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Post by macmex on Sept 4, 2020 4:27:16 GMT -6
One of the things I loved about living in Latin America was the diversity in the regional varieties. Seems that the very people who grew these treasures rarely recognize what a treasure they had. I'm pretty sure I'm going to grow Ajicito from now on. Regular sweet peppers struggle in my conditions. These don't. They're perfect for snacking and for salads.
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Post by glen on Sept 4, 2020 13:47:12 GMT -6
People get used to the larger peppers but they don't realize that they sacrifice flavor sometimes when they buy those big bell peppers. I love the little peppers. Bercy doesn't like messing with them. Here in Panama we have a very big variety of sweet peppers in the super-market so Bercy likes the larger peppers. The larger peppers are very nice also and very cheap. I usually stand back when Bercy is in the produce dept because Bercy likes to pick her own variety's of veggy's to use in the kitchen. There will usually be numerous sizes of peppers available. You can buy a nice big tray of sweet peppers for less than a dollar. I have had sweet pepper plants outside loaded for a long time and Bercy ignores them. Its not because of the flavor. She loves how they taste. Its just that the bigger peppers are easier to slice and prepare in the kitchen. We have imported sweet peppers in the super-market also. Those are high priced-about 2 dollars per lb. The super jumbo sized bell peppers won't grow here in Panama. People down here love those. I love the flavor of the little sweet peppers but I am not the head cook and bottle washer either.
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Post by glen on Sept 4, 2020 20:27:23 GMT -6
I totally understand Bon. I have to pick my battles in my house so I choose not to worry about which sweet peppers Bercy wants to cut up and cook. I will say this though. If I fry a little steak with some of those Ahicito peppers diced up with it and some onions that is a real treat. But, I can get by without it I guess. I can get my pepper thrills by growing my favorite spicey chili peppers instead and let Bercy buy sweet ahi's from the super-market.
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Post by glen on Sept 6, 2020 0:41:18 GMT -6
Bon, as far as home gardening goes I highly recommend the Ajicito. The plants are very attractive and they are dwarf. You can plant them in rows very close together like 12 inches apart if you want. Look at some of the plants and see how productive they are. They really make a lot of peppers and you don't have to look after them too much. You can see Georges and Rons plants. The good part is also that these little peppers make a big crop and then they keep going. They make more. They don't stop. I have plants outside that are more than a year old and they still make peppers and they do this with very little care. Now, lets compare this to the larger peppers. Like Bell peppers. Those are really hard to grow. I Know you know this already. You get an initial crop and then usually the plant will not produce any more. They just aren't practical for the home gardener. The little peppers are the best to grow in the back yard. This is because they are a different species. They are Capsicum Chinense peppers. Much more productive than Capsicum Annuum bell peppers. I hope you can try some next season. You will have fun with it. You can grow 10 plants in not a lot of space. Yes, they are space savers.
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Ajícito
Sept 6, 2020 16:14:00 GMT -6
Post by heavyhitterokra on Sept 6, 2020 16:14:00 GMT -6
Bon,
My Ajicito plants are in full sun every day. So far, the foliage is so thick on the plants that my peppers haven't suffered sun-scald. George posted photos of his Ajicitos from the top, looking straight down on the peppers. There is no sign of sun-scald, only a 'slight tan' I think they enjoy the sun. Of course, this has been an unusually mild summer. None of those 100 + days like we usually get around here.
I can say one thing for the Ajicito peppers that I can't say about the bells, "The Ajicitos are just the right size for snacking on while in the garden, so I snack on one just about every time I'm out there." I'd never eat an entire Bell Pepper before I threw it down. The Ajicitos don't get wasted. And like Glen mentioned, they're also good fried, for one person. About three of them would be all you'd need with some onions to fry up some quick pepper steak. The plants are so prolific that 'nabbing' three or four of them is not even noticeable.
I'd say they are a good candidate for the 'feel good' gardening plant list, right along with Roselle.
Speaking of Roselle, be sure to dehydrate some of those for winter too. I poke the seed pods out of mine using a piece of 1/2" inch copper tubing. If you can find a short piece of that really thin walled, cheap made, steel pipe used in making wind chimes, even better!
Thanks, for the seeds Glen. We've certainly enjoyed them!
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Post by macmex on Sept 7, 2020 8:34:05 GMT -6
Yes, I agree on every point, Ron. I have not been a big fan of sweet peppers, though I do enjoy eating them. They're generally just too much hassle. But these are definitely "feel good" plants. For those new to the group, we talk about feel good crops, crops which one might plant just because they give you encouragement when other things are struggling. If Ajicito always performs this way I will probably always grow it. I can foresee this one becoming wildly popular here in Oklahoma, land of the blazing hot summers.
Bon, one of the wonderful things about Roselle is that you can harvest every single seed and still use every single calyx. Just let the seed mature before you harvest the calyxes and you are good to go. Roselle is definitely a firm "feel good crop."
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Ajícito
Sept 10, 2020 18:41:42 GMT -6
Post by heavyhitterokra on Sept 10, 2020 18:41:42 GMT -6
Bon,
No bother. I imagine we'll have lots of seed fairly soon. There are lots of peppers turning red right now.
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Ajícito
Sept 11, 2020 0:02:48 GMT -6
Post by glen on Sept 11, 2020 0:02:48 GMT -6
What is a thug? I thought a thug was a BLM rioter.
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Post by macmex on Sept 11, 2020 10:18:18 GMT -6
I believe that's just Bon's way of describing a plant that prospers and produces on neglect.
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Post by macmex on Sept 15, 2020 12:16:30 GMT -6
Last night I managed to get out to my Ajicito planting. The plants had loads of ripe pods. Here are two photos.
Here's a photo which gives scale regarding their size.
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Post by glen on Sept 15, 2020 13:33:41 GMT -6
George, very nice haul. Those peppers are big too. I got good news. I have some another variety of sweet chinense pepper to send you. A wrinkled shaped pepper that is about the same size. Very unusual pepper. Since I can't send your seed now because of the crisis I have time to add it to your envelope. We have so many shapes and sizes of these kinds of peppers. Oh, they call this other variety Ajicito. Sorry, we don't care about differentiating between variety's. Little peppers are little peppers.
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Post by macmex on Sept 15, 2020 16:33:38 GMT -6
Sounds like you should do some thinking and tell us what to call these, so there is no confusion down the line.
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Ajícito
Sept 15, 2020 17:23:36 GMT -6
Post by heavyhitterokra on Sept 15, 2020 17:23:36 GMT -6
Those are beautiful!
Even if they tasted like wood, they'd still be worth the effort, just for the color! Nice, big pods too!
I added about 20 of them to my sriracha sauce this year, just because I liked the color. It turned out really good too. I had enough Jalapenos and Black Pearls in there to balance out the sweetness.
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Post by glen on Sept 15, 2020 18:29:01 GMT -6
George, continue to call those peppers Ajicito. The new variety will remain nameless. If you like it once you grow it you can judge it and give it a name. No one will mind. Both peppers are good. The Latino's just call em all the same name but we can be more specific. You can use both peppers together in cooking. Both sweet and mild. Give some seed to Ron too. The wrinkled peppers are more red in color when ripe. Ron, you can use a lot of these sweet peppers in your hot sauce. They have a lot of flavor. Hot sauce doesn't have to be hot. What am I saying? Ok, I am lying. I like it hot. Pass me some Chili Rayado sauce.
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Post by macmex on Sept 21, 2020 14:04:55 GMT -6
Last night I went out to the Ajicito patch and was amazed, once again, at their productivity. Last time I went out there I picked every ripe pepper. Last night I found the plants loaded as if I hadn't picked them at all, and, on top if it, when I picked the ripe ones most plants were still loaded with more green peppers.
I finally got Jerreth to try one. They looked too hot. But when she did she was delighted with them. She sure knows how to make a fellow happy! She commented that we need to save every seed possible to be able to share!
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