what's up with datil and tabasco?

[BigBrownDogHouse]

I have only grown Tabasco's for two seasons now. Last year was incredible after a really slow start for them.
This year they were the last plants to get planted in the garden. No one around here had them and my brother got them for me.....he lives about 75 miles away and it took a family gathering for me to get them. They got a late start but I have picked about 6 peppers so far. The plants are still pretty small.

Last year I had Tabasco plants that got huge. Here's a few pictures I found from late August and late September and a picture of what I use to pick off them in an afternoon. I couldn't believe the amount I had. They started slow but once they got going, it was wacky. They grew until the frost. They still had plenty of life and plenty of peppers after these shots.

This year my Thai's in pots are going nuts....much better than in the ground. Matter a fact, all my pepers that are in pots are doing great. Ground, so so. It's been incredibly hot and dry.

[Mojave]

Beautiful pictures Brian!!

The first one looks very much like my tabasco plants- kind of bushy at the bottom with tall central branches.

[Crandrew]

Those look great Brian. Im in the same boat, my potted peppers are all doing great. Im growing around 5 thai as well and they love the pots.

[BigBrownDogHouse]

Thanks for the compliments, friends!

Tabasco's a great pepper and I highly recommend it. Great for drying out and adding to noodle soups or adding to stir fry's. Great kick!

Yes I agree Crandrew....the difference this year between pots and the ground are easy to see with the peppers.
Check out these I just took....guess which is which:

[Crandrew]

Wow the difference is incredible!
I was under the impression that due to peppers loving warm roots that my pots were keeping the roots warmer. I could be wrong though.

[tjg911]

brian,

why do you pick the tabasco peppers when they are green? wouldn't they be hotter and have a higher vitamin (C?) content when red? i know that sweet peppers are sweet when colored and i have read they have 8 times the vitamin c content when red vs green.

i prefer to grow things in the garden, keeping everything together makes watering and fertilizing easier. the exception was eggplant which when i did grow it did fantastic in 5 gallon pails and i never saw 1 flea beetle. i never grew it in the ground due to flea beetles. i may have to grow hot peppers in containers, i'll keep the sweet ones in the ground.

tom

[Mojave]

I prefer green ones for pickling. Fresh, I like green and red. Both taste fantastic, just different.

This is making me hungry.

[lakelady]

Tom, I have lemon drops I got from Mark here on TV, they are the most productive pepper I've ever grown! Mine started indoors Feb. 28th, went out into growbags in mid-May, and then in early June, the plant was falling over itself so I put it in the garden. It exploded! I must have over 50 peppers on it. Still all green, but should be turning yellow very soon. Hot with a fruity bite, very unusual. I had 2 yellows already so I was able to taste it, yum! I can send you seeds once I harvest them if you'd like. This plant definately was happier in the ground.

[TomNJ]

Just noticed today my first baby Tabasco's beginning to set.

TomNJ

[tjg911]

Originally Posted by lakelady

I can send you seeds once I harvest them if you'd like. This plant definately was happier in the ground.

thank's but no thanks. i bought some last year, about 3 dozen, and have about 2 dozen in the freezer still. they were ok to pick off the plant and eat right there in the field but when i got them home i can't find what to do with them. i was told they are great with seafood but i don't eat seafood. they have an ok taste, some were hotter than others but not all that hot. after freezing they seem to have a bit of an off taste, not sure what i'll do with them.

Just noticed today my first baby Tabasco's beginning to set.

TomNJ

so you handing out cigars?

tom

[Mojave]

Originally Posted by TomNJ

Just noticed today my first baby Tabasco's beginning to set.

TomNJ

Wow, same here. Found my first baby Tabasco, about .25 inches long, this afternoon. Yippiee!

[tjg911]

i was pulling some grass and pursalane today and i looked over at the pepper plant i was near and i see these little spikes sticking straight up in the air! wow! the tabasco plant has little peppers. i did not count but there is easily a dozen so i am sure dozens more are coming. now i looked at the datil closely and not a single flower or pepper. i picked a few more fatalii today, 6 or 7 so far and they are hot.
tom

[tjg911]

yippe! when i was watering today i happened to see a green pepper on the datil plant. it's about 1 1/2" long. i looked but not super closely and i did not see any other peppers and still no flowers. i sure hope i can get more than 1 pepper but 1 is better than none.

tom

[wzl46]

I found this thread after a quick google search about flowerless tabasco plants. How long after starting the seeds are people seeing flowers?
I started my seeds inside around the beginning of May, and transplanted them outside in pots after about 6 weeks. The plants are now between 2.5 and 3.5 feet tall, and not a single flower on the tabascos. My jalapenos, habaneros, and hungarian was peppers from the habanero seed packet are all flowering and have produced fruit.
Thanks for any info.

Paul

[lakelady]

Originally Posted by tjg911

thank's but no thanks. i bought some last year, about 3 dozen, and have about 2 dozen in the freezer still. they were ok to pick off the plant and eat right there in the field but when i got them home i can't find what to do with them. i was told they are great with seafood but i don't eat seafood. they have an ok taste, some were hotter than others but not all that hot. after freezing they seem to have a bit of an off taste, not sure what i'll do with them.



so you handing out cigars?

tom

I'm making pepper vodka! I have several friends who "have it all" and are party people....they love mixing coctails, so I figured I'd get some good quality vodka, put a few peppers in each bottle and let it sit for a while . only problem is I don't drink Vodka and I have no idea how many peppers to put in there. Do you think 4 is too many?