The 2011 Pepper List

This is a list of the various peppers we are growing. All are in containers. (A full list of all the vegetables we're growing this year can be found on the tab titled Growing This Season).

First the bell/sweet peppers:

Bell peppers (from seed): I planted a some bell peppers from a seed packet called "carnival mix." The packet contains a variety of red, orange, yellow, white, and purple peppers. It's fun because you don't know what you're going to get until the peppers start to turn colors. The seeds I planted have produced yellow and orange bell peppers. I was hoping for white or purple, but no luck. I planted these last year too, and didn't get white or purple peppers then either.

Golden Bells (bought as young plant): I guess this will be the year of the yellow pepper! In addition to the yellow ones popping out of the carnival mix, we bought a yellow pepper plant. We have harvested one already, plus a couple of green ones that fell off when a branch broke off. It is taking them a long time to turn yellow, though.

Sweet Chocolate (heirloom, from seed): This is a new variety we're trying this year. As the name implies, they are supposed to taste sweet, and the flesh should turn a rich dark brown color when ripe. They're said to ripen early. We started them from seed months ago, and they've grown so slowly! I'm anxiously waiting to see what they look like.

Purple Beauty (heirloom, from seed): These were started at the same time as the Sweet Chocolates, and at first they were growing slower than the Chocolates, but slow and steady is winning this race. There are many buds on the plant, and I spotted the first purple pepper over the weekend hidden under all the leaves.

Choricero (from seed): These seeds were a gift from my friend Emily. {Thank you, Emily!} I've never grown them before but I'm very excited to see and taste them. Emily said that in cool climates they should be sweet, but in warmer climates they'll be hot, and I read that they're supposed to grow to about three inches long and about an inch wide.  It has taken these plants a loooong time to grow, but I have one fruit and many buds, so I'm crossing my fingers that they continue to grow.

Cherry Peppers (from seed): We had these last year and liked them so much we decided to do it again. These peppers are cute and compact and ripen to a beautiful bright red. They're sweet and taste very good grilled (like on a kabob), baked, or sauteed (which we did the other night with some chicken).

Now the hot peppers (aka, Husband's Section because I am a Wimp):

Cayenne peppers (bought as young plant): We're growing these for the first time, and it's fun! I love their shape and color. We've harvested quite a few of these already and they are hot. Well, to me they are. I have a pretty low tolerance for spicy food. This pepper is definitely my Husband's plant.

Jalapeño (bought as young plant): This is our third summer growing jalapeños. They are very easy to grow, although this plant has grown slower than some of the others peppers. I do see many buds and we have fruit now, so it looks like it will produce nicely for the rest of the summer.

Serrano peppers (from seed): Another new addition to the garden. We started these as seeds and have lots of fruit. Now we're just waiting for them to ripen. 

Spanish pepper (from seed): I saved the best for last. This is my Most Special Plant. I started it from seed in March 2009 and it has produced a lot of fruit for three growing seasons now. I will do a separate post on it with more details later this week because I think this guy deserves his very own post.

So these are the peppers we're growing this year. I see a lot of salsa in our future.

One final picture--The Mystery Peppers

I do this every year. I forget to label my seeds, and I always think I'll be able to remember what I plant in each pot. For the most part, my memory is good. My Sweet Chocolates and Purple Beauties are in identical pots, but I know which is which. And I was able to tell the difference between three almost identical kittens. But I totally forgot what's in these pots. Actually, I know at least two (maybe all four) of these are Jupiter bell peppers. I guess I'll just have to wait and see what grows. Garden surprises seem to be a theme in my garden this year.

A few pepper growing tips: All of our peppers are in containers, and they have grown extremely well in pots. We've noticed that the bell peppers tend to suffer from blossom end rot, so we put eggshells in the soil for added calcium. As they grow tall, the plants need to be staked, similar to tomatoes. And of course, they need plenty of sun and water. We mulch all our containers to keep moisture in and weeds out. One of the benefits of growing hot peppers--the spider mites, bugs, birds, squirrels, etc., seem to avoid them.

What pepper varieties are you growing this year?