Apologies if I should be contacting @anna directly, or posting this in a different part of the forum. Feel free to delete or move as appropriate…
I plan to contribute some Capsicum seeds, and had some questions:
I’m growing in the humid tropics of Hawai’i. Are my seeds still desired, since almost everyone seems to be selecting for genetics that work in cold climates?
For the 2024 Seed Program, you were acceptingCapsicum baccatum, but that species isn’t listed at the 2025 Contributing Seeds page. Do you no longer want those? (I have a few ‘Aji omnicolor’ seeds I could share.)
I had in my head that somewhere (perhaps in the thinkific course) it was recommended to separate hot and sweet varieties by at least 30’. The 2025 Contributing Seeds page specifies 20’ or more. To confirm, is 20’ adequate for contributions?
Hey Norris. You mentioned me, so i’m seeing this, and that’s what matters.
YES! your seeds are still welcome. Strong seeds are strong seeds, and tend to do well in various tough conditions. Our aim is diversity. And there are definitely other tropical growers interested in peppers!
baccatum seeds are also accepted. In the last couple years I have grouped the different hot pepper species together in a single mix. Most contributions tend to be annuum, but other species are welcome as long as they are identified.
20’ isolation should be fine. These guidelines are hard to set when so much depends on climate, pollinators, what else is going on in those 20 or 30 feet. Use your best judgement as a grower – if you feel confident that the likelihood of crossing is slim to none, then go ahead and submit them.
LMK if I missed anything or you have other questions.
For next year, could I submit Capsicum baccantum seeds I got from Dried Internatioanl Grocery Store Peppers (Aji amarillo & Aji panca)? Seeds are viable but since I have no land for my seeds to adapt to, is it still okay to send them in for others with land to do what I couldn’t?
It would be a shame not to get these genetics into people landraces only because I can’t garden (That’s what other seed stewards told me about submiting seeds from the grocery store, even if they’re rare & not common).
Same question extends to Capsicum annum types, I have like ~20 different cultivars (Many of them rare & not easily available online).
Also in theory baccantum x annum hybrids welcome?
Are you also excepting Black Seeded Peppers (Capsicum pubecens)? Very different species that aren’t crossable with Capsicum annuum or Capsicum baccantum.
Yes, hybrids are welcome, and we have included pubecens in the “spicy” mix in the past as well.
We do want to avoid grocery store seeds in general across this Seed Share program. I recommend finding someone in the community who would like to grow these out to then contribute seed for the program. There are some really interesting things available at international groceries, and not everyone has access to those. You might seek out specific growers, or include them (appropriately labeled) in the serendipity seed swap.
I’m growing Aji Amarillo and several others I can share next year. I have an Aji de Colorado Alpino and Aji Lemon Drop that I’ve been adapting for several years. I’m going to plant them densely with a bunch of new genetics to try to start a grex this season (trying to find some early ripening plants by planting hundreds.)
I’d love to see a baccatum only option on the seed share! How much seed would you need to make it an option? I can contribute a significant amount of 10+ varieties if I know to save it.
Excellent question. We might be able to do a baccatum only mix next year with a cup or more of seed. As the pepper steward, I’m 100% in favor of this. As the seed program coordinator (whose personal spaces is currently overtaken by the 59 different seed options we are offering this year), I’m a little wary of promising new mixes. But let’s say highly likely we can do that if there’s enough seed.
Well I did put my Aji amarillo & Aji panca in the serpendipity box.
That’s why I wanted to trade with gardeners here, I wanted to get these rare seeds into the hands of gardeners who have land to grow them on. It’s also a reason I did the Serendipity Box.
So as I understand the GTS Seed mixes aren’t direct grexs, but at least 1 generation of grown out in U.S. soils? I’ve heard others say it’s on a Seed Steward by Steward basis which each seed steward decides if Grocery Store Peppers are included or not.
If I become the Vigna Seed Steward, can I accept Grocery Store Seeds (Especially from very rare Vigna)?
It’s just without land the only seeds I have to submit are Grocery Store Seeds & Wild Edibles. Everywhere else I planted got sprayed by Herbicides or Killed by Deer. I really really tried.
I do but I also have friendly Squirrels who like to Dig out my plants & Groundhogs eat my plants . I even tried taping up Black Berry Stems around to the point to discourage them, it didn’t work. Next I made a Thorny Blackberry Stem Mulch so squirrels would stop, nope. The Fox is not doing it’s job, he Lazy .
Maybe if I could negotiate with the Groundhog, I tried to feed him leftover bread. He ate that than still went after my plants
My neighbors threw leftover pizza slices, so At least I got a good show . It ain’t all bad.
Maybe the Toxic Solanaceae Pepper Leaves will be enough to disinterest him but nah, it gotta taste like Onion, Spicebush or Garlic Mustard to dis-interest him .
Maybe, if my HOA is cool with that or if I know where to get netting/chicken wire.
I really hope they don’t go after my peppers, maybe that will be the only crop I can grow in pots.
Spicy Chilie powder maybe, but there would be a lot of reapplying. I might try that this year. Would I just sprinkle it on the parts he wants to eat? I still feel squirrels will dig reguardless unless I sprinkle the walnut they planted with pepper.
I’ve had walnuts they “planted” germinate in spring in that pot until the squirrel took out a sprouting walnut to “eat”? How I thought even sprouting walnuts aren’t edible even for squirrels?
I germinated a bunch of Bur Oak acorns in a ziploc bag with some peat moss. It was on a table on my back porch. Found the bag ripped open in the yard and all the acorns gone.
Makes me think maybe at the germination stage they taste better/smell stronger (obviously enough to be smelled through a closed plastic bag).
It seems like a lot of animals tolerate, and even benefit from, high tannin food sources.
I remember reading something about it but can’t remember what the specific benefits were. I believe it may be that tannins helped fight/reduce parasites.
Most of my research has been related to deer and a large amount of their preferred food sources are high tannin.
It would be interesting to see if they choose the high tannin or low tannin option when given a choice.
I have no idea on if using those as microgreens would require cooking.
Interesting, so maybe tannins in foods are like a control against parasites for animals? Maybe that’s why they eat it, I know Deer sometimes eat weird foods as a medicine when they feel off.
Toona sinensis seems to be a tree micro-green that doesn’t require cooking.
Yeah Sepp Holzer talks a lot about the benefits of allowing different “poisonous” plants and traditionally undesired weeds to grow for livestock to browse as needed for medicinal purposes.
. I even tried taping up Black Berry Stems around to the point to discourage them, it didn’t work. Next I made a Thorny Blackberry Stem Mulch so squirrels would stop, nope. The Fox is not doing it’s job, he Lazy 
.
