In Episode 390 of the Garden Basics podcast, Master Gardener Gail Pothour offered some great tips for growing peppers this spring and summer. We also discussed sweet, warm and hot pepper varieties that might be worth a try in your own garden. That portion of our discussion is also in the newsletter podcast at the top of the page.
Also in today’s newsletter podcast, Diane Blazek, the Executive Director of the All America Selections plant winners, talks about her favorite award-winning, not-so-hot peppers.
Gail Pothour did share a little gardening secret of hers: if she is in doubt about the quality of the bargain potting soil she’s using, she will toss in her “fertility mix”: a concoction of organic materials to give a boost to that potting soil. Gail explains:
“The organic fertility mix recipe is from John Greenler of Zephyr Community Farm in Stoughton, Wisconsin (who I believe may be, or previously was, a professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison with a PhD focused on plant biology). I found it in a book, “Great Garden Formulas - The Ultimate Book of Mix-It-Yourself Concoctions for Your Garden” (Rodale Press). The recipe for Zephyr Farms Original Organic Fertility Mix is as follows:
2 cups rock phosphate
2 cups greensand
2 cups blood meal
1/2 cup bone meal
1/4 cup kelp meal
Mix all ingredients together. Makes 6 1/4 cups of fertility mix. Sprinkle mix over 15 gallons of commercial potting soil. (Note: a 2 cubic foot bag of potting soil = <13 dry gallons).
**Rock phosphate provides phosphorus
**Greensand and kelp meal provide potassium and trace minerals
**Blood meal provides nitrogen
**Bone meal provides phosphorus and calcium
I generally am not a proponent of DIY concoctions, but this fertility mix seems to provide a good blend of nutrients to potting soil that is sometimes lacking in nutrition. In my opinion, you get what you pay for when it comes to potting soil. But I am also always looking for a bargain, so if what I have purchased does not have a long list of good quality organic ingredients, then I add this fertility mix.”
Peppers Worth a Try
Peppers worth a try, from the conversation between myself and Gail. Most of these are sweet to mildly hot. Sweet peppers generally come in at 0 Scoville Units. The exceptionally hot ones are noted, as well.
Pot-a-Peno
(mildly hot. 5000 Scoville Units)
“Plentiful small, green jalapeño fruits have a traditional spicy zip that is great in any dish where you want a little punch of spice. Simply leave the fruit on the vine a few extra weeks and they will ripen to red for a sweet, spicy flavor. This variety is earlier to mature than other jalapenos giving you a head start on your garden’s harvest. A unique trait of Pot-a-peno is how the fruit hangs down beneath the plant making it very easy to harvest without damaging the appearance or productivity of the plant. A dense foliage canopy makes for an attractive addition to your patio or balcony garden.”
Tricked You
“90 Days. An improved version of the very popular Fooled You that is sure to become a favorite in its own right. Easy-to-grow, 4" fruits have excellent jalapeno flavor without the heat. Great for combining with hot jalapenos to customize the level of heat in homemade salsa and hot sauce. An X3R® variety.”
Red Impact
“Lamuyo-type peppers are notoriously difficult to grow, but the new Red Impact variety is here to change that. This AAS Winning pepper is easy to grow and produces thick, sweet walls, even when green. It is also much sweeter than other varieties and loaded with fruits for a high yielding gem. Red Impact plants are upright and tidy, with a strong disease package that protects your investment. The fruit is dark red, highly uniform in shape and size.”
Sheepnose Pimento
“80 Days. A tried-and-true heirloom. Pimento-shaped, 3 by 4" fruits are very sweet and meaty, making them ideal for canning, freezing and eating fresh. Plants are very productive, and fruits keep for weeks in the refrigerator.”
Flamingo
From Harris Seeds: “The vigorous hybrid pepper plant is resistant to TMV and prolific. Its smooth, tapered fruit are a good size (3-1/2 x 3-1/2" ) They have a waxy finish and turn from ivory-yellow to orange-red. Flamingo is a beautiful, sweet salad pepper with a bright color. If you are using Gypsy in your program, you should grow Flamingo for its improved yields and much larger size.”
Gypsy
“The early and heavy production of the yellow sweet pepper Gypsy provides color and flavor variety to your salads and dips. The 3-4 inch wedge-shaped fruits are very tender, crunchy and sweet. The plants average 18-20 inches in height with a 14-18 inch spread and are resistant to tobacco mosaic virus disease.”
Mariachi
mildly hot. 500-2000 Scoville Units
“Mariachi sets fruits and produces an abundant crop of high quality, mild chile peppers. The chile peppers are pendant meaning they will hang below the stem. It is a fleshy pepper that ripens from creamy white to rose, then red. Some people may wait for the mature red pepper, but because its flavor is delicate and complex, having fruity undertones reminiscent of melons, the gardeners will harvest them at the creamy white stage. Mariachi peppers are moderately pungent, with Scoville readings in the 500 to 600 range when grown under non-stressful conditions. Add stress, such as extremely hot weather or overly dry soil, and Scoville readings may rocket to 1500 or 2000. Mariachi chiles can be used in salsas or sauces and are especially flavorful when roasted whole on the grill or under the broiler.”
MexiBell
mildly hot. 100-2500 Scoville Units
“MexiBell looks like a sweet pepper, but it’s not. This bell pepper has an entirely new flavor – pungent. It combines a 3 to 4 lobed blocky bell fruit shape with the flavor similar to an Anaheim pepper. If desired, you can control the heat by cutting out the entire seed core, removing all seeds and white ribs. The productive 24-inch MexiBell plants are tolerant of Tobacco Mosaic Virus. Foliage provides an excellent canopy over the peppers that can be harvested in 120 days from seed when mature green or at 140 days to red.”
Tequila
“75 Days. A true purple sweet bell, deep in color with early maturity. Its 3 to 4-lobed fruits mature to a medium red. Attractive fruits make excellent stuffed peppers and stir-fries. Resists Tobacco Mosaic Virus.” A Farmer Fred Favorite!
NuMex Joe E. Parker
mildly hot. 500-2500 Scoville Units
“Renee’s Garden favorite authentic New Mexico style chile with long, straight, 6-7 inch meaty pods, a medium heat level and rich, full flavor. Early-producing plants have heavy, consistent yields, and dense foliage that protects pods from sunburn. Harvest thick-walled, juicy pods at either the green or red stage. Perfect for memorable green or red chile, wonderful salsas, or for grilling, sautéing or adding gentle heat to any dish.”
Jimmy Nardello
According to the Baker Creek catalog: “This fine (sweet) Italian pepper was grown each year by Giuseppe and Angella Nardello at their garden in the village of Ruoti, in Southern Italy. In 1887 they set sail with their one-year-old daughter Anna for a new life in the U.S. When they reached these shores, they settled and gardened in Naugatuck, Connecticut, and grew this same pepper that was named for their fourth son, Jimmy. This long, thin-skinned frying pepper dries easily and has such a rich flavor that this variety has been placed in “The Ark of Taste” by the Slow Food organization. It ripens to a deep red, is very prolific, and does well in most areas.”
Orange Blaze
“This variety proved itself a winner in AAS Trialing Grounds across North America due to early maturity, sweet flavor, and disease resistance. It matured to a beautiful orange color earlier than the comparisons. Expect a very sweet flavor at full orange color about 65-70 days from transplant. Orange Blaze F1 produces 3 to 4-inch long fruits about 1 1/2 inches wide with 2-3 lobes.”
Candy Cane Chocolate Cherry
According to the Gurney’s catalog: “For gardeners, Candy Cane Chocolate Cherry Hybrid Sweet Pepper is like Christmas in July! Very ornamental plants bears lots of deliciously sweet, striped fruits! This early maturing variety produces attractive green fruits with unique white stripes that change to chocolate and cherry red as they mature. The mini bells are deliciously crisp and sweet—and can be eaten at any stage of ripeness. They're great for snacking, raw vegetable trays or cut up in salads. Growing 18-24 in. tall, the compact plants have variegated foliage and are very ornamental, so they're ideal for the edible landscape, tucked into a perennial bed or even grown in a container. 70-75 DAYS.”
Pick-n-Pop Yellow
“These are cute, snack-sized mini peppers that are extra sweet with just the right amount of juiciness and crunch. They produce continuously on a moderate sized plant with outstanding bacterial leaf spot resistance and produce a prolific number of bright, canary yellow-colored, uniformly shaped peppers.”
Orange Habanero
(very hot. 200,000-350,000 Scoville Units)
According to the Pepper Joe’s catalog: “The orange habanero pepper plant is very productive producing large amounts of 1-3" shiny, scorching peppers, and will stand out beautifully in your garden or patio. The plants are very tolerant to cool conditions and perform well in cooler climates like the Northeast. This orange habanero pepper has a Scotch Bonnet shape that matures to a gorgeous, bright orange color that will not be hard to find in your garden. It will take 80 days to mature to green, and 100 days to mature to orange. The Habanero Orange chili contains fruity flavors that make it perfect for hot sauces, chili powder, and even add to your Jamaican jerk sauce.”
Trinidad Scorpion
(very, very, hot. 1,200,000-2,009,000 Scoville Units)
According to Pepper Joe’s catalog: “The Trinidad Scorpion is a super hot variety that was once one of the hottest peppers in the world! It held the distinguished honor as the world's hottest pepper, before it was dethroned by the Carolina Reaper. It is still a highly respected pepper for its volcano-level heat. The heat on this pepper is so strong, it may feel like your tongue is being stung by a scorpion! Heat levels can reach as high as 2,000,000 SHUs.
Ghost pepper
(hot, hot, hot. 900,000-1,000,000 Scoville Units)
According to the Pepper Joe’s catalog: “The Red Ghost Pepper, also known as the Bhut Jolokia chili, is an heirloom varietyoriginating from India that was once the hottest pepper in the world. The hot Ghost Pepper chili took the crown in 2007 and held the record for 4 years. Most ghost peppers run around the 900,000 SHU (Scoville Heat Units) mark but have been recorded at over 1,000,000 SHUs. As one of the spiciest peppers in the world, the Indian Army onceweaponized these to make chili hand grenades!”
Jalafuego
(hot. 4000-8000 Scoville Units)
According to the Pepper Joe’s catalog: “The Jalafuego hybrid is noticeably more robust in its size and its flavor than other Jalapeno varieties, which make them a must have for growers and chefs.
Plant these pepper seeds into the ground and watch them grow into 3 ft. tall, sturdy Jalafuego plants. You will see 4-6” long fruits form, starting out a deep green and ripening to a mature red. Jalafuego peppers are extra wide with smooth and glossy skin. These plants are more productive than other Jalapeno varieties, so be prepared for heavy yields.
What you’ll get is more heat and flavor with these peppers. Jalafuegos can be harvested at their green stage (70 days) or when they ripen to red (90 days). Green Jalafuego peppers will have less heat and a lighter flavor best used in fresh foods and for cooking. Red Jalafuegos have more of a bite and peppery flavor to them, making them ideal for drying, salsa, and sauce.”
Inferno
(kind of hot. 2500-4500 Scoville Units )
According to the Pepper Joe’s catalog: “The Inferno F1 is a very productive hybrid pepper plant with high yields. Easy to grow, the Inferno pepper plant will produce approximately 8" long pods, which will be one of the bigger peppers you’ll grow. The smooth-skinned pods look identical to longer slender hot peppers like the Red Long Cayenne Peppers, or are even shaped like bananas. The large Inferno pepper will ripen from pale-lime/green, yellow, to then turning red. You can harvest the Inferno hot pepper at any stage depending on the level of spiciness you want, but we recommend harvesting them when they turn yellow or red because they have more unforgettable flavors! The Inferno chili is great for roasting, pickling, and frying, and to use as a topping like pizzas and burgers.”
Roulette Habanero
“Roulette F1 resembles a traditional habanero pepper in every way (fruit shape, size and color, and plant type) with one exception – No Heat! This AAS National Winner’s one-ounce fruits are red with thick walls when it matures and a nice citrusy (no heat) habanero flavor! Gardeners will be delighted with the earlier production of large, uniform fruit and a very high yield. One judge noted that each plant easily produces 10-11 fruits at one time and up to 100 per season so there are plenty to eat fresh, cook with, and enjoy! For an early fruit production of a habanero pepper that will charm even those that don’t like it hot, take your chances…Roulette is the perfect choice.”
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