my peppers are up except Tekne Dolmasi at this point.

[AZGardener]

My list isn't final yet but here is what I have going this year...

Baby Aji Amarillo
The NuMex Jalapeños:
- Lemon Spice
- Pumpkin Spice
- Orange Spice

To compare to each other:
Habanada
Roulette

Above all, I love snacking on sweet peppers, and learned recently my niece's boys like them to so planting extra for them:
Sweet Gypsy (fave)
Pretty & Sweet
Lunchbox all 3 colors
Purple bell (The boys liked the color and requested it.)
Mad Hatter
Giant Sweet Devil's Horn
Ferenc Tender

I've only had experience with Sweet Gypsy and Lunchbox, so I'd love to have any opinions/advice on the others.

I like the lunchbox peppers too. I usually pick up a plant or two at the garden center (orange and red). Is Sweet Gypsy an F1? It's new to me
and I'm always looking for really good sweet pepper.

[Gthegardener]

Here's my pepper list for 2020! I've only grown about 25% of these before, so suggestions are welcome!

Sweet Anaheim
Halaby
Tekne dolmasi
Bastan f1
NuMex joe e parker
Carmen f1
Leutschauer paprika
Rezha
Sweet banana
Wakefield warrior
Shishito
Tobago
NuMex big jim
Cubanelle
Syrian 3 sided pepper
Sweet pickle
Ajvarski
Kardoula
Turkish cayenne
Thunder mountain longhorn
Aji lemon drop
Serrano tampequino
Sugar rush peach
Black Hungarian
Fish
Early jalapeno
Purple serrano
Ks lemon starburst
Beaver dam
Red habanero
Peach ghost pepper
Chocolate chinese 7 pot
Jamacian scotch bonnet
Bulgarian Carrot

I've grown Shishito and it's a nice plant, doesn't get tall like some others, more of a bushy habit for me. Tekne Dolmasi is slow to germinate but it should come up, just later than the others, so don't be discouraged. Almost all my peppers are up except Tekne Dolmasi at this point.

Thanks for the info! I absolutely loved shishito last year! It was my best producer and the plants were only about 18" tall which was nice. I have just started all my pepper seeds and Tekne Dolmasi were among the first to come up! None of my capsicums are up yet, but they usually take 3 weeks to germinate for me. Starting seeds is almost as exciting as the harvest.... can't wait to start my tomatoes soon!

[Texgal]

My list isn't final yet but here is what I have going this year...

I like the lunchbox peppers too. I usually pick up a plant or two at the garden center (orange and red). Is Sweet Gypsy an F1? It's new to me
and I'm always looking for really good sweet pepper.

Yes they are a hybrid. Too bad we can't save seeds, but they are really delicious imho. They are bigger and sweeter than the lunchbox, a bit thin skinned, but I liked that. Not once did I ever get into the house with any. I ate every single one right off the plant. I encourage you to try them. I think Burpee has seeds and seeds n such, but if you get bonnie plants at your local stores, i have seen them sometimes sold by Bonnie Plants. ~ Em

[karstopography]

Hot
Tam jalapeño
Serrano
Red Habenero
Jamaican Scotch Bonnet
Cayenne
Cowhorn
Tabasco
Santa Fe Grande
Super
Fresno
Anaheim

Sweet
Crusader Bell
Yolo wonder bell
Chocolate Beauty bell
Fajita Bell
Midas
Cubanelle
Gypsy

Wanted shishito and jimmy Nardellos but my grow set up needs major improvements, my seeds didn’t germinate well or at all with the JN, plus squirrels got into the grow set containers. Grew the jimmy nardellos last year and loved them. Love shishitos, so they are a must have next year. A new winter grow set up is On my list for this fall.

Plan to make fermented or not fermented hot sauce, pickled and powder with much of the crop, fresh eating for the rest.

[Clkeiper]

[mention]zendog[/mention] just wondering about those manzano's... do they take a long time to germinate? I saved some seeds from a pepper when I sent someone to the store for me and that was what they brought back... oops. it wasn't a sweet bell pepper at all... I saved the seeds just because they were black and I wanted to try growing some but... no luck so far getting them to germinate yet.

[GoDawgs]

I don't grow a lot of peppers , just enough to freeze enough sweet pepper for a year, some frozen jalapenos, etc.

Sweet:
1 Carolina Wonder - developed for the South, nematode resistant. First time growing this.
1 Charleston Belle - developed for the South, nematode resistant. First time growing this.
3 Feher Ozon - To play with making my own paprika powder
1 Gypsy
1 Red Marconi

Hot:
1 Ancho Grande
1 Biquinho, just to try pickling them
2 Jalapeno M - Still seeing which jalapeno does better. Will freeze some whole, slice and pickle a lot and let the rest go red for fermenting a hot sauce.
2 Jalapeno Mucho Nacho
1 Maule's Red Hot Cayenne - For cayenne powder

[zendog]

[mention]Clkeiper[/mention] they weren't super slow, but definitely not fast either. While I ultimately got 4 seedlings, the germination was very low and I lost at least half of those that came up when they came up headless, I think from the stem rotting before they came up of maybe the stems are just weaker and the seed hulls where caught in the mix. I usually do pretty well with pepper germination, so I don't think it is anything I did specifically and I didn't have similar issues with any other peppers I'm growing. My seeds came from Sandia, so they should be good quality, but I have heard from several people that they are tougher to germinate and grow.

You may know this, but they are also from a higher elevation/cooler area, so they will drop buds and fruit quickly as it gets hot and sulk. I'm putting mine in grow bags so I can move them into the shade as it heats up around here. I wondered if my "headless seedling" issue had anything to do with me using a heating pad, thinking maybe they need it cooler for germination just like they like it cooler for growing. But I never found anything specifically about that. What I have heard in terms of growing them, besides that they are more finicky than most about heat and setting fruit, is that they may do much better for me in the fall so just get them as big as possible by then and keep them alive. They are also a type that people recommend wintering over inside if you can to get a good crop the following spring. They are a very interesting plant though - fuzzy leaves and stems and a totally different look than any of my other seedlings.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[AZGardener]

[mention]Gthegardener[/mention] Sounds like you're off to a good start this season.

[mention]Texgal[/mention] Is Sweet Gypsy different than Gypsy? I've seen Gypsy but not Sweet Gypsy at
the garden center. I'll have to try one if I have any space left. I think I over estimated my garden space. lol

[mention]karstopography[/mention] Is it too late to try starting seeds for Shishito and Jimmy Nardello this year? I'd try again
if you have the time in your climate.

[mention]GoDawgs[/mention] I'm interested in how the nematode resistant peppers grow for you this year.

Good luck with your gardens everyone. I hope we all have a good harvest and season.

[GoDawgs]

@GoDawgs I'm interested in how the nematode resistant peppers grow for you this year.

Me too! They'll be in a bed that has little history of nematodes but it never hurts to take precautions. Shucks, I should have grown two of each of those peppers and planted one of each in a known nematode infected bed. Hmm, there still might be time...

[karstopography]

@karstopography Is it too late to try starting seeds for Shishito and Jimmy Nardello this year? I'd try again
if you have the time in your climate.

Good luck with your gardens everyone. I hope we all have a good harvest and season.

I’m sort of out of Garden space for now. Whatever comes out next probably won’t be until June and I’ve got Louisiana green velvet okra, pink eyed purple hull peas and asparagus beans slated for planting then.

This fall, I’m going to enhance my winter seed starting set up and will be sure to include some shishitos and jimmy Nardellos seeds in the mix.

[Texgal]

@Texgal Is Sweet Gypsy different than Gypsy? I've seen Gypsy but not Sweet Gypsy at
the garden center. I'll have to try one if I have any space left. I think I over estimated my garden space. lol

I'm not 100% completely sure, but I believe them to be the same, but I think I saw a gypsy hot pepper once. Perhaps others in the group can chime in on that.

I tried my first plants from buying Bonnie plants at the local big box hardware store and they were so sweet I never got to the house with any. It is a hybrid. I found seeds on Burpee, but they are an AAS winner so I'm sure they are available elsewhere. If you grow them, I found them sweetest when orange, although they ripen all the way to red. Good luck with your garden!

[karstopography]

ED431FFE-CED9-440D-87B2-DA968FA4BF79.jpeg

B64717A6-571C-4CBF-A4C9-6019541F29D9.jpeg

giant Marconi

385200EA-CABE-4654-83D8-866DCD617A25.jpeg

5E08137C-B336-4D3E-8543-EC3B1703A644.jpeg

Progress

[Labradors]

Does anyone else have trouble with pepper seedlings? Some of mine have almost white leaves (not good) and I notice that they are all LIpstick. I'm also growing Gatherer's Gold, Melrose and Ajvarski which are fine.

[DMF]

Status about a week ago (also growing some micro-dwarf toms):

image.png

Note the near-total failure of the paprikas and the Hatch.** Oh well, I still have about 45 plants and a small balcony.

** P.S. I did not collect those seeds.

[Shule]

Huh, I thought I already listed mine, but I don't see it. So, here's my list of peppers, if they all sprout (most sprouted a good while ago):

Peppers:
• 7-pot Gigantic SR Chocolate
• Aji Habanero
• Big Mustard Mamma
• Black Mustard Bhutlah
• Bulgarian Carrot
• Chocolate Bell
• Cubanelle
• Georgescu Chocolate
• Greek Golden Pepperoncini
• Hawaiian Kona
• Jimmy Nardello Italian x Corbaci F2
• Lipstick
• Neapolitan
• Pepperoncini Piccante
• Randy Sine's Evil Jalapeno (orange version)
• Ring of Fire (Baker Creek's kind)
• Sweet Banana
• White Cloud
• White Fatali

Some of these were from old seeds, a number of years old, but those ones have sprouted, fortunately.

Many of these are from saved seeds, and might be crosses.

My Sweet Banana has a high anthocyanin plant (that would be awesome if Black Mustard Bhutlah cross-pollinated it last year).

Edit (3 June 2020): 7-pot Gigantic SR Chocolate died, Big Mustard Mamma didn't sprout, and White Fatali seems to have either died or it didn't sprout. I've transplanted the other kinds. White Cloud has tiny plants. Black Mustard Bhutlah has black foliage this year, too.

[rossomendblot]

Does anyone else have trouble with pepper seedlings? Some of mine have almost white leaves (not good) and I notice that they are all LIpstick. I'm also growing Gatherer's Gold, Melrose and Ajvarski which are fine.

I usually attribute this to too much water, I find it quite easy to overwater pepper seedlings/young plants. Often if you let the growing medium dry out the leaves will gradually return to green. Interestingly I had a similar problem with Lipstick two years in a row, perhaps it is more susceptible to overwatering than other varieties?

[Panspermia]

This year I'm growing:

Ajvarski
California Wonder
Habanada
Zavory

[karstopography]

2F872A9C-C697-46D6-B2E8-E9558293F927.jpeg

B19B5385-7CC7-49FC-B85A-1C4F18A566A7.jpeg

CCC3239C-DA24-48FE-842C-44C8364487B1.jpeg

Various peppers in the garden are maturing. I took some Jalapeños, Cow horn, Santa Fe Grande, and Fresno, 2 pounds total, and pickled them the other day. Opened them up yesterday. Wow, super delicious. Each pepper has a little different flavor even as they are in the same pickling liquid. The Santa Fe Grande seem to have picked up the flavor of the spices more than the others. I love the Cow Horns in this. Fresnos sort of fall apart, but there’s not enough in there to be an issue and a little red sliver of Fresno here and there isn’t a bad thing.

Recipe: Ingredients
• 2 lbs. jalapenos (or other similar heat types)
• 2-1/4 cups vinegar (white distilled, apple cider, or a combination of the two)
• 2-1/4 cups water
• 2 tablespoons sugar or honey (optional) I used Agave syrup. I think the sweet is key.
• ADD TO EACH PINT JAR:
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon whole black pepper corns
• 1/4 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon whole coriander seeds
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 whole garlic clove,
• 1/8 teaspoon Pickle Crisp granules (this is needed)
Directions Thinly slice jalapenos and others in 1/8" rounds, discarding stem ends.
Wash 4 pint jars & lids in hot sudsy water according to standard canning procedures. Keep jars warm until it's time to fill them.
In 2 quart pan, combine vinegar, water, & sugar (or honey); heat until just before it starts to boil. Add salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, bay leaf, garlic, (and Pickle Crisp, if using) to each jar.
Add jalapeno slices to jars, pressing down and packing them in compactly until jars are filled. Pour hot vinegar mixture into each jar, leaving 1/2" head space.

Process using standard USDA water process canning procedures. --Fill water process canner or large pot with enough water to cover jars with 1" of water. Bring water to boil. --Place hot, filled jars inside pot, return water to a boil, and process 12 minutes. --Turn off heat, remove cover, and leave jars in water for 5 minutes. --Remove jars and cool, undisturbed for at least 12 hours.

[karstopography]

IMG_3942.jpeg

Better Belle IV yielded the first green bell pepper of 2024. Very fragrant and tender. Going into a meat loaf. Based on seed maturity the pepper was essentially full grown.