Super Store Connection

Maggie, Isabella and I went to the Super Store today and I found the produce supervisor to ask about Poblanos. He was super friendly and went into the details of being a supplier for the store. He said that they get the peppers from different southern states and only occasionaly from Mexico. If a product is available locally, they may go with it to avoid shipping costs if it can be 'authorized'. I gathered this meant that most importantly the produce can support the volume and that it is consistent and of good quality. He said that once I'm 'in the door' they would stick with me and that they try to support the local growers. I said I had six acres to play with but I was only going with about 500 plants this year as I was concerned about finding outlets. The conversation then shifted to his interest in growing and how he looked into property down in the Osoyoos area for his particular crop (something that really needs warmth he says)......he said that I should grow 200 Habanero plants as there is a big demand for them here in the valley and that they can sell for about 2-3 dollars (per kilo I presume). Apparently they are a fragile plant. He could hook me up with a hot sauce maker who is always looking for Habaneros. If that worked out he would provide more crops that could prove profitable. One thing he mentioned about Poblanos is that unlike other peppers they rot before they wrinkle. This is because of their thin skins.

It's very tempting to throw a couple hundred habanero seeds into the mix. I wonder how bogged down I'll be this spring. I suppose I shouldn't put all my eggs into one basket especially with an exotic fruit such as the Poblano. I have time due to the speedy germinating I've had..........but do I have light space and what about cross pollination? It's pretty basic biology but I 've got to look into it. I know that seeds taken from peppers grown with different peppers are almost certainly crossed. But I don't know about the pepper grown from the original strain. It must remain pure, no?