I love heirloom plants and hot peppers are no exception. The fact that the genetic makeup of a vegetable or fruit can be traced back in time many years makes the special. In some cases they have a historical context, but the main reason I like them is that heirloom peppers (and other plants) usually have a better flavor than those that are commercially produced. In my garden there is no plant easier to grow than a hot pepper.
I grow several different varieties of hot peppers which range in spiciness from mildly hot to extremely hot. I love a nice hot jalapeno pepper on a sandwich but generally shy away from partaking of those that might require hospitalization (like the Carolina Reaper)!
How I Grow Hot Peppers
Hot peppers (and other peppers) are fairly carefree once established. Early on in their growth cycle it is a good idea to give them a little nitrogen fertilizer to encourage some green growth and lots of branching.
Pinch back the first sets of blooms to send the energy back into the plant. It’s hard to do remove those first sets of flowers but the results will pay off later with more blooms and more fruit.
See how these cuttings did in the video below!
Fertilizing Hot Pepper Plants
Only use the nitrogen fertilizer toward the beginning of the growth cycle then lean toward a fertilizer with more phosphorus and potassium (The P and K of the NPK ratio). P and K help form fruit and roots on the plants while N is good for leaf growth. I will generally fertilize the peppers with bloodmeal for the first couple weeks of growth then only fertilize when needed with a general all purpose plant fertilizer.
Using a nitrogen fertilizer toward the beginning of the plant growth cycle will encourage leaf growth so the peppers can gather energy through photosynthesis. That energy gets used by the pepper plant to then make fruit which is our ultimate goal.
Starting Hot Peppers from Seed
I have a method of starting all my seedlings in plastic cups. The plastic cups form a mini-greenhouse that keeps humidity around the seedlings until germinated. Read this post for more on that process: Starting Seedlings in Plastic Cups.
Start seedlings for pepper plants about 10 weeks before your safe frost date indoors. About 2 weeks before the last frost date begin giving them some outdoor time if the temperatures are safe in order to harden them off and get them acclimated to the outdoors.
Finding Hot Pepper Seed
I order most of my hot pepper seed from seed companies that specialize or maintain many selections of hot pepper seeds. I like different and unique plants in my garden and these companies do a great job at providing different types of peppers.
You can also trade with gardening friends for seed they have saved! That’s a great way to get cheap seeds. Just save a few of your seeds each year and swap with other enthusiastic vegetable gardeners.
Can you grow peppers from grocery store pepper plants?
You can but you do have the possibility of the produce not being exactly like what you ate. The plants are grown in a field and may have cross pollinated with other plants. That being said it is a low risk since peppers do self-pollinate on most occasions.
When Can You Eat Peppers?
Once the peppers are of sufficient size you can eat them at any stage. I prefer to allow them to ripen and color on the plant which improves their flavor and nutrition. Hot peppers are measured using the Scoville Heat Index which grades the peppers on the intensity of their heat.
Individual peppers can vary quite a bit on heat within the same variety depending on the growing conditions so use the Scoville Scale as a guideline. The ‘Ghost’ pepper (‘Bhut Jolokia’) is graded around 1,000,000 Scoville heat units whereas a Jalapeno is only around 5,000. Hot peppers extend beyond the range of the ‘Ghost’ pepper but I’ve always thought that a pepper has to be able to be enjoyed in order to have value – I wouldn’t enjoy a ‘Carolina Reaper’, nope – not one bit!
How to Use Hot Peppers
I have grown ‘Ghost Pepper’ plants before for sales at a farmers market and used the leftover pepper plant produce to make a really spicy dried hot pepper blend!
There are lots of ways to enjoy a hot pepper. Fresh peppers are great to add to your dishes but dried peppers can bring you some good flavor when fresh peppers are out of season. Dried peppers can be ground up into a powder for use in cooking. I enjoy throwing a couple hot peppers into our fall chili recipes. I usually dry them whole then put them in a jar to use as needed. I’ll write more about drying hot peppers in a post very soon.
Can You Take Cuttings of Peppers?
You can propagate peppers through stem cuttings and preserve the plants through the winter. You may not get any produce from them over the winter but when warm weather appears you will have larger already established plants you can move into the garden.
You can take cuttings of your peppers throughout the season and make more plants to expand your harvest. Also if you really enjoyed how a certain pepper performed (easy to grow, good flavor, good size, disease free etc.) you can grow more of that exact pepper.
Read this Post for More information on Propagating Peppers from Cuttings
Can Peppers Grow Indoors?
Peppers (sweet or hot) can be dug up from the garden and grown indoors in a pot until spring. I was harvesting jalapenos in early May this past spring – you could too! The key to growing peppers indoors is to find a sunny location with plenty of light. If you start early enough you can harvest peppers in early spring.
A Look at a Few Pepper Varieties from Our Garden
Here are a few peppers from one of my recent harvests!
Serrano Peppers
Chocolate Habanero Peppers
Scotch Bonnet Pepper
Lemon Drop Pepper
We have a few others not picture here which I am still waiting on to fully ripen including a ‘Thai Yellow’, ‘Pasilla Bajio’, and ‘Paprika’. When selecting peppers to grow I always lean toward flavor rather than heat.
See how these cuttings did in the video below!