Growing Chile Peppers
So, is growing chile peppers any different than growing bell or sweet peppers? Overall growing is the same, but there are some special considerations for hot chile peppers. And the hotter the pepper, the more important these differences become.
What’s the Scoville Rating of the Pepper?
You should be aware of the Scoville rating of your chosen peppers. The what rating? If you’re not familiar with it, check out the about chile peppers post to find out about the Scoville scale. Then come back here and read on!
The reason you need to know about the general Scoville rating is that the higher the Scoville, the warmer the peppers like it! This includes everything from germination to growing weather.
I personally have noticed a difference in temperatures for germinating seeds for non-chile peppers versus the hot ones. And also within the peppers based on their heat. My sweet pepper seeds almost always germinate faster than the chiles. In fact, I’m seeing it right now, with the latest batch of seeds (sweet and chile) that I am germinating. So far, it’s just the sweet/bell peppers that have popped their head above soil.
So growing chile peppers starts with warmer germination temperatures. If you want information about a way to keep the growing medium warmer than usual, check out the growing peppers in Florida post.
Growing Chile Peppers – Containers or Garden?
Most chile peppers don’t grow terribly large, so are fine for growing in containers if that’s your wish. The peppers that seem to always grow larger for me are the jalapeno peppers, so if you grow them in a container, make it a larger container. When happy in the garden, I’ve had jalapenos grow over 4 feet tall. Let me tell you — that was a lot of jalapenos!
Now here’s something anecdotal. In my experience, the hotter the pepper, the shorter the pepper grows.  It doesn’t mean a shorter pepper isn’t just as prolific as the larger peppers, though. In fact, the very hot chile peppers like Bolivian Rainbow (which I grow for ornamental and eating purposes) bears smaller peppers but tons of them! But these peppers rarely grow more than about 20 inches tall.  This isn’t a hard and fast rule, though — there are some habaneros that can grow 3 feet tall.
I’ve just ordered some bhut jolokia seeds, which happens to be the hottest pepper in the word these days (1,000,000+ Scoville). So I’ll see if they need even warmer soil and weather conditions. And I’ll see how tall they grow, compared to my average-sized habaneros.
Chile Pepper Weather
Keep in mind that chile peppers originated in Central America, so you know they love hot weather. And interestingly, some hot peppers like habaneros and scotch bonnets can live as a perennial in a climate with warm weather year ’round.
The farther north you grow them, the more hours of direct sunlight your chile pepper plants need. (Here in South Florida in the summer, I make sure they get morning and afternoon sunlight, but have dappled shade mid-day; our sun is strong!)
So keep your chile pepper seeds warmer during germination (up to 95 degrees for the hottest peppers), although 85 tends to be the best overall temperature. Make sure you plant your peppers in a very warm area of your garden with plenty of sunshine, but which still has good air circulation. Give them some fertilizer (I prefer organic fertilizers) and keep the soil damp, but not wet.
Then, enjoy the harvest of your chile peppers!
Pepper Seed Varieties
I love peppers, so I am always on the lookout for new pepper seed sources. Sometimes I like hot (chile) peppers, other times I want the sweeter (bell, banana) peppers for my palate.
So was I ever surprised when I found some neat pepper seeds where I didn’t expect them — ebay!
Chile Pepper Seeds
Now when I say chile pepper, I am including all the hot peppers – not just the ones with “chile” as part of their name. And there are lots and lots of hot pepper seeds to pick!
Some of the hot pepper seed varieties I saw included
- Aji Peppers
- Ancho/Poblano
- Bhut Jolokia
, which is among the hottest peppers around.
- Cayenne peppers
- Datil peppers
- Habanero
- Jalapeno pepper
- Serrano
- Scotch bonnet
- Thai hot
- Trinadad scorpion
Well, that’s just a small sampling of the hot pepper seeds that I saw — lots more varieties are available.
Sweet Peppers
Not to be outdone, there were also plenty of sweet and bell peppers available, too. I love hot chile peppers, but I also adore sweet peppers and bell peppers, too. While for whatever reason I tend to have problems with growing bells, I can grow the other sweet peppers ’til the cows come home!
Some of the interesting sweet peppers that I saw were:
There are a whole lot more of the non-chile-pepper-type seeds. I couldn’t believe the variety I saw!
Well, I need to get shopping, because fortunately, Florida summers are great for growing hot peppers (unless we get a hurricane, that is). I saw quite a few new varieties that I want to try!
About Chile Peppers
Chile, chili, hot — what’s the difference? None, really. These pungent peppers are often called by any of the above names.Â
Chile peppers are members of the genus Capsicum, and they are unrelated to black peppercorns (part of the Piper family). For convenience, however, we’ll only use the term “chile” when referring to these peppers. Please note, however, that there are several varieties that are actually have the word “chile” in their name.
Chile Pepper Facts
Where Did Peppers Come From? The hot chile pepper is a New World addition to the diet, discovered by none other than Christopher Columbus on his first voyage in 1492. Today, we know of more than 200 varieties, over 100 of which are indigenous to Mexico.
Are Peppers Good for You? Fresh chile peppers are loaded with Vitamin C — twice as much as citrus fruits! Fresh chiles also contain Vitamin A. What about dried? Well, drying chiles destroys most of the Vitamin C, but increases the Vitamin A content — up to 100 times! Some weight-loss programs advocate the use of spicy foods (chiles included), saying that the heat generated by the spice revs up the metabolism.
How Hot is “Hot”? Back in 1902, a scientist by the name of Wilbur Scoville devised a test to measure the relative heat of the chile peppers. This resulting scale is referred to as the “Scoville Scale”. For example, bell peppers register a “0-100” on the Scoville, while the mighty habanero registers a whopping “300,000+”. That’s hot!
Here’s a list of commonly eaten peppers, with their Scoville rating (from mildest to hottest):
- Bell peppers with a rating of 0-100
- Anahaeim peppers with a rating of 500-3,500
- Ancho/Poblano peppers with a rating of 500-1,000
- Pasilla peppers with a rating of 1,000-3,000
- Numex/New Mexico peppers with a rating of 3,000-4,000
- Hungarian peppers with a rating of 3,500-4,500
- Jalapeno peppers with a rating of 5,000-7,000
- Serrano peppers with a rating of 6,000-10,000
- De Arbol peppers with a rating of 15,000-30,000
- Cayenne peppers with a rating of 30,000-50,000
- Chipotle/Morita peppers with a rating of 75,000
- Chiltepin/Birdseye peppers with a rating of 50,000-100,000
- Scotch Bonnet peppers with a rating of 200,000
- Habanero peppers with a rating of 300,000+
- Habanero “Red Savina” with a rating of around 500,000
- Jolokia is now the official hottest, with a rating of over 1,000,000!
Now these numbers aren’t chisled in stone; for example, there are jalapenos that have practically no heat, as well as some that are extra hot. Different varieties of the same pepper can have different Scoville ratings. Add to that is this little fact; the hotter the climate where the pepper is grown, the higher the Scoville rating.
What Makes Chiles so Hot? A substance called capsaicin is what makes the chiles to hot! The more capsaicin, the hotter it is. Pure capsaicin tops out the Scoville scale with a rating of 16,000,000!
Too Hot! How Can I Cool my Mouth? First of all, do not drink beer, water or a carbonated beverage — it will just make things worse! Capsaicin is an oil, and these liquids just spread it around. Try drinking milk, or eating some sour cream (or ice cream). Dairy items neutralize the oil and cool the burn.
Can I Lower the Heat of a Pepper? Sure! If you want to reduce the flames (so to speak), you can “neuter” the pepper by paring away the interior ribs and removing the seeds. If the pepper is a really hot one, you might not notice a great difference, though.
How Can I Determine the Heat of an Unfamiliar Pepper? Assuming that you don’t want to taste-test the pepper, here’s a general rule-of-thumb — the bigger the pepper, the lower the heat. The reverse is generally true as well — the smaller the pepper, the hotter it is.
Where Can I Get Chiles? Chiles are increasingly available in grocery stores, but why not grow your own? They’re fun to grow, and you can be sure they’re fresh. Also, growing your own chile peppers allows you to grow the varieties that you like — not what the grocery store buyer thinks you should like.
How Long Will a Pepper Plant Live? This all depends on the species of pepper plant. There are three main cultivated species: Capsicum annuum, Capsicum frutescens, and Capsicum chinense. Most peppers grown are of the Capsicum annuum species, and so are annual plants (living only one year). The Tabasco pepper (Capsicum frutescens) also lives a similar time. On the other hand, Capsicum chinense, otherwise known as the Habanero or Scotch Bonnet, is a perennial in a semi-tropical or tropical environment. In addition, the Capsicum baccatum, of which Ajis are a member, can also occasionally live more than one season.