You know what's funny?

Of all the calls my wife and I make to each other, a good 80-90% are just helping the other find where we've left our phones around the house.

I wonder what the algorithms make of that? Frequent, short, mostly unanswered phone calls to the same number over and over...

The first two Kashmiri chilies to emerge had helmet head. Not a great start to the season. But, I was able to successfully tease them out without apparent damage. Something that is atypical for me. My spirits lifted.

And now the others have appeared without issue.

It's going to be a good year.

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A few days ago I stumbled on the concept of Landrace Gardening. It was one of those moments where the thoughts were coming faster than I could process them.

More to come on this.

The gist is to let a diverse group of peppers (or anything) cross pollinate so that they adapt to local conditions.

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Would the seedling have freed itself? Idle hands are the devil's playground...

I lost the tip of the cotyledons because of poor tweezer technique. But otherwise the guy seems healthy. Only time will tell.

Welcome to the world first seedling of the season!

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I've always had an issue with helmet head on my pepper seedlings. I chalked it up to old seed and inconsistent watering. However, this is fresh seed germinated using the baggie method and planted into soil that retains too much moisture.

I'm rarely able to save them without decapitation.

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Old seed that I collected from plants my sister gave me back in 2020.

This is my second year using the baggy method. Last year was a disaster for various reasons. This year has been OK with the fresher seeds. I saw the first germinations in 3 days!! Still waiting on some of the older ones.

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Flashback to the summer of '20: This was my very first attempt to grow anything edible. I was living in an apartment in Arlington, Va. with great big windows, but without a balcony.

Facing due east, it overlooked Washington DC (you can see the Washington Monument in this photo).

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Flashback to the summer of '25: An interesting looking round chili hanging on a plant with otherwise elongated smooth peppers.

Grown from seeds I collected in 2020 from a plant my sister gave me labeled "Red Chili." I have no idea what it is. It's extremely mild and a little sweet.

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Every year I grow a ton of peppers. Every year I save some seeds and toss the fruits in the freezer. With two young kids that are picky eaters, I rarely get a chance to actually use them.

This year is going to be different.

Kicking off the '26 season with a Kashmiri Chili hot sauce.

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Here are Deep's whole round chilies that the wife bought years and years ago. Let's see if we can't get some of the seeds to germinate.

No mention on the packaging of the variety. Quick research shows they might be Mundu. Maybe?

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Shut off Twitter a few months ago. Was kind of liking the silence. But, you know...