Recent content by mega

I buy around 1/2 my seeds from peppermania and hippie, and some tradewindsfruit too -- you can't go wrong with any of those. However, also worth of mention is tomatogrowers.com. They don't carry the ultra-exotics, but do have a nice variety of habs, some ajis, and a slew of medium hots - jals...

I spoke too soon. They've come. And not in one-sies or two-sies. Battalion strength, prepared for take-over.

So here we are going into August, and I haven't seen a single, solitary stink bug this year. Not one. Not a stink bug baby, nor a stink bug egg. Nada. Zip. Last year it was a Biblical situation - 1/2 of my garden destroyed. This winter, they were crawling all over my house - coming out of...

Every pod on one of my Bondas as a sort of rot at the stem end. It starts as a white spot, then becomes an expanding, larger white area. This is not blossom end rot, since it's not the blossom end. It's something else. Never seen it before. Not afflicting my other two bondas - just the one...

It's not a bad product. The Safer brand is better. Insecticidal soap will help with some problems and not with others. I think of soap as helping "control" a pest problem, rather than "eliminate" the problem. You can thin a herd of aphids and other bugs with the soap. If you really want to...

yes, mine have gotten very top-heavy. I've staked them in a spoke design - one thick pole in the middle of the pot about an inch from the main stalk, with individual branches tied to the pole on an as-needed basis, kind of like spokes. I will try to take a picture later of it. One thing I've...

Yeah, my Jimmys are doing exceptionally well this year - many pods, larger than previous years, and ripening quicker than ever. Plus, they're even sweeter than the last two years; they're like sugar peppers this year! I think I might've just gotten a good packet of seed. I like 'em best at...

Bunch of Jimmy Nardellos, one Bonda Ma Jaques, 2 Jal Ms, 2 Biker Billys, handful of aji crystals, and an apple-shaped yellow cucumber

I have like a million of these things growing ... they're growing like weeds. No idea what to use them for. Anyone have ideas, aside from salsa?

The stage where pods such as Jals are brown-purple -- after the dark green stage but right before they turn red. I know there's a name for this - I've seen it - but can't remember it. Anyone know?

I get as good or better results (# of pods, size of pods) in buckets as in the ground. Meanwhile, buckets enable me to move the plants around, get them under cover in case of heavy storms or out of the way in case of extreme winds, and control the fertilization more exactly. The only downside...

The Italians are "Italian Roaster II Hybrid" from TomatoGrowers.com. My 3rd year with them. Despite the name, they're not for roasting. They are more like Italian Frying Peppers. The heat level is low, like a mild jalapeno, with medium flesh. A delightful addition to the garden for when you...

I love the chaos of nature in mid-July Caribbean Red, doing its part to keep us fed next month Biker Billy swarm (hard to see here, but there's about 50 of them) Aji Crystal, before doing the fun upright-to-pendant curl Italian Roasters, await their trip to the omlette plate

thanks, guys! How big are the pods? I'm growing both Bondas and Fataliis this year and the Fataliis are quite a bit larger... I don't have a direct comparison; I grew Fataliis in '09 and '10 but not this year, and '11 is my first year with the Bondas. They seem to look about the same size as...

I'm growing a few plants that are supposed to be Bondas, but to my eye they look more like Fataliis - but it's my first year growing these. Anyone know for sure what these are? Tnx