2010 PEPPERS Available
Peppers are members of the Solanacae
Family. They are related to Tomatoes,
Potatoes, Eggplant and Belladonna. They
are NOT related to black cooking pepper.
We grow numerous varieties of bells, sweet and HOT peppers,
on a broad spectrum of HEAT…MILD, child-safe to some of the HOTTEST in the
world. Availability varies.
We do have some varieties available that wintered over in
the Greenhouse.
BELLS
Old-fashioned peppers that are very mild. Can be quite colorful.
Use in cooking or fresh.
Bell, Green
Bell, Red
Bell, Yellow
Thick walled, blocky shaped 3-4 lobed peppers on sturdy plants. Good yields. Used for stuffing, and diced or sliced in many types of cooked and fresh dishes. Use at any point in color spectrum from Green on. MILD. 50-60 days green. 70-85 days colored ripe.
Chinese Giant: Huge, old-fashioned bell pepper. 5” – 6” deep x wide. Thick-walled, blocky fruit, turns bright red, and extremely sweet, when fully ripened. Compact, bushy plant. Terrific for stuffing. 75 days.
ORNAMENTAL
EDIBLE, BUT VERY COMPACT, LOW
GROWING
SOME ARE CHILD-SAFE,
MILD. SOME ARE EXTREMELY HOT.
Black Pearl: Ornamental compact plants with green leaves that mature to black. Edible, but HOT black peppers turn red late in the season. Great plant for patio, container, borders, or bouquets. Just gorgeous. 85 days black to 140 days red ripe.
Ladybug: Ethnic Pepper. Small pepper. Very pretty.
Lipstick: Very
popular, early abundant 4” long, tapering, thick, juicy and SWEET Ethnic
Pepper. Multiple uses in salads, salsas, roasting,
grilling and cooking. 53 days green to 73 days red
ripe.
Marbles: Low growing, mounding plants, with abundant round, marble-sized, multi-hued peppers. Unknown Heat level. Color ranges from cream to yellow to red. Extremely Ornamental plant, good for patio, container, and border uses. 70 days.
Medusa: Low-growing 6 – 8” plants, with 2.5” long multi-colored, narrow, twisting, non-spicy peppers that stand upright, like Medusa’s hair. Child-safe, mild-tasting, Ornamental plant. Ivory to yellow to orange to red peppers with all colors appearing at once. Outstanding for patio, containers, and borders. 60-70 days.
NuMex Twilight: 3/8 “ – ¾” VERY HOT edible, ornamental, multi-color peppers. Colors range from purple to yellow, orange and then red. The plant stays 12” tall when grown in containers, and grows to 24” – 30” when planted in the garden. Make a superior edging for mixed borders. Patios, containers, and gardens. Like old-fashioned Christmas tree lights.
65 days purple to 85 days red.
Nippon Taka: Clusters of 8 to 10 red finger length peppers stand up above the foliage. Long growing season for HOT edible, ornamental, peppers. Use in patio, container, border, plants. Dry for use in mini-ristras and wreaths. 120 days green to 150 days red.
Prairie Fire: ½” to 1” HOT, multi-colored edible, ornamental peppers. Peppers are chartreuse to cream to yellow to orange and red, with some purple streaking as peppers mature. Magnificient for patio, containers, borders, and bouquets. 50 days yellow-green to 75 days red ripe.
Pretty in Purple: ¾” rounded glossy deep purple HOT edible, ornamental peppers ripen to yellow, orange and brilliant red on upright, spreading 2’ plants. Plants have multi-colored peppers in range of shades at the same time. Leaves are solid purple, variegated, and green. Small purple flowers. An incredible ornamental plant for patios, containers, and borders. 60 days purple to 85 days red ripe.
Riot: 2” – 3” multi-colored long, narrow HOT, edible, ornamental peppers. Yellow to orange to deep bright red peppers stand out above short, compact plants. Great for patio, container, border plantings. 60 - 70 days of varying color.
Sangria: Child-safe, MILD edible, ornamental, 2” – 3” dark purple to bright red peppers that stand upright over the green foliage. Another great patio, container, and border plant. Safe for children and pets. 85 days purple to 120 days red ripe.
SOUTHWESTERN-STYLE
CHILES, and Specialty ETHNIC.
MILD TO HOT
MANY of these are VERY Ornamental, and Edible…but considered a type in themselves.
Aji Dulce: Appearance, flavor and aroma similar to a Red Habanero. Has virtually no heat. 2” long. Abundant yield on tall plants. 85 – 90 days.
Ancho 101: Green: Known as Poblanos, these 4” long mildly – hot, heart-shaped thinner – walled peppers are large enough for stuffing (chiles rellenos) and are best served roasted and peeled. When Red: then known as Anchos. These are dried and ground in to chile powder, and put in to sauces, for example the classic “mole” sauce. When dried, the Anchos can be strung, or made in to wreaths. 68 days green and 88 days red ripe.
Andy, Korean Cayenne Pepper: Strong plants hold peppers up well, for long and straight peppers. Dries beautifully. Use for Ristras and wreaths. 60 days green & 85 days red ripe.
Bulgarian Carrot: Gorgeous Bright Orange peppers. VERY HOT, 3 1/2 “ long produce on short plants. Very ornamental heirloom plants, with abundant yields. Fruity taste. Best used in chutneys, hot pepper jelly, salsas, and sauces. 67 days.
Busillis: 6” – 7” long x 2” wide Mediterranean HOT and sweet frying pepper. 70 days green. 90 days red ripe.
Caribbean Red: Caribbean Extremely HOT Red pepper, that is much hotter than the Orange Habanero. The opposite extreme from Aji Dulce. 1 ½” long x 1” wide, bright red, wrinkled fruits. WARNING: Dried samples measured 445,000 Scoville units as opposed to 260,000 Scovilles for regular red Habaneros. Uses: Salsas, marinades, HOT sauces.110 days to Red.
Cascabel: Shaped like a cherry pepper. Strong flavor, used as dried, when skin turns dark reddish-brown. When dried, seeds are loose and rattle. Cascabel means sleigh bell or jingle bell in Spanish. Quite rare. 90 days.
Cayenne, Long Horn: Very
Hot
Congo Trinidad: Similar to a Red Habanero, but larger and more ribbed. 2” long and wide blocky red pepper. Extremely HOT Extra-large sized peppers on very productive heat-tolerant plants. 80 days.
Fatali: Yellow, wrinkled, fiery-hot peppers, with a wide top that tapers to a point, and are also related to the Habanero. Citrus-fruity flavor, followed by searing heat. African Heirloom, 3-4’ tall plants, yield abundant crops of 2 – 3 “long fruit, generally earlier than most Habanero types. 80 days.
Golden Cayenne: 4” long x ½”wide curved lemon-yellow cayenne peppers. Abundant yield on compact plants. VERY Ornamental. 72 days.
Golden Greek Pepperoncini: Rare Greek Heirloom pepper that is smaller and lighter in color than the more common Pepperoncini. Same thin-walled, slightly wrinkled shape, and mildly-hot flavor. Perfect for Greek salads & homemade pickles. Earlier than other salad peppers. 62 days.
Golden-Orange Habanero: Extremely HOT 1” long x 1 ½” wide, tapered, golden-orange pepper that is 40x hotter than a Jalapeno. 3’ tall plants packed with wrinkled orange fruit. Does very well in the South. 90 – 100 days, light green – golden-orange.
Brown Habanero: Extremely HOT extra-large 2 ½” long Chocolate Brown peppers. Very productive plants, but HANDLE WITH CARE. Unique color and size specialty chile pepper. 85 days.
Hawai'ian Hot Pizza Peppers:
Italian style HOT and sweet peppers, that dry well for the seeds and
flesh sprinkled on pizza, and in other ethnic foods. Brought
seed back from a specialty Italian cook in Hawai’i.
Holy Mole (Hybrid): 7 – 9” long prolific, green to dark chocolate distinctively flavored pepper. Use fresh or dried, for nutty, spicy, smoky flavor, and mild heat, especially in mole sauce. 80 days.
Hot Paper Lantern: 3” – 4” long, elongated and wrinkled lantern-shaped ethnic peppers. Extremely HOT. 70 days Lime green to 90 days red ripe.
Italian Roaster (Hybrid): 8 – 9” long x ¾” wide at the shoulder, thin green – red medium large, medium spicy grilling peppers. Char-grill on either side, to use on burgers or sandwiches. Eat whole, including seeds. Medium-large plants. 76 days.
Jaloro: Golden Yellow to Orange to Red Jalapeno peppers, developing on early-producing, compact plants. Very Ornamental, and as HOT as regular Jalapeno. Great presentation with green or purple Jalapeno peppers or on their own. 70 days.
Jamaican Hot Chocolate: Compare these Dark Chocolate Habanero-style peppers to the Brown Habanero. Approximately the same size, growing time, heat and flavor. Tell us which you prefer. Very ribbed and wrinkled. Use for a HOT sauce. Jamaican Heirloom. 85 days.
Jamaican Hot Red: Heavy-production of bright red flying saucer shaped thin-skinned HOT peppers, on very compact, densely foliaged plants. Very unusual shape, and HOT spicy taste, on this unique Ornamental plant. Use for fresh, as a garnish, or pickled. Companion plant with Jamaican Hot Yellow. 95 days.
Jamaican Hot Yellow: Bright Yellow version of the Jamaican Hot Red. Plant with the red for an Ornamental effect. Unique shape. Compact plants good for patio, container, border uses. 95 days.
Mucho Nacho (Hybrid): Longer, wider, heavier, hotter than a regular Jalapeno. Strong, vigorous plants yield 4” long, green to red. 65-75 days.
Padron: 1” – 1 ½” long green Ethnic Spanish Pepper.
Approximately 1 out of 20 will be HOT, but the majority are
MILD. All the peppers will be HOT if allowed to grow to 2”
– 3” long. Saute in olive oil and serve with a
bit of sea salt for Tapas (appetizer).
Paprika Supreme:
Pasilla Bajio: 8” to 10” long, thin-walled, dark green ripening to dark brown. Very mild (less than 250 Scoville units) cylindrical peppers mostly used dried for full, smoky flavor in sauces. When picked fresh, these are also known as ‘chilaca’ and/or ‘chile negro’. 75 – 80 days.
Purple Jalapeno: Fruit turns purple, and stays that way for a long time, prior to turning red. Thick-walled, VERY HOT peppers, that are somewhat larger than regular Jalapenos. Would make a great presentation with green, yellow, orange, and red Jalapenos, or on their own in pickles, or other usual ways to utilize Jalapenos. 75 days.
Serrano: 2 ¼” candle-shaped VERY HOT green, maturing to red popular pepper. 30” – 36” erect, multi-branching plants yield large quantities of peppers for salsas and sauces, and fresh eating. 75 – 80 days.
Tabasco: Light yellow-green maturing to red EXTREMELY HOT peppers grow on tall green-leafed plants. THE famous sauce pepper, it grows very well in the south. 80 days.
Tam Jalapeno: Compare to Mucho Nacho. This pepper is smaller, and milder than a regular Jalapeno. 2 ½” – 3” long x 1 ½” wide cylindrical peppers, with a blunt end grow on semi-compact size plants. Medium-green maturing to red peppers, with abundant yields. 65 – 70 days.
Thai HOT: EXTREMELY HOT heirloom thin-fleshed pepper from Thailand. 1 ½” green to red peppers are produced prolifically and appear upright, at the same time on this Ornamental, edible plant. Traditional Oriental cuisine pepper. 90 days.
Trinidad Perfume: Compare to Jamaican Yellow Hot. This 1” to 1 ½” golden orange-yellow triangular-shaped pepper has NO HEAT. Delicious Caribbean cuisine flavor from these tall plants that have incredible yields. 80 – 85 days.
White Habanero: 1 ½” long x ½” wide creamy white peppers are smaller than the usual Habanero, but have the same flavor and HEAT. VERY HOT peppers on prolific plants. 90 days.
Yellow C: Small Ethnic Pepper.
Yellow Mushroom: Compare toJamaican Yellow Hot. Light-yellow to Golden, Extremely HOT, abundantly produced thin-skinned, 2” peppers. Flying-saucer, or patty-pan squash style pickling peppers. Unique. Earlier than Jamaican Yellow Hot. 80 days.
SPECIALTY SWEET ETHNIC PEPPERS
MILD
Antohi Romanian, Ethnic Sweet
Pepper: Heirloom Eastern European frying pepper.
Smooth, 4” long x 2” wide yellow to red, tapered, pointed peppers. 53 days yellow - 78 days red ripe. Pick at any
point. Sweet, flavorful frying pepper.
Carmen, Ethnic Sweet Pepper: 6” long x 2 ½” wide, 5 oz. tapered fruit, ripen from green to red. Italian “bull’s horn”/ corno di toro type specialty pepper. Compact, medium sized plants produce sweet flavored 3 – lobed salad and roasting peppers. 60 days green to 80 days red ripe.
Corno di Toro, Red: Italian “bull’s horn” 8” to 10” long, curved, colorful sweet peppers. Ripen to deep red. Delicious sautéed or grilled, but also good to eat fresh. Abundant crop from tall plants. 68 days.
Corno di Toro, Yellow: same as above, but ripen to bright yellow.
Flexum (Hybrid): 4 oz. cone-shaped peppers that range from ivory to yellow, to orange, to red. Lovely, abundant 6” long, super sweet, thick-walled fruit, grown on compact plants. Easily harvested. 65 days.
Giant Szegedi: Hungarian Heirloom. White to orange to red when fully ripe, 4 ½” long, wedge-shaped sweet pepper. Thick , sweet flesh. 75 days.
Golden Marconi: Up to 1’ long, 3 lobed Golden-Yellow Italian Sweet frying peppers. Huge yields of high quality peppers can also be eaten fresh Mix with Purple or Red Marconis for unique, colorful presentation. 90 days.
Jimmy Nardello: Bright red, 6” – 8” long x 1” wide, tapering, curving, somewhat wrinkled, non-bell, frying pepper. Best fresh in salads or mixed in stir-fries. Extremely sweet. 80 days.
Pritavit (Hybrid)/Topepo type: Brilliantly crimson red topepo type Italian pepper. Abundantly yielding plants are easy to grow, and produce deeply ribbed, thick-walled, crisp flesh slightly flattened 2 ½” tall x 4” wide peppers. Sweet flavor and juicy red flesh. 75 – 80 days.
Purple Marconi: 6-in. long, with a tapered shape ending in a blunt tip, delicious sweet Italian peppers. Abundant harvests of these peppers that turn a deep shade of purple when they are fully ripe. Traditionally used for frying, Marconis are also wonderful when eaten fresh. Creates a beautiful salad and a spectacular salsa. Mix with Golden Marconi for a colorful presentation. 90 days.
Red Marconi: 7” long deep red, tapering, extremely sweet Italian frying pepper. Later to mature than a bell pepper, but much sweeter. Huge yields of high quality peppers. Delicious fresh or fried. Mix with Golden Marconi for a colorful presentation. 90 days.
Round of Hungary: Heavily ribbed, flattened, very thick-skinned, sweet ethnic pepper. Excellent for fresh or cooked stuffed peppers, salads and general cooking. Pimento cheese pepper. 55 days green – 75 red ripe.
Roumanian Rainbow: Ivory to persimmon orange to mature red 4” to 5” long very early, very colorful bell peppers. All three shades of progression are visible on the plant at the same time. Short, compact plants, with great yields make this as ornamental as it is delicious. Continuous production. 60 days.
Sunbell L (Hybrid): Large, elongated-bell shaped, exceptionally sweet pepper starts out ivory, then turns a beautiful golden yellow, before becoming bright red. 70 days
Sweet Cayenne: Very long, up to 1’ long, sweet, crinkly, thin-walled, cayenne-shaped frying peppers. Heavy yielding plants produce peppers that are red when ripe. Good for stir fries, and general frying. Compare to the hotter cayenne-style peppers, for a delicious, different choice. 75 days.
Sweet Pickle: 2” long, chunky, colorful peppers top a short, compact plant, for an ornamental display of its full range of colors. Very edible and sweet pickling peppers range in color from red, orange, yellow, to purple. All colors displayed at the same time, so can harvest and use the multi-hued display. Great for gift giving. Plant in patio-area, containers, and borders. Child-safe. 75 days.
Gardening with Peppers
Peppers are a relatively easy plant to grow in the
garden. Many are extremely
ornamental. They look beautiful in mixed
borders, and can be utilized in container gardens, even hanging baskets, and naturally,
rows in the vegetable patch, or raised beds.
Height of pepper varieties can vary quite a bit, from short
mounding ornamental plants that stay about a foot to 18 inches in height,
through compact plants of two to three feet in height to some varieties that can
be like a tall shrub, up to six feet in height.
When deciding on the types of peppers that you want to harvest, take note
of the growth size of the plant.
Set plants out with an appropriate amount of room for
growth and ease of harvesting. Most
pepper plants can be set 12 to 18 inches apart in rows 24 to 36 inches
apart. Just make sure that if you choose
a taller growing plant, that you allow for its size.
Most peppers are open pollinated and can
cross-pollinate. This can yield
interesting variations, but makes seed-saving somewhat difficult to ensure true
to type peppers in ensuing seasons.
Pepper plants like a warm soil. It is better to hold them back from placing
in the garden, or transplant them to a larger pot, until the soil is warm. Putting them in the garden too early can hold
back growth and setting of fruit/pods/the peppers.
Peppers generally do not like the temperature to get too
high, or too low. This can also hold
back the setting of fruit.
Pick the peppers as soon as they reach a mature size, in
order to encourage continuous setting of fruit.
Pepper Plants Indoors
Peppers are, in fact, a Perennial. But they are most often grown as an
annual. If you wish to try to keep your
pepper plants over from year to year, do not plant them in the ground. Digging them up to bring them inside is too
disruptive to the roots. Choose an
edible ornamental or compact plant over a taller relative. Plant them in a fairly large container,
proportioned to their anticipated size, and use them as a patio plant for the
growing season. Then bring them inside
prior to a killing frost. Peppers do not
like to sit near a cold window. Keep
them away from a window, but allow them sunlight. They may lose leaves and get fairly
leggy. You may just enjoy them for a few
extra months and then can either discard them over winter, or cut them back and
see how they fill out in the spring.