A Bounty of Peppers!
I’ve got a bounty of peppers now, of bell, sweet and hot. The peppers are in full production mode! I took a quick break to walk out to the garden for a harvest.
Bell, Sweet and Hot Peppers (Click for larger image)
Once I got the peppers inside and on the counter, I thought they looked really pretty, so I took a photo. And keep in mind, this isn’t all of the peppers — many have already found their way into our tummies. Not to mention there are a ton still on the plants!
In the photo I have Park’s Sweet Banana, Park’s Sweet Pickle, Mini-Belle (in purple and red), Redskin (mostly green), a name-unknown bell and a Cambuci (very hot!). I’m waiting to taste the Cambuci before writing up a post on it, but it’s a really pretty plant and pepper.
A bounty of peppers indeed!
Still Planting Peppers
I’ve got another round of peppers to plant this weekend. Here in Florida, there’s still plenty of time to get in a second crop. So what’s on my agenda? Here’s what I have in mind, but it’s always subject to change.
- Datil
- Aurora
- Purple Jalapeno
- Jaloro (yellow jalapeno)
- Redskin (again — this is one nice bell pepper!)
- Starburst (ornamental pepper)
- Giant Anconcagua (again — absolutely huge sweet peppers!)
I might also go with another round of Pretty Purple Pepper and one of the Thai Hot varieties. I’m also debating adding a larger bell pepper to the list, or maybe Mohawk (the companion to Redskin).
So if you live in a climate where it’s warm (days at least in the 70’s) on up through October or November, come on and plant some more seeds! Or at least see if there are any plants for sale available nearby.
And for the rest of you who already have peppers out in the garden — may you have a bounty of peppers as well!
Bhut Jolokia – The World’s Hottest Pepper
Bhut Jolokia is the reigning world’s hottest pepper. The most pungent tested over 1,000,000 Scoville Units. That’s beyond hot!
I decided to grow some jolokia in my garden, along with some mustard habanero and some scotch bonnet peppers. The ultimate comparison should be quite interesting!
About Bhut Jolokia
This nuclear-heat chile pepper is known by several names. In addition to Bhut Jolokia, it’s also known as Naga Jolokia, Nai Miris, Ghost Chili, Ghost Pepper and Naga Morich. Yes, it’s a little confusing (to say the least).
This chile pepper comes from the Indian sub-continent, and thought to have originated in Northeast India, in Nagaland.
There’s been some controversy over this pepper; some say that the testing (done by 3 different labs) was hoaxed and nothing could top 1 million Scoville. But, the Chile Pepper Institute, run by New Mexico State University, ran tests in 2005 and yes, it was over 1,000,000 Scoville.
In February 2007, Guinness World Records certified the Bhut Jolokia (Prof. Bosland’s of the Chile Pepper Institute’s preferred name for the pepper) as the world’s hottest chili pepper.
There’s a question if the jolokia pepper is a member of the capsicum chinense or capsicum frutenscens family. I’m going to go with c. chinense, because the plant looks very similar to the Mustard Habanero plant I am growing in a different part of the garden.Â
(You can read read my pepper types post for more information on the different species.)
Growing Bhut Jolokia
The seeds aren’t exactly cheap (I paid about $1 per seed), and I started 2 seeds. Both sprouted, but one was felled by (I assume) the weather. The other one is doing beautifully!
The photo above is about a week before I planted it in my new raised bed garden. Since it’s been in the raised bed it has flourished and is a beautiful plant. It’s just now starting to form some flower buds, and before the buds open, I am going to bag the blossoms, so I can be sure of having more seeds going forward.
I’ll be posting more about Bhut Jolokia, the world’s hottest pepper, in the future, especially once the peppers start to form. And it will be quite interesting to compare it against my Mustard Habanero and Scotch Bonnet Early peppers.
Stay tuned!
Redskin Pepper in the Garden
I decided to try the Redskin pepper, even knowing my track record with bell peppers hasn’t exactly been stellar. But I have to admit to being impressed with Redskin. Finally, a bell pepper that actually produces for me in South Florida!
Planting Redskin Pepper
I had to plant this versatile pepper from seed, as there were none in the local garden shops.  The plant started out a little spindly at first, but started growing nicely once in the garden.
Given my luck with bell peppers, I planted 4 Redskins, hoping at least 1 would produce some peppers. Whoa! They all are producing nice little bells.
Now Redskin doesn’t grow as large as traditional bell peppers, but it’s a great “personal size” snack. My peppers are around 4″ long and maybe 2.5″ wide. The taste is quite pleasing, even when green. And speaking of color, this pepper is red when fully ripe.
Low-Growing Pepper
This pepper is a low growing pepper — wider than it is tall. This makes it fantastic for growing in containers! In fact, I have 3 of my Redskins in containers and only one in the ground (and yes, they do grow a bit taller in the ground).
For someone who traditionally cannot grow bell peppers, this one is thriving and gets an “A” in my book! Looks to me like I will have plenty this year. So if you’ve been having problems growing bell peppers, this is one variety I recommend you trying.
