Fish Peppers

[PaulF]

I have 2 Fish in 5 gal pots. Both are variegated now; one has always been and the second has now shown signs of variegation. They are very healthy plants, but even though Gimme says they don't need staking, I did anyway. The long-time variegated one has 5 or 6 small peppers while the other has only a few. It won't be long before I get to taste a hot Fish.

[bowtie]

From the korney19 webpage:



They are a little narrower than jalapenos.

[Trudi]

My little fish pepper plants are now coming along nicely, they are all showing variegation though some have more than others. They were delayed in growth by the nasty cold weather we had this May and June, but with that behind and warm, no, HOT days are here, thse pepper plants are doing very well.

T

[travis]

Above is a comparison of pods of Fish from seeds sent by Chris Chapman.

The ones on the left are from a variegated plant that is truly Fish.

The two pods on the right are from a solitary plant that did not express variegation out of all the several Fish seeds I started.

The "Not Fish" plant is very compact, slow growing, controlled growth with good healthy solid green foliage. The pendant fruit stays dark green like a serrano for a long time, then goes through a mahogany stage before turning bright crimson. This is a really good looking pepper.

PV

[nctomatoman]

For those of brave palates - how does Fish compare with Jalapenos in terms of flavor and heat? I know, I know - I should just go out and chomp on them to find out for myself...but I have to admit to being a bit of a wimp about taste testing hot peppers!

[bowtie]

Papa Vic, were the ones on the left striped? I couldn't notic it. My fish have a 2-tone look when they are green, plus they sometimes have some curve to them, which I both associate with a fish... say... like a largemouth bass (stripe down the side) and tail in motion. When they ripen, they have another 2-tone look, like dark orange & brown or gold, until they finally turn red.

I think Fish taste hotter than Jalapenos but I'm not good at describing taste when it comes to hot peppers... to me, it's hard to describe specific tastes if your mouth's on fire! Jals have a distinct taste, Habs have a distinct taste (aroma too & especially Chocolate Habs) and most everything else is grouped together, at least by me.

[travis]

Bow,

If you look real close at the pod on the far left you can just barely see a little striping in the green tip. Yes, some of my Fish plants make more striated pods than the others. Some of the plants have way more variegated foliage than others.

The pods that Chris sent me all three had distinct dark red skin with faintly dark pink stripes. I still have dozens of seeds from those pods and will grow more out next year if they sprout just to see if there is any more variation in the variegation.

The two pods on the right in the photo have absolutely no striping and no variegation in the foliage. Also, most of the real Fish pods are slightly curved at the tip like you say. The Not Fish pods were straight from the get and smoother, fatter, and were shaped pretty much like they are now all the way from blossom set. They also hang perfectly pendant while the fish pods aren't quite so uniform in their attention to gravity.

PV

[travis]

Craig,

I bit off the tip of that Fish pepper in the middle of the three Fish pods in the picture this morning. The two other Fish pods are totally redded up now, and the one I bit still had a green tip but was over halfway red.

You know ... that kinda fooled me how they turned totally red out in the garage after I had picked them. Usually picking peppers seems to terminate their ripening color right then and there.

Anyway ... it was just a wee bit hotter than Jalapeno but not quite as hot as Serrano ... and not as lasting a heat. But it tasted rather good and zingy under the heat. Nothin' to break a sweat over though.

I haven't tasted the Not Fish pods yet. Maybe I'll add them into some salsa this weekend and give'm a slurp.

PV

[Grub]

Here's my Fish from a week ago. At this point the foliage is showing just the barest hint of variability. But I'm hopeful.

[Trudi]

I just harvested mine about a week ago, I've got a good couple dozen, bright fire-engine red peppers--thumb size and I'm not five feet high, so that's a tiny thumb. When they turn red the peppers lose those stripes. The peppers currently drying on a plate on the bookshelf in my office. When they're bone dry I'll split them open and remove the seeds then grind up the dried skins for cooking.

I wasn't very impressed with the amount of variegation on the leaves--it was okay, but nothing to write home about. The peppers were pretty enough as they developed, but again, they just dint "send me". They taste real good, maybe a bit more intense than jalapenos, you don't need much to heat up an omelet.

This years big suprise was a volunteer solanum that grew up out of the soil of a small arborvitae I planted this past spring. I'm not sure what variety it was but it put on a better showing than my fish peppers. No suprise, the volunteer tom in the sidewalk crack always wows you, so why not the volunteer mystery solanum too.

T

[Love2Troll]

...bright fire-engine red peppers--thumb size...

I wonder why so small? Not your thumb... the pods.

[Trudi]

I didn't feed them except for the leaves I had turned into the bed in ealry spring. Also, they were a wee bit overgrown by the tomatoes that were surrounding them. I'm not unhappy--the plants did crank out a LOT of peppers, each about two or so inches long.

The peppers have finally dried so I can now crinkle them up. I'll use the flakes for cooking and the seeds will go into my SASE program.

http://www.wintersown.org/wseo1/Free_Seeds.html

[travis]

Originally Posted by Love2Troll

I wonder why so small? Not your thumb... the pods.

That would be about the size of my Fish pods too ... a lady's thumb. I grew them in containers. Do they get larger when grown in the ground, L2T?

PV

[Love2Troll]

Do they get larger when grown in the ground, L2T?

PV,

I don't know. Been decades since planted in the ground. Container gardener here. My fish pods were 4-5" if I recall correctly and were grown 1 to 2 plants in 8 gal containers.

JohnT

[Trudi]

Hmmm...maybe there are a few different strains where one makes bigger peppers and one makes smaller types. Either that or you had some really kick_ss plant food and I want the formula.

T--who just got over an extreme nose-running, sneezing fit brought on by sitting over a bowl of fish peppers while removing the seeds. The vapors done me in!