CyberSalad: Garden Pursuits: Vegetables: Peppers

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Capsicum frutescans

     Both sweet peppers and hot peppers are warm-weather perennial shrubs from the tropics, but are treated as annuals in gardens. The plants usually grow about 2 feet tall with an equal spread.
     The fruit of sweet peppers grow 3 to 4 inches long and 2 1/2 to 3 inches wide; they are often harvested while still green and crisp and are eaten either raw or cooked; if allowed to ripen, they turn red or yellow and may become slightly soft, but the flavor is unchanged.
     Hot peppers vary greatly in size and shape. Some are almost cherrylike, others are up to a foot long and tapering. They are green when they first appear, but quickly turn red or yellow. All have a pungent flavor and are eaten fresh, cooked, or pickled. Some varieties, such as cayenne, can be dried and ground.
     Peppers grow best in soil with a pH of 5.5 to 7.0. In most of the U.S. and southern Canada, where winter frosts are expected, start seeds indoors in spring six to eight weeks before minimum night temperatures are expected to average above 55慚. Sow the seeds in a flat and transplant the seedlings to individual pots when they are about 1 inch tall. Or sow two or three seeds in individual pots, and when the seedlings become an inch tall, cut off all but the strongest one in each pot. The plants need indoor temperatures of 70慚 to 80慚. Wait until at least two weeks after outdoor temperatures can be relied upon to stay above 55慚 before transplanting the seedlings into the garden; then set them 18 to 24 inches apart in rows 2 to 3 feet apart. In frost-free areas, sow seeds directly outdoors in spring or fall. Fertilize twice--when the plants are about 8 inches tall and again when they are about 12 inches tall--scattering an 8- to 12-inch band of 5-10-5 fertilizer along each side of the row at the rate of 5 ounces to 10 feet of row. Both sweet peppers and hot peppers are edible and flavorful at all stages of their growth. When picking peppers, cut them from the plant instead of pulling them; the branches are extremely brittle and will break easily if pulled.
     If blossoms and young fruits form during a period of low humidity, they will fall to the ground, but if the growing season is long enough and the level of humidity increases, the plants will flower and fruit again. Unused pepper seeds will keep for about two years.

	'Early Crisp' Sweet, Ready to harvest about 60 days after setting out into the garden. It has the thick walls and sweet, full flavor ordinarily found only in midseason types. The first green fruits are ready in two months. Three weeks later, they turn deep red.
	'Anaheim' Chili, One of the most popular of the chili peppers. Two celled, medium hot fruits, with medium-thick dark green flesh, ripening to bright red. Continuous bearing, high-yielding, vigorous, bushy, upright, 24 to 30 inch plants provide good foliage cover. Tasty canned, dried, fried, or pickled. 75 days.
	'Super Cayenne', Super Cayenne peppers are hot and can set tender taste buds on fire. The long slim peppers can be harvested green or allowed to mature on the plant until red.
	'Carnival Mix', five different, colorful bell peppers. Big bells on high yielding plants. 3 1/2" by 4" fruit in 70 days.

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Site launched January 1, 2000.
Site updated September 1, 2007.