Some pepper questions

[szeik]

Hi,

This year I decided to grow some peppers and I have a few questions.

I have 2 types of peppers growing. Small red bell peppers and also Cayenne peppers. I already picked one of the little bell bell peppers and it was extremely hot!!! I accidentaly touched my eyes after eating it and my eyes were burning.

The little bell peppers seem to be turning red pretty quickly but the Cayenne peppers are still green.

Do I need to wait until the Cayenne peppers turn red? I have some really big ones going now but they are all green.

Also, any ideas on what to do with the little bell peppers as far as cooking would be appreciated. I was thinking of making a Fradiavlo sauce with the Cayenne peppers but I guess I could put the bell peppers in as well since they are so hot.

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

Steve

[Omelet]

Bell peppers are not supposed to be hot... How much water did you give them?

[JustTom]

Are you sure those little "bell" peppers aren't something like scotch bonnets or another atom bomb?

[szeik]

Hmmm...

Maybe I got the name wrong. These are little peppers about the size of a half dollar maybe.

I water pretty frequently.

Steve

[Omelet]

Bell peppers get to be about 4" or so across and tall.

Wonder if you grew Habaneros? Those (aka "Scotch bonnets") are one of the hotter peppers!

For mild peppers, I prefer anaheims. They are great stuffed and made into chili rellenos.

Most hot peppers get fed to my cockatoo. She loves them and they are a great source of vitamin C for her.

[Omelet]

Teach me to read more of the thread before replying. ;-) I had the same thought.

[szeik]

OK, I looked at a bunch of pictures online and I'm almost positivie I grew cherry peppers. I also grew Cayenne peppers right next to the cherry peppers.

They are quite hot but it's really the seeds that are the hottest. I haven't sampled the cayenne's yet because they are not red yet. I guess they take longer.

Kind of fun growing something different this year.

Still not sure what I'm going to do with them but Fradiavlo sauce seems like a good idea.

Steve

[Steve Newport]

Hi,

I've been growing cayenne peppersin my UK greenhouse this year and been rather surprised at the way they grew. The pepers seemed vey "stunted" and many seemed to grow several "peppers" from one flower, a bit like a tree onion. Is that usual?

[JustTom]

Not trying to be a pepper snob, but habaneros and scotch bonnets aren't the same pepper, even though they are called the same in a lot of places. They're very closely related and similarly hot, but hail from different regions.

Try this site to see the slight difference in shape:

I like mild peppers as well. Never hot just to be hot without flavor.

Currently have planted:

Sweets: Corbaci, Red Corno di Toro, Cubanelle, Feherezon, Italia, Marconi, Nardello, and Paprika.

Hots: Aci Sevri, Cascabel, De Arbol, Jalapeno, Poblano, Sweet Habanero, Relleno. tom

PS: And for the OP. If you intend on saving seed, don't plant sweets with hots, as they cross easily. The fruit from this year won't be hot, but the children plants probably will be.

[Charlie]

I plant Golden Marconi and Jimmy Nardello every year. This year I have the Corno di Toro Giallo, along with Quadrato d'Asti Rosso, Golden Treasure, Sweet Yellow Stuffing, Yankee Bell, King of the North, Jupiter.

Thanks for the additions to the list. I have Jalapenos (they are hot this year...finally...saving these seeds for sure) Poblanos and Rellenos, along with Tabasco, Fish, Cayenne Long Thin, Thai Red Chili, and a new one, that is hotter than Jalepeno but seems to be a little less heat than tabasco is Variegata or Trifetti, the little purple round fruits are hot with really good flavor and prolific as all get out on beautiful plants. Planning on pickling lots of them.

Trying a hot paprika also, Leutschauer Paprika .

Have another one that is really slow growing...it is finally blooming and starting small fruit..... Robertos Cuban Seasoning.

I found some forgotten, and presumed lost, ten year old saved seeds of an Italian Pimiento, Figaro, that germed about fifty percent and am awaiting them with relish...very thick walled and exceptionally sweet.

Heh heh...sometimes the crosses can be interesting....and surprising! ;-)

Charlie, pepper lover

[Billy]

How far apart do you have these puppies, Charlie?

[Charlie]

The ones planted in ground are 24" apart.

The ones in containers vary, according to how big they are getting and my aesthetic sense, based upon plant size, foliage color, fruit color......

The beauty of container gardening is the funky shui thing, ya' know?

Charlie

"A high station in life is earned by the gallantry with which appalling experiences are survived with grace." -- Tennessee Williams

[Wil]

That funky shui thing, if practiced sincerely and diligently, supposed to bring good luck. I plant mostly in containers also, but never really considered the Feng Shue posibilities until now. Thanks for that.

Wil

[Robert Lewis]

I've been trying for years to get my African Grey to eat peppers, without success. They're loaded with vitamins, so wish he would cooperate. But no, if he had his choice, he'd eat junk all day.

Robert

[Omelet]

Thanks. :-) Habaneros = Scotch Bonetts was a "mom-ism". Wish she was still alive to correct her...

[Omelet]

Don't offer him junk... Limit sunflower seeds especially to "occasional treat status". I go out of my way to offer sunflower free feed. Safflower is not quite as bad, but nearly as addicting.

Our feathered kids can be a challenge. ;-)

Have you tried dried peppers mixed in his feed?

Freya gets a variety of dried veggies offered in her grain mix. I don't use pellets. She also gets offered fresh food on a fairly regular basis. She loves both hot and bell peppers. She eats thru the side of the bells to get to the seeds.

I have wild petins around here and she loves those! Tiny little peppers. I've learned not to offer "kissies" when her beak is pink. ;-D

[Charlie]

You're welcome. It is neverending thru the season, as the plants change and grow, we find ourselves moving containers often.

It's a game we have also, one or the other of us will rearrange things and when the other discovers the change, offers critique. Often we will work together moving stuff about until it feels just right for both of us. This usually involves a lot of butt time and music.

To further complicate the fun, things gotta feel right from any position in the area and at all times of the day. ;-)

Sometimes it doesn't take much to relieve the tension brought on by an "out of place" container. Often simply rotating a plant, even a small degree, or shifting just a little one way or another, brings that "peaceful, easy feeling".

Charlie

"There are no gardening mistakes, only experiments." -- Janet Kilburn Phillips

[Billy]

So, I presume your funky shui thing doesn't include seed saving OR are the beds 500' apart, or do you bag, or cage? Fertility and entropy make purity difficult. Think I can get my funky shui aligned if I just rotate the hill 45 degrees to the west and invert the slope.

[rachael simpson]

*snip*

*snip again*

Hi,

Why keep waiting on the cayenne? If you want to eat them fresh, you can go ahead and pick what you want to eat. Leave some to turn red for your sauces, etc, but for fresh (just chop and add to veggies, etc) to me they are just as good green. I do wait until they get to be at least 2 inches long before I pick my cayenne. Anyway, you can leave them to turn red or go ahead and pick a few to eat....

~Rae

[Billy]

Depending on the chlorine levels, it probably sets them back a bit if it come straight from the pipe but chlorine is very reactive and probably gets sponged up quickly by the organics (thus buffering [in the generic sense] its' effects on the critters). Just figures that the critters evolved with rain water and standing water and that would have to be best.