2018 Pepper Season Mid July Update

July 16, 2018 | Article Topics: , , , ,

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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