Alberto's Locoto Peppers

[smallblueplanet]

Ooooopppppssss!



The OH has just come back in and said that the Albertos were indeed black seeds cos it bought to mind Grandma's quote 'when it's brown it's done and when its black its b*ggered!'

Sorry.

[zazen999]

phew

*wipes brow

I seriously thought I was losing my marbles then....I can even remember sitting there and packing them up for you.

[Seahorse]

Thank goodness for that! As a recipient of Zazen's Alberto's and the source of SPB's Oranges, I was desperately trying to remember what looked like what and why and wondering whether any of it was my fault

[smallblueplanet]

Oy!!! Who rattled your cage??? I feel daft enough!

[Twang20]

Beautiful plant Zazen, Im growing this variety but mine hasnt fruited yet.
All (or 99.9%) of C. Pubescens varieties have black seeds, and yes they do have a sprawling habit and like to take over a bit, look at this one...

This is called Turbo Pube it certainly lives up to it's name. I made the mistake of putting it in a DWC hydroponics system. At 4 months old it is about 7ft tall and 8ft wide. Still yet to set fruit.

[zazen999]

Yikes.

I put mine back outdoors around the end of Feb, after it's 3 months indoors. It is now growing more new leaves, but no flowers yet. It seems quite robust though...just keep it out of the hard frosts and in the sun and it seems quite happy.

[Leif]

I was intrigued to discover this thread as I too grew some Alberto's Locoto, from Vida Verde, which I think is now known as Real Seeds. One of my plants is in year 3 or 4. It is very productive, with about 20 tomato sized pods, and more flowers starting to set fruit. It seems to be an early producer and not that hot.

Here is a photo taken about 1 month ago:

Rocoto growing on a window sill.

The plant on the left is a Piri Piri.

[SarzWix]

Hi Leif, welcome to the Vine

Your fruits don't look anything like the fruits I had on My Alberto's Locoto plants Mine were much more elongoated than that, and slightly 'flattened'. Yours looks more like a Cherry Bomb type? Does it have hairy leaves and purple flowers?

[Leif]

Yes, they have purple flowers, black seeds, hairy leaves, and a sprawling growth habit. Last year the pods were more like you describe, but this year for some reason they are more like tomatoes or small apples in shape. It could be age, or something about the soil. Perhaps acidity/alkalinity has an effect. There is also some variation in the seeds I got. One plant was very sprawling, the other less so. I kept the less sprawling one.

[SarzWix]

How odd
Mine were all sprawlers, the ones in the tunnel border ended up being almost ground cover for the more upright peppers I was growing.

[smallblueplanet]

Here's a picture of my Albertos Locoto, grown from seed this year. Will try and overwinter it I hope.

- now, with chillies

- mid april

[Leif]

You should definitely over winter it if you can. Mine has produced more this year than in the previous years, and the pods are larger.

[zazen999]

Here's a picture of my Albertos Locoto, grown from seed this year. Will try and overwinter it I hope.

Is this from the brown seeds, or the black ones?

[smallblueplanet]

Is this from the brown seeds, or the black ones?

I didn't think you could get rocoto seeds that weren't black?

[Leif]

I don't think the flavour is anything special, about on a par with Japapeno etc, though when dried it does become more intense and unusual.