I love growing chili peppers in my garden . For me , they ’re much a cash craw . One or two plants give me enough veggies for the time of year with batch left to preserve , stop dead , sell or give away .
Chilies are the fiery cousin of tomatoes , so as you ’d expect , they like standardised condition . bracing or dried , chilies are effective stimulants and digestive . They ’re also in high spirits in vitamin A and C , which is why they were carried on navigation ship as a delicious way to foreclose scurvy .
Beyond being fertile and easy to grow , chili pepper are invaluable in preparation if you wish a little spicery . you may use them to make live sauces , to season up salads , to spice up a curry , or to add sapidity to a drinkable . Whether you like a little heat or a lot , there ’s a capsicum out there with your name on it .
Pepper Varieties
There are so many chili capsicum varieties we could n’t wrap up them all here , so we ’ve lean the most common . Chili capsicum are rated by how red-hot they are , denoted byScovilleheat units . The high the number , the hot the capsicum pepper plant .
Bird’s Eye
This fiery petty chili is essential in Thai cooking . There are many mixture of Bird ’s Eye . The most coarse types in North America are Chiltepin and Pequin . It has a Scoville rating of 50,000 to 1000,000 .
Habanero
Unripe habaneros are green but can mature to yellow , red , livid , brown or delay green . It all depends on the variety of habanero you have .
Habaneros have a Scoville rating of 300,000 to 475,000 , with common pepper from the Caribbean coming in hotter than Mexican variety . They mature in about 90 days and can palm northern clime .
Jalapeno
One of the most common chilly Madagascar pepper , this miscellany encompasses a wide of the mark scope , admit the intercrossed Jaloro and Purple . The semen have a sharp flavor of their own , so unlike many chili pepper , the seeds are used cook . Jalapenos have a Scoville rating between 2,500 to 8,000 depending on the variety .
Cayenne Pepper
Cayenne is my favorite chili con carne pepper to grow . They are n’t fussy , they produce large amount of chilies and are n’t as hot as some diversity . Cayenne types admit Aji Sivri , Diablo Grande , Dagger Pod , and Golden .
Cayenne peppers are thin and light-green to red . They have a Scoville rating between 30,000 to 50,000 . The Carolina cayenne multifariousness can be twice as hot . I use cayenne Piper nigrum to make Thai chile sauce and a savoury love apple sauce for alimentary paste and pizza pie .
Anaheim
Sometimes called California light-green chili , this is a mild dark-green or red Piper nigrum that include a miscellanea of peppercorn , like Sonora , Numex , and Baker ’s Hot . Its mild flavor makes it a popular option in formula . It has a Scoville rating of 500 to 1,000 . It age in 75 - 80 24-hour interval .
Scotch Bonnet
Scotch Bonnet is a habanero cultivar , and if you ’re seem for heat and sapidity , this is the chili for you . It has a Scoville military rating of 100,000 to 350,000 . It ’s commonly crimson or orangish , but some can be chocolate brown , peach or yellowish .
Paprika
Paprika is a mild chilli common pepper that you could dry and fag to a pulverisation . I append sweet pepper plant to any gist or vegetable dish because it adds a pleasant flavor . It ’s eminent in vitamin C , too . Look for Elephant ’s Ear sweet pepper plant , which is in particular tasty . Paprika Scoville valuation cast from 250 – 1,000 .
Carolina Reaper
If you need a punch of heating that will knock you back , the Carolina Reaper come in as the hottest peppercorn on the planet . It has a Scoville rating of an astonishing 1,400,000 to 2,200,000 . Ed Currie developed this spicy white pepper , which has a fruity , sweet flavour if you may get past the hotness .
How to Grow Chilli Peppers
Zones
Peppers are tropical perennials , but they ’re grown as yearbook in most zones . I ’ve had a little succeeder in growing them as perennials and getting a second season out of them . If you need to assay this out , note that I had to institute them inside over the winter , and the 2nd time of year out of doors eagre less fruit .
That say , they grow comfortably in zones 5 through 10 . If you ’re in zona 11 or 12 , grow them as a perennial .
Sun and Soil Requirements
Chili Piper nigrum love the sun , at least 6 to 8 hour per day . Give them full sun just like they ’d have in their native tropical zone .
Soil should have a pH of 6.0 to 7.0 for best results . Chili peppers opt sandlike , well - enfeeble , fertile earth .
Dig in slew of well - rotted manure or compost a week before planting your chili plant life . Fertile , alimentary - rich land give chilis a more vivid flavor .
When to Plant Chili Peppers
Plant chili peppers indoors 8 - 10 weeks before the last frost . inure them off for 7 - 10 days before transplant . When I transplant mine , I always use a cloche to maintain a steady heat in the early stages of growth . Put them in the ground 2 - 3 weeks after the last Robert Frost when grunge is 60 ° degree Fahrenheit .
Container Planting
Chilies mature well in tubs on a sunny , shelter balcony . Ensure you have a good quality loamy soil and use a container - specific fertiliser before planting . You may also want to cater some funding like a stake or cage as some chilies can get 3 base tall .
Growing chili peppercorn in pots will give you a non - stop supply as you’re able to move the corporation around to survey the sun towards the remainder of the season .
Germinating Seeds
I save seeds from my chilies , and I ’ve never had a job with sprouting . If you struggle with disease , presoak your seeds in a 15 pct bleach potpourri .
Plant seed in pots using a lineament ejaculate raising mix . I like to implant two ejaculate in each toilet so I can weed out the weaker one .
Germination is 14 to 21 days . Slowly bring the seedling out into the sunshine . I place my seedlings out during the lovesome days and put them back at night when the conditions is a lilliputian cool .
Spacing
Give plant 12 - 18 inches between plant and 24 - 30 inches between quarrel . Plant seeds at 1/2 - inch deep .
Cross Pollination
Since peppers are closely related , they may bilk - pollinate with each other . If that happen , it can make piquant peppers milder and modest peppers hotter . Keep plants aside if you require them to maintain their spice .
Caring for Chilli Peppers
Fertilizer
grasp in well - rotted manure a week before you embed your chilies . Once the plant is in blossom , feed with tomato fertilizer , but be less generous than you would for Lycopersicon esculentum . Add K - rich fertilizer to each tearing once the fruit begin to swell . Limit the amount of N you employ if you want your pepper to get blue . you could also add a scrap of S to increase the heat energy .
Watering
Do n’t piss new flora with cold water supply straight from the pat . recollect these are tropical plant . H2O regularly but do n’t allow the soil to become sodden . Give plants less water if you want them to maturate hotter .
Mulching
Mulch in the warmer months because chili peppers prize the extra heat in the soil .
Common Problems and Solutions for Growing Chili Peppers
Aphids
These sap - sucking insects will weaken the flora and reduce output . If you do n’t address the exit , aphid lean to keep growing in numbers until they become consuming . They also provide honeydew on the plants , creating a perfect environs for mold . Treat them by spraying them off plants with a blast of water and then apply neem oil .
Snails and Slugs
Snails will eat both the leaves and fruit and demolish the plant over time . Use escargot pellets around the plants , or try your favorite snail or slug control method .
Whitefly
As the name suggests , this gadfly is a belittled white fly that sucks the sap out of your farm chili con carne pepper . Use pyrethrum orneem oilto control them .
Beet Armyworm
Beet Pseudaletia unipuncta are rough-cut in lovesome area where they consume love apple and peppers . They nibble on leaves and fruit and can have decay and leave behind feces that ruin your harvest time . Encourage predator like leechlike wasp . you’re able to also use spinosad spray to control them .
Tomato Fruit Worm
Despite its name , the tomato fruit worm plan of attack not only tomatoes , but peppers , corn , and cotton fiber . In cool areas , the pupa give way off during the wintertime , but in warm realm , you could have several generations each time of year .
You ’ll usually notice a black kettle of fish at the base of the pepper . Dispose of infested pepper , encourage parasitic wasp , and dust around plants with diatomaceous earth . you could also use Sevin or pyrethrin .
Spider Mites
These tiny arachnoid live on the underside of leaves , and they suck the life out of your spring up chili black pepper . This can cause the leaves to change state scandalmongering and drop off . Prune any leaves that are encompass in mites and blast the rest of the plant life with a unassailable nebuliser of water . Apply neem oil to keep them away .
Thrips
Thrips suck the juices out of plant , causing leaves to ferment pale and then pass . They feed in large groups and spread disease . Keep your garden free of grass and use gloomy steamy snare to nail this pest . Encourage beneficial predators and put on an insecticidal soap if needed .
Powdery Mildew
Powdery mould affects chilies in the efflorescence and fruiting stage . You ’ll notice a white mould cover up the leaves and stem of the plant . deflect water the plant overhead or in humid condition . Water around the plant in the soil instead . Also , see to it adequate space between plants .
Blossom End Rot
This disease start when the chili is gullible . It ’s because of a calcium deficiency or excessive nitrogen , which cause a decrease in uptake of Ca . Under or overwatering can also cause the plant to not take up enough Ca . piss the territory on a regular basis , but be careful not to make the land too soused . you’re able to also spray industrial plant with a calcium solution made to address blossom terminal rot .
Bacterial Spot
This bacteria induce leave and chilies to form spots and can cause defoliation and reduced harvest time . The beneficial mode to obviate the disease is to buy certified clean seed and to dampen all your shaft and seed in a diluted whitener bath . Rotate your crop and keep your garden well weed .
Damping Off
Damping off is triggered by fungi that will either cause seeds not to emerge or , once they pop up , to droop and die back at the dirt line . The fungi that produce this disease screw wet soil , so be careful about how much you water . Also , be sure to unsex your tools and passel before planting source .
Fusarium Wilt
This dirt - hold pathogen attacks the root of plants , tighten the amount of water your chilis can get and finally kill the works . It can be spread by tools , water system , and insects , and it can live in the soil for years . The right way to take on fusarium wilt is with prevention . make clean your tools , keep insects like aphids and cuke mallet away and keep off using too much N when feed in your peppers . Keep your garden clear of weeds . If all else fails , murder all of your plant , solarize the dirt , and try again next year .
Mosaic Virus
Mosaic virus attack all kinds of plants , including chili common pepper . It causes wrinkled , stunt leaves and yellow stripes . affect fruit appear to have warts . You ca n’t cure it once you get it , so do your best to preclude it . constitute resistant sort , keep dirt ball away , clean tools between purpose , and do n’t work in the garden on wet day because it go around the computer virus . Destroy any infected plants .
Transplant Shock
Transplant impact can cause peppers to block arise and to droop . To ward off it , seek to commove the ascendent as little as potential and water the plant thoroughly . Also , be sure that you are hardening the seedling off before sticking it in the ground .
Companion Plants for Chilli Pepper
Peppers roleplay nicely with a wide range of plants . Try grow chili pepper with the following :
fend off rise chili Madagascar pepper with beans or turnip cabbage .
How to Harvest and use Chilli
Pick your chilies when they are plump , glossy , and the right color . It ’s a good musical theme to give your garden a unspoilt soaking before picking . A mature green chile will change color in about three weeks from attain its full size . peck chilies often to encourage the plant to keep on fruiting . allow chile stay on the vine a mo longer if you desire them to get spicier .
Storage
Keep freshly picked chilies in a polythene bag in the fridge for up to two weeks .
I freeze out chilies in cup of tea in the right number for the formula I desire to use them for . For instance , my Siamese chili con carne sauce formula use 36 chilis so I freeze 36 in one bag and clearly mark it .
If you need to save cum for next season , choose a levelheaded specimen and remove the seeds before stop dead – dry well and store for next year in a newspaper publisher gasbag .
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