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judo_and_peppers

peppers you won't grow again

judo_and_peppers
9 years ago

I'm generally an optimist. but sometimes it's beneficial to think about the negatives every now and then. maybe others will benefit from your experiences and opinions,

what peppers will you never grow again, and why not?

here's my list:

cayenne - too boring. some heat, yes. but not nearly enough flavor. and frankly just boring to me. yes I called them boring twice. that's how boring they are to me.

any variety of thai peppers - good flavor, good producers. but there's sooooo many seeds. I feel like just the amount of time involved in picking and deseeding these peppers that after 2 years I feel like the cost-benefit analysis says this one is cut.

orange habs - I just don't care for the flavor, plain and simple. I like the flavor of some habs, in fact there's some that I like a lot. but not really that particular one. and it's kinda depressing when the most prolific plant in your garden is one you don't particularly care for.

there's others that I won't be making space for next year in the name of having multiples of the ones I really like in minimal space, but the above are the ones I won't be growing ever again unless someone pays me to do it.

Comments (32)

  • CanadianLori
    9 years ago

    That is the beauty of being a mild mouth. I only grow them, process, bake them in breads, make sauces and jellies but never ever eat them. I love the colours and only judge them by the redness of my husband's face.
    That said, I did grow too many orange habs. Too few last year and overkill this year.

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    9 years ago

    I might grow Chocolate habaneros again, but no other. The flavor just doesn't sit right.

    I've given up on Tabasco....they just don't produce in my shaded garden.

    Josh

  • MikeUSMC
    9 years ago

    I'm dying to try a chocolate Hab. This is my "noob" year, and I grew a lot of "common" varieties. Jalapeño, HHW, Red Habs (which I'm already sick of), Red Scotch Bonnets, and Red Bhuts (haven't tried yet, just pulled a handful of ripe ones today trying to beat the frost). IMO, the Red Habs kinda taste like crap, all heat-no flavor. But, man, I love the Scotch Bonnets. Delicious. I really made a conscious effort to note the flavor before the heat kicked in, and they're really good.

    Disclaimer: this is the first year I've even had an actual pod in front of me hotter than a jalapeño. I've had Hab sauce before, but that's about it. Something tells me that Scotch Bonnets will always have a spot in my heart... Hahaha!

    Mike

  • MikeUSMC
    9 years ago

    Sorry. Went off on a tangent, there. Habs. Red Habs is my answer. They suck.

  • MikeUSMC
    9 years ago

    Geeze. I'm on a roll. My first post meant to say I'm dying to try a Chocolate Scotch Bonnet. Not Hab. Sorry. Beer + New England Patriots = Mike doesn't shut up.

  • woohooman San Diego CA zone 10a
    9 years ago

    I just want to see Mike go off. I'll mention my "never agains" later.

    GO JETS!

    Kevin

  • MikeUSMC
    9 years ago

    Haha! Kevin, you're coming REALLY close to striking a nerve!!!! At least you didn't say Giants, so I'll let that one slide...
    I'm still not over that Superbowl a few years ago. Guy throws a couple of Hail Mary's and, all of a sudden, he's a "future Hall of Famer?!" My HIGH SCHOOL QB was better than him! Gimme a break. God, I freakin' hate Eli...

    P.S.- Rex Ryan sucks too...

    P.S.S- maybe NOW I'll wear a Revis jersey...

    P.S.S.S.(

  • MikeUSMC
    9 years ago

    P.S.S.S.S?- Red Habs suck. (That's what we were talking about, right?)

  • DMForcier
    9 years ago

    Habs I'm not real fond of - except - these here. I'll post in a different thread what I found about Bonnie Plant's World Hottest Habaneros. But the bottom line is that I like them. They are very hot and fruity - not like the 'typical' hab.

    Not sure what actual variety they are selling (the CS people don't know), but I'm going to grow it again. Otherwise, only chocolates.

    Dennis

  • judo_and_peppers
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    well, we've established that Mike doesn't like red habs, but does like beer. winning combination?

  • MikeUSMC
    9 years ago

    Yes.......(hiccup)

  • plantsman56
    9 years ago

    I tried 7 pod Burgundy's this year. That were said to have a honey and caramel taste right before the heat sets in. Then, after the heat goes away, you had a honey after taste. Maybe a sweet after taste, but that was about it. I won't grow chocolate scorpions either. They had a flat taste and Douglahs are way better tasting.

  • randy355
    9 years ago

    Once I found Scotch Bonnets I pulled all my Red and Orange Habs and will never look back. Thai peppers at least the ones locally don't deserve the space the ones I brought from Asia are a different animal true a lot of seeds but smoked and ground. great taste and nice heat.
    The worst were the ebay seeds most of us tried early on, what ever they were.
    Lastly this years flops Chocolate Fatalii ( perhaps it was the seeds that came from everyone's favorite seed person ) they tasted like a dirty old bell pepper and no heat then Red Savina they mock me get big and green wave in the wind,drink my water, eat my ferts, and enjoy my attention but not one flower It could have been worse one pepper and I loved it

  • seysonn
    9 years ago

    GI'me a break, guys red had knockers. I am growing couple of them for the first time. The pods are still green though. How come no body warned me before? Now at this point I cannot possibly replace them by Scotch Bonnet, can I ? :-)
    But that is ok . I am not going to eat them like candies. So it doesn't matter much how bad they taste. I am just going to make some sauce with them and I know how to fix it.

    But on my "WON"T" list is Bishop's Crown. Not because of taste. Actually I have no idea how they taste but for being so late that the ceremony is over. hehe

  • 0x0is0
    9 years ago

    I will not grow Ají Limon/Lemon Drop ever again.

    The smell was NOT pleasant at all. No way did it smell and/or taste citrus-sy or lemony. The peppers looked exactly like all the Ají Limon Lemon Drop peppers on google image. When I cut/chopped them up, the smell was just plain BAD! They taste hot, skin (meat) was kinda thin, but the smell killed it for me. Not worth my time or the real estate in my garden.

  • northeast_chileman
    9 years ago

    @ 0X0is0. Can I ask where you got the Aji Limon seeds from?

  • HotHabaneroLady
    9 years ago

    I'm amazed so many people are unhappy with habaneros! They are my favorite crop, especially the orange ones! In fact, trying to make sure I could get a reliable supply was what led me back into gardening after a several year break! They are the only plants I can guarantee that if I have a garden, I will grow them!

    Anyway, I doubt that I will grow jalapeños again. Honestly, I don't know why I grew them this year. I don't really like them because I think they have a very oily, greasy taste.

    Peppers are producing small crops and ripening slowly this year, so other than that, I'm not sure yet. I still have some plants that have not produced anything yet. So I will have to wait and see how they turn out after their pods ripen.

    Sadly I may not grow anything next year. I'm waiting on background checks to be complete so I can take a government job abroad, but things could easily work out in such a way that I won't be able to garden next year.

    Angie

  • Mecdave Zone 8/HZ 9
    9 years ago

    Tabasco. Pods too small and seedy to mess with. Their heat bites, not a pleasant heat at all.

    I am starting a few clones though to grow as Bonchis to sell or give away. The small, upright, and multicolored pods should make an interesting plant.

  • kclost
    9 years ago

    Orange Habs for me... I also will not grow 7-pots again, due to the fact that they are low producing plants at least in my garden anyway.

  • thundertoe
    9 years ago

    absolutely will NOT grow:

    purple jalapeno
    black hungarian
    black jalapeno
    (^they all looked and tasted the same, and were not hot)
    prik chi faa
    peter peppers

    2nd chance to:

    7-pot brain strain and red bhuts- low producers, but me likey
    cajun belle- first pulls were great, but after that the pods were teeny

    coin toss on white peruvian bullet hab and bulgarian carrot

  • ottawapepper
    9 years ago

    Interesting. Over the past few years, some keep on coming up and other new ones added. My list hasn't changed from last year. See link below for 2013 thread and a link and summary of the 2012 thread.

    Here is a link that might be useful: pepper(s) that you will not grow again - 2013

  • judo_and_peppers
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    LOL not only did I forget that this thread existed before, heck I even commented on the 2013 version. well, I guess this thread is the 2014 edition. now, if only I could edit the thread title...

  • Mecdave Zone 8/HZ 9
    9 years ago

    I forgot about bells. I quit growing them a few years ago. I really like the red/yellow/orange bells (never green), but when you can buy them for 50 cents to a dollar all year long, it's not worth growing them.

  • DMForcier
    9 years ago

    Several mentions for Aji Limon/Lemon Drop. There must be a bunch of bad seeds out there because their experience is nothing like mine. Lemon Drop is one of my favorite peppers.

    Angie, consider going with the intention of starting a garden of some sort somewhere. No better way to connect with the locals than at the most basic level.

    Dennis

  • 0x0is0
    9 years ago

    @northeast_chileman

    Got my Ají Limon seeds from the previous 2013/2014 Dec/Jan Holiday Seed Swap.

    Had big plans for the Ají Limon. Plants and peppers look healthy, but once I cut the peppers up and took a sniff, they just smell bad. Not lemony or even pleasant smelling at all. Maybe they were bastardd seedlings. lol.

  • northeast_chileman
    9 years ago

    I grew these once, a fellow ChileHead sent me a plant, and remember vividly the wonderful aroma & nice heat level. I've been looking around as there are so many varieties to decide which I want to grow.

    Lemon Drop
    Besides being a true workhorse, 2 - 3" pods have a wonderful lemony, citrusy taste and aroma on a medium size plant. Grows VERY well in containers and will continue to produce when overwintered properly. Heat 8/9. Prolific. Peru

    Aji Limon
    Crisp, citrusy C. baccatums with the backdrop of lemon flavor and aroma. Quite the producer with hot 3 - 4" elongated pods slightly triangular on a large yet compact plant.

    Aji Habanero
    Crisp medium flesh and fruity flavor and aroma makes this a favorite baccatum. 2 - 3" fruit in various shapes grow pendent on medium branching plant. Ripens from white yellow to golden yellow. Hot 8. A very fruity and aromatic pod. Chile

    Thank you for the response 0x0is0.

  • centexan254 zone 8 Temple, Tx
    9 years ago

    Bell peppers here. The plants do great. They set fruits just fine. The heat causes them to stunt, and rot at golf ball size. I will be doing more gypsy peppers next year. They seem to be oblivious to the heat.

  • seysonn
    9 years ago

    Ok. After Angie's comment on Habs and what Dennis and others had to say about Lemon Drop, I feel a little better. Those two and Thai Hot are my main HEAT source. I am looking for another one with similar heat level as habs, but to be early and fast growing. Scotch Bonnet ? Red Fatalii ?
    I have already dropped Bishop's Crown.

  • OKgrowin
    9 years ago

    i will only grow a limited amount of larger peppers for stuffing, like said before if you can get poblanos / bells at the store for 50c meh, i had like 10 urfa biber / poblano / muleto isleno and i simply don't use them that much. next year i will only grow about 2-4. Another problem with them is they seem to be more prone to pests / nutrient deficiency because they take in so much i guess.

    yaki brown isn't bad, it's just unremarkable in flavor / heat / growth / production so i won't grow it again.

  • HotHabaneroLady
    9 years ago

    I am looking for another one with similar heat level as habs, but to be early and fast growing. Scotch Bonnet ? Red Fatalii ?

    &&&&&&

    How have I never grown scotch bonnets? I will have to correct that if I am able to grow a garden next year.

    Anyway, getting an early harvest is why I grow a lot of peppers in containers. Having them in containers makes it easy to bring them inside and overwinter them without having to dig them out of the ground. Doing that gives me a harvest a couple of months early.

    And I'm a bit prejudiced by my habanero love, I guess, but it have not found them to be slow growing. They are incredibly slow starting, so you have to start them very early. But that's not the same as slow growing. Once they get going, they grow really fast if conditions are good.

    And for an even earlier supply of habaneros . . . Well, that's why I am learning to preserve this year. Having a ton of dried and pickled, canned habaneros should do the trick. I hope. :)

    Angie

  • maple_grove_gw
    9 years ago

    I second the vote on "7 Pot Burgundy Special". Maybe I just got a bad plant, but it was identical for all intents and purposes to "7 Pot Yellow"

    "Goat Horn" - about a day before ripening, they rot, Very prolific, but full of rotten pods. I have grown similar cayenne-type peppers before without a problem, but this plant is useless.

    -Alex

  • DMForcier
    9 years ago

    Be thankful that they rot. When ripe they taste like soap.

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