It’s Already the End of November

Already the end of November. Everyone is thinking about the holidays. Where to go. What to do. Who to see. Everyone, that is, but the madman. He’s thinking about his seeds. What to order. Who to order from. When to order.

At one time, we would just be getting the first of the seed catalogs around now. During the dark days of winter, we would sit near a cozy fire and check out all the offerings. We would dutifully fill out the order forms, write a check, stick them in an envelope and mail them to the seed companies. Weeks later, an envelope with seed packets would appear in our mailbox. We never worried about the availability of our seeds.

Along Came The Internet

Then the internet came along. We still got our seed catalogs, and spent countless hours checking out the different seed varieties. But, now we could order online. Then COVID came along and, as with everything else things changed. With the lockdowns of 2020, it seemed as if everybody stuck at home wanted to garden and seeds became the new toilet paper. A new phrase entered the online catalogs, “currently unavailable.”

Seeds For 2022

The market remained tight through 2021. We got seeds, but not always the varieties we wanted. Now we are looking to 2022 and wondering about availability. The seed catalogs have started to arrive. And, believe it or not, so have the seeds.

Remember, seeds available for the 2022 season were grown in 2021. Seed growers are busy drying, sorting, packaging and filling orders for the distributors. Seed suppliers are busy inspecting, verifying, sorting and packaging seeds for us. The amount of work that goes into producing that packet of seeds is mindboggling. But, that’s not the madman’s concern. His concern is getting what he wants, especially when it comes to the hot pepper seeds for his Row of Death.

He Likes Them Hot

That 40 ft. row is the madman’s pride and joy. He wants it to contain the hottest of the hot, those varieties that rank at the top of the Scoville Scale. And, you don’t get to the top unless you’re a hybrid. That’s where the madman’s most recent problem started.

When he first started growing hot peppers, he had a few Cayenne Peppers, mostly for hare control – keeping rabbits out of the garden. As you can imagine, this didn’t work, but these pepper plants fascinated the madman and he began collecting hot peppers for the garden. We had Cayenne Peppers, Thai Peppers, Jalapeños and Habaneros. These he started from seed, purchased mostly from seed catalogs, and he patted himself on the back for growing hot peppers.

Ghost Pepper

But, one day, a patient asked him if he had heard about the “discovery” of the Ghost Pepper that was deemed the hottest by the Guinness Book of World Records. Actually, the Ghost Pepper was not “discovered” then. It is a naturally occurring hybrid that has been grown for centuries in India, but was introduced to the West around 2000. It’s status by Guinness was shattered in 2017 when the Carolina Reaper was given the designation of the Hottest Chile Pepper. But, that discussion began the madman’s search for the hottest pepper varieties in the world. That search took him beyond the realm of traditional seed catalogs. And, I always say beyond the realm of common sense.

Lack Of Judgement = Lack Of Control

COVID frustration must have gotten to the madman when he was searching for hot pepper seeds. He came upon a grower offering exciting varieties on eBay. The names were enticing: Dragon’s Breath, Komodo Dragon, Spanish Wasa, 7-Pot Primo to name a few. With a lapse of good judgement, the madman didn’t research the grower, he just clicked “order”. The seeds came in, were planted along with the others and were doing great. But, in July, the madman noticed something troubling – all these varieties looked alike, and all were producing the same long red Cayenne-type peppers. What happened?

Several possibilities came to mind. Maybe the madman’s labeling system was off…not likely in this case. Maybe the grower’s labeling system was off…still not very likely. Perhaps the grower was knowingly selling mislabeled seeds…? But, let’s give him the benefit of the doubt and blame sloppy hybridization for the mix-up. He must have thought his plants were stable, but we don’t really know what happened. We do know that the madman will never buy from him again. And, he assures me he will do more research before buying from a new grower.

Making Hot Hotter

Extremely hot peppers don’t occur in the wild. They are the result of a careful, drawn-out process of hybridization to create a specific trait such as color or size or shape or heat. This breeding process requires the combining of genetic material from two different plants. You know, plant A fertilizes plant B. The resulting seeds are called F1, because they are the first generation created. If you save the seeds from the F1 hybrid, you may get what you are looking for or you may not. Yeah, there’s much more to it than this, but this is it in a nutshell.

It may take ten years of breeding in a very controlled environment to create a stable variety. And, in the madman’s hot pepper purchase something was missing. A very good reason to check up on the grower just to make sure he understands the science he’s playing with.

Hot And Spicy Enters The Mainstream

Fortunately for the madman, people are starting to look for hot and spicy. Hot pepper seeds are entering the mainstream catalogs, making it easier to find different varieties. Unfortunately for the madman, more people will be able to buy one or two plants at the local nursery which will take away some of his mystique. He likes his self-appointed title, “Hot Pepper King of Farmington”, but it may lose some of its charm if hot peppers are grown in every backyard.

Renegade Flowers

I must say that the madman wasn’t alone in discovering seeds that weren’t as expected last year. The white nasturtiums I planted in my Moon Garden bloomed yellow, as did the white marigolds. And, some of the white cosmos were pink. Unlike the madman, I only ordered from established seed companies. My guess is that 2020’s labor shortage took its toll on the seed industry, as it did on everything else. I hope my renegade seeds were just a blip caused by the pandemic. Again, we’ll see.

Since we don’t own a crystal ball, we can’t predict what 2022 will bring. But, the “check for availability” phrase has been turning up in the new seed catalogs. Last year we were closed out of certain favorite varieties due to lack of supply. In each case, the grower offered to substitute comparable seed. This year, we plan to order as early as possible. The madman suggests that you might want to follow his lead in this. Order your seeds early, but hang on to your seed catalogs to read during the dark dreary days of winter. Most of the catalogs contain a wealth of information to help you become a better gardener.

I know the madman’s already ordered his onions from Dixondale Farms. While he starts his potato order, I’ll put on some hot cocoa and start my Christmas shopping.