Im really pleased with my jalapenos this year there producing really well and a great size

The photo above are the Jalapeno Grandes and I have 99 plants and have harvested 30lbs of peppers off them(so far) I think that photos theres 10lbs, and Im guessing when I go harvest tomorrow they'll be 7-20 lbs, but we go to the local farmers market( 1 currently and we'll grab a weekly spot on other random markets)

The Jalapeno blacks we have about 50 plants of and aren't producing nearly as much( 12lbs roughly I didn't weigh the first week though) They have just a little bit more kick than the grande's but you have to be looking for it and they are extremely small compared to the grande, other than being a conversation piece I prob won't grow them again.

The Travelers we grew last year and the peppers were good but still too small for my liking, we had some extra seed so I started them to sell as starters and decided to keep one, the taste is really good so I may just let them turn red and smoke/dry for chipotle's

also note the Grande and Blacks are hybrids while the Travelers are a heirloom

heres a pic of the blacks

I have a few dedicated plants that I allow to go red(for me personally) but I brought a bunch of red ones to the market last year and they didn't sell well at all may try again later in the season see how they do

:(

All my annuums(jalapenos, serranos, anaheims, and bells) are kickin into full gear like you homefry, but I won't have to stop picking until January hopefully. My long season also allows me to not worry about my superhots producing too late.

Nice looking peppers though, homefry. Good luck with the rest of the season

Now if it was just me doing my personal garden then I'd love to have a year round season(cold crops in the winter)

Don: Ouch! We might have a few days below 32(barely) every year, and those don't come until Jan/Feb.

the property is nice buts really to hilly to do anything more with, plus theres a ton of deer up there, we had to put in an electric 7ft electric fence in to deter them

Do these over-winter at all?

and no none of these are over-wintered at all, started in march and went in the ground May 5th
the only thing I over winter is super hots

most things are going well, pulled like 115lbs off the bell peppers so far

weve got 1250 tomato plants(most large tomatoes) but there doing pretty well harvested 3+ bushels this week.

kind of worried as its been 90-100+ the last two weeks with almost no rain(we have drip irrigation) but there still ALOT of damage from the heat, its always a shame having to compost so must produce because of damage even though I know we have no control over it

I was just thinking. If you grow peppers that are twice as hot, you only have to grow half as many.
hehehe,
Bruce

They are always a heavy producer, and an all time favorite.

I want to do that many jalapeno next year which is why this post really caught my eye.

Amazing harvest. I have a nice harvest this year from about 20 plants. How do you preserve them? I freeze after taking the center out but that is where most of the heat is. I may try to can some. What do you do?

I am in the same zone as you and really like your harvest. I really want to grow a lot next season, maybe bring them to the farmer's market too.

Cheers, Rich.

once there in the ground its actually not bad, but its not just me my parents do it and 1 other guy thats friends with my dad(its hist property) the real pain is taking care of all the transplants we over plant because we sell starters at the market too.

Other than it being a little be of a weed patch(we don't spray) its not that bad because every things irrigated, next year we'll fix the weed problem with solar mulch, The other thing is harvesting but its manageable until we get into our full production season(i say august/september) but then we just get friends to help harvest and give them some produce or cook a good meal for them(my whole family can cook pretty well)

oh and I have 12 super hots(some I dont know what are because yeah) but next year I have 30-35 planned to be in pots at my parents and then I think Im going to do a full row(33 plants) of bhuts with see I save

@TheMasterGardener

we still have to preserve things, not all these get dedicated to market some our for us.

I always pickle of few cans I also make relishes and stuff like giardiniera or other toppings that use jalapenos. We'll also vacuum seal and freeze a bunch. Ive dedicated a couple plants to turn red so I can dry/smoke them to make chipotle's in adobo saucce, I'll also make powders with dried ones

@rich

Ive seen some varieties grow like that, they'll elongate a little I believe jalape�o m's are a variety Ive see grow like that.

The tricky thing about jalape�os is most people see the supermarket size ones and think thats what there plants will produce, most jalapenos Ive grow are tiny, and lot darker in color. For example I have 1 plant of Travelers here at the house and the largest pepper is still smaller than the smallest pepper Ive picked from the farm and Im not picking those until there red

The Grandes are the only ones Ive seen come close to some things Ive seen in the supermarkets, I know theres a few other varieties that will get that big I just havent personally grown them

We use sustainable and organic practices yes, we're not certified organic.

Were actually more organic than some organics if that makes sense, most the time when you see a certified organic label they actually spray more fertilizers and organic pesticides than traditional methods

the only real thing about organic farming is that the sprays they use need to be derived from organic matter rather than synthetics, theres actually a list of things that are considered acceptable for organic farming.

for example if we get to the point where we absolutely need to spray something we'd use pyrethrum which is derived from the Chrysanthemum plant kills almost everything(bug wise) we havent had to spray yet and most likely wont as we dont like doing it

as for shipping, Id have to look at what the laws are to ship fresh produce, I know theres some limits and you need some certifications for something it may be easier for me to smoke/dry the peppers then ship them as it wouldnt be considered fresh produce but I'll keep it on my mind.

and I feel for you about deer, we got demolished last year by the hail then deer, so bad we actually wrap the plot with a 6 foot electric fence with a 2 foot stand off

I know this may apply to all peppers, but when you start your seeds indoor, do you put one seed per hole? Do you "thin" any out, or do you grow every single plant that sprouts? Do you put them in a sunny window or use lights?-I Would like to hear some advice from someone who grows so many.

I am really interested in growing a huge crop of Jalapenos next year.

Peppers get started feb-14 - mar -1(most on heat mats)

Tomatoes(and most others) get Started mar 1 - mar 15

we roughly start around 4000 plants(I think its way higher with spices etc)

we have 3, 400w HID lights which actually isnt quite enough, but its the most our electrical can handle, were adding more this year. and Im most likely going to pick up an 200w induction light for my overwinters/super hots

we plant in 72 cells generally 1 seed per for peppers and tomatoes as most our germination rates are between 90-95% and actually higher on some

then we'll transplant into 3 inch peat pots

This year we had 15 main varieties of tomatoes and 11 trial types, we had 12 types of peppers(not including my super hots)

next year however is going to be a much different story, we plant on increasing both by quite a bit for starters.

my pepper list has grown, I think Ive gone from 850 plants to close to 2,000 but we do plan on doing two markets next year

the best production Ive seen and the nicest looking pepper is the Grande's that Ive been posting pictures of, check the link(if its not appropriate to post links vendors let me know still new here)

almost every other type Ive grown have been tiny in comparison, the other type I may try is Chichimeca which is spouse to be a bit milder but roughly the same size 4x2 rather than 4x1.5(grandes) but they also have a shorter season which is 65 days over 75-80

-Chris

I personally like making chipotle's with them, but if Im eating them fresh I like the flavor of green, I also enjoy pickling them, actually am doing that right now

"Homefry, if this isn't your main source of income, how do you find the time?
I was just thinking. If you grow peppers that are twice as hot, you only have to grow half as many.
hehehe,
Bruce"

Haha.

What, are you a jalapeno hater? Yup those pros are too good for a jalapeno lol jk

Being that the jalapeno is the most popular pepper ever, it has a huge market. The green jalapeno market is the biggest market.

Turns out, on average you get 4.50 per squar foot growing jalapeno, not like the 21.20 per sf with cilantro, but cilantro is maybe 10X more work to grow.

Even though jalapeno's are very cheap in the store, they can be grown for next to nothing with little work.

Fully ripe (red) they are more sweet. I prefer mine fully ripe - to me they taste better and make great chipotles.

Here's a sampling of this year's crop: Ixtapa hybrid, Jalafuego, Jaloro and Conchos. The Jaloro are the yellow/orange ones.

I smoke them with mesquite then grind them up prior to use. We've found these four varieties to complement each other nicely when used in the same proportions.

Plus, I hate cilantro! To me it tastes like the essence of plastic. Bad plastic from the '60s. The kind you smell in the trunk of a new '61 Chevy. *bleh*

homefry, please keep up with your updates. I find this highly educational. I don't grow in nearly the quantities that you do, but when one deals in such numbers the essential and efficient practices are bound to come out.

Btw, what do you mean when you say you have a "2 foot stand off" with the zapper fence? You mean that you cut back the green stuff 2' off the wire?

Cheers

But it's actually a 3 foot stand off sorry for the typo,

We put up the main fence 7wire 4 are electric 3 are grounds, we decided not to electify the bottom because of dogs and our main concern were deer.

Then we put a stand off wire about 4 foot high and 3 foot off the main fence that is electified, think of it as a warning but also deer have really bad depth perception so spousaly they dont like jumping multiple things...

It's worked extremely well we haven't noticed any deer tracks inside the plot yet and last year we got demolished by them

You may have mentioned this, but do you feed the plants at all during the in-ground season?

What does your dirt feel/smell/taste like? Here we have varying degrees of what they call topsoil (organic material and sand (and rocks)) over red brick clay (and bigger rocks).

We feed them every other week during two water cycles , with Age Old Bloom, Age Old Kelp and calmag+ it's roughly 3/4 age old(half and half) 1/4 calmag

Water cycles run 2 times a day for 2 hours with half gallon an hour irrigation

When it's cooler we drop that to an hour cycle..

The dirt is clay based but it breaks up pretty well, tilled and not messed with potatoes grow well in it. We tested it for PH a few weeks ago and was at 6.5

Plant spacing in rows is 18 inches and the rows are 2 foot apart (33 plants per row)

note: it was tilled, but its a weed patch right now, not enough time to clear everything out

thank you, its not all peppers, the "bushy" are you see near the end of the photo is potatoes, I have about 20 rows behind of peppers, then theres 50 rows of Tomatoes, theres also leaf crops, beans etc but our main two crops are tomatoes and peppers this year I did mostly sweers because its out second year doing it on this scale and I wanted to test the market a bit, next year Ill be doing multiple heat levels(see other threads)

If you do not mind me asking, how much does your jalapeno go for per pound? In the super market it is 3.99 per pound. Just wondering. I want to do a large Jalapeno crop next season.

Thanks.

I walked around today and saw people selling them for a quarter a pepper, markets are weird and for us being one of the few "organic" (were not certified so we can say were an organic farm) we are extremely under priced on somethings

I want to start growing and selling jalapeno as a hobby, and maybe some day make it a side income.

Thanks.

also correction on my part

"(were not certified so we can't say were an organic farm) "

I did pull a ton of blacks that turned red, doing a cold smoke on them all day(and pulled a bunch of seed)

If you can see I don't know much about peppers, you should not take me seriously. If I would have not said those were rotten you would have never of responded with the reasons why they are not, and how they need to get like that for the best seeds and Vitamin levels. I could of asked nicer, but I do not think you would have gave so many details all in once. I have heard one jalapeno can give more then a days needed Vitamin C.

BTW:

I said: "Nice rotten peppers"

You just said: "You are a fool"

I feel like I was posting negative comments, and I am very sorry. We may have butted heads, maybe because we may a lot alike!!;)

The Grandes I grow are averaging 4+ inches, Im really pleased with the se and the production. Next year Im axing the blacks for market, they have good flavor and great production but there simply to small for market sitting next to the Grandes.

I'll preserve my peppers red actually just finishing up a few pounds of the blacks for I smoked to make powder

I also pulled a few pounds of blacks that turned red, there only averaging around 1 1/2 inches kind of sad next to the Grandes will smoke them once I go pick up some applewood

I have a bunch of OP seed for the blacks is anyones interested still need to grab some for the Grandes

Either way I will save seed and send out though they grow next to the blacks and bells(there's eggplant between the jals and bells)

That Grandes looks perfect. Ripe red, plump and some nice corking... just the way I like them!

If your supermarkets are like ours up here they typically only carry shipped in unripe green Jalapenos. I think that's the reason the majority of people shy away from reds, it's foreign to them.

Bill

the other thing I hear people complain about at the markets is the "corking" they always seem to think its a bad thing, either way I do bring both red ones and ones with corking because we like to educate people as well as provide fresh foods.

We do mainly heirloom tomatoes so we carry quit a bit different stuff, end up talking and educating people quite a bit, like this one the Chocolate Stripes absolutely tasting amazing tomato, just looks a bit different

That tomato looks good enough to eat.....Seriously, that thing has to be tasty.
Bruce

next year Ive got planned around 49 different peppers(some are just differnt colors) about 2300 plants I think Ill have 50 "superhots' in pots and I plan on doing a row of bhuts(50 plants)

I also started looking at a few studies and realized I have my plants spaced to far, we do 18 inches but Im moving it two 12 next year as well as doing double offset rows so I can put a few more plants in the same spacing and were putting plastic mulches down to help with the weeds, this year I joke its just a weed patch with veg in the middle(we dont spray chemicals at all)

Tomatoes are our other big crop, the one in the photo above has a nice smokey flavor, they can get up to two pounds, I love having 1 slice of tomato fill the whole bun...

-Chris

Tim

Tim, thank you there pretty amazing and I'd say an average heat for a jalape�o I'll pull some seed from the red ones this week if you still want them

Tim

@azzure08 the Chocolate stripes is pretty awesome tasting, one of my favorites. That was one of our trials this year pretty pleased with it

-Chris

Tim

Ill let you know in a few months its a ferment

red is, bhuts, par cold smoke jalapenos carrots garlic

green is just jalapenos and onions will most likely add stuff after the ferment

there also in a brine with a whey starter, you cant see the tops in the photo but there actually in 1 gallon beer fermenting jugs with a drilled stop and airlocks

-Chris