Peppers are available in nearly every color, shape and size, from mild and sweet to fiery HOT! And the good news is, peppers are one of the easiest plants to grow in a container. Pepper plants are popular in home gardens because they take up very little space and yet reward you with so much fruit!

GROWING PEPPERS FROM SEED

Pepper seeds are easy to grow. Soak seeds for two hours in warm water before sowing. Average germination period is 10 days, with some varieties taking a bit longer. Although they do need moisture, they hate being over-watered. To provide the best environment for the successful germination of your seeds, use HOMEGROWN Soil-less Seed-Starting Mix. Keep the seedling trays in a warm place to help speed up germination. The seeds do not need sunlight to germinate.

FERTILIZING PEPPER PLANTS

Fertilize pepper plants weekly. While plants are still young, use a high nitrogen fertilizer, sprayed on the leaves. Fish emulsion is a good organic choice. Keep it at a weak concentration at first. When the plants reach four inches tall, fertilize at full strength, as recommended on the product label. After the plant sets blossoms, switch to a complete, low nitrogen fertilizer.

TRANSPLANTING FROM THE SEED TRAY

Hold the seedling by a leaf when you transplant it, not by the stem. From the time you transfer your seedling from the tray on onto bigger and bigger pots, it will usually take 75 days to harvesting the first pepper. Grow the maturing pepper plants in ENRICO Soil-less Potting Mix. Be careful not to overpot; transplanting a plant into a pot too big for the plant can lead to root rot. Just keep transferring the plant to bigger and bigger pots as needed.

All types of peppers like hot weather, so make sure to give them full-sun. But they are averse to strong winds, so staking your potted peppers are a good idea. It will also help support the plant once those fruits get too heavy for the branches to hold.

[BACK TO TOP]

HARVESTING PEPPERS

Pick peppers once they're large enough to use. Sweet peppers become sweeter and hot peppers become hotter as they mature. However, frequent harvesting encourages a steady supply. Cut the fruit from the plant instead of tearing it off; you might damage the root system which is rather shallow.  Pick hot peppers carefully. The capsaicin oil, which makes peppers hot, can feel very hot on your fingers, or worse, you might rub it in your eyes.

You can also harvest mature, fully-ripe peppers for seed. Cut the bottom off the fruit and carefully reach in to strip the seeds surrounding central cone. Don't forget to wear gloves to protect yourself. Spread clean seeds on paper towel and dry in a cool location.

[BACK TO TOP]

COOKING WITH HOT PEPPERS

There are many varieties of hot peppers with tastes ranging from mild to extremely hot.  A pepper's pungency depends on the amount of capsaicin it contains. It's most concentrated in the seeds and membranes inside the fruit. Letting the peppers ripen and mature longer results in a hotter and spicier taste.

The heat mostly comes from stems and seeds, and most of the flavor is in the flesh.  So if you want a dish that's milder on the heat scale, remove the innards (meaning the seeds and membrane) and cook with only the green, red or orange fleshy part of the fruit.

Chile peppers are rich in vitamins C and A, and are a good source of most B vitamins, potassium, magnesium, and iron. The vitamin C content also increases the longer the fruits are allowed to ripen on the plant. Capsaicin is likewise said to have many beneficial effects on health. 

[BACK TO TOP]

MEASURING THE HEAT OF CHILI PEPPERS

The Scoville Heat Unit Scale is based on a dilution-taste procedure used to measure the hotness of chili peppers. The number of Scoville heat units (SHU) indicates the amount of capsaicin present in a particular pepper. Capsaicin is a chemical compound that stimulates chemical receptor nerve endings in the skin.

The Scoville Scale was developed in 1912 by pharmacist Wilbur L. Scoville. In measuring the pungency of pepper extract, he found that chemical reactions didn’t prove sensitive enough. The tongue actually proved far more sensitive -- able of detect capsaicin dissolved in a solution a million times its volume.

On the Scoville Scale, a bell pepper -- which contains no capsaicin -- has a Scoville rating of zero. In comparison, jalapeños go from 3,000 to 8,000, while habaneros climb higher at 200,000 to 350,000. But the world’s hottest peppers (such as Bhut Jolokia, Trinidad Scorpion, Dorset Naga) have ratings that go over one million Scoville units!

The weakness of this test for peppers is that it relies on human perception, which can be very subjective.  The oral test is now being slowly replaced by a more scientific method, using a machine called the High Pressure Liquid Chromatograph.

But as all chili lovers know, the best test is waiting right in our own kitchens!