Ryan Emory

I’m in the Sacramento valley of California which might explain the large plants because of such a long growing season. I’ve been nervous to water much more than that as the plants keeping dying even though the soil is moist. I’m starting to pinpoint the problem to crown rot, I think I may have planted a few of the plants a bit deep and I put mulch around the base of them which allowed bugs to get at the crown. I’ve removed the mulch now so only time will tell which ones make it. I’ve got 50 plants and 5 down so far. Looks like another 5 got eaten completely around the base but the plants are still alive. Doesn’t sound like they will make it much longer without their bark/cambium layer though.

Hey May, thanks for the response. Part of me is wondering if I am suffering from some sort of rot. I’ve had it happen to 3 other plants, and when I dig them up there tends to be shoots coming off the roots below the ground but the main rootball appears a bit rotten as well as the crown. Im just having a hard time addressing the issue because they are dying so quickly. I had mulch around the bases of the plant which I think might be contributing to some damage from bugs which I have now moved away as a precaution. I am maybe watering once a month currently even though we are in a 110+ Fahrenheit heatwave. I’m having a hard time striking a balance between keeping the soil moist enough and not too wet. The main problem being is there is a list of possible factors causing this, I’m just not sure how to narrow it down. Any help removing some of those factors would be much appreciated!

I’ve had my plants in the ground for about 3 months now, second year plants from seed. Every once in a while one of the plants quickly dies overnight. Looks like the attached picture. Not sure where I’m going wrong with this, it’s such a quick death it’s hard to reverse it. Thanks

I have around 50 plants that I put in the ground this spring in CA. I’ve noticed that 3 ave had their leaves turn yellow and fall off. Soil is moist, not sure if it’s too moist… any thoughts as to what it might be? Thanks

Here is variety that I first talked about that produces a lot of smaller berries that don’t taste too good.

These are the two different varieties I have. The one with more foliage produces smaller berries that taste more like a bitter pepper and when dried turn a very dark color. The second variety picture is the one I get from seed that produces larger berries that taste good fresh and dry.

I am trying to figure out if the the one with more foliage will every produce berries like the second variety or if it might be worth not harvesting that one.

Yes, I had a good success rate with the ones from seed. I started them on a heat mat around March and kept them inside for the first 6 weeks. They’ve taken off like weeds ever since. Most are about 5 feet tall now and 1/2” dia stalks. I’m out in California where growing conditions are pretty ideal, hoping for a much larger crop next year.

Hey May, I have about 50 plants of the variety that you have shown. The berries tend to be smaller and have a very bitter taste when fresh. Once dried they turn almost a blackish color and the flavor gets a little better but still slightly bitter. I purchased this variety at the store and have used cuttings to get to the number of plants I’m at now.

The second variety, I grew from seed from a bag of berries I had bought. The berries on this variety tend to be much larger and sweeter. Not nearly as many berries but the ones I get are good. They are only on the first year from seed this March so I figured I wouldn’t start to see a big crop yet. These ones dry out much better and retain a more reddish color.

Thanks

Anyone have good instructions on drying these berries? I’ve got two varieties, one with long narrow leaves and one with shorter leaves. The long narrow ones produce big berries that are easy to dry but the ones with the shorter leaves always turn black when I dry them. What might I be doing wrong. Any help is appreciated.