A Seed Saver's Garden

[Zeedman]

It looks like some people have been working on it @Pulsegleaner, there's a listing at Atlantic Pepper seed for a 'sweet' rocoto' and while it isn't heatless, it has a reduced amount of fire.

Rocoto Ecuadorian Sweet Pepper Seeds

Rocoto Ecuadorian Sweet Pepper seeds Capsicum Pubescens

pepperseeds.ca

Quote from the link:
"SHU 40,000 +/-"

That is cayenne heat level - a LONG way from being 'sweet'. Too bad; I'd make room in the house for a heatless rocoto.

 

[heirloomgal]

Assuming they can ship to the US, I might want to try it. I CAN handle a bit of chili heat, on the order of a pepperoncini level, or an Ancho/Poblano (they're actually the same pepper, Ancho is just a ripe poblano that has been smoke dried, just like chipotle is the smoked form of one of the others.) If it's down there, I might be able to use it and get some idea (that's really WHY I want a heat free Rocoto, I want to find out what unique flavors it has WITHOUT them being drowned out by capsaicin.)

Edit: maybe VERY carefully as this "mild" rocoto is STILL rated at 40,000 SHU (in comparison to a jalapeno being maybe 6,000). So unless they put that down as a blanket rating for normal rocotos by mistake, it's STILL extremely hot.

I saw that 40,000 rating too and wondered about that, relative to how they rate rocotos generally . I've combed through this website quite a bit over the last month. I'm not quite sure how to phrase this, (and I really like this pepper company, they are really professional) but there isn't that 'fine a point' put on the website. There are some duplicate errors in the listings, some spelling mistakes, even a few 'no no' words and there's a few listings with pictures that don't match. Probably all their effort goes into dealing with growing and processing actual peppers rather than website is my thinking, which is fine with me. But I wonder how much stock can be put into that 40, 000 rating. Plus, how it's grown affects that rating too. They do all their plants in plastic hot houses. I'm going to put in one more order before October is up, so let me know if you want the pepper.

 

[Zeedman]

I'd be very interested to see how that pepper does for you. Your results with several C. baccatum peppers this year were impressive.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

I've sent them a message for conformation of that number, let's hope they respond.
It particularly odd, when you note that Canario (which is only 5,000) is NOT noted as being mild or sweet (it's probably shouldn't since that is past jalapeno by quite a bit.)

 

[heirloomgal]

I'd be very interested to see how that pepper does for you. Your results with several C. baccatum peppers this year were impressive.

I grew a couple rocoto plants a few years ago, all I remember was they were called 'Rocoto Yellow'. The plants were so different than any other pepper plant I'd grown, more sprawling and branchy, much less glossy leaves. I harvested a few peppers, whose size was impressive - like small apples - much bigger than I was expecting, but overall the yield was really low. I read later that they need overwintering to yield well, with every overwintering increasing yields. Because I've, so far, had nothing but problems with overwintering I never tried with that variety again. But the seeds were awesome! I still have some of them tucked away in the basement.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

I did bring everything in as I said. However, this now means I have to keep the cat OUT of the back bedroom, where the chives are, since he has become OBSESSED with trying to eat them. Why, I don't know, you'd think that, if alliums are such a danger to cats and dogs, and they exist in the wild, they'd have evolved to dislike the taste, not be attracted it to it. Though in his defense, I tried a pieces this morning (for the first time) and while it DOES have a garlic chive flavor, it is WAY weaker than actual garlic chives.

While transplanting the unknown legumes, I discovered that, unlike the legumes themselves (which for most tiny little seedling size things had RIDICULOUSLY deep roots* the thing with the buds was actually pretty shallowly rooted, so I move it in it's entirety into the transplant pot rather than clip off the buds and put them in a vase. The flower's odds of opening seem better that way.

Free from the overgrowth, I also found out how that branch survived and set buds even after being all but totally broken off, the break totally calloused over (good thing too, as it turns out BOTH bud bearing stems are past the break.)

 

[heirloomgal]

However, this now means I have to keep the cat OUT of the back bedroom, where the chives are, since he has become OBSESSED with trying to eat them. Why, I don't know, you'd think that, if alliums are such a danger to cats and dogs, and they exist in the wild, they'd have evolved to dislike the taste, not be attracted it to it.

I actually have developed a theory about this since getting a dog. My dog used to cry and beg when I'd be chopping garlic; given that it's toxic to them it's an odd reaction. Crying for chocolate I could see, but not garlic? Then I found out that pet companions are WAY more wormy than we realize. Probably most of them live with low level infections their whole lives. Lots of mammals in the wild do. A natural vet wizard told me they are so wormy because they sniff everything, and groom with their mouths of course, and eggs of parasites can enter through the nose. (Pharmaceutical de-wormers are very toxic and short lived.) Garlic is somewhat of a natural de-wormer, and can kill parasite eggs. So, my guess is that while alliums are not good for them somehow they know that the worms are a bad situation too, and they choose the negative effect of the garlic over the worms.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

I actually have developed a theory about this since getting a dog. My dog used to cry and beg when I'd be chopping garlic; given that it's toxic to them it's an odd reaction. Crying for chocolate I could see, but not garlic? Then I found out that pet companions are WAY more wormy than we realize. Probably most of them live with low level infections their whole lives. Lots of mammals in the wild do. A natural vet wizard told me they are so wormy because they sniff everything, and groom with their mouths of course, and eggs of parasites can enter through the nose. (Pharmaceutical de-wormers are very toxic and short lived.) Garlic is somewhat of a natural de-wormer, and can kill parasite eggs. So, my guess is that while alliums are not good for them somehow they know that the worms are a bad situation too, and they choose the negative effect of the garlic over the worms.

I suppose that might be, but He hasn't been outside for quite a while, so I am unsure just how many worms he could have. (unless he's getting dosed just from the soil the plants are in.) Well, he has a checkup on Tuesday anyway, I suppose the vet will find out.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

I did bring everything in as I said. However, this now means I have to keep the cat OUT of the back bedroom, where the chives are, since he has become OBSESSED with trying to eat them. Why, I don't know, you'd think that, if alliums are such a danger to cats and dogs, and they exist in the wild, they'd have evolved to dislike the taste, not be attracted it to it. Though in his defense, I tried a pieces this morning (for the first time) and while it DOES have a garlic chive flavor, it is WAY weaker than actual garlic chives.

While transplanting the unknown legumes, I discovered that, unlike the legumes themselves (which for most tiny little seedling size things had RIDICULOUSLY deep roots* the thing with the buds was actually pretty shallowly rooted, so I move it in it's entirety into the transplant pot rather than clip off the buds and put them in a vase. The flower's odds of opening seem better that way.

Free from the overgrowth, I also found out how that branch survived and set buds even after being all but totally broken off, the break totally calloused over (good thing too, as it turns out BOTH bud bearing stems are past the break.)

I'm not sure how well my plan worked. Despite giving the pot plenty of water, most of the plants are withering almost before my eyes. I'm afraid I may have messed up the roots so badly in transplanting that they can't recover. Well two of them (the one with the buds and the one that might have been something shrubby) are withering, the others look more or less as they did.) I suppose that, if the bud one doesn't look better by tomorrow or the day after, I might as well snip the buds off, put them in a vase, and hope that gets water back to them.

 

[digitS']

Despite having dogs in my younger years, I didn't know anything about the toxic onion danger to them.

BTW. DD later had dogs and we learned that they especially like cooked carrots. She learned to make carrot and oatmeal treats for them.

My first garden on other people's property was a vacant lot across the alley at a previous home. I had never had any previous interaction with her beagle. I was a stranger who showed up on the other side of the fence and who did all this digging. Howl! Ruff Ruff! Hoowwl! No one at home, the howling from the beagle would go on and on.

I had onions coming up from sets right near his kennel and harvesting them seemed to interest him and he would almost shut up for a time. I passed a green leaf through the wire fence to him. He chewed it up. I began doing that whenever I first came into the garden. It worked but by the second year that I was there, I had learned about onions and dogs. Still, he had come to tolerate my presence for the next 2 years that I lived and gardened there. Thankfully!

Steve