thanks for reading and please inform a noob

Peppers "self-pollinate" and are capable of passing on the same genetic information as the parent. It's expression of every gene isn't just an A or B thing, though...even a self'd plant can show variation after crosses while it stabilizes it's genetics and how it expresses them.

After the initial cross, the seeds grown from the cross produce a variety of plants with a variety of characteristics. By selecting plants for desirable characteristics after the cross and growing them out to see what they do you can occasionally find something worth keeping.

I hand pollinate the crosses. I collect male pollen from freshly opened flowers and dry it out...then store in the freezer if I'm not immediately using it. I pick a female flower to "mate" with when the bud is fat, but not open yet (close to opening). At this point the male pollen inside the flower (peppers can self-pollinate) is not very viable and very stuck to the anthers (male sex part) of the flower. I remove the petals, remove the anthers, and paint-brush the saved pollen from the other plant onto the female part of the plant. I tag the flower, bag it with a piece of cheesecloth for a day or so, and wait to see if it's going to set fruit. It usually does.

It's also worth mentioning that the pepper seed I'm offering is actually not 100% stable. It's stable in areas that count to me (sweetness, taste, wall thickness, pod color, vigor), but it has 2-3 (and very occasionally) 4-walled fruits. If I was doing this for a seed company this seed would not be ready. I'd be trying to coax it into a more regularly producing either 2 or 3 pod fruits rather than a noticeable mixture on the plants like they currently show.

thanks

Alan