just out of curiosity
 

What are the market jalapenos?

Are they just random op jalapeno or are they an f1?

I notice between years and seasons that some are oddly tame and other are slightly angry with rather decent flavor. Does anyone have any insight into this?

Gaston

The trend in Market Jalapenos is larger, thicker walled, and milder. Some are hybrids, but not all.

A couple of seasons ago I grew out seed from some really large hot store bought Jals out of curiosity. I got some good sized pods, but there was no heat at all...in any of them(I had at least 3 plants, iirc). I figured they were hybrids. I was sad.

I'm really starting to hate this food control via hybrids BS. I went and bought what was probably another hybrids. But from I think I'll just deal with it.

Sometime last year Burpee had a free shipping thing(it's the only time I order from them)and I ordered a pack of 'Gigante'. I'm trying them this season, probably in containers. No mention of F1 on the package(or on the website) , so I assume they're OP and I hope they have some heat. It's been hard to find large Jals that are not hybrids so I just had to get them. If I can actually get them to grow, I'll report back.

Fortunately there are lots of websites that sell open-pollinated and/or heirloom pepper seeds which give consistent results year to year. No need to depend upon seeds saved from a grocery store pepper.

Also, remember to reduce watering on your peppers as they approach harvest and it will concentrate the heat.

[QUOTE=noinwi;402458]A couple of seasons ago I grew out seed from some really large hot store bought Jals out of curiosity. I got some good sized pods, but there was no heat at all...in any of them(I had at least 3 plants, iirc). I figured they were hybrids. I was sad.[/QUOTE]

I assumed that the green jalapenos were too immature to have viable seeds in them. Did you find some that were riper or am I wrong in my assumption as to when they are ripe?

[QUOTE]I assumed that the green jalapenos were too immature to have viable seeds in them. Did you find some that were riper or am I wrong in my assumption as to when they are ripe? [/QUOTE]

Yeah, I was picking through the bunch looking for for corking and came across a few with red streaks and figured they might be viable. I had asked the produce manager what type of jals they were and she said all the info she had was that they were a product of Mexico, so didn't know if they were hybrid or not. This was a smaller local grocery store in NW WI. I really liked them for poppers due to the size and heat, so was disappointed when the heat wasn't there. It wasn't due to too much water as the summers were very hot, they were in pots and all my other hot peppers developed heat with no problem. I let most of the pods ripen and used them as sweet peppers, they were that mild.

I have read by some knowledgeable chili-heads that even green ones that have reached a certain maturity will have viable seeds, so they don't necessarily have to be red ripe.

Agree with noinwi. I was able to grow seeds from large & very green store-bought jalapenos season before last. Plants looked nice, peppers were large but almost no flavor (and no heat at all).

I've tried several varieties from seed and my experience has been growing conditions & treatment affect heat/flavor more so than variety. YMMV...

[QUOTE]I've tried several varieties from seed and my experience has been growing conditions & treatment affect heat/flavor more so than variety. YMMV...[/QUOTE]

My growing conditions in WI were quite good for all my other hot peppers. Here in the PNW I don't know how it's going to be...wet and gray and all that. I'm trying to clear an area for a raised bed but it's been slow going. I'll grow in containers if it doesn't happen.

That's the great thing about the midwest; there isn't too much that won't grow well!

PNW I hear can be tough for hot peppers although a lot of folks seem to do well. IDK if it's micro climates up there or just a matter of experience. Hot peppers in containers seem to be less work in those conditions.

Hot peppers do well out in CO as long as you start the seed early enough. Most hot peppers seem to come out hot no matter what. Last year we had a wet spring and late summer rains. All the jalapenos in raised beds came out like bell peppers (good flavor, no heat). The same seeds in containers (better drainage) were quite hot, tho...

Good luck up there in PNW! Let me know how the transition goes :)

[QUOTE=Doug9345;402579]I assumed that the green jalapenos were too immature to have viable seeds in them. Did you find some that were riper or am I wrong in my assumption as to when they are ripe?[/QUOTE]

Most of the seeds in a market-mature green chile are plenty mature enough to sprout.

Mature seeds will retain most of the size they had when you extract them from the pepper after drying. Immature seeds will turn brown and shrink away to almost nothing.

I've got a batch of in-between seeds from some chiles I got at a local sushi joint. (I suspect they'll sprout, but will need to be babied a bit because of their lack of food reserves.) I also collected some seeds from an impressive sliced jalapeño I found in a dish of phó at the local vietnamese restaurant. They survived drying out and I'm thinking to plant them this spring.

Darren Abbey that's interesting. I have always assumed that the peppers had to be their terminal colors before the seeds would germinate. That's for giving a test for maturity.

[QUOTE=Darren Abbey;402788]Most of the seeds in a market-mature green chile are plenty mature enough to sprout.

Mature seeds will retain most of the size they had when you extract them from the pepper after drying. Immature seeds will turn brown and shrink away to almost nothing.

I've got a batch of in-between seeds from some chiles I got at a local sushi joint. (I suspect they'll sprout, but will need to be babied a bit because of their lack of food reserves.) I also collected some seeds from an impressive sliced jalapeño I found in a dish of phó at the local vietnamese restaurant. They survived drying out and I'm thinking to plant them this spring.[/QUOTE]

I totally forgot about pho. It's been a while since I've had it. I might indulge next week after my appt at the VA.