From my garden to yours

Every gardener has favorite varieties and plants, and one of mine happens to be peppers (Solanaceae Capsicum). Ease of production, nutritional value and gastronomical diversity easily make peppers an important crop in most countries. Grown in tropical America for thousands of years, pepper cultivation rapidly spread worldwide after being discovered by European explorers.

What we taunt our taste buds with when daring a hot pepper is the chemical capsaicin, measured in Scoville heat units. Bell peppers rate a zero on the Scoville scale since they don’t even have the genetic instructions to produce capsaicin. Working our way up the hot pepper hierarchy, a pimento pepper earns a 100 Scoville rating, Poblano Mexican chili a 2,000, Jalapeno a 5,000, Cayenne a 40,000, Bird’s eye Thai pepper a 100,000, Datil peppers from St. Augustine get a 250,000. The world’s hottest pepper, the bhut jolokia (ghost pepper) of India and South Asia earns 1 million Scoville, police pepper spray 5 million, and pure crystal capsaicin ranks 15 million Scoville units.

I obtain pepper seeds from every source imaginable: ripe fruit from my own plants, grocery store produce (look for ripe, colorful fruit), trades with other gardeners and numerous seed catalogs (check out Redwood City Seed Co.). Plant the seed in warm potting soil four times the diameter of the seed. Pepper seeds take one to two weeks to germinate, so be patient. Once sprouted, gently move the sprouts to a larger container. Like so many crops, I find working with transplants much more successful than direct seeding to the outdoor soil.

Pepper plants may live for more than two years if kept from freezing or flooding. With this longer lifespan, tying up garden space can limit cultivation options. I grow six pepper plants in a 3-gallon pot, which can be moved when needed. Although the roots may grow out the drain holes into surrounding soil, the plants will recover if lifted. Another trick I’ve found is to nest the pepper pot into a larger pot containing 1 inch of soil. This extra pot insulates the roots from direct solar radiation and extremes of cold weather.

How many pepper varieties do you grow? Bell pepper pollen becomes impotent above 90 degrees Fahrenheit, causing fruit set to fail. Sweet banana peppers continue to set fruit in the Florida summer, providing a viable crop in our off-season. Many hot pepper varieties also grow well through our summers. As peppers ripen, they display a spectrum of color and their vitamin count goes through the roof. So wait for your peppers to color up before harvest, regulating harvest to when the crop is truly most nutritious.