From Seed to Harvest: Chili Peppers (Jalapeno and Habanero)

Last summer I decided to start growing chili peppers. I love spicy foods (although my mouth doesn't always), and so does my boyfriend. To begin, I bought some seeds for jalapenos and habaneros. 

Here is a close-up of some of my first sprouts:

And again: 

I planted seeds in six pots: three pots of jalapeno and three of habanero. In each pot I planted three seeds, just in case some did not germinate. I think of the 18 seeds I used every single one sprouted! 

A few weeks later, the pepper plants were growing in full force! There were three plants in each pot, so I cut down the weaker plants so that there was only one growing in each pot. Artificial selection at its finest! 

Here's a shot of my prettiest habanero sitting in the windowsill. Notice the heart shape of the leaves, as well as the regularity of leaf placement along the stem. 

Here's another photo of it from above. 

The jalapenos ended up flowering before the habaneros. I'm not really sure why that is. I guess each variety just grows differently. So here's a photo of one of my jalapenos from above. You can see the different growth pattern, the different leaf shape, and the little round blobs that are its flower buds. 

I took a small hiatus from taking pictures when I was packing up and getting ready to leave for my third year of college. Once I got settled in, I had time again to take some pictures to document how my peppers were growing. I ended up taking four chili plants to school, two of each variety. The photo below shows my larger habanero on the left, and my larger jalapeno on the right. At this point my jalapenos were showing signs of flower buds, but none of them were opened up yet. The habaneros were still all leaf and no flower. 

And finally, a jalapeno flower! They are about 3/4 of an inch in diameter, and they droop down to face the ground. They have six white petals. 

Another shot of the jalapeno flowers: 

And another one (blurry because iPhones are not that great for photos):

To make sure I would get some peppers instead of just leaves and flowers, I used a q-tip to assist pollination. I had really good luck with the jalapenos pollinating! Below you can see the pods just starting to form. 

A shot of overall growth shape as the pepper pods start to form: 

Now we switch to looking at the habanero. It finally started to bloom, so I used the other side of my q-tip to try and pollinate its flowers. While most of the jalapeno flowers turned to pods, I only ever got two peppers from this habanero plant. It is now one year old and has been flowering nearly constantly since last fall. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I got two pods growing last fall, which grew and ripened beautifully, but no luck since. Here's a shot of its foliage, with its little round flower buds interspersed throughout: 

While most of the flowers fell off my habanero without being pollinated, I finally got a pod growing! Seeing its size compared to my fingers makes it look that much cuter. :) 

As days turned to weeks, I continued to document the growth of my chilies as they grew. Below is a shot of my jalapeno showing off all its pods. All in all, nearly a dozen blossoms fertilized. A few pods dropped as they were ripening, but I suppose that is to be expected. 

Compare the size of this jalapeno to my hand. Much bigger than that baby habanero pod earlier! 

Look how much bigger the habanero got since last time! It's still not ripe yet though, none of them are. Any time a pepper is green, it's most likely not ripe yet. Not that it can't be picked like that though. Most jalapenos we see are picked while still green, and then pickled. If all our green bell peppers were left on the plant, they would eventually ripen to red or yellow or orange, or even purple with some varieties. 

The habanero seed packet I bought had a variety of red, yellow, and orange varieties, so I was excited to see what color this guy would eventually ripen to. Below are two shots of the same pepper with some time elapsed, or perhaps it was just a different angle. I can't really remember, it was nearly a full year ago. 

   

Here are another couple shots of my jalapeno plant. On the left is my biggest one again (as seen above with my hand) after some more time has passed. On the right you can see how it and my hand compare roughly to the size of the whole plant, as well as the other peppers. Sorry about my blurry finger at the bottom! :P 

   

I was delighted to discover one day that one of my habanero pods had begun to ripen! I still couldn't tell if it was going to be red or orange, but it didn't really matter to me at that point anyway. 

The other habanero pod that was growing, smaller than the first, was also beginning to ripen. Looking at this one I could tell that it would eventually turn red. 

After probably a week since it first started changing color, the smaller one was completely ripe. It looked so pretty! 

In the meantime, I was getting impatient for my jalapenos to ripen all the way. I ended up picking the largest two while they were still green and using them in my quesadilla. 

After some time, probably a few weeks, the jalapenos were finally ripening to red. At this point the weather was beginning to get colder, and I suspect that's why the leaves were starting to look all old and gross. Even though the leaves were getting old, the pods looked young and vibrant! 

I decided that it was about time to harvest: 

In the meantime, I had harvested my smaller habanero and used that in sloppy joes. Or maybe it was tacos. As for the larger one, once it ripened fully, I picked it and hung it up to dry. I was worried it wouldn't dry well at first because for the first few weeks it just got really wrinkly. Eventually though it dried enough that my fingernail could no longer dent it. This little guy is gonna become crushed red pepper flakes for my boyfriend! 

Since harvest, my pepper plants have continued to live. No habaneros, but I did get some jalapenos in the spring. Unfortunately, the plants have been infested with thrips off and on since the fall, and the second harvest of jalapenos was no good. Still, the plants have been doing well enough. Eventually I want to prune them into a bonsai shape. For now though I left them at home for my mom to take care of while I'm off at school. Perhaps at some point I'll have my brother take some photos for me so I can post an update. 

Moving forward, I'm looking forward to buying a couple "Tin Can Garden" packages from work so I can grow chocolate habaneros and ghost peppers! I'll keep y'all updated as things change! 

Until next time, 

- Jess

First Pomegranate Pruning

In the time that has passed since my last post about my pomegranate seedling (about a week), it has grown another two inches in height, bringing it to a full foot tall! This means that it is time for me to prune it back to six inches.

The reason I want to prune my pomegranate while it is still so young is so that I can keep it small. Pomegranates are very forgiving when it comes to pruning and shaping, and I plan to take advantage of that. I don't have a lot of room for large fruit trees; my one avocado is large enough! Right now my pomegranate is in a 4-inch pot, and I intend to keep it in that little pot for as long as I can.

Here are a couple photos of it, with a ruler for scale:

   

Here you can get another view of the growth pattern of its leaves. They grow in pairs, on opposite sides of the stem.

A part of me doesn't want to cut it down, because it's worked so hard to get to the height that it is now. But on the other hand, I have to remind myself that pruning is essential if I want to keep this little guy healthy in such a small pot. Plus it'll be exciting once the branches start growing.

And here we go! She's already much sturdier.

Now what to do with the part I cut off? I may just stick it in my nursery pot and see what happens. I'm not sure if pomegranates will grow roots from a stem like that but it's worth it to experiment!

I'll post again in a few weeks once she's begun to grow her branches.

Until next time,

- Jess

Growing Pineapples (It's easier than you think!)

Have you ever seen a pineapple plant? If not, you should google it. They're pretty cool looking. Surprisingly, not a tree. 

Most pineapples that we buy are grown in Hawai'i and other tropical places. I can't remember off the top of my head. What this means is that if you want to grow pineapples for yourself, chances are that you'll need to keep it as a houseplant. That's not an issue though, because the plant itself is quite pretty. In a modern sort of way. 

To begin growing a pineapple, you have to go out and buy one from the grocery store! Make sure to inspect the crowns before picking out which one to buy. If the leaves still look green and fresh, you're good to go. If they're brown and dried, you're out of luck because that baby will never grow. 

Once you're home with your delicious fruit, grab the crown and twist it off the top of the fruit. Set it aside for now and enjoy your golden treat! 

Once you're done with your tasty snack, take a look at the pineapple crown you pulled off. This will eventually be your pineapple plant! To get it ready for planting, pull off the smaller leaves at the bottom until about an inch of stem is revealed. You may see small brown maggot-looking things. Those are roots. Take a look at the image below. 

At this stage, I've read advice to let the crown sit out to dry for a couple days in order to prevent rotting. I haven't ever done that, and my luck has been fine. However if you try this multiple times and have issues with rot, try sitting it out a few days so it can scab over before rooting. This may be helpful especially if you live in a more humid climate. 

Whether you decide to let it scab or not, the next step is to put your crown in a container with a little water in it. I've heard of people using toothpicks to keep it elevated, like for avocado pits, but this isn't necessary if you only have a little water in the glass. 

This rooting-in-water step is also optional. I know other gardeners have had great luck with just shoving the crown in dirt and waiting. Personally, I just like to see the roots growing. It reassures me that it is growing. I would recommend that you also root the crown in water, especially for your first time growing pineapple. 

As you can see above, the crown started sprouting new roots. At this point, I found a small pot (4") and planted my pineapple. 

Newly planted pineapple

Now around 6 months old, it's really coming along! 

The leaves grow from the center, reaching up and out. At the tip of each leaf is a pointy point, and a couple backwards-facing barbs. It's not as bad as a cactus or anything, but you should still be careful around it. This plant is not child-proof by any means. 

A pineapple plant will grow up to three feet tall and wide, so be prepared to transplant it to a larger pot eventually, and to give it the space it needs. 

Pineapples can withstand drought, so if you forget to water it, there's no need to worry. It is part of the bromelaid family, like air plants, which means it absorbs nutrients and water through its leaves. It only does that during the winter though. During the growing season it uses its roots like normal plants. I've learned not to water directly into the crown, because unless it's very hot out, the water will sit there and the new leaves will rot. 

I have two pineapple plants, but so far you've only seen photos of my smaller one. 

Here it is above before it sprouted any roots. 

Roots will be sprouting soon!

There they are! 

Here it is after a bit of growth, sitting on the windowsill. You may notice that I cut the brown, dry tips off of the leaves. It looks nicer this way. More neat and organized. Less dead. 

Here it is making friends with my ginger and Christmas cactus. See how different it looks from the first photo. 

Here's the most recent photo I have of this pineapple, which was about six months ago. It has continued to grow taller and sprout more leaves. It looks much less like a crown and a lot more like its own plant! 

Write a comment below if you have any questions or have had any experience growing pineapples at home. I'd love to hear how it went!

Until next time, 

-Jess

Growing Pomegranate from Seed

Last April, I planted a bunch of seeds from different tropical fruits to see which ones I could grow. This included pomegranate. I think I planted two or three seeds, I got two sprouts, and one has survived and is about 10 inches tall now. 

This is what it looked like as it was first sprouting. It was the first seed to germinate in my nursery pot, where I planted all the tropical seeds. I wasn't sure which plant it was at this point, but I knew I'd never seen a baby like this one. 

Above is a shot of my nursery pot in early June. At the top is the pomegranate with its first set of true leaves. They're long and skinny and really pretty! There's another pomegranate sprout about halfway down the photo, but unfortunately this one never sprouted any true leaves. I was disappointed, but that is what happens when you grow things from seed. Not everything works out all the time. The other babies you see are lemons. I'll get around to posting about all my citrus babies soon! 

Once it had a few sets of true leaves, I transplanted my pomegranate into its own pot. The pot is 4" in diameter, which is plenty big for this guy for now. 

Based on what I've read about growing pomegranate online, they are very forgiving in terms of growth pattern and size. Naturally they grow as a shrub with multiple trunks, but they can be trained into a traditional tree shape with one main trunk, they can be kept at a dwarf size, they can be trained as a topiary, and I've even seen them trained as bonsai. It is funny to see a tiny tree with one giant pomegranate hanging onto it. 

I'm not sure exactly how I want to train mine, but I know I want to keep it as an indoor plant. Being in a transitional period between living with my parents and living on my own, I don't have my own yard. Besides, pomegranates don't grow naturally up north. The winters are too cold. 

I took this photo in the middle of July, I believe. It just keeps growing steadily upward! 

I took this photo today, with a ruler for scale. Its stem is about 10 inches tall. It's crazy how much it's grown in just one summer! (Please ignore the mess in my room... I'm still moving in to my apartment.)

There are little buds at the base of each leaf, which is where branches will eventually grow. I don't know how tall pomegranates grow before they start branching, but I don't have the space or the patience to find out. Once it reaches 12 inches tall, I will prune its height back to six inches. This will not hurt the plant. It will force it to branch out. Also, it will help the plant from becoming leggy and floppy. The trunk/stem has grown a little thicker since it sprouted, but not thick enough to fully support its height. Right now I have it leaning up against the window so it grows nice and straight. 

I will post updates as things change. 

Until next time,

- Jess

Poison Ivy ID and Flowers

If you have ever been unfortunate enough to experience the wrath of poison ivy, I feel your pain. I have gotten the wretched rash from this depraved plant many times in my life. Because of that, I have taken it upon myself to be able to identify poison ivy anytime and anywhere. 

What trips up most people I know is that they don't really know what the heck it looks like. I've been on Boy Scout trips, and these kids think any plant with three leaflets is something to be scared of. Me, I just roll my eyes and point out the actual poison ivy that they're probably stepping on. 

I probably sound like a brat. Sorry, being around some people brings out the worst in me. 

As annoyed as I get sometimes, I always try to ID poison ivy for them so that they may be better equipped in the future to avoid this hellspawn. 

You probably already know about "Leaves of three, leave it be." That's a good rule of thumb if you wanna be super safe. There are other signs however. For example, when it climbs up a tree, it grows a ton of air roots to grab onto the bark. This gives the vine an almost fuzzy look. 

Sometimes the leaves are toothed, sometimes they're smooth. Sometimes the stems are red, sometimes they're not. Honestly it is kind of hard to identify. It really knows how to blend in with other non-irritating plants in the area. 

The photos I have to share with you today consist of a mature Poison Ivy vine growing up a tree. It gives a good look at the leaves, as well as its flowers. 

Flowers?? Yes, flowers. I mean, how else would you expect it to reproduce? True, it is hell-spawn. But that doesn't mean it spawns from nothing like in a video game. Although it sure does seem like it. 

Actually, these flowers, when fertilized, ripen to greenish-whitish berries. I theorize that birds eat the berries. Birds are not affected by capsaicin, the chemical that makes peppers spicy, so I think maybe poison ivy's oils (urushiol) don't affect our avian friends either. Birds' digestive tracts are not acidic like mammals', therefore seeds do not lose their vitality; they don't get digested. They just get pooped out in new location, probably under a tree they can climb up, with a splatter of nice fertilizer to get their growth started. I mean, in regard to evolution, it make sense to me. 

Of course, I may be wrong. It's just my theory. 

Anyway, below here I have another shot of the vine as it climbs up the tree's trunk. You can see how the flowers are in clusters, like how grapes grow. 

Here's a close up of the flowers: 

They're honestly kind of pretty. I mean, they're all green and will curse you for a week if you touch them, but pretty nonetheless. 

Until next time, 

- Jess