> " I also want to create a hot pepper landrace by letting all the varieties that I grow cross-pollinate with each other to produce a strain that is adapted to the growing conditions in my area and local climate"

It doesn't works that way. You plant what you plant. The pollen crosses with the other plants you plant. There is no environmental selection going on (unless what you plant just dies).

Now leave the peps on their own for 20 years and come back to see what survived. (In MN, that would be nothing, but stay with me here...) What survived - pure or hybrid - would be the most adapted to its local environment. There is an entire industry built on collecting survivors in graveyards, old farmsteads, etc. (Primarily roses.)

But if you plant and water them, that just ain't gonna happen.

Yes, you don't get local adaption just from a few seasons of cross pollination. It requires a lot more work than that. You want a strain that is more drought tolerant, then you have to grow dozens of plants and not water them, then let all but one or two die from lack of water. The ones that survive you let produce seed and grow a couple dozen out from those and repeat the drought conditions. Do that for a dozen generations or so and you may end up with plants that are slightly more tolerant to drought than what you started with.

What you're going to be doing is natural selection, and that takes harsh conditions and a lot of time. If you are actively watering them, feeding them, spraying them, etc, then you will not get any localization of your strain as you are removing the evolutionary pressures.

Remember, it takes a minimum of 8 generations just to stabilize a new strain to weed out the genetic variances, and that is AFTER you get it to where you want it to be. So yeah, to create a new strain of pepper that is adapted to your local conditions in any meaningful way is going to be one of those life's work kind of deals.

> "Should I attribute variances to sloppy growing techniques due to human interference or is much of it due to the amazing diversity and adaptation of the pepper?"

Neither. There are subtle differences in the environment of each plant, and sometimes not-so-subtle difference between the plants themselves. And that is within the same strain! Between strains there's not much accounting.

> "Should I consider saving seed in separate sub-categories ... The main reason I am a bit anal regarding pure strains is that I believe I have a strong local market... "

The first generation's fruits will have the characteristics of the seeds that you planted. Any seeds that you save and plant may be crosses, unless you take great care that the previous generation only self-pollinated.

If you want pure strains, then overwinter your existing plants or buy seeds from a dealer that is as anal about it as you are.

DMForcier, Edymnion - Thanks for your replies. I now realize my ideas are obviously unrealistic. I just thought that based on all the variations I have been seeing, maybe peppers are by nature highly alterable and adaptable. I figured if I do the opposite of my isolation efforts and let them cross every season I might get a pepper variety more suited to my needs and wants. What I really desire are super hots that would be dwarfed and would produce earlier for use in shorter growing seasons. Obviously desirable traits for up here in Minnesota.

I still have the question of why I am seeing so much variation in the varieties - is this normal? Or is this the result of growers I received the seed from not isolating properly over one, several, or many generations? My seeds this season came from several commercial sources as well as several hobby growers, so this can not be blamed on one disreputable seller.

Examples of variation I am seeing:

I have a tobasco chili plant that is larger than the norm, has larger immature yellow pods rather than green, pods are maturing later, has darker foliage. Plant is vibrant and healthy.

Some of my chocolate hab plants have pointed pods, some have smooth round pods, another one has large oblong roundish fluted pods. All nice healthy plants similar in size and appearance.

Most of my caribbean reds have the classic hab-shape pods, but two plants have larger oblong round pointy pods (which are much more desirable to me).

The dorsets and bhuts are all over the place regarding sizes and shapes of pods. Some have light green to yellow-green immature pods that mature to orange, most have nice dark green immature pods that mature to red. All pods have that nice wrinkled appearance. All plants are healthy.

I do not mean to make a big deal about this. I have been growing sweets and chilies for years but I am new to growing the super hots and I just do not understand why I am seeing so much variation, and I am wondering if this is the norm or what. Also, I do not know what to do regarding seed saving and from which plants to harvest seed and how to categorize.

Thanks for any input,
-Tom

soilent:

Click on the link below and scroll down about half way down the page. Bruce showed me a great to save seed without putting great distances between plants.

Here is a link that might be useful: saving seed

> "I just do not understand why I am seeing so much variation, and I am wondering if this is the norm or what."

I don't have much experience with the super-hots. But from hanging out here, it seems the norm that what you think you are buying and what you actually get are different. This makes sense if you consider a) there is quite a demand for relatively rare varieties; b) true seeds are hard to produce, and no one can tell for sure that a seed is true or a cross until you grow it; c) there is much profit to be made; d) many buyers have never seen a super-hot and wouldn't know one way or the other. Thus there is incentive to supply something, even it is not quite as advertised.

So yes, I do believe that you are getting non-pure seeds from your various sources. Certainly easier to believe that than that the varieties self-mutate (or whatever).

woohooman, that's a good thread. I'll have to take some time and read it.