Homegrown Peppers

I decided to try the Redskin pepper, even knowing my track record with bell peppers hasn’t exactly been stellar.  But I have to admit to being impressed with Redskin.  Finally, a bell pepper that actually produces for me in South Florida!

Planting Redskin Pepper

I had to plant this versatile pepper from seed, as there were none in the local garden shops.   The plant started out a little spindly at first, but started growing nicely once in the garden.

Given my luck with bell peppers, I planted 4 Redskins, hoping at least 1 would produce some peppers.  Whoa!  They all are producing nice little bells.

Now Redskin doesn’t grow as large as traditional bell peppers, but it’s a great “personal size” snack.  My peppers are around 4″ long and maybe 2.5″ wide.  The taste is quite pleasing, even when green.  And speaking of color, this pepper is red when fully ripe.

Low-Growing Pepper

This pepper is a low growing pepper — wider than it is tall.  This makes it fantastic for growing in containers!  In fact, I have 3 of my Redskins in containers and only one in the ground (and yes, they do grow a bit taller in the ground).

For someone who traditionally cannot grow bell peppers, this one is thriving and gets an “A” in my book!  Looks to me like I will have plenty this year.  So if you’ve been having problems growing bell peppers, this is one variety I recommend you trying.

Growing Thai Hot Peppers means you’re growing a delight.  The low-growing plant blossoms profusely and produces a bounty of bright red peppers, pointing upwards.

A Little About the Peppers

Thai Hot is equally at home in a container or in the ground.  A three-gallon container will suit this pretty little pepper just fine.  You might even be able to get away with a 1-gallon container, if you keep it well-watered and fertilized.

I have the plant in the photo (and by the way, you can click on the photo to see a larger picture) growing in the ground, and it’s about 8-inches tall.  It’s also spread about 7 inches in diameter.

Now in the photo you only see 3 red peppers, but see all those blossoms and blossom buds?  In a couple of weeks, the plant will be covered with peppers.

Can You Eat the Peppers?

Sure you can, but be warned –they aren’t called “Thai Hot” for nothing!  One chopped pepper (with seeds) can easily season a large bowl of chili.

Speaking of the peppers, they are only about 3/4″ tall.  They aren’t large, but they are potent.

But the charm of these peppers is ornamental.  They make a great garden border, looking like bright red flowers.  And of course, you could each day pick a few of the peppers in the border and you’d never see a difference.

Growing Thai Hot Peppers

My pepper plant survived some very chilly weather early this season, with temperatures down in the 30′s.  It was a little sad-looking until the cold weather passed, but then came back admirably.

As with all chile peppers, they like warm weather and plenty of sunshine.  I mentioned that you can grow these in containers easily, and Thai Hot could certainly be grown indoors under lights.

An an FYI, there is a larger variety, called Giant Thai Hot.  I haven’t tried it yet, but the peppers get to about 2″ long, instead of the normal 1/2 to 3/4 inches.  There’s also a version that has orange peppers instead of red.