2018 Pepper Season Mid July Update
It’s been a couple of weeks since the last outdoor pepper update and in just that time, we’re starting to see a bit of color (other than shades of green) appear. The first plant to really start ripening has been the Pequin. I thought that — with it’s early pod development — the Aji Rico was going to win that race, but the little guy at home is well on its way to providing many, small and fiery treats.
![Pequin peppers ripening.](/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/pequin-07162018.jpg)
As you can see in the photo above, the fruit are roughly 1/4 to 1/2 inch in length and half that in width. I recently shared a photo on Twitter of a few already-ripened runts that I picked to promote the completion of the larger fruit. They were added to a tasty lunch.
I’ve also got my first superhot starting to ripen at the overflow plot. One of the chocolate 7 Pot variants (Marabella, I believe) has started the process of color shifting. I love the striped pattern that has taken effect as the blistered fruit makes its way through ripening.
![Chocolate 7 Pot ripening.](/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/chocolate-seven-pot-07162018.jpg)
Also at the overflow plot, the Thai Dragon and both Numex Twighlights are ripening nicely and I can’t wait to start picking from both. I think the Aji Lemon may be next in the race as its pods are just about at full size, if not bigger than the outdoor one I had last season. Beyond that, everything else is taunting me with their development, but still not ready to blossom into a rainbow of colors.
![Ghost Peppers](/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/bhut-jolokia-07162018.jpg)
Between the seven peach and red Bhut Jolokias that I’ve been growing, I also have a blend of phenotypes between them. Each variety is display a blistered and gnarly appearance, as well as a smoother skinned fruit as seen above.
![Red Habanero peppers](/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/red-habanero-07162018.jpg)
All of the Habanero (above) varieties are full of pods waiting their turn to start changing into a myriad of colors: red, orange, white, chocolate and mustard.
![Scotch Bonnets](/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/scotch-bonnet-07162018.jpg)
Both the overflow plot and hom plot (seen above) Scotch Bonnet plants are absolutely loaded with sizable fruit. It should only be a matter of days before they start turning fiery shades of yellow.
![Bahamian Goat peppers](/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/bahamian-goat-07162018.jpg)
The Bahamian Got is showing off with several fruit that are fairly sizable and of varying shapes. This is one plant that I cannot wait to start snacking on. And we can’t have an update on the plants without at least one photo of a Carolina Reaper. The particular fruit below is from the smallest of my plants. It’s one of only a couple pods on the plant, but I’ll be damned if it doesn’t look frightening already.
![Carolina Reaper](/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/carolina-reaper-07162018.jpg)