Sari's Garden 2006, a bit about 2007 and 2008 dreams

[svalli]

First pepper seeds are sown into peat pellets. Now the anxious waiting starts. One seed already showed signs of new life with a tiny root. I should stop poking the peat pellets daily and let the seeds sprout, but I just can resist the urge to follow their development.

First ones for starting were C. pubescens, C. baccatum and C. chinense varieties. Annuums will be started a bit later.

Sown seeds are:
- pubescens:
Aji Mongol
CAP 363
CGN 1924
Grif 9343
Grif 9345
Rocoto Rojo

- baccatum:
Aji Andean
Aji Cristal
Aji Habanero
Aji Orange
Brazilian Multicolor Acorn
Brazilian Red Pumpkin
Brazilian Starfish
Christmas Bell
Dedo de Moca
Dong Xuon Mkt.
Inca Red Drop
Lemon Drop
Mexican Red
Peru Yellow
PI 267729
PI 439409
PI 441551
Pimenta Cambuci
Rain Forest
Rocotillo
Yellow Russian

- chinense
Red Savina
Rocotillo
St. Lucia Seasoning
Trinidad Perfume
Trinidad Seasoning

- ?
Sus Biberi

I have also some overwintering potted peppers in basement and at living room window. One Rocoto does not look promising but other ones may make it, if I just could get rid of all aphids.

[Aji Inferno]

Looks like you and "Femmefatalii" are going to have a competition about the coolest North American chili garden present here at Inferno..! ;-)

It looks like we here in Finland just have to answer to that challenge somehow... Perhaps by developing a native wild chili "Aji Perkele" for our Northern climate..? Something to surprise mushroom-pickers of the future with...

:-)

Best of growing season to the Americas!

[Femmefatalii]

Hi, Sari.

Great list for 2006. I notice we have some overlap--the JohnF effect perhaps? You too have a fondness for the seasoning peppers. Please let me know how the St Lucia Seasoning does for you. I was unable to locate some seeds for this year. Didn't you grow it last year as well?

What information do you have on the Yellow Russian? Very interested in that one. Thanks!

Cheers and best wishes for a great growing season!
Jennifer, who knows for sure that JohnF's garden will be the coolest

[bassino]

What information do you have on the Yellow Russian? Very interested in that one. Thanks!

Yellow Russian should be quite similar to Lemon Drop and Peru Yellow.

[svalli]

I notice we have some overlap--the JohnF effect perhaps?

Jennifer,
You are right, I got baccatum and pubescens seeds from JohnF. Yellow Russian is one of them, so I have no experience with it yet.

I bought a St. Lucia Seasoning plant from chileplants.com last year. I saved seeds from it and now I am germinating those. In the end of the last season, it was my favorite mild chinense. I did not protect the peppers from cross pollination, so if you are willing to take the risk, I can send you seeds for it.
My 2005 growing list is still at http://home.wi.rr.com/vallinmaki/plantlist2005.txt
Last year was first, when I started going nuts with the peppers. I saved seeds for most peppers or I may still have seeds from the original source, so if there is anything interesting, let me know.

Happy growing!
Sari, who should be working and not daydreaming about spring...

[Aji Inferno]

What information do you have on the Yellow Russian? Very interested in that one. Thanks!

Yellow Russian should be quite similar to Lemon Drop and Peru Yellow.

Hmmm... Might be the baccatum also called as "Aji Blanco", PI-594138, a fine "Lemon Drop" variety somehow connected to Russia. You can see pics on Inferno's "baccatum" section.  I didn't put it under "Russia" despite the seeds originating there because it's highly unlikely that a baccatum like this would have been cultivated in Russia... If someone knows better, please correct me!

[Femmefatalii]

Sari, thanks for your kind offer of seeds! I'm thinking about how I can truly justify getting more seeds at present....I'll be in touch over the weekend. If nothing else, I am very curious to find out if that Orange Russian tomato is the one I (re)introduced from a remote Doukhobor community in northern Saskatchewan. And I have lots of seeds, tomato, pepper and otherwise, to share if you are in need (or simply desirous :>)

Thietavu, I can understand your reluctance to assign Russian provenance to a baccatum. My feelings are perhaps a bit different.

First, there is a lack of information about what species and cultivars were brought back to Europe, carried along the Silk Routes, or introduced during colonization in the near and far east. The arbitrary political/national borders we have now are not those from even a century ago, especially in the northern far east. Where in Russia is this baccatum from? What incarnation of Russia? Plus, who knows what a single intrepid chilehead explorer/immigrant might have brought with them.

We know and, I believe, accept that there are at least 2 baccatum from Bulgaria (recorded as deposited in the USDA by 1978). We accept various species as coming from Malaysia, understanding that they were introduced at a very early date by the Dutch. Bosland notes that in Nepal frutescens have naturalized in the wild; annuum and chinense are grown in most Nepalese kitchen gardens. I have various species which I know came to Canada--and remote areas of Canada too--as part of our immigration in the 19th century. One pepper of particular interest is originally from Manchuria. Can I call it Canadian? It came here long enough ago to be consider an heirloom by most collectors.

I suppose the question might be: if something has been grown in a particular location for some time, even to the extent of becoming a unique strain, can one identify it with that new location or is one forced to ignore a possibly lengthy part of its history and only associate it with its point of origin? The answer to this has implications in many directions.

I'm not sure that I've expressed myself particularly well today. I keep having difficulty getting into and staying in the forum. Please forgive me if what I've written doesn't make complete sense.

Perhaps this might be a better read:
http://www.fiery-foods.com/dave2/siberia.asp

I find the geographic, cultural and culinary histories as fascinating as the biology and actual plants. And also worth documenting in full. This is something I can see is very much done in Finland and not so much in other places. This site would be well worth translating, Thietavu. Please let me know if I can be of any help.

Jennifer, ending her rambling hijack

[Aji Inferno]

Thietavu, I can understand your reluctance to assign Russian provenance to a baccatum. My feelings are perhaps a bit different.

First, there is a lack of information about what species and cultivars were brought back to Europe, carried along the Silk Routes, or introduced during colonization in the near and far east. The arbitrary political/national borders we have now are not those from even a century ago, especially in the northern far east. Where in Russia is this baccatum from? What incarnation of Russia? Plus, who knows what a single intrepid chilehead explorer/immigrant might have brought with them.

We know and, I believe, accept that there are at least 2 baccatum from Bulgaria (recorded as deposited in the USDA by 1978). We accept various species as coming from Malaysia, understanding that they were introduced at a very early date by the Dutch. Bosland notes that in Nepal frutescens have naturalized in the wild; annuum and chinense are grown in most Nepalese kitchen gardens. I have various species which I know came to Canada--and remote areas of Canada too--as part of our immigration in the 19th century. One pepper of particular interest is originally from Manchuria. Can I call it Canadian? It came here long enough ago to be consider an heirloom by most collectors.

I suppose the question might be: if something has been grown in a particular location for some time, even to the extent of becoming a unique strain, can one identify it with that new location or is one forced to ignore a possibly lengthy part of its history and only associate it with its point of origin? The answer to this has implications in many directions.

I'm not sure that I've expressed myself particularly well today. I keep having difficulty getting into and staying in the forum. Please forgive me if what I've written doesn't make complete sense.

Perhaps this might be a better read:
http://www.fiery-foods.com/dave2/siberia.asp

I find the geographic, cultural and culinary histories as fascinating as the biology and actual plants. And also worth documenting in full. This is something I can see is very much done in Finland and not so much in other places. This site would be well worth translating, Thietavu. Please let me know if I can be of any help.

Thanks, Jennifer!  Yes, I do agree with you regarding the "nationalities" of chili varieties. The reason (I'm not sure if it's a good reason...) for me not having accepted that baccatum as "Russian", is that whereas most "Asian" capsicums are widely, commercially grown there, I somehow thought it'd be unlikely that a baccatum (!) would hold the same status in Russia. I have to confess that I kind of automatically thought that it's a question of someone (perhaps a scientist) from Russia (?) having visited South America and brought some seeds with him/her back home, etc...

After reading your words, I have to question that train of thoughts, though. It is, indeed, possible that varieties like that baccatum have been introduced to Russia even long ago, and perhaps even become fairly wide-spread. We just don't know. Still, even USDA's vague information ("Russia") is better than my own wild guessing about something I don't really know. So, I'll change that info on this site, and will consider these questions more carefully in the future, too...

[svalli]

I am very curious to find out if that Orange Russian tomato is the one I (re)introduced from a remote Doukhobor community in northern Saskatchewan. And I have lots of seeds, tomato, pepper and otherwise, to share if you are in need (or simply desirous :>)

I promised myself last fall to limit my tomato varieties this season to maximum 10 and amount of plants to max 30. I had way too many tomato plants growing last year and now I need more space for peppers. The Orange Russian is one, which I will keep growing. I ordered the seeds last year from http://www.tomatogrowers.com. I liked the shape and color of these tomatoes and they also tasted OK.
Does it look like the one you have?

Only tomato seeds, which I really need are Brandywines, but I am always desirous for any heirloom tomatoes, which I have not yet tried. Last year I grew Brandywines first time. I got two plants from a friend and the tomatoes were the best tasting of all last season's varieties. I had also some really bad disappointments last year; I did not like taste and look of Ananas Noir and Purple Calabash, so I will not definitely grow them anymore.

Temperature here climbed today to +10°C, it feels like spring. At lunch I ran to local Brew & Grow to buy coir (coconut fiber). I'm going to experiment using coir in potting mix in place of peat moss. I bought also a bag of Jamaican bat guano. The 1 kg bag was almost 8 bucks - that is some expensive poop. I hope it is going to do wonders for my old potted plants.

[JohnF]

Yellow Russian came from Redwood seeds a couple of years ago. Couldn't find it in their new catalog so don't know what they say about it.As you can see, pods started out erect. Crisp flesh and very hot.

[JartsaP]

Perhaps this might be a better read:
http://www.fiery-foods.com/dave2/siberia.asp

[OFF_TOPIC] (Sorry! But I just have to say this...)
I was reading that article above, and looked at the second photo. There is something in that photo that looks strangely familiar: the garlics! I have now grown for one year this strange "winter garlic", which is told to be coming from Siberia. And they look exactly the same as the ones in that photo! So it really does come from Siberia... Cool!    This garlic is very different than the normal one, the cloves are placed in preferably clay soil in the autumn and overwintered in ground. They sprout early in the spring, and the stems are very stout and thick, almost tree-like. Produces HUGE garlics with unique taste. Nice one, and easy. I really started to like it, and it seems to enjoy the clay ground I have at my kitchen garden.
[/OFF_TOPIC]

I will go now and be ashamed, to intrude like this.

[Femmefatalii]

Thietavu, I have additional comments--I don't think your logic/assumption re the 'Russian' PI baccatum was flawed--but I'm filled with a nasty cold and cannot think straight enough to respond properly at present. I will write again soon.

Sari, apologies for not being in touch when I said I would. I will make contact as soon as my head doesn't feel like it's going to explode. Your Orange Russian is actually Orange Russian 117--the 117 being an important part of the name. More later...

Jennifer the miserable, grumpy one

JartsaP, what do you know about garlic being good for colds? :wink:  Thanks for making me smile!

[Aji Inferno]

Yellow Russian came from Redwood seeds a couple of years ago. Couldn't find it in their new catalog so don't know what they say about it.As you can see, pods started out erect. Crisp flesh and very hot.

Another fine "Lemon Drop" variant, apparently. These non-sweet, very hot baccatum variants are quite interesting... It seems to me that there are at least three distinctive domesticated baccatum basic forms:

Type A: "Aji Type" - large or huge plants, big leaves & flowers, typically brown petal spots, sweet, large, orange or red fruit, mild or average heat. Growing habit strange, very tall w. few leaves, needs support.

Type B: "Lemon Drop Type" - medium-height plants, smaller flowers with green spots, very hot, non-sweet fruit, often rather small or of Cayenne shape. Many types yellow, but forms with roundish fruit can be of any color. Growing habit bushy, lots of smaller leaves. Doesn't necessarily need support. As plant, appears closer to wild baccatums.

Type C: "Brazilean Type": often huge, a bit tree-like plants, fruit non-sweet, hot, small, red (?) berry-like (Pequin type), appears to be closer to wild forms of baccatum/praetermissum than other types.

etc...

[Pajasuo]

Süs Biberi... I got some seeds myself too. They have now germinated and i am anxious to see how they grow and in what form. Have you Svalli or anyone else grown it? I´ve tasted it and liked it very much. The taste reminded me of a cigar humidor, a little sweeter though. It had just the right burn for my mouth :lol: .

[svalli]

I have not grown Süs Biberi before and the plant and pepper shape are a total mystery to me. I have not tasted a cigar humidor  :wink: so I do not know if I will like it.
My first Süs Biberi seed did not germinate, so I will have to try it again. Some seeds in peat pellets seem to take long time to germinate. I tried the Yellow Russian baccatums inside a wet coffee filter and two of four seeds sprouted in  less than a week. I will give one more week for the peat pellets and then I will start unsprouted varieties inside coffee filters.

[Anonymous]

First seedlings are growing well and I had to transplant some of the peat pellets to plastic cups. I added mixture of coconut fiber, earth worm castings and bat guano around the peat pellets when filling the cups.

Wet coffee filters inside ziplock bags proved to be better method of germinating than the peat pellets. All of the Yellow Russian seeds sprouted and finally the one in a peat pellet started growing too, so now I have five of them growing. I may have to give some of the plants away, so I will have room for other ones too.

I am still battling with aphids in some of the overwintering varieties. I have been using soap spray and it seems to keep the population in control, but I have not yet totally got rid of the pests. I have to keep my new seedlings in a  different room and hope that there will not be any flying adults flying around.

[svalli]

Darn, I was logged out when I wrote previous. For some reason I got suddenly difficulties logging in with Firefox.  In MSIE I have no problems, but I just do not like to use it anymore. :x

[Aji Inferno]

Darn, I was logged out when I wrote previous. For some reason I got suddenly difficulties logging in with Firefox.  In MSIE I have no problems, but I just do not like to use it anymore. :x

Try Opera. Still my fav, although Firefox is nice, too.

[svalli]

I bought a cheap wire shelf thing, which came with a plastic tent, so it should work as a small greenhouse. Right now I have just the shelf part on top of a desk, so I can get the plants close to the light.


One Medusa seedling must have a genetic defect. The first leaves are totally white and it has not grown any true leaves. It could be neat to grow an albino plant, but it may not grow at all since it has no chlorophyll and can not function as plants normally do.


I noticed that some of the C. baccatums have nice smell on their leaves. Aji Habanero seems to be the strongest one. It has some hairs on the leaves and when I touched them, I smelld the familiar baccatum scent.

[Aji Inferno]

Speaking of scent... Many Rocotos have faint one, but absolutely nothing beats capsicum galapagoense... Just one touch and the whole room is like a perfume shop... Incredible plant, in many ways. And bloody tricky one, as well.