Garden

Pepper Joe - Reimer Seeds
My Quest for the Quintessential Chili Pepper
Some Like it Hot

2011: This year, I have a zillion varieties of hot pepper to plant. Mom has also expressed interesting in growing vegetables. I will need to figure out where to actually place the garden, and how big to make it.

Mar 12, 2011 - Finally planted.  A month later than I wanted to start, but
	still earlier than last year.  I didn't pre-soak the seeds in water.
Mar 27, 2011 - Thai Basil came up very quickly, and some are too tall for the
	container already.  I have one Kung Pao, one Long Red Slim, and a
	couple Anaheim Chile peppers up.

Row	Plant
1	Pepper Joe's Early Jalapeno
2	Pepper Joe's Early Jalapeno
3	Thai Basil
4	Thai Basil
5	Kung Pao Pepper
6	Thai Sun Pepper
7	Texas Chile Hot Pepper
8	Zimbabwe Large Red Hot Pepper
9	Hot Cherry Pepper
10	Chili Hot Pepper
11	Long Red Slim Pepper
12	Anaheim Chile Pepper

Last Year

All of the hot pepper plants needed to be staked sooner or later. Some were very limp and vine-like when first planted. They all got stouter and stronger as they matured, but then most became heavy and strained to support themselves under their own weight once they had a large number of peppers on them.

Apr 1, 2010 - Put Jalapeno and P.J. Serrano seeds in water to soak
Apr 2, 2010 - Planted Jalapeno and P.J. Serrano seeds in Jiffy peat planters,
	six cells each, four seeds per cell
Apr 10, 2010 - The first Jalapeno sprouts are appearing
Apr 19, 2010 - Soaked Serrano Tampiqueno, Prik Ki Nu, and Texas Chile in
	water overnight to soak
Apr 20, 2010 - Planted Serrano Tampiqueno, Prik Ki Nu, Texas Chile, and Thai
	Basil in Jiffy Peat Planters, six cells each
May 30, 2010 - Transplanted Jalapeno, P.J. Serrano, Prik Ki Nu, and Serrano
	Tampiqueno plants into garden
Jun 12, 2010 - Planted Thai Basil and two Texas Chile plants.  Replaced two
	damaged Serrano Tampiqueno plants with spares.  Buds are showing on
	two of the Jalapeno plants.
Jul 1, 2010 - Planted more Prik Ki Nu, Thai Basil, and Jalapeno

Early Jalapeno

The first of these germinated in eight days, but it was way ahead of the others. A month and a half later, more were coming up. I like these, and I have ordered more for this year.

Serrano Tampiqueno

Said to be the most popular variety of Serrano pepper in Mexico. Grows almost like a vine. Serrano means, "from the mountain". They tasted okay, but were not my favorite.

Pepper Joe Serrano

An unspecified variety of Serrano, it might be the Tampiqueno. Still not my favorite.

Prik Ki Nu

Thai peppers, which I got because I thought they were the basis of Prik King curry. However, "prik" just means chili pepper and "ki nu" probably means bird's eye. These germinated reliably and healthy, and they supported their weight well until the peppers became numerous. Hundreds of small, hot peppers. Not the best flavor, but not bad. I may order some of these again sometime in the future.

Texas Chili

Slow to germinate. Fairly hot and fairly tastey. I have planted more for this year.

Thai Basil

These grew very weak in the planter, completely unable to support themselves, and seeming almost on the verge of being dead. They turned around once they got going in the garden, so long as they survived the initial attack of rain and rabbits. This year, I should probably put them out sooner, rather than waiting for them to get strong.

Next Year

Next year, I should order my seeds in January. I should be starting slow germinators, like the Texas Chile, in the middle of February and quicker ones at the end of February. The average last frost in this area is April 30.

There are some other pepper varieties I want to try:

• Haiti Cluster Pepper (Pepper Joe)
• Hawaiian Sweet (Reimer)

Kaffir Lime

Oh, I wonder if I can grow kaffir leaves? Probably not right away, since I believe they come from a lime tree? Hmm, apparently more of a bush. Citrus hystrix.

Pots

1. jalapeno
2. kung pao pepper
3. thai sun pepper
4. zimbabwe large red
5. hot cherry
6. chili hot
7. thai basil
8. long red slim
9. anaheim chile
10. jalapeno
11. thai basil
12. anaheim chile