A Guide To Peppers
Peppers are a favorite in most gardens behind tomatoes and herbs. They are often grown in container gardens and they do well. Peppers are a warm season favorite however, they require higher temperatures, grow more slowly and are smaller in size compared to a tomato plant. They require full sun and they need to spaced 12-18 inches apart. Peppers are a thirsty plant and need plenty of water. The soil must drain well so the roots do not get saturated which can water logs the roots.
A little history about the spiciness/heat of pepper began in the 1900’s. The Scoville scale of heat is a measurement of the spiciness/heat of a pepper specifically chili peppers or other spicy food and is reported in Scoville Heat Units(SHU). The scale is named after an American pharmacist Wilbur Scoville. The formula is very detailed however the SHU is reported from a low of 0-100 (Bell Peppers) to 800,000 to 3,200,000 (the Carolina Reaper which was certified as the world’s hottest chili pepper). Fortunately the hottest pepper we grow is a jalapeno which is between 2500-9000 SHU and that is plenty hot for our family.
Below is a guide to the hot pepper scale:
- Ghost (Naga Jolokia) 1,000,000 SHU
- Habanero Pepper 100,000-500,000 SHU
- Cayenne Pepper 30,000-50,000SHU
- Serrano Pepper 10,000-23,000 SHU
- Jalapeno Pepper 2,500-9,000 SHU
- Poblano Pepper 1,000-1,500 SHU
- Pimento Pepper 100-500 SHU
- Bell Pepper 0-100 SHU
Bell Peppers
There are many varieties of peppers, especially the bells, which are very popular in the United States. They range in color from green, orange, yellow, and red. Which pepper is the sweetest? Red bell peppers are the most ripe and are the sweetest. They are tender, easy to grow and packed with vitamin C and vitamin B6. Their vitamin content and flavor improve as the bell pepper changes colors. All peppers share a common growing season; long and warm. They tend to stop producing when there are periods of extreme heat, with or without wind as the blooms will not set. They resume when it cools off. I have found myself becoming impatient with bell peppers wondering if they will ever turn into a sweeter red pepper. It takes a while to change to its final color, but when it does the flavor is worth the wait.
Hot Peppers
We also grow several varieties of hot peppers but nothing hotter than a jalapeno. They are very popular of the fresh chili’s and when smoked become chipotle peppers. We do grow chili peppers which we roast and save for fall recipes. Capsaicin the oily compound the produces the heat in a hot pepper is found in concentration in the veins, ribs, and seeds. I try to handle these carefully when preparing salsa.
Enjoy my salsa recipe!
“A garden requires patient labor and attention. Plants do not grow merely to satisfy ambitions or to fulfill good intentions. They thrive because someone expended effort on them. ” –Liberty Hyde Bailey
