Each year, I add some new varieties that you have requested or that I particularly enjoyed. Thanks to other chile growers, I did lots of seed swapping the last two years and discovered many delightful new varieties. To make room in the catalog, I may eliminate the listing for some varieties. Depending on how the season's seed-saving goes, I may have a low seed supply for some chiles. If you are looking for a particular chile from a past season and don't see it in the catalog, just let me know. Chances are that I am still growing it.
I can never predict which chiles will be the most popular. Peruvian and Portuguese chiles have skyrocketed in popularity. There has been a noticeable upswing of interest in container gardening so I grew out many types in the greenhouse and selected the best for this year's catalog.
My plants always have been and always will be organically grown. I prefer not to grow hybrids and like the superior taste of the open-pollinated varieties. Keeping heirloom seeds alive and viable is the key to preserving our genetic diversity. The flooding that wiped out my 1998 crop really drove home the point of how fragile an indivdual seed bank can be. Large commercial companies focus more and more on hybrids that reduce the varieties that home gardeners can try, especially if they wish to try their hand at seed saving. With all the recent controversy surrounding patented and bioengineered seed, I am more than ever committed to preserving and sharing open-pollinated chile seeds. Although I do not sell seeds, I am always willing to trade. If you are looking for a favorite type of pepper or are fondly remembering a chile from a past family garden, please let me know. I will do my best to track it down and make it available to chile lovers everywhere.
Chile names are very confusing and as varied as the chiles themselves. A chile that goes by one name in one country and a different name in another may still be the same chile. I have tried to list chiles under their most common name. Sometimes I receive unidentified and unnamed chile seeds. If I can not match them to a known chile, I take the liberty of making up my own name. If you grow one of my plants and it reminds you of something else, please let me know. Let's all help each other clear up some of this confusing chile nomenclature.
Here's to a good growing season!
