Introduction

[cmpman1974]

Hi.  I just want to take a moment and introduce myself. My name is Chris. This will be my second year growing hot peppers, but I have had a garden for nearly 10 years now.  I really enjoy doing this and have taken a big interest in peppers.  

I grew about 60 varieties of hot peppers last season and anticipate over 100 this year.  Can you say addiction?  lol.   John F. actually kindly sent me some seeds early in 2005 and I got the bug.  It's been a lot of fun so far.

I am very interested in trying wild capsicums this year.  I have not seen many sites / people particularly focused on this topic, but this site seems very detailed and informative.  I hope to learn more here.  Finding seeds for some of the rarer varieties is also a challenge.  I have sowed seeds for C. Prat, C. Chacoense, and Tepin.  

I'm interested in learning more and possibly finding new trading partners for rare varieties.  I hope to see more of this site translated to English too.  Wealth of information!!  

Take care everyone.

Chris

[Aji Inferno]

Hi.  I just want to take a moment and introduce myself. My name is Chris. This will be my second year growing hot peppers, but I have had a garden for nearly 10 years now.  I really enjoy doing this and have taken a big interest in peppers.  

I grew about 60 varieties of hot peppers last season and anticipate over 100 this year.  Can you say addiction?  lol.   John F. actually kindly sent me some seeds early in 2005 and I got the bug.  It's been a lot of fun so far.

I am very interested in trying wild capsicums this year.  I have not seen many sites / people particularly focused on this topic, but this site seems very detailed and informative.  I hope to learn more here.  Finding seeds for some of the rarer varieties is also a challenge.  I have sowed seeds for C. Prat, C. Chacoense, and Tepin.  

I'm interested in learning more and possibly finding new trading partners for rare varieties.  I hope to see more of this site translated to English too.  Wealth of information!!  

Take care everyone.

Chris

Hi, Chris - and welcome to the Inferno!

We'll continue the site's translation - and this forum is, indeed, the place for wild capsicum discussion! We're even playing with the absolutely insane idea of developing a wild chili native to Finland's northern climate.

[Guy]

Hi

thietavu - If you develop a plant to grow wild in Finland then my hat would very definately off to you!!!!...LOL

Problem is how can you "develop" a wild plant to be wild....seems to challenge a few definitions to me. If you are developing or even cultivating a wild species, can it really be considered wild. You could create a land race that grows spontaneously in its environment perhaps but any divergence from the wild genetics would seem to me to make it a domesticate.

If you could develop a domesticate that grew spontaneously then you would be on your way but how long would it have to continue to do so before it could be considered as a domesticate thats gone wild.

Interesting idea though, then you could share seeds with southerners with the instructions to germinate the seeds in the freezer...LOL

Sounds like you have a lot of fun those long cold winter days and nights up there in the North

All the best

Guy

[Jokipoika]

Sounds like you have a lot of fun those long cold winter days and nights up there in the North

We just have too much time...So, right you are! :wink:

[Aji Inferno]

Hi

thietavu - If you develop a plant to grow wild in Finland then my hat would very definately off to you!!!!...LOL

Problem is how can you "develop" a wild plant to be wild....seems to challenge a few definitions to me. If you are developing or even cultivating a wild species, can it really be considered wild. You could create a land race that grows spontaneously in its environment perhaps but any divergence from the wild genetics would seem to me to make it a domesticate.

If you could develop a domesticate that grew spontaneously then you would be on your way but how long would it have to continue to do so before it could be considered as a domesticate thats gone wild.

Interesting idea though, then you could share seeds with southerners with the instructions to germinate the seeds in the freezer...LOL

Sounds like you have a lot of fun those long cold winter days and nights up there in the North

All the best

Guy

Definitely so. And what could one expect from people whose ancestors walked this damn North thinking "Oh, look at that! Snow. Reindeers. Bloody cold. This is it. This beats Riviera hands down. Let's go and chase some wolves, shall we?" Crazy lot.  Then they went and invented sauna.

Your thoughts, btw (about what's wild) are certainly correct. Our half-serious project called "Aji Perkele" (Perkele is probably the strongest swear word in any known language and describes pretty well what happens after your first innocent bite at Yellow Rocoto) is, indeed, about finding a variety tough enough to handle our local conditions, "wild" or as cultivated without need for greenhouses etc.

Frankly, many chilis do quite well here when grown outdoors. Mostly only some big Ajis clearly demand a longer growing season. Our winters are long but mild (on the southern coastline it's around -5..+2 C for most of the winter).

I did some extreme testing this Winter, keeping many plants outdoors on my balcony (with glass windows, so basic insulation is there). So far it's been relatively easy and simple to keep the temps there above freezing point. Unfortunately, while I was travelling, repairing men closed the balcony's "emergency heating system" while it was extremely cold outside (-26 C, a rare temp here). That resulted in many dead plants.

However, a small bunch survived, despite temperature having been dropped clearly below zero. A couple of c.chinenses (!), c.pubescens', one tough-skinned old Tepin, two c.chacoenses - and two magnificent c.flexuosums... The Flexuosums seem to have a time of their life in the middle of Finnish winter - absolutely no trouble at all... One even blooms merrily. This is the sort of plant we need in order to, perhaps, develop "Aji Perkele" - and who would have thought that a very rare tropical wild chili from Paraguay would be this cold-resistant..? As the plant's fruit are also deliciously sweet, there's definitely room for further cultivation, I believe...

We do have too much time in our hands, it seems, but things are getting interesting...

[Guy]

Hi thietavu

Thats all very interesting. I guessed that the long hours of light in summer you get up there might be quite nice for some chile growing!

The flexuosum sounds interesting, do you know much about the original collection sites for this species? I ask because, I have been searching for such information on another species (C. tovarii) and discovered that they live in the wild in an area that has a weird temperature regime. Daily temperatures avg 20-25°C days and 5-10°C nights....pretty constantly all year round. In addition there is a permanent risk of frost!

Perhaps the flexuosum have a similar sort of habitat, or do you know what sort of tropical climate it comes from?

It would be really fascinating to get a little further behind the information on the CGN or GRIN etc... databases. its all very well getting a reference to a collection and sometimes the gross location of original collection but what would be the most enlightening the actual habitats is sorely missing.
It could help explain certain observed phenomena in chiles grown far from their original location and under varying environmental conditions.

I am finding some rocotos, tepins, cobanero, two chacoenses and a galapagoense even are seemingly doing quite well in the cellar overwinter. The tepin still has all its leaves...very robust. Got nothing in bloom though... :cry: The praetemissium seems to have faired less well though as have most chinenses..but heck hoping to have a few pull through.:wink:

All the best with Aji Perkele

Guy