PEPPERS!!

I absolutely love peppers! I love them when they're so hot they make you cry and you have to drink milk while eating pickles at the same time to cool your mouth...I love them when they are sweet and juicy and they burst inside your mouth. Naturally, because of my minorly neurotic obsession with peppers (my boyfriend gets mad that everything I make is too spicy) I had to grow some peppers in my garden. I told my mom about all my peppers and she informed me that my grandfather was an avid pepper feen, who also grew peppers in his garden, and would just eat hot peppers like an apple...at least now I know where it comes from.

HERE'S WHAT I KNOW

General Info & History

Pepper plants typically take 70-90 days to mature, they like warm weather, so if you are seeding, make sure you keep them indoors until clear after the last frost. Peppers can be hot or sweet as most of you already know, if you want the hot ones you have to get seeds or plants from hot places, Africa, Mexico & South America, India, etc. Peppers trace their origins in the New World and were not introduced to Europe, Africa, or Asia until Christopher Columbus made his way here and back and couple of times.

You can get your own pepper seeds just from eating one of your favorite peppers, just remove the seeds, air them out for a week or two, and keep them in a cool dry place from 6 months to a year or until needed. As always when you are transferring a plant or seedlings, work compost and fertilizer in the ground early for an easier transfer.

Pepper plants thrive in soil with a pH level of 6.5. Higher levels of sulfur actually help peppers, plant a match in the soil around the peppers being careful it doesn't touch the plant or its root system. After planting you should add soil with higher potassium and phosphorous levels, many people make the mistake of getting too much nitrogen in the mix. Then let it grow, grow, grow! You'll know when they're ready! When harvesting peppers, be sure you cut away the peppers, don't just rip it.

Bell Peppers

Bell peppers are some of the most common peppers out there. They contain absolutely no capsaicin, which means that they don't contain the heat peppers are so known from. Bell peppers mature from green to red and finally to yellow or brown. Bell peppers and banana peppers should be planted 18-24" apart and grow to about 18-24" up.





















My banana pepper (left) and bell pepper (above) plants on 4/29













Cayenne Peppers Contrary to bell peppers, cayenne peppers do contain capsaicin, with a Scoville rating of anywhere from 5,000-30,000 units (habanero peppers can have anywhere from 200,000-300,000 Scoville heat units). My cayenne plant on 5/17
Hot peppers actually release endorphins in us so that feeling of flying down a roller coaster isn't just because you spotted your crush or your boss just called, its because you are eating capsaicin from your hot pepper! Cayenne peppers should be planted 12-15" apart and grow to about 12-24" high. Cayenne peppers are packed with Vitamin A so they are great for your eye site and smooth skin. Peppers are good for something!

This is one of my pepper plants on 5/17that I started from seed, I'm so happy with the progress!!