Everything you need to know to grow peppers, in a pot or garden

Peppers are for every taste and garden

Monday, May 29, 2023

No matter your taste buds, your style of cooking or the type of food you love, there is a pepper for you!  Besides that, peppers are pest free, come in beautiful colors, are easy to grow, and look great on the patio.

Peppers originated in South America.  Their use goes back to at least 7500 BCE and were domesticated at least 8000 years ago.  

Peppers have many great nutritional benefits.  They contain high amounts of vitamins C, A (carotene), K, potassium, manganese, B6 as well as a good source of fiber.  Its antioxidants help the body combat free radicals.  For more details, SELF magazine has a nice compilation of nutritional information of fruits and vegetables:  pepper nutritional info 

There are hot peppers, there are sweet peppers, there are smokey peppers.  There are peppers of a multitude of colors-white, yellow, orange, red, purple, brown, black, green.  They come in all shapes from the size of a blueberry to 12”, straight, crooked, puckered.

The hotter the pepper, the more capsaicin it contains.  A tablespoon of ground chili pepper would contain between 0.8 to 480 mg of capsaicin.  In Ayurvedic medicine, capsaicin is used for digestive and circulatory health support.

Pepper’s heat is measured in Scoville heat units.  Some of the hottest peppers measured was a Trinidad Scorpion Butch T at 1,463,700 and a Naga Viper, at 1,382,118 SHU’s.  Now that is smokin’ hot!

Quick reference Scoville values:

*0 Sweet peppers like the classic bell and Italian sweet peppers.  

*100-900 Mild peppers such as pimento, banana and pepperoncini peppers

*1,000-2,500 Anaheim, Poblano, Peppadew peppers

*3,500-8,000 Jalapeño, Anaheim peppers

*10,000-23,000 Serrano, Peter peppers

*30,000-50,000 Tabasco, Cayenne peppers

*100,000-350,000 Habanero/Scotch bonnet peppers

One thing to keep in mind, peppers are natural plants and their heat can vary widely based on growing conditions and their pepper neighbor in the garden.  If you place a hot pepper and a sweet pepper next to each other, the sweet pepper can become a spicy pepper through cross pollination.

Once you get in the range of cayenne peppers, you should use gloves when handling.  Washing your hands with water after handling the pepper does not wash away the heat!  Transferring some of the pepper’s heat to the eyes can be extremely painful!  The best way to cool the heat is to use whole milk.  

The center of a pepper’s heat is in its seeds and ribs.  If you want a milder dish, clean the seeds and ribs from the pepper before using.

We typically grow our hot peppers in pots as they seem to do best in a container.  I try to grow enough peppers to last us all winter for chili, salsa, and pepper seasonings.  The hot peppers like Jalapeños and Cayenne are prolific in pots.  One plant of the hot, smaller varieties is all we need.  We have found that the smaller sweet pepper plants like banana peppers and Nikita do equally well in pots.  The large sweet peppers like California bell and Pimento seemed to do better in the garden bed.

For planting in the pots, just use a good organic potting soil purchased from our local garden center and place one plant per pot along with a petunia or nasturtium for additional color and to attract pollinators.  To help maintain moisture, I mulch around the peppers after planted in the pot and use a large catch pan under each pot.  I water them once/week in the summer.  Converting your favorite pot to a self watering container can also cut down how often watering is required.  Decorative container gardening for edibles

If you want to give your pepper plants an extra boost, they favor phosphorous (bulb food or bone meal works well), sulfur (a book of matches in the hole does the trick), calcium to prevent blossom end rot (a half dozen crushed egg shells works well), and magnesium (which is contained in epson salts, a diluted spray when the flowers appear).  Some say if the leaves pucker, this is a sign that phosphorous is needed.  Tomato fertilizer is also good for peppers as both are fruiting plants.

You should put out pepper plants after it is nice and warm.  Peppers are in the nightshade family with tomatoes and eggplant.  They should be planted outside when night time temps are above 55 and daytime temps in the 70’s consistently.  If you buy pepper plants with peppers already on them, remove them before planting so the plant can focus its energy on developing a strong root system. 

If you are going to grow your peppers from seeds, start them indoors 6-8 weeks before you will transplant outside.  You can get unusual varieties not at your local nursery in seed catalogues.  Baker Creek Heirloom Seed company has some very unique varieties from around the world.  Although the spectrum available today in stores is quite nice.  You can also order plants from most seed catalogues.

Surprisingly, peppers don’t like extremely hot weather.  They get sunburned when the temps get into the 90’s consistently.  Their sunburn looks like dark spots on the exposed fruits.  If you can, move them into the shade when temps are extreme.  They won’t croak, but they are stressed during periods of high heat.  

Almost all veggies love fertile soil and consistent watering.  Peppers are no exception.   Summer garden tips Some swear that stressing the plant will increase the heat of the pepper.  Now, a recent Guinness winner thinks the secret to getting the world’s hottest pepper was run off from a worm farm.

Peppers will get flowers on them that, if pollinated, will grow into a pepper.  If you look into the center of a flower, you can see the emerging baby pepper.

Pepper flower with baby pepper forming

Anything that produces a seed or fruit needs a visit from a friendly pollinator, like the honey bee, mason bee, bumble bee, predatory wasps, hover flies, butterflies, moths, beetles, or many other insects.  It is important to not use insecticides as they kill the pollinators along with the bad bugs or to use very sparingly and not on the flowers themselves.  I have not seen any pest issue with peppers in my garden that would need a pesticide.

I plant the peppers in a pot with nasturtium or petunias to attract the pollinators and to look good on the patio.

Pepper plant with petunias

This year I am growing several peppers:

*Purple sweet peppers for the salsa and snacking

*Cayenne for salsa and making hot sauce
*Chiltepin for adding to my seasoned salt

*Jigsaw pepper because it is variegated and has purple fruits.  Spicy so will use for making hot sauce.

*Ancho to dry for chili powder  

                                  Pimento at top, jalapeño on bottom      Red and green cayennes

I have been overwintering the Chiltepin and Cayenne peppers inside for the last few years.  I have already harvested cayenne peppers. Peppers are a tropical perennial so can be overwintered in the garage or house to get a jump start on the next season.  Plus, if you have a pepper plant that was just outstanding the previous year, you know you will get a repeat show.

Peppers all start out green.  It is as they ripen that they turn colors.  Jalapeño will turn red if left to ripen on the vine.  The sweet peppers I am growing from seed this year will turn chocolate.  They can be eaten either when green or after they have turned.  Their flavor, and heat, will intensify as they ripen.

The trick to keeping the pepper crop going is to harvest often.  It’s like the plant knows when it has its quota of peppers.  The blossoms will fall off until more are picked.  Save the seeds from your best pepper.  Seed saving-fun, easy and a cost saver

Here are some ways to preserve your pepper harvest if you have more than you can eat  Preserving peppers

Peppers come in so many different flavors and heat intensity.  There is a pepper out there for everyone.  Combined with their carefree horticulture, they make a great plant to add to your garden this year. 

What to plant in the June edible garden

Potted eggplant with petunia
Sunday, May 28, 2023

In our Zone 7 garden, June is summer; highs in the 80's are here to stay.  The cold crops planted in April like lettuce, mustard, kale and spinach are bolting (gone to seed).  The tomato transplants are blooming and three varieties have a baby tomato growing.  The bean vines I planted last month are 2.5 feet tall.  I just transplanted the squash and cucumbers into their summer pots and garden bed.  If planted earlier, they would all be flowering with baby fruits on them.  This year, I started my summer loving  peppers, basil and eggplant from seed late.  No worries, these heat lovers will grow quickly in the summer sun.

I transplanted my seedlings of basil, rosemary, a couple more tomatoes, eggplant, salvia, and sweet peppers from peat pods to 4" pots this week.  I started them indoors early in the month and moved them outside for a few days before transplanting them into 4" pots.  Some still have only their seed leaves and a few have their second and third set of leaves.  I'll transplant them out into the garden and large pots in another couple of weeks.  I plant my eggplant and peppers in pots.  The basil, salvia and tomatoes will all go in the garden bed.

I'll continue growing lettuce from seed about every 3 weeks to keep sweet leaves going for harvest.  I do love salads.  I have done a couple of rounds of wildflower seeds in a rectangular growing pot next to the patio.  After the seedlings are a nice size, I transplant into my pollinator garden bed.  Other than lettuce, I don't have plans for any more seeding for a month or so.  Late July is the time to start fall veggies from seed.

Below is a list of plants and seeds you can put in the June edible garden.  Transplants give you a jump on harvests and are still available at big box stores and nurseries, but seeds are inexpensive and you can get unusual varieties to try that you can't get as transplants.

 

June-transplants or seeds

Basil

Bee balm (monarda)

Beans-bush and pole

Beets

Borage

Broccoli

Catnip

Celery

Cucumber

Eggplant

Horseradish

Lavender

Lemon balm

Lettuce (heat tolerant)

Lovage
Mustard
Onions
Parsley
Parsnips

Peppers

Pumpkins

Radicchio

Radishes

Rosemary

Sage

Strawberries

Summer and winter squash

Tarragon

Thyme

Tomatoes

Turnips

Valerian

June-start from seeds directly in the garden

Beans (snap-bush & pole)

Beets

Carrots

Corn

Cucumber
Peas, Southern

Radishes

Squash

Turnips

I love to have fresh salads every day.  It is tough in summer to keep the traditional salad greens like lettuce and spinach going in the hot weather.  I sow seeds every 3 weeks in spring to keep greens going.  Go for the bolt resistant types in late spring and early summer.  Bolt-free, sweet summer lettuces  I have also in recent years started planting substitutes for lettuce and spinach.  

For lettuce substitute, I am growing sprouting broccoli and a sweet Chinese cabbage, Hilton, along with orach, multi colored amaranth, cultivated dandelion greens, arugula and chard.  All can be sown now.

For spinach substitutes, I am growing Perpetual Spinach, Red Malabar spinach and New Zealand spinach.  They all thrive in hot weather.  Malabar spinach is a vine so give it a trellis to climb.  It is quite pretty with its maroon stems and flowers.

Give your greens the coolest spot in the garden and moist to keep them sweet and succulent.  You can use taller plants to give them shade as well.  Growing summer salads

For tips on starting your seeds in the garden:  Outdoor seed starting tips  I also like to put a pot or two on our covered deck and start seeds there.  Once they are to a good size, transplant them into their permanent pot or into the garden bed.  Be sure your seedlings are hardened off as the heat and sun can be intense this time of year. "Hardening off" seedlings   I like to plant on a cloudy day when rain is being called for the next day.

In June, the days are getting hot and the rains don't come as often.  Be sure to water your new plants when it gets dry or they wilt.  Summer garden tips

Native fruits and vegetables

Tomatoes are a native of the Americas

Saturday, May 27, 2023

With global access to seeds and plants these days, it is difficult to tell what are native to our area, region, continent and what was brought here over the centuries.  The difference between "native" and "heirloom" is that an heirloom only needs to have been grown here for at least 50 years whereas native is a plant that originated here; some natives are thousands of years old.

We don't have many native fruit trees in North America; most of our popular fruit trees were brought over as folks immigrated from Europe and other parts of the world. Black cherry, American persimmon, mayhaw, farkleberry and pawpaw trees are natives.  Apple, pear, plum, lime, and lemon trees all hail from Asia and Europe.

We have quite a few native berries in North America.  Strawberries, blueberries, cranberries, red and black raspberries, serviceberries, North American grapes (like Concord and mustang), loganberries, gooseberries, elderberries, chokeberries, buffalo berries, and huckleberries. 

There are many globally popular vegetables that originated in the Americas.  America's favorite garden vegetable, tomatoes, originated in South and Central America.  Other natives include maize (corn-Mexico), beans (Central and South America), squash (Mexico and Central America), avocados (Mexico), peppers (Central or South America), potatoes (Peru), tomatillos (Mexico), sweet potatoes (Peru), peanuts (South America).  A couple of grains that are native are wild rice (Great Lakes) and amaranth (South America).  All of these crops spread across North and South America thousands of years ago, well before European explorers came to the Americas.

Peppers, a native of the Americas

Some were taken back to Europe from the Americas and cultivated widely before being brought back to the colonies.  Great examples are the tomato and potato.  We associate potatoes with the Irish and British and tomatoes with Italy but their origin was actually in the Americas.

There are several edible greens that are native to North America like ramps, lambsquarter, wild onion, wild garlic, and fiddle leaf fern but are not commonly cultivated in the garden.  They are packed with nutrition so great to add to salads.  The greens of amaranth can also be used as a summer substitute for lettuce.  

What's happening in the mid May edible garden

Potted lettuce

Saturday, May 20, 2023

Everything is lush and green this time of year.  The edibles are growing quickly.   Salad fixings are in their prime with the summer edibles just getting started.  Herbs are filling out nicely.  By this time of year, we no longer need to purchase produce from the grocery store and can get fresh herbs to add to dishes that make them taste wonderful.

The greens we are eating-French sorrel, spinach, dandelion greens, winter cress, arugula, chick weed, sweet clover, Egyptian Walking onions, celery, Ruby Streaks mustard, Chinese Giant Leaf mustard, sprouting broccoli leaves, orach, many varieties of lettuce and snow peas.  Many are overwintered or volunteers from last year.  I also started different varieties of lettuce and bought a few transplants from the store.  I like to have new lettuces coming on all the time so there is always plenty for salads.

Herbs to add to dishes and salads-garlic chives, regular chives, oregano, thyme, horseradish, Egyptian walking onions, tarragon, sage, young garlic, cilantro.  All are perennials or self-sowers so they come back year after year.

The fruits and veggies-wild strawberries, cultivated strawberries and carrots.  Strawberries are perennial and carrots overwintered and came up from last year's seed.

The flowers that are blooming-irises, spiderwort, roses and petunias.  The herbs and veggies going to seed-yellow flowers of the sprouting broccoli, mustard and cress, yellow dandelion flowers, lavender chive flowers.  Soon, the beautiful purple flowers of sage, the white flowers of thyme, and the white garlic chive flowers.  All veggie and herb flowers are edible.  A fun way to add flavor and beauty to salads or other dishes.

The overwintering and early spring planted lettuce is beginning to bolt so soon there will be the white, yellow and blue flowers from the different kinds of lettuce.  Several carrots are starting to bolt, too.  If not pulled, they have beautiful white flowers resembling Queen Ann's Lace, which they are from the same family, that bees love.

The white and pink peonies and lilacs have already come and gone.  They both were heavy with flowers this spring.  

This week, I weeded I transplanted and fertilized.  I planted out 11 tomato plants and am moving perennials from one bed to other beds.  I tried starting seeds outdoors in pots in April but then was gone most of the month.  I restarted the tomatoes, peppers, basil, eggplant, sage, squash and cucumbers indoors.  They have sprouted.  I'll start moving them into larger pots when they get their second set of leaves.  The cucumber and squash seedlings, I'll transplant into their permanent spot when they get their second set of leaves. I had started beans a few weeks ago in outside pots and they are about a foot tall now. 

It is a good idea to wait 10 days after planting new plants before you give them much fertilizer.  I'll add a diluted liquid fertilizer to all that have their first set of true leaves in the next week.  When I transplant them, I will add char, worm castings and starter to each planting hole.

It's okay to just be getting started in the edible garden with the summer lovers.  You can plant a summer garden into June and still have a nice harvest.

 

I have also have very enterprising voles in the garden.  The good part of this is that they do a great job of loosening up the soil.  The bad part is that if there tunnels go under your plant, there is a good chance, the plant will die.  I've tried electronic deterrents.  Not sure how well they worked.  Voles love mulched areas.  I don't get any in the beds with decorative gravel.  I read recently that they don't like coffee so I may try putting coffee grounds in their tunnels.

Volunteer Red Malabar spinach and Chinese Multicolor amaranth

I have been harvesting the greens by taking only the outer leaves so that the plants will continue to grow.  By harvesting, it stimulates the plant to grow even more leaves.  If you have extra greens, besides lettuce, you can blanch and freeze them.  I still have plenty left in the freezer.  Preservation garden

I am doing good right now on lettuce, but will need to start some more seeds in a couple of weeks.  If you start seeds every 2-3 weeks, it keeps you in lettuce all the way until winter.  This time of year, start the heat tolerant varieties.   I have also moved to using greens that stay sweet during the dog days of summer.  The greens I have found so far that are great lettuce and spinach substitutes in salads are Red Malabar spinach, New Zealand spinach, Perpetual Spinach chard, Chinese Multicolored amaranth, all colors of orach, Chinese Hilton cabbage (doubles as a great wrap, too), sprouting broccoli.  Keep salads going all summer long.  

What to plant in the May edible garden

May edible garden

Sunday, May 7, 2023

May is a "shoulder" month.  The cold crops are peaking and it is warm enough to start the summer lovers like tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers and eggplants.  It will take a couple of months for the summer crops to begin producing well. You can count on having fresh from the vine tomatoes by the 4^th of July.  A double reason to celebrate!

Here is a list of plants and seeds you can put in the May garden: 

May-transplants or seeds

Artichoke  Growing artichokes and cardoons

Basil  Basil basics-harvesting, preserving, growing basil

Bee balm (monarda)

Beans-bush and pole  Growing beans

Beets  All about beautiful beets

Borage  Flowers that are edible

Broccoli  How to grow broccoli and cauliflower

Brussels sprouts  Growing Brussel sprouts

Catnip

Cantaloupe  Growing melons and cantaloupe

Celery  Give celery a try, an easy to grow garden staple

Chard  For year round steamed greens, grow chard!

Chives  Add chives to your garden

Cilantro (Slo Bolt)  Growing cilantro (coriander)

Cucumber  How to grow cucumbers-in pots or in the garden

Dill

Eggplant  Eggplant-add this native from India to your garden

Fruit bushes  Fruit for small spaces and pots

Horseradish

Lavender  All about lovely lavender

Lemon balm

Lettuce (heat tolerant)  Everything you need to know about growing lettuce

Lovage

Okra  Growing and harvesting okra

Peppers  Peppers are for every taste and garden

Pumpkins  Everything you need to know to grow squash

Radicchio

Rosemary  Start a kitchen herb garden!

Sage 

Stevia  A sweet alternative-grow your own

Strawberries  Back yard strawberries

Summer and winter squash  Everything you need to know to grow squash

Sweet potatoes  Growing sweet potatoes

Tarragon

Thyme

Tomatoes  Tomatoes 101, everything you need to know to grow great tomatoes

Turnips  All about turnips

Valerian

Watermelon  Growing melons and cantaloupe

May-start seeds directly in the garden

Beets  All about beautiful beets

Carrots  All you need to know about growing carrots

Corn  Growing corn

Peas  Time to plant peas!

Potatoes (seed potatoes)  Time to plant potatoes, even if you only have a patio

Radishes  Easy to grow crispy, peppery radishes

For tips on starting your seeds in the garden:  Outdoor seed starting tips  I also like to put a pot on our covered deck and start seeds there.  Once they are to a good size, I transplant them into their permanent pot of into the garden bed.  Vegetables you can grow in pots

Why and when does lettuce turn bitter?

Potted lettuce "bolting"

Saturday, May 6, 2023

I love fresh salad and when the garden is giving, I try and eat them every day.  In our zone, it is hard to keep lettuce going that is not bitter once the hot temperatures arrive.  What causes this, when does this happen and what can you do about it?  This challenge is something I work on each season to have a way to keep sweet lettuce or other type of salad green producing all summer long.  Here is what I have learned so far.

When does lettuce leaves turn bitter?  In my garden, this starts as soon as we start having days that the high temperature hits the 80's for sure.  

What causes lettuce leaves to become bitter?  Lettuce starts turning bitter when it begins to make a flower stalk to make seeds.  There are 2 triggers for this-warmer temperatures and drier conditions.  

What can you do about it?  Keeping lettuce with consistent moisture and moving the plants to a cooler part of the garden can extend the harvest.  Look for lettuce varieties that are "bolt resistant".  You can also do succession sowing so you always have young plants producing.

I grow most of my lettuce in a self-watering pot that has a reservoir of water in the bottom.  This really helps keep the moisture consistent.  When the temperatures start getting into the low 70"s, it is good time to move your pot to a cooler part of the garden.  Another option if you are growing your lettuce in the ground is to sow seeds in full sun in early spring, then move to sowing seeds in the cooler part of your garden bed.  When it is warmer, lettuce does fine in even dappled shade.

I always harvest the leaves from the outside of lettuce plant to allow the inner part of the plant to continue to produce more leaves.  Since there are only 2 of us, this lets me harvest from a plant very early and for weeks without any going to waste.  

When the leaves start to get bitter, I just let it go to seed.  I save some of the seed and let some take their natural course.  I try different varieties every season along with the ones that have so far proven to be the best producers for my garden.  I look for bolt resistance, varieties that stay sweet even after bolting and the best self-seeders.  I let the seeds fly where they want and then keep an eye out for volunteer seedlings.  I'll transplant them to where I want them after they get sturdy.

I do practice "succession sowing" which means I sow new seed every few weeks.  I sow seeds about every 3-4 weeks unless I am getting volunteers naturally.

I also plant other varieties of greens that like the summer heat and stay sweet to supplement my summer salads.  The ones that have done the best for me so far are Hilton Chinese cabbage (use for salads and wraps), orach (comes in lime green, green, rose and purple), a variety of amaranths that are ornamental as well as tasty (Chinese Multicolor Spinach, Love Lies Bleeding, Pink Beauty), Red Malabar Spinach (a pretty tropical vine), and sprouting broccoli.  All do well in my summer garden.

I keep trying different lettuces to find the lettuce that stays sweet the longest, even after bolting, in my garden.  So far, the best performers are Red Sails, Butter King, Marvel of Four Seasons, Royal Oakleaf, and Bronze Beauty.

New ones that I am trying this year are Giant Blue Feather, Yedikule, and Solar Flare for their bolt resistance.