• Blog your pepper progress. The first image in your first post will be used to represent your Glog.

“Okay, I reckon the hare gets fucked”

Here we go again. Summer 2021 : I hand pollinated some Aji Ahuachapan (aka CAP 220) flowers with Hallow’s Eve pollen. I was hoping to create a hybrid with the taste and production of the Aji (a favorite of mine) but on a dark plant bearing hotter fruits. I didn't use mini Ziploc bags or any other pollen "barriers" because I wanted to prevent the pollinated flowers from overheating and then falling off. A fruit finally formed on one of them so I thought my first cross was born!

Cap220-1.jpg
Cap220-2.jpg


Next year (2022). I grew a single F1 plant. The foliage was beautiful with its dark margins and veins, as were the stems. The flowers looked great too, showing characteristics of both species.

1696691711340.jpeg

1696691767253.png

1696691834310.png


Unfortunately, the fruits took too long to ripen and frost came early so I ended up collecting very few seeds. Of the lot, only 9 proved viable.

1696692054223.png

1696692099874.png


This year, all plants (F2) grew quite well (except plant #6 which did not survive) but only plant #4 expressed a good quantity of anthocyanin. However, as soon as the pods started to form, I noticed something weird: the presence of a bleeding calyx on some fruits🤔 Since neither parent had this trait I immediately knew “my cross” wasn’t mine but rather the work of bees or ants. I'm not a genetic engineer but I highly doubt this could be the result of a spontaneous mutation either. In other words I’m stuck with another pure basterd, hence the name of this GLOG "Okay, I reckon the hare gets fucked" (a quote from the Snatch movie). Dammit!!

I went back to look at my 2021 planting map to confirm that I had only grown 2 BBG crosses at the time, including 3 Midnight BBG plants that were nearby my CAP 220. 🤯What were the odds for this kind of bad luck happening, with a flower I hand pollinated earlier on?! However, my initial disappointment was short-lived as I now have an orange C. baccatum x C. chinense cross with dark foliage and a bleeding calyx genetic to play with! From now on this cross will be called AAx. Here are photos of the current generation (F2).

AAx 1 (a very slow grower; might ripen to yellow)

1696693150841.png


AAx 2

1696693206439.png
1696693276527.png

1696693309905.png
1696693336418.png


AAx 3

1696693405091.png
1696693454034.png

1696693504820.png
1696693535212.png

1696693573574.png


AAx 4 (🏆the chosen one!)

The only one to show the lankier growth habit commonly observed with Pimenta de Neyde crosses. It's a very good producer of heavy, thick-walled and crunchy pods that retained the main flavor of CAP220 with only a tiny hint of that crappy soapy aftertaste!

1696693798478.png
1696693860874.png
1696693909429.png

1696693970226.png
1696694020765.png

1696694060561.png
1696694359616.png

1696694115924.png
1696694171149.png

1696694217668.png
1696694253438.png


AAx 5

A lot of placental tissue here but the pod texture is softer and not crunchy at all.

1696694446524.png
1696694484157.png

1696694521260.png


AAx 6 (RIP!)

AAx 7 (another slow grower!)

1696694822599.png


AAx 8

1696694906047.png
1696694935582.png


AAx 9
(the only yellow, so far!)

1696695665005.png
1696695700770.png

The latter has that usual citrusy flavor profile while also being quite "soapy"🤢
 
Last edited:
So you are just gonna post this and pretend we should all be ok with you finding another gem? <storms off to garden whilst begrudgingly congratulating you> 🤣
Man, it’s like a roller coaster ride! At first I felt kinda proud (my first ever cross), then the deception/failure hit me quite hard but now I'm just happy with the result. I'm done with planned crosses; either way, it seems Mother Nature always wins😅
 
AAx 1 update

I waited until a few pods started to rot on the plant before picking to make sure they really ripen to that yellowish cream color.The pictures don't do 'em justice as they are more cream than yellow. The plant's structure is also different from its siblings, showing short and narrow growth habit (only about 1 1/2 foot tall and wide). Taste-wise, they are awful, VERY floral🤮

1697822366171.png

1697822395289.png
 
Last edited:
AAx 7 update

Very poor production and slow growth rate with this one...

1698331575544.png
1698331609559.png
 
AAx 9 update

With shitty taste comes shitty looks I guess! Could a pepper be uglier?! Let's hope not!😂

1698332465484.png
1698332662546.png
 
So it begins!

This year, the first variety to emerge was AAx (seeds from plant #4). Bravo for this first achievement my little buggers🥇 Now be careful not to get carried away too quickly because the journey has only just begun and I will be merciless (as usual)!

1708792878496.png
1708792919036.png
 
Back
Top