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Like It Hot? Grow These Peppers at Home
There are few things in this world that can excite a person’s taste buds like a spicy pepper. With a wide range of options available, how do you choose?
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Well, if you’re into spicy food and delicious peppers, you are in the right spot. Here are some tantalizing treats you can grow at home for salsas, salads, and sauces.
Decisions, Decisions
One of the first things you have to consider when going down the path of a pepper grower is what varieties you’re willing to cultivate. Hey, if you’re going to grow them, you might as well use them too, right?
So the next question is, how much heat can you handle? At the bottom of the proverbial spicy pepper totem pole sits the pepperoncini with hints of heat. It registers on the Scoville scale at anywhere from 100 to 500.
On the other side of the spectrum, you have flaming giants with the Carolina Reaper, Trinidad Moruga Scorpion and Naga Viper topping out at 2.2 million, 2 million plus and 1.3 million respectively on the Scoville scale.
If you want to grow and pick jalapenos for cooking at home, since they are widely available and make great additions to salsa verde recipes, their levels range from 2500 to 8000. Jalapeno peppers can range widely in heat, so be forewarned if you are new to the heat game, just because one doesn’t seem spicy, that doesn’t mean the next one you cut into will be the same.
Enjoying a good hot sauce can be a fun and delicious experience. Just be sure that you are of the right mind to do so. Don’t mess around with spicy peppers while intoxicated.
You or someone you know can suffer greatly because alcohol makes people do some interesting things, so caution should be adhered to when dealing with peppers under the influence. And, since we’re on the subject, drinking responsibly is very important!
If you feel that you or a loved one might have a drinking problem or need help, don’t be afraid to reach out. There are lots of local resources available. For example, if you live in San Diego, be sure to consult with an alcohol addiction treatment facility in Southern California for help.
Everyone should have the opportunity to live a healthy life so they can enjoy more spicy foods in a safe environment.
The Right Environment
Knowing how to and what to grow in your pepper garden can be a trying experience. It does come with a bit of trial and error period. Here are a few peppers to grow if you need a point in the right direction.
And, the environment plays an important role as most peppers thrive in temperatures between 70 to 90 Fahrenheit. Plan accordingly so you can reap the best harvest possible. Start your growing indoors, so you can easily regulate the process. Then transfer your beauties outside when the time comes for them to mature and it gets closer to harvest time.
Harvesting Your Peppers
Getting ready to harvest your peppers will be an exciting time, as you know what will soon follow after you have picked them: spicy snacks and meals on the horizon, yum!
The bell pepper, having zero spice, takes 60 to 90 days to mature. This time-frame is typical for a lot of varieties including the Anaheim, jalapeno, serrano, and cayenne.
Spicier giants such as the viper, scorpion, and reaper take up to 150 days to be ripe for the picking. So keep these timeframes in mind when deciding which items you are interested in growing and, ultimately, harvesting.
Here comes the best part of raising, growing and picking your own peppers: enjoying them in your favorite foods! These versatile bundles of goodness can be used for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Adjusting to your desired spice tolerance, you can use them in sauces for sprinkling on eggs, sandwiches, and soups. The ultimate test of your pepper growing prowess will be on taco night when you deliver your freshly made peppers to the table for everyone to enjoy in sauce or raw form.
About the Author Laura Bennett
Hello, I’m Laura Bennett. I love nature especially when it comes to flowers and different kinds of plants. I started a very small garden behind my house and I named it Humid Garden. So, I created this blog to provide aspiring and inspiring thoughts about gardening for gardeners and anyone who has the intention of keeping a garden.
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