A Burning Desire For Peppers
As spicy foods continue to gain popularity, so does interest in learning about different varieties of peppers and their flavor complexities. Except for the bells, all peppers produce capsaicin, which makes hot peppers hot and causes a burning sensation when you consume them. But some people may be craving more than heat. Ingesting capsaicin triggers pain receptors in the brain that signal danger, causing the body to release endorphins, the hormone responsible for feelings of well-being. Some evidence suggests that people who enjoy spicy foods become addicted to this rush of feel-good chemicals. (Bell peppers do not produce capsaicin due to a recessive form of a gene that eliminates the compound.)
Gardeners will find a diverse palette of colors, sizes, shapes, and spiciness among garden peppers. Still, there are only two types of peppers: sweet bell or sweet peppers and chilis or hot peppers. Both are part of the genus Capsicum and are members of the nightshade family, as are tomatoes, eggplants, and potatoes. Like their relatives, peppers are sun-worshippers that enjoy a long, hot growing season and well-drained, fertile, loamy soil.
Rating the Heat Level: The Scoville Scale
Named for the pharmacist Wilbur Scoville, who created it while exploring ingredients for a heat-producing ointment, the a href="https://support.burpee.com/support/solutions/articles/60000739266-do-you-have-a-scoville-chart-for-hot-peppers-" target="_blank">Scoville Scale rates a pepper's heat level by measuring its concentration of capsaicin, then assigns a number rating in Scoville Heat Units (SHUs). By comparison, the bell pepper has a SHU of zero, whereas the hottest of the hot peppers clocks in at a blistering 3.18 million.
Scoville Scale
- Mild (100 to 2,500)
- Medium (2,500 to 30,000)
- Hot (30,000 to 100,000)
- Extra Hot (100,000 to 300,000)
- Extremely Hot (above 300,000)
Peppers Packing the Greatest Heat
The jalapeño clocks in at 2500 to 30,000 Scoville units, while the Caribbean Red habanero heirloom pepper surpasses it with 300,000 to 475,000 SHUs, yet both seem relatively mild compared to the Armageddon that clocks in at a scorching 1.3 million SHUs!
The Source of the Flame
Contrary to widespread myth, pepper seeds are not the primary heat source in chili peppers. 85% of the capsaicin resides in the filmy tissue of the pith or placenta, where the seeds attach themselves for reproduction. The seeds will seem hot because they have had contact with the pith. This capsaicin-rich membrane is the epicenter of heat, and the core part of the pepper that cooks discard to decrease the burn—for most peppers, that is. The hottest peppers—those with Scoville units above one million— store this burning compound differently. These fireball peppers contain more capsaicin and hold just as much of it in their fleshy skins as in the pith.
What Factors Affect the Pepper's Heat?
For gardeners and pepper enthusiasts looking to turn up the heat, the fruit's degree of burn depends on several factors, including genetics, seed variety, growing conditions, and time spent on the vine.
Chili pepper plants need plenty of sunlight, heat, and water to produce healthy fruit, and mature peppers are the hottest. In addition to genetics and variety, environmental conditions, including temperature, soil composition, fertilization, and water, or lack thereof, will significantly impact a pepper's heat. Once the fruit appears, stressors such as high temperatures and drought will increase the pepper's heat index. In turn, too much water and fertilizer will put out the fire by diluting the capsicum membranes, resulting in a milder pepper.
The pepper variety and the amount of time it spends on the plant determines its color and ripeness. All peppers start out a shade of green and change color as they mature, turning to another color, which may be yellow, orange, red, purple, or even white.
The longer bell peppers stay on the vine, the sweeter they get. And hot peppers left to mature on the vine will get hotter, right? Sort of. Capsaicin levels increase as the pepper matures, but only until about 40 to 45 days, after which some, like serrano peppers, will maintain the same heat level as they turn from green to yellow to red. Others, like cayenne peppers, will become milder with reduced capsaicin levels after 45 days.
The Best Growing Conditions for Garden Peppers
Only gardeners who enjoy long growing seasons with warm climates should attempt to sow pepper seed directly in the garden. In cooler regions with shorter growing seasons, start pepper seeds indoors about 7 to 8 weeks from the last anticipated frost date, sowing them in a Superseed Seed Starting Tray filled with a pH-balanced organic seed starting mix. Start super-hot chili pepper varieties about two weeks earlier, as they take longer to germinate.
Keep seedlings warm and make sure they have good air circulation. They may need an external heat source such as a seedling heat mat but kept at a temperature of 70 to 80 degrees, most pepper seeds will germinate in about a week to 10 to 21 days.
Once they've sprouted, cut (do not pull out) the weaker plants. Move the young plants to a window with full sun or place under a grow light. If using a plant light, leave it on for 16 hours and off for 8. Later, when there is no longer danger of frost, and when the outside temperature has reached at least 60 degrees, place the plants outside in a protected area to gradually expose them to outdoor temperatures and wind conditions to avoid transplant shock.
Temperature, Sunlight, Soil, Water and Humidity
Sun-worshiping peppers are long-season warm-weather plants that need 6-8 hours of direct sunlight daily. They thrive in rich, well-drained, loamy soil with a pH between 6.0 to 6.5. Garden peppers grow best at temperatures of 70 to 80 degrees during the day and within 60 to 70 degrees at night. They often drop their flowers during the flowering stage if temperatures rise above 90 degrees during the day or cool to below 55 degrees at night.
Most chili pepper varieties typically thrive in humidity between 60% and 70% for optimal growth and to prevent fungal diseases and pests. Jalapeño, habanero, cayenne, and Hungarian wax peppers all prefer arid climates, while the habanero, Scotch Bonnet, and datil enjoy more humidity.
How to Water Pepper Plants
Water pepper plants early in the day at the root zone, deeply but infrequently, applying 1 to 2 inches weekly, using a soaker hose or drip irrigation if possible. Allow the soil to dry between waterings to encourage deeper root growth and avoid consistently wet soil. In hotter climates or during droughts, the plants may need watering more often but avoid overwatering.
Preparing Soil and Fertilizing
It's always a good idea to test garden soil before planting to check whether it is nutrient deficient and correct it if necessary. Before planting, prepare the soil with compost to improve the texture, fertility, and drainage. During the early growth stage, about two weeks after the first two true leaves appear, pepper plants require nitrogen to support leafy growth and root development. Later, as the plants need less nitrogen at the fruiting stage to encourage flower and fruit production, you can add an organic granular fertilizer such as tomato and vegetable plant food. Unless the soil is deficient in specific nutrients, a balanced, complete fertilizer should contain all the primary and secondary nutrients peppers need to thrive. Once they flower, don't overfeed the plants with nitrogen, or they will produce a lot of leaves but fewer fruits.
Avoid planting pepper plants where tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplant were grown in the past two years, as they are all in the same botanical family and are susceptible to any remaining soil pathogens.
Placing a thick layer of organic mulch will help the soil retain moisture, maintain a balanced temperature, and conserve water.
Pollination
Peppers are self-pollinating plants, meaning the plant has both female and male parts. However, to release the pollen, the plants require some degree of vibration, either from wind or bees and butterflies circulating the plants. Planting flowers around the pepper plants will help attract pollinators. Still, if wind is scarce, gardeners can gently shake the plants to release the pollen.
One burning question is whether a hot pepper can cross with a sweet pepper and cause the sweet one to become hot. The pepper's heat or mildness is determined by the mother plant. The fruit develops from the mother plant's ovary, and the male parent's genes do not play a part in fruit formation. If a flower of a sweet pepper is cross-pollinated by a hot pepper plant, it will not make the sweet pepper hot. Even if cross-pollination were to occur between a sweet and hot pepper, it would not affect the fruit produced during that growing cycle. However, it may affect the characteristics of the next generation's fruit.
Pinching, Pruning, and Picking
Pinching off the first flowers helps pepper plants direct their energy toward fruit production to produce larger peppers and a more abundant harvest. To encourage growth and increase yield, some gardeners remove the first pepper as soon as it appears or may even pick about half of the crop when the plant begins to produce nearly full-size peppers. Some research has shown that fruit pruned from the second node will be hotter than those plucked from other nodes. These early green sweet peppers will be less flavorful or sweet, and the hotter varieties will be milder, but the process will kick-start the remaining plants to ripen and produce more blooms. Pulling the pepper from the plant can crush or bruise the stem. Instead, use sharp, sterilized pruning shears to snip the stem around an inch above the pepper.
When to Harvest Peppers
Depending on the type of pepper, the best time to harvest peppers is when they've achieved their optimal size and color and when the skin appears tight and smooth. Give the pepper a little affectionate squeeze to test its firmness: if it feels a bit soft, it likely needs more time on the vine until the walls feel firmer.
Supplies For Growing Peppers
Seeds or Seedlings
As there are myriad varieties of peppers from which to choose, decide what you want to eat and select the right ones for your area's growing conditions.
For an easy beginner sweet pepper perfect for containers, consider the Jungle Parrot sweet pepper that you can grow either from seed or transplants. To turn up the heat meter but not too much, the Dragon Roll hot pepper offers a nice blend of heat and sweetness. For those daring enough to try them, the Armageddon Hybrid hot pepper packed with 1.3 million SHUs will ignite a serious inferno!
Containers or Beds
Begin by deciding whether to grow your peppers directly in the ground, raised beds, or containers. If choosing containers, ensure they have adequate drainage holes and are large enough to accommodate the plant's root system. A five-gallon planter is usually sufficient for a single pepper plant; growing more plants together requires larger containers.
Stakes And Supports
When they bear fruit, pepper plants can become heavy and topple over, causing the stems to bend or break. To keep plants upright:
- Install sturdy supports such as a trellis or stakes before you plant.
- Tie the stems with soft materials, such as jute gardening twine, fabric tapes, or strips of old pantyhose.
- Gently and loosely loop the tie in a figure 8 around the stake, crossing the two ends, then looping them around the plant stem and tie, allowing enough slack for the stems to grow.
Gardening Tools
A pair of sharp garden shears is essential for snipping off pepper fruits, while garden gloves keep hot pepper oils off your skin.
Have fun experimenting with peppers of various heat levels, but remember that a hot pepper's skin, juice, and seeds will burn your tongue, mouth, skin, and eyes. Always wear gloves when harvesting and working with hot peppers; don't touch your face or eyes, and wash your hands after handling them. Check out Burpee's full pepper selection to find more amazing peppers to grow in your garden.