LOL- there’s a book called “The $64 Tomato” that I can totally identify with. The author put WAY more work into his garden that I ever have, though.
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Kinda relieved I’m not the only mint killer-
The nurseries here carry every kind EXCEPT lime mint, which is my favorite.
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If you live in a hot dry climate, mint is going to be a challenge. Mint likes:
•Moist soil
•A pH near or above pH7. Many potting soil brands are too acidic.
•Long day length during the production stage. This is at odds with winter growing unless you trick the plants with artificial light to extend the day length. Mint bolts, goes to seed as day length shortens.
•Long-term, most mints need a cold winter for their dormancy. I don’t know if mint can avert dormancy if the day length were maintained at, say, 13 hours.
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My mint is taking over. Little 4 inch pot in June. Around 18 inches in diameter right now. And I planted it in a shady spot
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Nope! Guess I will keep buying it! . Thank you!
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I bat .500 with mint. One year I get a mint hedge, the next year it turns brown and keels over.
See also: rosemary.
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My rosemary is always okay, but my tarragon dies before I have any to use most years.
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My enormous 5’ wide tarragon I brought home and potted up is struggling big time currently. But then, it’s supposed to be 109 today, so I’ll be struggling if I go outside as well.
I used to think rosemary was bulletproof, but they’re hurting right now, too. DH keeps buying rosemary and potting it up, my thought is that it doesn’t care for being in a pot.
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I recommend this book. It will help you feel less alone. Lol. Not all of us have giant garden bounties. Some of us are just trying to squeak a few harvests out of the many many plants planted.
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This first “Baron” poblano was picked, but not by me.
Whatever picked it, left it nearby, and I roasted it. Tasty, but I was hoping it would have perceptible heat, and it did not.
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I’ve grown both Tarragon and Rosemary in pots, even training the Rosemary into “standards”, a single long stem/trunk with a pruned ball on top. They need very well-drained soil that doesn’t stay too wet. The pH needs to be near neutral to slightly alkaline, pH 7-7.5. Adding chicken grit (“grower” size), coarse sand or perlite can help with drainage and less water retention. Granular or powdered dolomitic limestone can help with pH.
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Curious about the mystery harvester; maybe a raccoon? Once the Poblano turns brown, it may have some heat. If it turns red, it’s likely an Ancho; but by the shape, it looks longer, like a true Poblano.
There’s a lot of misinformation out there saying that Poblano and Ancho are the same; one is dried while the other is fresh. Having grown both for decades, they are different peppers. The Ancho types I’ve grown were red, not as long, hotter, and the bushes shorter than Poblano. Here, Poblanos, which mature brown, take almost a month longer before harvest.
How are/is the Charapita?
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My rosemary that has lasted a good 10 years or so in a pot is finally giving up the ghost. I had to split and prune this year (I’ve already split, pruned and re-potted at least 3x in the past) due to it getting root bound, but the plant has always grown too fast for the size of the pot and I don’t have a spot for another giant pot indoors when it’s time to drag it back inside. Well this year, it finally decided it was too much and has slowly turned brown and into twigs. There are a few green sprigs at the top, but it’s I don’t think there’s any hope of saving this thing.
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It’s very cute, and it’s had buds and flowers for a few weeks, but I can’t tell if it’s setting fruit.
Some of the others
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The leaves in the top photos look a whole lot like those of chiltepins. What do they look like when mature?
My five year old chiltepin finally croaked. Need to bust open some saved fruits and try to grow them
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This is my first time growing them and I had the same question! I think there’s some answers or pictures uptrend. Some of the answers were from @bogman, who gave me the seeds!
ETA it looks like my questions were about Sugar Rush Peach, which I am also growing for the first time. Frankly, I didn’t think this Aji Charapita was going to make it!
I found this online.
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Here’s what the 2019 Charapita looked like around mid September, when they loaded up with peppers.
By this time, the leaves were falling off and the plants put their energy into hundreds of small peppers. They have a complex flavor, coupled with plenty of heat!
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I found this here; “Aji Charapita Guide: Heat, Flavor, Uses” on Pepper Scale
"How does aji charapita compare to chiltepin?
Aji charapita are sometimes called “tepin-like” and for good reason. Both it and chiltepin are wild chilies that only recently have been cultivated for commercial purposes. Where aji charapita are Peruvian, chiltepin are North American – the only chili native to that region. They share a similar lilliputian size and grow by the hundreds on bushy plants. There are some many similarities, but two distinct differences: Chiltepin are roughly double the heat (50,000 to 100,000 SHU) and nowhere near as fruity."
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