Last year I grew JalapenoM and Jalapeno Early. People have told me that they are the same thing, but to me the JalapenoM tasted much better in stir fry and such. Early ones were too mild and almost flavorless. Both are better tasting if you let them get red.

Jalapeño M is a good one. The Biker Billy is a good one too, but even though sold as a mid-season variety is usually late for me and seeds need to be started now. In zone 4 I would grow in a container and plan to overwinter it for 2008. Cross Country Nursery sells the plants at $3 ea. It might be that my BB plants don't get enough direct sun in my garden spot and is why so late.

And darned if I don't have a big red ripe pod that needs picking today. "gloat>

Here is a link that might be useful: Biker Billy

Is that it? I don't know what Jalapeno M is, is that the name I search under?
I would like an early variety to go along with the "best" variety.

These will be grown in pots if that is any help.

Keep in mind I really know nothing about hot peppers, other than I like them.

Changeling

biker billy is the hottest jalapeno out there but i agree with showme about being late in season ,but i like them above all others check out the link he gave you
dan
let it burn

> Is that it? I don't know what Jalapeno M is, is that the name I search under?

First off... thank you, gardenkiller for your excellent suggestion of Jalapeño M.
Secondly... yes, Changeling, that is the name you should search under.

Biting my tongue here.

What does the remark "Biting my tongue here" supposed to mean? Did you mean that in a derogatory way?

I had a similiar experience to gardenkiller, I found JalapenoM to be tasteless and heatless unless totally ripe. My plants grew great and were loaded with peppers but the flavor and heat were so poor until the very end of the season (despite the green pods being full size much earlier) that I couldn't use them for anything. Hopefully they work better for you.

SeattleCory, thanks very much for your reply.
It wouldn't have hurt these jerks to have told the truth, but they opted instead to be facetious and see if they could ruin my peppers again this year. I certainly hope the forum moderator is aware of there type of behavior, maybe he can send them on there way.

SeattleCory can you recommend a great variety of Jalapeno that I can grow in pots on my deck.
Thank you, Changeling

If you don't mind hybrids, I am partial to Mucho Nacho. They are very large with very good flavor and hotter than most Jalaps.

> It wouldn't have hurt these jerks to have told the truth, but they opted instead to be facetious and see if they could ruin my peppers again this year. I certainly hope the forum moderator is aware of there type of behavior, maybe he can send them on there way.

I'm in total agreement. Moderator... bring it on!!! Get rid of the jerks! Where is Disney when we want it???

Individual plants of identical species/varieties/siblings vary. I've grown Biker Billy plants that had almost zero heat and others that blew me away. Even on the same plant individual pods can greatly vary in heat. My theory is that ambient temperature at time of pollination plays a part. Temperature can determine sex of turtles, marijuana plants and I think humans. Pods vary. Plants vary. Face it.

JohnT

Not trying to start problems but who was being a jerk. I was sharing my personal preference with you based on my limited experience. Sorry if you took something the wrong way, but I think I must have missed something here!?

I grew Jalapeno Early as well as Mucho Nacho and found the Muchos do indeed tend to be larger and somewhat hotter, but the Jal. Early were much more prolific to the point that every plant required staking early on. They also were incredibly hot, though the scorching summer here my have had something to do with it. I will definitely be planting them again this season.

Animoosh

changeling i think you should read all the post again . no one was being a jerk they all just gave you there opinionand that is all and i do agree with johnt that every pod on the same plant is different been growing chillis for 35 years.
dan

let it burn

Well he does seem to be an expert on some things, like temperature and sex changes. But if you can't see that he was leading me into a variety that definitely had bad problems (Biting my tongue here) , then maybe you should reread the posts! Jalapeno M seems to have some serious problems with even small hobby growers.
However it is evident you are friends with this individual so anything I say is going to fall on deaf ears.
Have a nice day.
Changeling

do not know him other then reading his posts but i do not know what he meant by that remark just cannot see how he was leading you on . any how do not use the m never have all ways used biker billy never had any bad ones
good luck
dan
let it burn

changeling

you posted a question for a recomendation and got different responses from different people, experienced and amateur alike. i gave you my honest preference for jalapeno m. it was in my garden last year and will return this year. everyone is allowed their opinion, and for you to go nuts on people for giving you an opinion you don't like when you asked for it in the first place is rediculous. everyone here is just trying to help everyone else along.

Changeling:

I do hope you are having a good day and I do hope that I am about to ruin it for your "single, Extremely handsome, Rich, Great personality" self. You are the self-serving JERK here.

You donÂt know me from your buXX crack and that is all the better for me...I was an active member of this Forum many moons ago, pre-IVillage, and bailed for many reasons, one being idiots like you. Since then, I now belong to a very comfortable, private Forum that has no time for pea brains like you that just because they do not comprehend what folks are saying has to call somebody giving an honest opinion, that YOU asked for, a jerk.

I have personally known JohnShowMe USA for many years, met him at this Forum and have traveled many miles to meet him in person. I have learned more from him than you could ever comprehend. I am so appalled by your insult to him that you have brought me out of lurkdom to express my disdain for you as I risk forever again being sent to Disney. The risk is well worth it.

All JohnShowMe USA was trying to say (and you would have understood if you had taken time to read all of the posts with an open mind ie "I need a recommendation"), is that "one manÂs ceiling is another manÂs floor" and to consider cultural and physiological variances could result in better or worse results for others amongst the varieties, hence "biting my tongue here". Afterall, you had already admitted to failure.

To keep this on topic. I have grown Billy Biker with no luck and since then have decided not to grow Jalapenos...why should I waste valuable grow space to grow something I can reap at the market for .50 to .79 per pound for really nice fresh pods.

So there, in my opinion, I could turn around a call YOU a JERK just because you want to grow Jalapenos. But I wonÂt. Not for that reason, at least.

Maybe your lack of insight is why you are so afraid of failure once again this year in your chile garden....and not by fault of others.

I will also add that this post is prepared and posted on my own accord and that there had been no prior dicussion with my fore mentioned friend, nor does he have any prior knowledge of this post.

I remain,
Beth in Texas and most surely off to Disney now. YIPPEEE!

Where is this magical Disney place of which you speak? Mean (to be read excellent)post Beth! Keep on keepin' on John!!
tom...

Amen

Beth,

...."To keep this on topic. I have grown Billy Biker with no luck and since then have decided not to grow Jalapenos...why should I waste valuable grow space to grow something I can reap at the market for .50 to .79 per pound for really nice fresh pods."....

So because these "lesser" peppers are widely available at a low price are we to assume that they're somehow not worthy of our attempts to grow them? It is somehow more satisfying to propagate plants that are less well known and therefore in some sort of different and superior "league?" Though I can not understand nor defend Changeling's reason to rant, I likewise fail to grasp the reasoning behind the apparent elitism that his remarks are countered with. Very sad all the way around. And oh, yeah, some of the "elite" peppers sell for pretty cheap around here too....just yesterday I saw fresh Scotch Bonnet Reds and Oranges as well as Orange Habaneros for 1.79 and 1.89 per pound respectively.....almost not worth growing for that price!

Animoosh

animoosh

I don't think it is elitism but practicality. She has a cheap ready source of them. Most of us have limited space and can grow only so much. I grow all kinds of vegetables but don't grow carrots because the work of growing them is not worth it when they are cheap in the store. That frees up space to grow other things which aren't cheap at the grocery.

John

John,

If indeed the reasoning behind her posting is merely practicality, then I guess I can somewhat understand. I have a yard site that is nearly two acres in size so room is not a factor for me.....something I tend to take for granted. But regardless of area, I don't cultivate hot peppers with the sole purpose in mind of saving money. I do however, grow them because I truly like their form, function and beauty. This sense of gratification comes as easily with a nice plump, red-ripe Jalapeno as it does with the most exotic types of Chinenses or Baccatums. I thoroughly enjoy them all. Also, when I think of all the extra time and monies that I lavish on the peppers when compared to other vegetables I grow, the end results are hardly a bargain (at least the way I am prone to do things!)

Animoosh

Animoosh

You are reading things into my words that I did not state. I never inferred that there were "lesser" peppers, "elite" peppers nor a superior league. I was only attempting to demonstrate to Changeling that we all have our own row to hoe with our own set of conditions, circumstances and preferences. I was truly put off by Changeling doggin someone with experience (and yes, a dear friend) that was offering their opinion directly related to the subject of the thread.

So I will elaborate so as not to offend the Jalapeno growers:
1) I have a set amount of grow space and given the opportunity to grow a unique variety of chile, for example, a C baccatum from Guyana, a C frutescens from Costa Rica or a C. annuum from Oaxaca, I will choose to grow those vs. a Jalapeno that I can economically purchase to serve my purpose. Jalapenos are great but I have to draw the line somewhere...and they are a variety I cull for my grow out. Not to worry, they were not the only variety one to be left out.
2) My purpose for Jalapeno is to make chipotle and my definite preference of Jalapeno is fully ripe red pods, regardless of heritage. My deep freeze is full of de-stemmed and de-seeded red Jals I purchased for .79 and they are just waiting to go up in pecan smoke.
3) I have the benefit of a long grow season so I have a greater opportunity to grow long season varieties vs the shorter season Jalapeno. I take advantage of that opportunity.
4) I prefer Fresno over the Jalapeno and am growing it this season.
5) I do not grow hybrids unless it holds some special attraction to me.
6) ""just yesterday I saw fresh Scotch Bonnet Reds and Oranges as well as Orange Habaneros for 1.79 and 1.89 per pound respectively.....almost not worth growing for that price!""
That is exactly my point!

There should be no battle over what anybody wants to grow. ItÂs like some folks like white bread, some folks like wheat bread, some folks like rye bread, etc. Chiles know no class system, they just want to grow if we give them the TLC they are looking for and quite often, they will grow anyway. Sometimes we have to do some trial and error exercises to find what works best and what we truly like. That all part of the fun of being a "chile farmer".

Beth in Texas

Beth,

Good to hear from you. After reading your last post I realize that I reacted poorly to what I had read earlier....I did indeed read more into your words than you had intended. For being a little trigger-happy, I apologize. In this northerly climate even a good crop of Jalapenos constitutes a victory most years and if one is successful at growing out the later season varieties it is considered a real bonus.

At the risk of starting a new thread, you mention that you prefer growing Fresnos over Jalapenos. Are they as hot as the Jals and are they fairly thick fleshed? I have heard of this type but have been unsure of their characteristics.

Freezing in Manitoba...........Animoosh

Changeling's comment "but they opted instead to be facetious and see if they could ruin my peppers again this year" bothers me a lot.

So much of the end results depend of the growing conditions; soil, temperature, humidity, fertilizers, location etc, that in my mind it is totally absurd to blame that someone ruined other oneÂs peppers by recommending a certain variety.

When I planted bell peppers first time in my newly established garden, I got really bad crop, and still I did not go blaming my hairdresser, who recommended me to buy the plants from a certain place. I later found out that I did a novice mistake and used too much nitrogen and our sandy soil dried too fast.

I do not really prefer jalapenos over other hot peppers, so I have not grown many kinds of them and can not compare the plants, because different types were grown during different seasons. I do like Beth does and let my jalapenos ripen, so I can make chipotle. Last season I grew Fesnos and found them ripening sooner than Early Jalapenos, I liked the taste of the red Fresnos more than the jalapenos. I do also like many hungarian hot peppers, because they seem to ripen in our area better than the jalapenos. And I agree with Beth about the hybrids, growing open pollinated heirloom peppers and tomatoes is addictive.

So what I would recommend to Changeling is to try different varieties in different types of soils and with different fertilizers. It takes years and you may get sometimes disappointments, but this way you will find what works best for you.

I havent posted on this forum for years, but I feel as though I need to thank JohnT for his invaluable help over the years in getting me started on this wonderful hobby and his assistance in some of my more searching enquirys and ongoing projects

Changeling: if you ask the question and the answer dosent appear to be what you expect I am sure if you ask further questions the information you will receive will be invaluable to you. A comment like "is that it?" is bound to get a similar response from most people, and some a lot ruder

On the topic of your enquiry I have grown a variety of jals and have liked what I grew short season, long season names are unimportant as they were all good (and most are mentioned above) One I would avoid is a large jalapeo type called "maxijala" it was tasteless and had little or no heat even when fully ripe. This could off course been down to growing conditions or weather, but thats a risk YOU take.
One mans beer is another mans champagne! (cheesy quote) as they say. If you dont like what you grew last year grow something else this season

Ian

Wow, I have no further comments on the issue on this thread except to say John T is a great guy, ALWAYS helpful, generous, etc. Sharing one's experiences should never be a bad thing. Remember the stock market addage...."past performance is not indicative of future results." Two years ago my Puriras did wonderful, last year pathetic. Why? Hell if I no. I was bummed out though.

I figure if I grow 100 varieties of hot peppers, I'll be happy w/something each year. Cerazy mentality, but I like it. :)

Chris

Ok. I agree that growing Peppers that you cannot get readily in the local store is a good idea. I am restricted to about 30 pots (mostly 12 inch, and some 14 inch). I did pretty much readily available peppers last year, and this year I am going to try some other peppers. Next year, I might go all out and just plant "exotic" seeds. But, I did form a plan a while back to plant Jalapeno M, jalapeno Early and Biker Billy Hybrid as an experiment. I really want to see the difference for myself. Jalapenos are just a great little snack, and definitely pretty spicy to me right off the plant.

It seems from my packets that Jalapeno M's take the longest (72-75 days), Biker Billy next (66 days) and Jalapeno Early the least time (60-65). I'll start all of them in about a week from now. I'll take daily photographs of all of them until everybody has at least one Pepper turning red. This will at least give me excellent comparisons (I have a good 7 Mega-Pixel camera, so it will be easy to go back and see exactly when I could have potentially harvested some (green)). I am sure that I'll have some plants developing faster than the other similar plant, so I harbour no illusion of getting this exactly right. In the end, I'll grill a random handful of each, then blend them into coctails and see which one is the hotter and which one has the best taste overall.

From the sound of some of the expert growers in this forum, I am definitely thinking the Biker Billy sounds like a good candidate to take top honors.

It's going to be fun! :)