Chilli and Pepper seed varieties

[Chris11]

Also inspired by MarkP's collection of 150+ different varieties of tomato seeds

How many different varieties of Chilli and Sweet Pepper seeds do you have?

And however many you've already got, what are the varieties that you *still* don't have, but would like?

[veggiechicken]

Come on Chris - you need to tell us what you have first and what you want.
Set the scene, give us something to aim for

[bramble]

VC, I think you've frightened him off
Or he may have gone to count them.

[veggiechicken]

I've counted my chilli seeds, bramble, tomatoes next.

[Mitzi]

Too many, and lots!

[WalterWhite]

Aside from the totality of varieties you have, which chillies, based on flavour, would you take to a Desert Island? No option to take all of them

Curious as I plan to grow 2-3 varieties to use fresh & store for cooking. Tend to cook southern Mediterranean cuisine thus no desire for incredibly hot chilli. Only spoils the dish.

[Small pumpkin]

I have 31 varieties of chilli.

lemon drop
cayenne
golden cayenne
cayennetta
hot jalapeño
jalapeño
fish
ring of fire
joe's long
pimientos de padron
Thai dragon
holy mole
Hungarian black
scotch bonnet
Bulgarian carrot
Peter pepper orange
spike
Dorset naga
numex twilight
chiang rai (big Thai )
basket of fire
cherry bomb
sugar rush peach
thunder mountain longhorn
pink habanero
bhut jolokia chocolate
Naga morich
moruga scorpion
ghengus Khan brain
Aji Pineapple

I have 2 varieties of sweet peppers
lamuyo
Palermo red

How many more varieties of chilli do I want? All of them
How many more varieties of sweet pepper do I want? None of them

I don't need to go to a desert island, I'm quite happy where I am.

[Chris11]

I think I have 78

But that is Chillies and Sweet Peppers combined.

It's more than I need, but I do try and give away whatever I don't need. It's also an ongoing process to try different varieties, save seed to share, and evolve my list of favourites each year.

The list will reduce soon, as some old seeds will be given a last chance, and some experimental seed lines will be abandoned.

But then again, it could also increase soon when a like-minded fellow grower suggests a share.

It's always another year when too many different varieties is never enough

Ones I don't have but want to try include: Fatalii, Purple Haze, Big Bomb, NuMex Pinata, NuMex Orange Spice, Midas, Havana Gold, more C. pubescens types, and any interesting crosses.

[Philthy]

I can't put an exact figure on it, number of strains differs year to year. I'd say 20-25 different varieties of chilli each season would be about right. That is everything though, plants in their second year or more, plus any new sowings. 30 would be really pushing it, but if I should find myself at a festival, or nursery not previously explored, inevitably I'll come home with a few additional plants and then I'd be at that threshold.

50 different plants at any one time would melt my head! More than that..
I'm happy having less plants, means I can grow them bigger

Desert island choices for me would have to include Lemon Drop for it's sheer versatility, depth of flavour, abundance when in crop, and being equally good in savoury or sweet foods. Jalapeno, still my favourite pickled chillli despite the numerous more exotic choices out there. And then something to make a good hot sauce with, probably either Paper Lantern, or Fatalii (Lemon Drop taste but much more hotter).

New ones I'm keen to try include Fatalii Gourmet Aji Fantasy, Pasilla Bajio (The peppers turn from dark green to dark brown, and are almost black when fully mature), Dedo de Mocha (Sweet Aji - almost no heat at all), Fatalii White, Aleppo, Yaki Blue Fawn, Chocolate Bhutlah, Orange Tiger, Bhutlah Gold X, and Yellow 7 Pod (this is a superhot and I did say recently I was moving away from those, but I love the look of this one; moruga shape but mustard yellow and very nobbly, so I would like to grow it one time).

I've only grown sweet peppers twice. I don't consider them a decent enough return, especially when space is at a premium. They're a novelty crop for me at most. I suppose I could grow them outside though, then space is a lot less of an issue.. ..There's a lot of emerging chilli pepper strains which focus on flavour and have next to no heat, so these fill the gap for me quite nicely.

[Mitzi]

New ones I'm keen to try include Fatalii Gourmet Aji Fantasy, Pasilla Bajio (The peppers turn from dark green to dark brown, and are almost black when fully mature), Dedo de Mocha (Sweet Aji - almost no heat at all), Fatalii White, Aleppo, Yaki Blue Fawn, Chocolate Bhutlah, Orange Tiger, Bhutlah Gold X, and Yellow 7 Pod (this is a superhot and I did say recently I was moving away from those, but I love the look of this one; moruga shape but mustard yellow and very nobbly, so I would like to grow it one time).

Philthy, isn't Chocolate Bhutlah a superhot too? I'd expect it to be hotter than Yellow 7 Pod although I've not grown either so can't say for sure. I'm growing Aji White Fantasy this year (just germinated!) and my overwintering Aleppo plant seems to have come back from the dead, touch wood, so I'm pleased about that.

[Philthy]

Philthy, isn't Chocolate Bhutlah a superhot too? I'd expect it to be hotter than Yellow 7 Pod although I've not grown either so can't say for sure

Well spotted, Mitzi, whoops yes just double checked that again and discovered it falls somewhere between Reaper and X for heat something akin to a volcano then!
And the Gold version probably not too far behind! (awesome colour that one, though not guaranteed; end result looks to be a bit of a lottery).
Oh well guess I'll be doing a trio of fire in the not too distant future

How big was the Aleppo in a season?

[Scarlet]

I have some Carolina reaper seeds...I was going to sow them on the weekend but Ive decided that I really need to focus on the milder varieties.

[Mitzi]

How big was the Aleppo in a season?

Not all that big but I don't have a greenhouse and it would probably be bigger in better conditions. The one outside grew to about 2 ft tall, maybe slightly more, not particularly wide although it did have side branches. The one in a pop bottle (so effectively a one-litre pot) grew to about 18" tall, if that, and again not very wide. I'm overwintering the pop bottle one but it has been cut back drastically.

[Chris11]

Come on Chris - you need to tell us what you have first and what you want.
Set the scene, give us something to aim for

I thought you didn't grow chillies and didn't like them?

[Chris11]

I think I have 78

But that is Chillies and Sweet Peppers combined.

It's more than I need, but I do try and give away whatever I don't need. It's also an ongoing process to try different varieties, save seed to share, and evolve my list of favourites each year.

The list will reduce soon, as some old seeds will be given a last chance, and some experimental seed lines will be abandoned.

But then again, it could also increase soon when a like-minded fellow grower suggests a share.

It's always another year when too many different varieties is never enough

Ones I don't have but want to try include: Fatalii, Purple Haze, Big Bomb, NuMex Pinata, NuMex Orange Spice, Midas, Havana Gold, more C. pubescens types, and any interesting crosses.

82 on a re-count