> John T's (thanks again) oddball stuff had a near 100% germination rate (60 plants) Oddball? Hey, I resemble that remark! Glad to hear of the good germination, Jim. I'm hoping that those C. pubs do well in your climate. It's a tad warm for them here in Missouri and many of them won't set pods in July/August. PaulK The NorthEast ChileMan had fantastic production last summer from his and even after acknowledging his awesome gardening skills think that the cooler clime had something to do with it. Not sure if you used any of the C. eximium I sent you or not, but one of them turned out to be an early bloomer and already has pod set from a March 12 seed start: http://www.fototime.com/DD07B341B7C980D/standard.jpg A rather attractive plant what with all the purple and the outlined edges. Here's one of the C. pubs I sent seeds of: http://www.fototime.com/FDBF938D48A37D5/standard.jpg They get a really nice sun blush. Sure hope it produces for you as took nearly a year for my first ripe pod. Some of the Guatemalan ones did blossom in May/June here, but expect it was just too warm to set pods. I really don't know. Man, I can't wait for September to roll around. I've seen a lot of Chile-Head mug shots, corresponded with quite a few of you and yakked on the phone with some, but there is nothing like meeting someone in person to fully appreciate how weird they really are. JohnT ----- Original Message ----- From: jim@wildpepper.com To: chile-heads@globalgarden.com Sent: Tuesday, June 01, 2004 7:45 PM Subject: [CH] Tornado, Floods, & Open Fields 2004 Greetings all! Just got done moving the chiles down to the fields today. As those of you who pay attention to the news might have noted, we've had a bit of weather move through these parts ;-) Once again, the Open Fields event survived (through the Grace of God) another VERY near miss... even closer than the last one! A tornado moved through the south side of Indy missing the chiles in the greenhouse by a scant 100 yards (last year was 400 yards- they're getting closer! :-) The greenhouse took some damage (missing glass, missing houses- but not the one with the chiles!) but is otherwise doing okay. I've moved just over 7,000 chiles down to the fields and hope to have them planted later this week... provided the torrential amounts of rain we're having abate :-) We'll have over entire acre of chiles to run nekkid in, if so desired. Again, I plan NO harvest at all from this field- it is being planted strictly for your alls' enjoyment- no restrictions on harvest at all. Help yourselves!!! Jeff is putting the final touches on the 2004 Poster as we 'speak' and I hope to have it up on the site within a couple of weeks. "Amber waves of pain" is the theme and it features Scott's (KCK) chile habanero pepper brand on a typical Indiana farm field- pretty cool if I do say so myself! There does lurk some talent on this list... as if any of us would be surprised at that! The dates of the Open Fields this year are the same as last year- September 24, 25 26, though you're welcome to stay later, arrive earlier as is needed. If anyone is needing help, directions, bus fare, or anything else, please contact me off list. Though I'll believe it when I see it, FoodTV is rumoured to be planning another film expedition to the event (Roker Productions). The chiles, with the exception of the Chimayo and Tabasco again, are looking pretty good. John T's (thanks again) oddball stuff had a near 100% germination rate (60 plants) and we'll also have TONS of Fatili's and Manzano's... if they survive till then. All three of those varieties are nearly 18" tall already! There should be a pretty good mix of ALL types- from Mild to Wild of course :-P I'll have 4 varieties of Habanero, several Frutescens, LOTS of Annumns, Pubescens, and Godonlyknowswhatelse :-) Lots of mild roasting chiles as well- be sure to bring the torch Hobby :-) I hope to see bunches of people here. The I-69 project is scheduled to overlay HWY 37 and is expected to have a MAJOR impact on the fields- they're talking about a 2,000' wide control zone which would carve out a big chunk of the fields. I can't say for certain that this will be the last one, but before too much longer, there will be needed some MAJOR changes to the event. Consider this the 2nd official announcement and invite :-) 1 or 2 more coming. -Jim C Mild to Wild(R)