Topic: Bell peppers and aubergines

[Robert_Brenchley]

What sort of crop do you get from these? Can anyone recommend varieties? I want to get fruit over as long a season as possible.

[pumkinlover]

Didn't do any good with aubergines this year, but usually Black Beauty is good.
For Bell pepper Californian wonder seems good but I also like the Italian longer ones.

[Spudbash]

I grew quite a few varieties of pepper this year. I started them in mid Jan and grew them on under a grow-light and then potted them on into florist's buckets. I kept as many under cover as possible, but most ended up outdoors (Hants, partial shade). Using this method, the bell peppers gave me 3 or 4 per plant and the horn ones a greater number of smaller, thinner-fleshed fruits.

I always enjoy tasting different varieties so I bought up lots of packets of seed at bargain prices.

I thought that the best, by far, was Gourmet, a thick-walled orange pepper - very sweet, but only 3 fruits per plant. It took a while to ripen, though.

I grew 3 red horn types side by side - Atris F1, Corno Rosso and Rubens. They all tasted very similar. The latter two were far more abundant and if you compare the cost of the seed in each packet, you'll probably find Atris F1 presents very poor value. Of the three, I'd plump for Rubens.

I grew two thin little Italian frying types: Friggitello was, I found, much nicer to cook with than Lombardo, which was very seedy. Friggitello kept its crispness well even when red, whereas Lombardo went a bit flaccid!  ;D Friggitello was great for single-serving salads.

Then there were the two paprika varieties, Sweet Paprika and Numex Garnet (actually a chilli). I'm drying most of these, but I have used SP fresh and they were fine.

The others: Jolly Giallo F1 was still green a few weeks ago but is now red (meant to be yellow!). Mohawk was the first to start ripening but it's   not a favourite - thin-walled but irregular in shape. Sweet Chocolate is an interesting colour.

Overall, peppers have been a very worthwhile crop - less work than cordon tomatoes and cost-effective, too. I've preserved lots in agrodolce (sweetened vinegar, Italian-style). And I'm starting to hoard different varieties to grow next year...

Spudbash  ;D

[saddad]

We use Rubens too...
a relatively poor year for Aubergines... but the smaller/ longer ones did better than the large blacks...  :-\

[Spudbash]

Just thought of one further variety - Jumbo Sweet F1 - large red peppers; otherwise unremarkable.

Sounds as though you did better than me, Saddad. The less said about my 2011 aubergines, the better!  ;D Now trying to decide how much space to allocate them next year. Common sense suggests one square inch in the deep shade, and no more. But my Baby Rosanna and Calliope did produce a few tiny fruits, so who knows? Tomorrow is another day, and all that.

Spudbash  ;D

[chriscross1966]

ALl my sweet peppers did well in the GH this year, Californian Wonder, a small pointy italian one "Frigitello", Jumbo Sweet, Mini Bell, Big Banana and Ingrid, all a decent crop, though I tend to prefer them green....

Aubergines a complete disaster, 8 plants, no fruit......next to the groaning peppers adn on the same autowatering kit....

[Vinlander]

I got my best results from unnamed seeds that I'd collected from shop peppers - mostly sweet cow's horn types and medium chillies, plus a few mediums from the Benington  chilli festival.

Most cheap shop peppers are from Holland. If they have any flavour at all after that massive disadvantage (usually only the cow horn types), then they will taste 10x better when you grow them at home.

You don't need to worry about vigour or yield - the Dutch farmers will have sorted that for you - it's the only thing they are interested in. Thick walls are good for farmers too - more weight per fruit which means much cheaper picking per ton...

The Dutch base their economy on two natural resources - one is endless Rhine water - but the second and most important one is even more reliable - the proximity of millions of customers who wouldn't know good veg flavour if it bit them on the perineum (that's us).

Obviously the peppers have to be properly ripe with nice fat seeds.

I've already mentioned that the Orange Turkish aubergines did best for me - largely because of good resistance to red spider - but you do have to pick them green with maybe a bit of white - not yellow or orange or they will have already started to produce juicy seedy cavities like a tomato - which doesn't suit most recipes.

Cheers.

[Tee Gee]

I got my best results from unnamed seeds that I'd collected from shop peppers

Snap!

The best of my crop came from plants labelled " Tesco"  8)

[Spudbash]

So just when I thought I'd got my seed list for next year sorted, I find it's time to go supermarket shopping!  ;D

Which reminds me to ask: Has anyone tried growing Sweet Bite peppers?

http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/#/tesco-price-comparison/vegetables/tesco_finest_baby_sweetbite_peppers_140g.html?store=tesco

To me, they look like Thompson and Morgan's 'Sweet Bite Yummy' and, at 4 seeds for £2.99, the Tesco seeds would work out considerably better value - with free fruits included!  ;D

http://www.thompson-morgan.com/vegetables/vegetable-seeds/pepper-sweet-and-chilli-seeds/sweet-pepper-sweetbite-yummy/gww4963TM

I see that the Tesco ones are grown in Spain, so they wouldn't quite fit with Vinlander's impeccable reasoning about Dutch peppers, but I reckon they're worth a go.

Spudbash  :)

[antipodes]

Peppers did very well this year despite the mediocre weather. They seem quite tolerant of variations in weather, which is surprising - they just take longer to ripen.
I will not do aubergines next year, I only eat them occasionally and market ones are far better than mine. But definitely more peppers! some long ones next year too. I will try and start them really early. in February and try and get the plants as large as possible before planting out.

[Tee Gee]

Tesco ones are grown in Spain,

That reminded me of another variety that grows well for me.

A few years ago I went on a 'self catering' holiday in Spain and had the occasion to go shopping.

In the local supermarket I saw these peppers, best described as a little smaller than a rugby ball, so I bought one, with a view to saving the seeds which I did.

I have saved seed from my stock ever since.

OK they do not grow quite as large as the original  but they are still quite big.

In the attached picture  the Tesco ones are on the left and the Spanish ones (which I label 'Calahonda' as this is where I bought them) are on the right.

Note;  The picture was taken last year - not so good this year - not enough sun!

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd27/tgalmanac/Allotment/P1010887.jpg

[antipodes]

Teegee they look great! But what do you do with so many of them????

[Spudbash]

Yes, what a fantastic crop, Tee Gee!

Out of interest, I went to my local Tesco just now, to buy a pack of Sweet Bite peppers. There were none there, but there was a different product, Sweet Mini Peppers, another Finest-branded one that has small red, yellow and orange peppers. None tasted as sweet as I recall the Sweet Bite ones to have been (although it's months since I had them and I have been spoilt by fully ripe homegrown peppers), however the orange ones did seem a little sweeter and riper than the red and yellow. And they were grown in Spain, by the way. Anyhow, I'll save the seeds in separate batches and see whether and how they grow for me.

It's the experimenting that's half the fun, isn't it?  ;D

Spudbash  :)

[Robert_Brenchley]

In the attached picture  the Tesco ones are on the left and the Spanish ones (which I label 'Calahonda' as this is where I bought them) are on the right.

Calahonda looks like some of the peppers I see in the market. I might well try some seeds. How long do the peppers need to be kept for the seeds to ripen?

[Tee Gee]

Calahonda looks like some of the peppers I see in the market. I might well try some seeds. How long do the peppers need to be kept for the seeds to ripen?

If they have changed to their final colour e.g. Red / Yellow / Purple etc  they are ripe.

All I tend to do is remove the seed and sit them on the kitchen window in a plant saucer (or similar) until they are quite dry then I packet them up (usually in an old foil seed packet)

Ensure you label them e.g Tesco (yellow) or whatever.

But what do you do with so many of them

Dare I say it ?  ::) I eat them.

They have to keep me in peppers for a year ( or near enough) We still have some of the 2010 crop inthe freezer.

The wife stuffs the better shaped peppers with various stuffing mixes e.g. Chillied beef, Curry and boiled rice, or Prawns and boiled rice.

The mis-shapes are cut up and bagged and used in stir fries & stews etc thoughout the year.

Then there are the kids & grandkids to take care of so there is not too many after all  ;)

[Robert_Brenchley]

We don't have the freezer space. Are there varieties which store?

[small]

Aubergines - I got a good crop this year both from Black Beauty and Orlando. The long purple ones did well too but I shan't bother again because there are far too many seeds to flesh.

[1066]

Hi robert, I'm including some peppers in the seed swap - originally from Real Seeds - Napia Pointy red. These were definitely worth growing, I've yet to try many other varities.
aubergines, I've had a few but too few to mention!

[Robert_Brenchley]

I just had some from Realseeds, but I didn't include that one so I'll be glad of it.