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Post by glen on Jul 25, 2020 18:08:44 GMT -6
George, I wanted to also mention about the crossing issue. As time goes on I am finding out more and more about crossing. Annuum's are extremely promiscuous. They are a problem and can be counted on to cross with everything around it especially other annuum's. Chinense peppers do not cross anywhere near as easily. Yes, it can happen. I think if you just seperate your chinense peppers you can pretty much prevent most of the crossing. Rick sent me plenty of annuum seed and a lot of it is crossed seed for example. The Chinense seed he sent me has no accidental crosses noticed yet. Now, this experiment is not over yet. I have been saving a lot of chinense seed and the planted were not isolated. Lets see if any of it crosses. I have already planted some Purple Thunder seed that came from un isolated plants in the yard. So far I think none has crossed and the plants were growing right next to each other. I do not know why annuum's are so promiscous and chinense is not?
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Ajícito
Jul 26, 2020 6:08:28 GMT -6
Post by macmex on Jul 26, 2020 6:08:28 GMT -6
I'm really looking forward to it!
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Post by macmex on Aug 4, 2020 11:44:39 GMT -6
I've weeded these a couple of times, as as you could see in the photo, I planted them through cardboard mulch, which really helps. They rarely get watered, as they're in the farthest extreme of my garden, yet they are doing quite well. I'm seeing little peppers on them now. Here's a photo of the largest of them.
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Ajícito
Aug 4, 2020 21:23:23 GMT -6
Post by glen on Aug 4, 2020 21:23:23 GMT -6
I only see one pepper? You should be getting good production George? Are they making a lot of blooms? Are they aborting a lot of the blooms or new pods? The one pepper looks fine but my plants really make lots of peppers that is why I am asking. My plant I had in a pot has died. However, I have 4 in the ground that are just always covered over in pods. No one eats them. The super-hot peppers have stolen their thunder. Ajicito should be making multiple blooms at each node and should be covered over in blooms at one stage in its new life. If conditions are ok for the plant it should be very productive.
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Post by macmex on Aug 5, 2020 6:17:41 GMT -6
I didn't notice multiple flowers on each node, but there are getting to be quite a few flowers, and no, I don't believe they are aborting. It's just that they've only just started flowering. Here's another photo.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Aug 5, 2020 12:33:59 GMT -6
I am about to have little Ajicito peppers out my ears!
I don't know what I've got out here that they like so well, but I wish some of it would spread to the rest of my poor garden ...
Thanks, Glen, for the good job you did of saving those seeds that you sent us last Winter, so we could try these (new to us) peppers in Oklahoma.
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Ajícito
Aug 5, 2020 14:27:10 GMT -6
Post by glen on Aug 5, 2020 14:27:10 GMT -6
George, Your second foto looks better. Maybe you need to apply a little nutrition? It would encourage much better production.
Ron, your plants are looking the way they are supposed to look. Insane production. Congratulations Ron!!!!! Beautiful little fella's.
George, notice on one of Ron's plants the crazy cluster of pods!!! Looks like he has a few doubles or triples there. I am not sure why you are not seeing multiple blooms at the nodes. If the plant is deficient in nutrients that might be why we aren't seeing this. The plant will abort blooms early on if it feels it needs to do so.
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Ajícito
Aug 5, 2020 14:32:42 GMT -6
Post by glen on Aug 5, 2020 14:32:42 GMT -6
Ron, I clicked on those photo's to enlarge them. I am just tickled pink to see those beautiful Ajicito plant's produce so nice for you. George, yours should do better later on.
Please save seed. I don't need any seed but you should know, this is a rare variety of pepper and worth saving seed for the future.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Aug 5, 2020 15:43:54 GMT -6
Glen,
When is the best time to harvest these little Ajicito peppers? Are they better when they are green or when they are red?
Are they good pickled?
I'm still new to this variety, so just asking to know the best way to use them.
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Post by rdback on Aug 7, 2020 20:16:59 GMT -6
I too was blessed with seeds for Ajicito from Glen. Unfortunately, due to some still unknown reason, I lost over HALF of my seed starts this year, including ALL of my Ajicito starts. I re-started a few plants, but they won't produce before frost. I am seriously considering overwintering them.
Therefore, I will need to enjoy Ajicito vicariously through your fruits this year. So, please post some pics of your harvests!
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Post by macmex on Aug 8, 2020 6:24:41 GMT -6
Rick, I'm planning on seed this fall, barring some natural catastrophe. Last night I glanced at my plants and they look "happier" than ever. I'll plan on sending you some seed.
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Post by glen on Aug 9, 2020 1:20:03 GMT -6
Ron, I have never tried them green. However, I have seen sweet Chinense peppers sold green in the super market. Let them turn red if you want the sweetest and best flavor. Try them both red and green. You can use these peppers mixed with your spicey peppers to make hot sauce. You don't like real hot sauce so this would be a good idea for you. They can be pickled also. They are just sweet. They have a nice peppery flavor. You can chop them up and fry or saute them with a steak. Pepper steak. Use them anywhere you would use sweet peppers. Use them in salads. Use them in soups and stews. Use them anywhere you would use a sweet pepper. I have mixed them with super hots to make sauces and chili relish and chili oils. They will tone down anything spicey. If you are pickling hot peppers like habenero's mix in some of these Ajicito's into the recipe. They are a multi-use pepper. They have more flavor than boring green peppers that you buy in the super-market. This is a zero heat pepper that looks like a habenero. If you like sweet peppers you will like this pepper. At my house I haven't been doing the cooking. Bercy doesn't use them. However, I would put them in chili. In soup. In any type of sauce. I would use them in stew. I would add them to salad. They are easy to use. Just chop them in half, take the seed out and chop them up. Easy. Put them in omelettes. Fry them with a pork chop. Fry them with your hamburger. Fry them split and deseeded and put them on the hamburger. Put them in a sub sandwich. I could go on and on. Oh, and don't forget to add them to your spagetti sauce. Add them to chili-mac. Its endless.
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Post by macmex on Sept 3, 2020 4:39:56 GMT -6
I believe that it's just a matter to time and development for my Ajicitos to produce the way you say, Glen. I was out there yesterday and they are loaded; and this, on almost total neglect.
I'm beginning to get some ripening. This would have been my first seed, even though it's not as ripe as it could get. Alas... I couldn't resist. I ate it. Yum! I've eaten them green too. They're fine green. But, as Glen says, they are sweeter when ripe.
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Post by glen on Sept 4, 2020 1:13:01 GMT -6
George, you have definitely vindicated yourself. Those are some fine ajicito's!! And, yes, that plant is loaded. The fact that you have abused the plants with your total neglect yet you still have plants fully loaded with delicious little peppers is a testament to the variety. I am very glad to hear this and I hope that you get to share some seed with the folks at the seed saver meeting. Great News!!
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Post by glen on Sept 4, 2020 1:21:34 GMT -6
George, every time I go to the super-market I seem to see the little sweet peppers. I think this is the time of year for them. I have not seen Ajicito but I am seeing countless other variety's. Sweet peppers are so cheap here in Panama it is not really practical to bother planting them. They are fun to grow though. I won't be planting any more for awhile. Only because they are Capsicum Chinense and they will mix with my spicy peppers. Ruining the seed. The Ajicito is the only one I know of here that is a dwarf plant. Most of the others get real big. In fact, most tropical Chinense peppers get to be very big tall bushes. I have spicy pepper plants that have 7 feet long vines. I also have a sweet pepper plant called Arroz con pollo that is in a five gallon pot and its 18 months old. That plant is very neglected but its a beast. Oh, today at the super-market I saw little sweet peppers no bigger than a tobasco pepper. About a dollar for a big tray of them.
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