I’ve decided that this summer I’m going to grow some hot peppers. I have oodles of questions, so I’m hoping to pick the brains of dopers who have experience growing them. (And since I’m looking for suggestions and opinions and tips, I put it here rather than CS. I won’t complain if TPTB feel it needs to move).
My end goal is to have several varieties that I can dry, crush / grind, and mix together to make a pizza topping-like sprinkle. I’m sure this would be wonderful in chili, soups, stews, in a dry rub, in a marinade, or on pretty much anything grilled, especially fish. I want it hot but flavorful. For the heat I’m thinking I’ll grow ghost peppers / Carolina reapers / scotch bonnets (part of this is just for the bragging factor—I can tell people I have a garden full of face-melters). Speaking of garden, My garden is full of sandy soil with nearly all-day full sun. I’m in USDA zone 8a or 8b.
But what I really want is good flavor and heat. I have no idea what varieties I should start with.
Some specific questions:
[ul]
[li]When do I plant them? I think it’s too late to start seeds (and besides, I don’t have the equipment to do so), so I’m going to be planting starts. I need to figure out where I can get pepper starts.[/li]
[li]Related, any gardeners have any recommendations for live plant companies that ship? [/li]
[li]Do peppers grow well in pots? I’m thinking of growing a few in 5-gallon buckets as my garden space is somewhat limited. I imagine they’ll dry out a bit faster, but other than that… any issues?[/li]
[li]What kind of fertilizer do peppers like? I remember someone telling me that they like magnesium, and soaking them with water with a touch of epsom salt in it is a good idea. Anyone ever hear of this?[/li]
[li]Watering: can I set up a soaker hose and a timer and call it good? I know peppers like water but I can’t attend the garden every day (I’ll be growing them at someone else’s house). I can swing by 3 days a week or so but not daily, so I need to devise a way to keep them watered. [/li]
[li]Drying: I’ve seen hanging “herb” dryers that look like tiered laundry baskets used to dry weed. I thought those would work well for drying peppers. I’ve also seen long strings of peppers on a thread. They look cool, but is that a good way to dry them?[/li][/ul]
Basically, any advice y’all can give me I’d much appreciate.
Oh, and assuming I’m actually successful, anyone want any dried pepper sprinkle?
I’ve only grown sweet and mildly hot peppers, in addition to ornamental varieties that are reputed to be so hot they’re inedible.
If you’re growing hot peppers only for drying, it probably doesn’t matter too much what varieties you pick as long as they carry lots of heat. For fresh eating, I’d want types that are touted as having good fruity pepper flavor in addition to the heat kick (in other words, don’t select based only on Scoville heat level, unless you’re after bragging rights and are prepared to take precautions when working around the plants and ripe fruit).
I’ve been making my own pepper powders. I grow the plants from starters, and then smoke the peppers on either a Big Green Egg or an electric smoker.
I’ve found that habaneros make the most flavorful spice, although my wife prefers the poblano. My procedure is to cut off the stems, slice the peppers in half, and then smoke them for 24 hours over apple or Jack Daniels wood chips. Originally, I used a coffee grinder to grind the smoked peppers to a powder, but now I use an industrial grinder. A little bit- especially of the habanero- goes a very long way. I’m trying to find a way to “cut” the powder with a milder pepper, like bell pepper, because while the flavor is really good, it’s simply too spicy for many people.
I’ve grown the plants in raised beds and in pots- the only difference is I found that I had to water the pots more. For the raised beds, I set up an automated watering system which worked just fine. Additionally, I found that one or two habanero plants will produce far more peppers than you’ll realistically need- those plants produce a LOT. For fertilizer, I just used some Miracle Grow, which seemed to work just fine.
I have fun growing jalapenos from seed. Seems like a good idea to start the seeds indoors in a conventional seedling nursery. I let them grow under the LEDs until they seem stalwart enough to go outside, maybe 3-6". Even so, I tend to keep mine close to a wall, under the eaves, so they don’t get especially battered by the weather. I have a good specimen from last year who only grew to a little over a foot tall, kind of looks like a banzai tree, but produces a surprising yield of peppers, I think over 40 so far.
Honestly I haven’t figured out what to do with all these peppers yet, so this thread is great. Let’s see, they dry up nicely and can be crushed into jalapeno dust months later. I put them in eggs; we speculate over whether they re-constitute as they cook, but my gf doesn’t like peppers and ends up picking them out. I like 'em, but don’t eat 40 peppers worth of eggs…
I’m pretty much in zone 8 and often wait until around Memorial Day (last Monday in May) to plant pepper starts from a local nursery. Typically I will start getting fruit about Independence Day, and have often harvested almost until Thanksgiving. I also buy my “growing mix” from that nursery and follow their recommendations for watering and feeding. 2019 will be my ninth summer in this house, and I’ve never used other than cheap cubical plastic pots of about 2.5 cubic feet, plus I try to use a couple of inches of pea gravel in the bottom to help with drainage.
For my money you simply can’t beat “Caribbean Red” (a variety of habanero) and serrano (usually looks like a short/skinny jalapeno). Both are typically a great deal hotter even than Scotch bonnet and other habanero-types. However, I only make salsa with them, and have never experimented with making rubs, powders, and such.
Off topic, but here’s a hint: If you want to cut the “melting face” factor when making salsa, add a granny smith or another tart apple, and maybe a pear, to each gallon of product you intend to make. Another helpful addition I have found is a couple of tablespoons of some kind of citrus zest in the mix.
The Santa Fe Grande will produce like a mother-fuck all summer long. Not a lot of heat, but great flavor. Amp things up with the jalapenos and the habs. All grow great in pots. Cut back on the water once you get into harvesting time. Makes the peppers hotter.
I grew habaneros once, when I lived in zone 6a. A single plant produced DOZENS of peppers, more than I could ever possibly have used, and I ended up bringing a bag of them to the local food pantry, with a sign on it that said “VERY HOT”. IDK if anyone ever took them.
A tiny pinch of pepper will ignite a whole jar of spaghetti or pizza sauce, or salsa, so I would recommend that you mix them with lower-octane peppers, especially if you want to dry them - something you should also do outdoors.
p.s. Wear gloves when you pick them, because even the foliage has enough to heat make rubbing your eyes a very uncomfortable experience.
I’ve been growing Chiletepins aka “Bird Peppers” as my first pepper project. Same plants for four years, I think in the wild as perennials they can live to 20 years A bit too hot for anything other than teeny amounts, to add heat to salsas and large stews etc. (its considered a quick heat, rather than a building heat: see link below) It also could be considered the mother of all peppers.
The 6 ft bushes also look great when autumn comes, as the little red pepper fruits set against the dark green leaves has a real holiday feel.
In my climate, I cannot grow from seed outdoors. I likely could indoors, but I find it easier to just get pepper plants from the garden centre in spring’s good weather.
I’ve quite enjoyed Burning Bush peppers. They are like Habaneros, but a little sweeter, and while very hot, I find that they are not quite as harsh. They grow just fine in pots on my back deck, and I grow tomatoes in pots on the deck too, and everybody gets a good drink of water daily. Fertilizer is something “good for vegetables,” but don’t ask me to name it–it’s out in the shed, and two feet of snow in the yard prevents me from running out to find exactly what it is.
I’m not sure how well Burning Bushes would do with drying and powdering, but I find that they freeze well, and go great in a pot of chili. Just one per pot will make your chili “pop,” though if you feel adventurous, try two.
I buy seedlings from the nursery, and put them outside with the rest of the vegetables in the vegetable garden, typically at the end of May. Mostly serranos, bell peppers, and poblanos. They thrive, probably better than my other veggies.
I grew several peppers from smuggled seeds in pots when I lived in China. Keeping them alive was a struggle, but I did manage to have perpetual, small crops of habaneros and serranos.
Peppers grow great in pots. 5 gallon pots will work, but bigger is better. Make sure the pots have good drainage. There are many approaches to soil and feeding. Get some pro-mix BX and some tomato fertilizer and you’ll be well on your way. I like to use a time release fertilizer monthly, supplemented with a shot of miracle grow every few weeks. I’ve grown everything from jalapenos to superhots like this for 10 years, and I always have abundant harvests.
The most difficult thing for me is getting early season watering right. Peppers like to almost dry out, before being thoroughly watered. Small plant + big pot + cool, rainy late spring weather will give you pots that never dry out and plants that sulk. They almost always grow out of this, though, and by August you can’t tell.
Use neem spray in the evening for aphids or other minor pests as they occur.
I grew a shitload of cayenne pepper several years back- mostly the issue for me is keeping them watered adequately in the heat of summer. If I can manage that, then they do great in full sun and heat.
**SacFly **is right- they don’t like springtime much- I think it’s too cool and too wet- plants put in about now will just hang out and slowly grow until probably June, at which time they’ll take off.
I like to make a salsa pot every year and put tomatoes, peppers and onions in the pot. Generally, I plant jalapenos, serranos, poblanos, and habaneros so I have a range of spice. The tomato likes it a little wetter so I put it in the middle and you’ll get less splits in your tomatoes if you keep the pot drier so having it in with the peppers helps. I don’t get a ton of onions maybe 4 per pot but I’m mainly interested in growing the tomatoes and peppers any how.
Thanks for all the input, everyone. I’m making notes and will start looking for companies that ship starts once I have a free hour or two in the afternoon.
One thing I’m surprised at is that it appears that most pepper plants produce a lot of peppers, so maybe I’ll only need one or two of each pepper variety this first year as I teach myself the ropes.
Most hardware stores carry veggie starts in springtime. Is there a Home Depot type of retailer nearby?
If there’s a Craigslist for your area, check the yard/garden section. Lots of gardeners start seeds & then have too many!
Concur that once the weather heats up, a single pepper plant produces quite a lot of fruits. I think you’d be happier with 1 or 2 of a bunch of varieties, rather than a crop of just one pepper. I had 2 cayenne plants one summer and probably got 40 or 50 off each one. I’m in Texas so summer is miserably hot and dry, but those cayenne just thrived in that weather.
I love hot peppers of all kinds, but my experience trying to raise plants indoors or out has been a repeated failure.
So last year I visited an Asian market in the nearest big city, and bought a big bag (half-pound?) of Thai peppers, my favorite, for $3. I estimate this, kept in my freezer, will last me 3-5 years, as one pepper is enough for a pot of spaghetti, chili, or whatever.