2018 Pepper Season: Almost Eight Week Update

Before we dive into the meat of this pepper update, be warned, there are a ton of photos that follow.

It’s been just about eight weeks since the plants have been outside in the wild and just about a week since I have physically seen them in person — had to escape town to the beach for a mental refresh. In my absence Mrs. Pepper Blog held down the fort with some weeding and light watering so that when I arrived back home, everything was as it was prior to my exit. Well, that is, except for the sheer amount of peppers that have appeared over the last week.

In fact, I believe I’ve only got three plants total that haven’t started to fruit. They are fully covered in in buds which, I hope, will eventually turn into little balls of fire. So without further silliness on my part, let’s get to the plants.

Aji Lemon

The Aji Lemon is filled with fruit, ranging from just formed to well over two inches in length. The wife is really excited about the amount of pods on this plant as it’s the key ingredient in a sauce I make her. There’s probably already 30 or so peppers on the plant.

Sugar Rush Peach

One of the new plants that I grew for this season that I’m really excited about is the Sugar Rush Peach. Both sets of plants at home and the overflow plot are producing pods nicely, though the bucket at home is ahead with the pepper above. The below photo is from the overflow plot and sports an aphid-destroying protector. I can’t wait for this to start ripening.

Chocolate 7 Pot Bubblegum

The above plants were sewn from seeds provided by a fellow pepper lover and so far both of the Chocolate 7 Pot Bubblegum plants are doing great. The shapes of the pods appearing on either plant are slightly different, but I’m hoping that they even out over time. So we’ll see how they progress over the next few weeks.

Bahamian Goat

Along with the Sugar Rush Peach, the Bahamian Goat was the other plant that I was quite excited to grow this year. Considering that only one plant successfully made it through sowing, it is the singular plant that I worry most about. I’ve heard a great deal about the pepper’s flavor and can’t wait for the little pods above to ripen.

Chocolate 7 Pot Marabella

As you can see in the two photos of the Marabella’s above, all of the small peppers forming are consistent in size and shape. I’m really curious to see how these progress through their growth and ripening.

Chocolate 7 Pot Mutant

All of the chocolate 7 pot variants that I am growing this year came courtesy a fellow grower and so far each is producing pods like crazy. The two photos above show the different shapes that the home plant and overflow plant are producing. I’m excited to see how these two plants continue to develop over time.

Pequin

The singular Pequin plant that I was able to successfully sow back in February is also one of the more productive plants in the stable The little bugger has been flowering like crazy for month and just recently had a bit of a growth spurt. I’d hazard to guess that the plant is sporting well over 50 pods currently waiting to ripen.

Caroline Reaper

All three of my Caroline Reaper plants were quick to sprout, but super slow to start fruiting. In fact, I’ve only got one pod amongst the three at the moment, but you can already see that tell-tale shape starting to form on the devilish pepper. All three plants have suffered some blossom drop due to all the rain, but are also sporting a pile of blossoms.

Yellow Cardi Scorpion

I’ve got a couple of plants that I’m not entirely sure are going to end up looking as they should — or if they are even going to turn out to be the plants I purchased. The Cardi Scorpions look more like Bhut Jolokias at the moment, but I’m hoping that they take their true shapes soon.

Scotch Bonnets

I’ve currently got six plants consisting of two variations of Scotch Bonnets and all of them are sporting a pile of peppers at various stages. The overflow plants thus far have the most and the largest (not to mention the gnarliest looking) pods thus far.

Peach Bhut Jolokia

I loved the Peach Bhut Jolokia so much last year that I decided to grown four plants this year. All of them are showing off with little pods that already look a bit scary. I can’t wait to start harvesting these things!

Red Bhut Jolokia

All three of my standard red Bhut Jolokias are a bit a head of their peach brethren in terms of size and number of pods. It’s looking like it’s going to be a warm Summer for sure based on what I’m see with these plants.

Habaneros (Red, Orange, White, Mustard and Choclate)

All of the habanero varieties are sporting pods, but the Red and Orange variants have the largest and most thus far. One of my white habanero plants suffered some structural damage a couple of weeks ago, but so far appears to be on the mend. I’m hoping that the pods on that damaged branch continue to develop.

Standard and Purple Jalapenos

I have three different varieties of jalapeno at the overflow plot and all of them are pushing out peppers like it’s their jobs. The purples are about two inches in length while one of the standard jalapeno plants is showing off with fruit almost four inches in length. These will probably be picked prematurely (before they ripen to red) tomorrow for dinner. I’m excited to enjoy the first peppers of the season!

Red Scorpion

Last year, I purchased some red scorpion plants that ultimately didn’t live up to expectations. These plants were purchased at the same nursery and I can already tell that they are going to be vastly different than previous plants. Just look at the shape of that pod above!

Black Prince

While I love the look of this plant and the small egg plant like pods that it’s currently sporting, I’m not sure how they will end up tasting. I guess I’ll just have to wait until they ripen fully to red to find out.

Golden Cayenne

This little plant was the one that I was most worried about. It looked absolutely miserable while under grow lights and had the hardest time transitioning to the great outdoors. Eight weeks in though, and it is covered in peppers. I’m impressed with how resilient the little plant has become over that time.

Thai Dragon

This little Thai Dragon plant is absolutely packed with peppers. Just look at that photo above. The plant is maybe 6 or 7 inches in diameter and not nearly as tall yet it is covered in peppers.

Numex Twilight

Much like the tiny Thai Dragon, both of my Numex plants are just as small. They don’t let their stature dictate how many pods they can produce, however, as both are chock full of peppers in their purple stage of ripening.

Datil

So the Datil seeds that I purchased don’t appear to be producing Datil peppers. I’m not entirely sure what these will end up turning into, but all three of my plants are sporting pods that look nothing like what I’ve seen in my online research. That said, I’m curious and a bit excited to see what I ultimately end up with.

Aji Rico

Last, but certainly not least, is the Aji Rico. This plant was purchased at a local nursery and if it keeps producing peppers at the rate it currently is, I may have to grow this one again. The shape of the pods looks great and I can’t wait to check out the flavor once they complete the ripening process.

If you’ve made it this far through the post, congrats. That was a ton of photos on words to work your way through on a Friday (or over the weekend). To say I am excited about the plants’ progress thus far would be an understatement. I’m stupid thrilled and can’t wait to start harvesting in the next month or so. Happy growing!