Week One of the 2019 Pepper Season

February 18, 2019 | Article Topics:

The 2019 pepper season started a week ago this past Saturday and so far, we’re looking pretty good just a scant eight days in. While everything appears to be progressing as fairly normally as possible, there have been a couple of eyebrow raising surprises.

pepper seedlings

First and foremost, one of those little Aji Fantasy seedlings in the photo above decided that they really wanted to win the germination race, sprouting just four – yes four – days after going into the dirt. That was definitely an eye-opener.

In the short time that I have been sowing my own seeds, I haven’t had one sprout that quickly before. And I don’t pre-soak my seeds before they go into the seed start mix.

Before we get into how the rest of the seeds/plants are doing, let’s address my second surprise. I was under the impression that lower heat peppers typically germinate earlier than those harvested from superhots. Well, I’ve got a few big boys that have already sprouted before the majority of my Jalapeños and Hatch. It could be that I’m working with older seed stock or maybe it’s just an anomaly. It is definitely something I will be keeping an eye on (and track of in my nerdy spreadsheet).

pepper seedlings

Now, let’s check out how all of our peppers are doing so far into the 2019 season. Seedling count is next to each variety.

  • 7 Pot Primo (Yellow) x2
  • Aji Cachucha Purple Splotched x2
  • Aji Charapita x2
  • Aji Dulce x2
  • Aji Fantasy x4
  • Aji Lemon
  • Aji Rico x1
  • Bequinho
  • Carbonero x3
  • Cardi Scorpion
  • Carolina Reaper
  • Chocolate Bhutlah
  • Chocolate Butch T
  • Criolla Sella x2
  • Grenada Seasoning
  • Hatch Green Chile x2
  • Jalapeno Grande x1
  • Jalapeno Mucho Nacho
  • MA Wartryx x3
  • Naglah Brown
  • Pequin
  • Pequin (Yellow) x1
  • Poblano
  • Scotch Bonnet (Freeport Orange) x1
  • Scotch Bonnet (MOA) x2
  • Scotch Bonnet (Papa Dready)
  • Scotch Brains
  • Yucatan White

So, if the sowing process were to end today and nothing else were to germinate, I’d be left with 28 plants. That’s short of where I want to be, but would still be fine. I’m really excited that the majority of the Aji varieties are up and soaking in the (artificial) light.

pepper seedlings

Here’s to hoping the remaining plants start doing there thing over the next couple of weeks.