growing chile peppers

Spring 2016 Garden — What’s Growing?

I think I’ve got my lineup set for this year, pepper-wise.  I am probably growing far more than I should, and will be overloaded with fruit, but I have neighbors who wouldn’t mind a few peppers from time to time.  So what’s in store for 2016?

Fear the Reaper

I have a post where I describe my showdown with the Ghost, Scorpion and Reaper peppers.  This is a showdown that will last all year, so subscribe for email updates to keep up with what’s going on with them.  But, I don’t just have them growing — let’s take a look at what else is in the garden.

Already Planted

Red Bell Pepper

Red Bell Pepper — It Already Has 3 Peppers!

I have the following already planted out in the garden:

  • Red Bell:  As the name suggests, a red bell pepper — no special variety.  It’s a nice compact plant that already has rather large peppers on it!  I’ll actually have to pick the largest this week or next, to give the plant a chance to grow some more.
  • Orange Bell:  I have two of these plants, which are tall and lanky.  They both have peppers on them, but I may have to give one of them a pruning, just to compare a pruned plant against an un-pruned.  Seems like an interesting comparison.
  • Big Bertha:  Another bell pepper, and this one supposedly has huge fruit.  It will be interesting to see how the fruit compares to the other bells I have growing.
  • Shishito:  Somewhere  between a mild (no heat) and a hot.  I hear that most of the fruits have no heat to them, but then every once in awhile, one of the peppers has some kick to it.  It also has a pepper already — doesn’t look anything like the bells — it’s more of a small pepperonici as far as general shape goes.

    Baby Shishito Pepper

    Baby Shishito Pepper

  • Havasu:  I had no idea what it might be like when I bought the plant start, but I figured with a name like Havasu, it was bound to be at least a little on the spicy side.  I finally got around to looking it up, and it’s kind of a stubby banana pepper in shape, and a mild heat.  The plant was looking kind of spindly, so I gave it a pruning and it’s coming back beautifully!
  • Cowbell:  I believe this is supposed to be like a thicker cayenne, along the size of my Yellow Cayenne from the last season I grew peppers.  I imagine it’s probably along the same hot-ness as most cayenne fruits.  I already gave this one a pruning as well, because it was really lanky.  It’s coming back fine, but not as quickly as Havasu (which I pruned at the same time).

From Seed, Waiting to Sprout

Of course I have my “Showdown”  peppers that I am  growing from seed, but I have a few others as well:

  • Jimmy Nardello:  A big, sweet pepper.  I grew this several years back and thought it was time that I tried it again.
  • Mama Mia Giallo:  The variety I am growing ripens to yellow, and is supposed to be very sweet.  And also quite large!
  • Fooled You:  This is the no-heat jalapeno I grew in the greenhouse, that succumbed to the black mildrew (or whatever it was).  Since I am growing it with better air circulation this year, it should be fine.  The peppers were tasty!
  • Trinidad Perfume:  This one is a no-heat habanero!  I figure I have enough Scoville growing this year, with the showdown plants, that I will need some respite!  😉

I might also grow Giant Aconcagua; still trying to decide.  I grew that one a few years back as well and it really does produce extremely large peppers for me.  I guess it depends on if I have enough space in the garden.  I still have a lot of tomatoes, not to mention some strawberries, cukes, summer squash, bush beans, peas, collards and honeydew.

Pretty Purple PepperTri-Fetti is also on the list; it’s an ornamental pepper that I grow mostly for the foliage, which is lovely.  That I know I have room for, at the edge of the garden where I have the flowers.  The changing leaf colors are pretty by themselves, but the purple (and then red) peppers add more of an interest.  They don’t grow very large, so I can keep them in a 3 gallon pot without an issue.  (At any rate, it’s smaller than the Pretty Purple Pepper that I grew a few years back, pictured on the right.)

Now that I think of it — I won’t have a ton of room!  But one of the tomatoes is a determinate, so that space should be available by the time the peppers I’ve planted from seed are ready to move outside.  The container with the peas (which is 25 gallons) will also be available – I can easily put two pepper plants in there.  The collards will also be done, so two more containers!

Anyway, I’ll be providing updates, so stay tuned.  As more of the peppers start producing, I’ll start doing some video walk-throughs as well.

Catch up more with you later!

A Bounty of Peppers!

I’ve got a bounty of peppers now, of bell, sweet and hot.  The peppers are in full production mode!  I took a quick break to walk out to the garden for a harvest.

Bell, Sweet and Hot Peppers (Click for larger image)

Bell, Sweet and Hot Peppers (Click for larger image)

Once I got the peppers inside and on the counter, I thought they looked really pretty, so I took a photo.  And keep in mind, this isn’t all of the peppers — many have already found their way into our tummies.  Not to mention there are a ton still on the plants!

In the photo I have Park’s Sweet Banana, Park’s Sweet Pickle, Mini-Belle (in purple and red), Redskin (mostly green), a name-unknown bell and a Cambuci (very hot!).  I’m waiting to taste the Cambuci before writing up a post on it, but it’s a really pretty plant and pepper.

A bounty of peppers indeed!

Still Planting Peppers

I’ve got another round of peppers to plant this weekend.  Here in Florida, there’s still plenty of time to get in a second crop.  So what’s on my agenda?  Here’s what I have in mind, but it’s always subject to change.

  • Datil
  • Aurora
  • Purple Jalapeno
  • Jaloro (yellow jalapeno)
  • Redskin (again — this is one nice bell pepper!)
  • Starburst (ornamental pepper)
  • Giant Anconcagua (again — absolutely huge sweet peppers!)

I might also go with another round of Pretty Purple Pepper and one of the Thai Hot varieties.  I’m also debating adding a larger bell pepper to the list, or maybe Mohawk (the companion to Redskin).

So if you live in a climate where it’s warm (days at least in the 70’s) on up through October or November, come on and plant some more seeds!  Or at least see if there are any plants for sale available nearby.

And for the rest of you who already have peppers out in the garden — may you have a bounty of peppers as well!

Pretty Purple Pepper in the Garden

Pretty Purple Pepper is not only a variety name, but an accurate description of the plant and its fruit!  Let’s talk a little about growing this wonderful pepper variety in the garden.

How Does it Look?

Pretty Purple PepperIt’s really hard to capture with a photo how lovely both the plant and the peppers are!  The stems are a deep purple-maroon color, and the leaves have a violet sheen to them (which I can’t seem to capture).  And the peppers — they are a gorgeous, glowing purple.

This pepper has been quite hardy in my garden.  It’s faced a near-freeze with grace, and is thriving in a 3-gallon container.  I drop by it at least once a day because it’s a feast for my eyes.

(You can click on the photo for a larger image.)

Germinating the Seeds

I find that germinating seeds for this pepper to be easy.  Even in a cooler temperature than normal, the plant came up within 10 days.  I imagine that if I used a heat mat, that would shorten to 5-7 days.

I germinated this particular plant at cooler-than-normal temperatures as an experiment.  Pretty Purple Pepper sprouted well, but the other seeds had a hard time, and most didn’t germinate at all.

(Here’s more information about germinating hot pepper seeds, if you need a few tips.)

Container Growing

I mentioned that I am currently growing this plant in a 3-gallon container, and it is thriving.  While it would do better in the ground, it’s quite suitable for a lovely container plant on a patio.  Not only is the plant pleasing to look at but it also has purple-and-white flowers.  When the plant has flowers and peppers at the same time, it’s a sight to behold!

Other Hints for Pretty Purple Pepper

As I mentioned, this plant has had some tough conditions.  Not only has it faced temperatures in the 30’s, but it’s also faced extended periods of high winds.  The weather has been dry, and sometimes the soil isn’t as damp as I’m sure the plant would like.  Through all this, Pretty Purple Pepper has sailed on without a problem.

What About Eating Them?

You can certainly eat these peppers, but they are quite hot — my guess is around 40,000 Scoville Units.  I don’t eat a lot of them, because they are so lovely on the plant.  But I reccomend them  in stir-fries and also for a vinegar pepper.  And although I haven’t tried them as such, I imagine they would be good pickled.

I like Pretty Purple Pepper, and it has an ongoing spot in my garden.  I hope you like it too!
Pretty Purple Pepper

Update

Here’s another photo just a couple weeks later of the same plant!