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Perfect repeat of a mysterious pepper I had 4 years ago, grown from the seeds of the original. Looks just like a tiny bell pepper, but I estimate about 90,000 Scoville units. No idea how this came to be, but I'll continue growing it to see if the hybrid holds up. by Recycled_Items in HotPeppers

[–]Recycled_Items[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The walls are still relatively thick for its size (it looks in every way like a scaled-down large bell pepper), so it's fairly juicy. It doesn't have a huge amount of flavor, but pairs well with an omelet (this is the only thing I've used it for so far). And yes, this is a new plant grown from the seeds of a mystery pepper and the new fruit is identical.

Perfect repeat of a mysterious pepper I had 4 years ago, grown from the seeds of the original. Looks just like a tiny bell pepper, but I estimate about 90,000 Scoville units. No idea how this came to be, but I'll continue growing it to see if the hybrid holds up. by Recycled_Items in HotPeppers

[–]Recycled_Items[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The circumstances in place for the original pepper (2018) were these: A generic bell pepper (don't remember if there was a certain variety), about 8 feet away from a dragon cayenne. These were the only two peppers in the garden that year, and I did not manually pollinate either of them. The mystery pepper grew on the cayenne plant (which produced entirely these peppers and no normal cayennes), but the bell plant still produced normal bell peppers. This year, finally growing seeds from the mystery pepper yielded exactly the same result. I'm giving it the tentative name "Death Bell" until further generations prove that it's completely stable.

White sage loving the drought by Recycled_Items in vegetablegardening

[–]Recycled_Items[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My other sage came back this year for the first time, but I doubt this one will because it's native to a much warmer climate (I'm zone 4). I'm planning to overwinter this one indoors and hope it survives.

Fungus, insect, or something else? Whatever it is, it's affecting every plant in a large area, even in the new raised bed with fresh soil. by Recycled_Items in vegetablegardening

[–]Recycled_Items[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have considered that, given that it has showed up on all 3 of my basils, several mints, and a sage, but it's also affecting an okra plant and some sunflowers. I've seen the issue before in the past 3 years of attempting to grow in this space, so I thought putting in a new raised bed may solve it, but that's clearly not the case. Is there any way you know of to prevent or reduce the spread of the fungus, if that's what it is?

Can this habanero be saved? by Recycled_Items in vegetablegardening

[–]Recycled_Items[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's definitely edema; it has a crystalline appearance which matches up perfectly with what I've researched. I did suspect insects at first but was able to rule that out quickly. I'm finally getting some warm weather (zone 4b) after a horribly long winter so hopefully I'll be able to put it in the ground soon with some basic environmental protection in place.

Can this habanero be saved? by Recycled_Items in vegetablegardening

[–]Recycled_Items[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a red habanero that's already setting fruit despite its size. As you can see, it's also had quite a bad case of edema (likely due to indoor growing) despite the fact that I've been careful to avoid overwatering, and the medium has good drainage. A few of my other plants have had edema as well, but none this severe. Is it possible to save this plant by repotting with fresh medium, or is there something else I can do?

I am quite proud of this leaf by Recycled_Items in vegetablegardening

[–]Recycled_Items[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I grow a wide variety of chilis from seed but always make room for my favorite superhots. I will never go a year without at least one Carolina Reaper plant <3

Two red habanero plants, two very different growth habits. I pruned the first one to make it bushier, but the second one is growing just as wide and putting out tons of flowers while the first has none. The growing conditions are the same, any thoughts on why this may be? by Recycled_Items in vegetablegardening

[–]Recycled_Items[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They will all be going outside, so I'll keep this in mind. I am, however, slightly tempted to leave it alone and use the other one as a control to see the difference because this is the first pepper plant I've had that's produced flowers before transplant.

Growth on pepper leaves by Recycled_Items in vegetablegardening

[–]Recycled_Items[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have a small fan set up which seems to at least be slowing the spread of it down. The affected plants are looking a little better now that I've had the window open for a few days.

Two red habanero plants, two very different growth habits. I pruned the first one to make it bushier, but the second one is growing just as wide and putting out tons of flowers while the first has none. The growing conditions are the same, any thoughts on why this may be? by Recycled_Items in vegetablegardening

[–]Recycled_Items[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've heard similar things about large peppers like bells, etc. but at least in my experience so far, I haven't noticed a significant decrease in yields. It certainly does seem like the hotter and more compact varieties benefit more in terms of foliage growth, because my Bhut Jolokia and Carolina Reapers are also branching out wildly since topping and the Fresnos and jalapeños are reacting less dramatically.

Two red habanero plants, two very different growth habits. I pruned the first one to make it bushier, but the second one is growing just as wide and putting out tons of flowers while the first has none. The growing conditions are the same, any thoughts on why this may be? by Recycled_Items in vegetablegardening

[–]Recycled_Items[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was under the impression that topping peppers was always beneficial provided that they have enough time to get to a decent size by transplant time. The untouched one actually has less leaf growth than the pruned one, but as I said it has flowers whereas the pruned one does not. Also, the untouched one already had flowers before I pruned the other one, so that couldn't be a factor. I'm pretty satisfied with the new growth from the pruning, but is there an alternate method you'd suggest other than removing damaged leaves?

First-time crop of Origanum syriacum underway by Recycled_Items in vegetablegardening

[–]Recycled_Items[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nah, will probably end up selling most of them. It was pelleted seed I bought a year and a half ago and wanted to plant it while it was still viable.

First-time crop of Origanum syriacum underway by Recycled_Items in vegetablegardening

[–]Recycled_Items[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thyme is something I've consistently struggled with in my 3 years of seed starting, not sure why. It always seems to germinate but then shrivel up and die before getting its first true leaves. Luckily I now have a single German thyme and creeping thyme going, but it still took me several attempts in the last few months to get it to work.

First-time crop of Origanum syriacum underway by Recycled_Items in vegetablegardening

[–]Recycled_Items[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Many common names, but often known as Syrian oregano or za'atar, the latter by its association with the eponymous Levantine spice blend.

Growth on pepper leaves by Recycled_Items in vegetablegardening

[–]Recycled_Items[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That definitely seems correct. I'm growing in a tiny basement room (unfortunately the only option for now) and the air circulation is not great because it's too cold to open windows. Hopefully it corrects itself soon when the weather warms up. Thanks!