VARIETIES: I have experimented with several varieties of peppers and they all grew well and had nice crops. My favorites: Green bell peppers; yellow bell peppers; red bell peppers; jalapenos; anahiem chile peppers; banana peppers; hot banana peppers. Milder among these are bell peppers, anahiem chile peppers and banana peppers.
SEED OR SETS? I have always used whatever sets are available.
HOW TO PLANT: I take the plant and strip off the lower leaves and branches. I then dig a hole deep enough to accept the plant and stem to just below the upper leaves. I then dig the hole 5-6 inches deeper and throw in a handful of 5-5-5 granular fertilizer. I throw dirt back over the pocket of fertilizer, making sure there is 3-4 inches of dirt between the root ball and the fertilizer, fill the hole with water and removing the plant from its container I set it into the hole. I gently replace the dirt around the plant and the root ball. You will know when one of the plants reaches the extra pocket of food because one day it will suddenly be six inches taller than its neighbors. You will know it hit the fertilizer pocket first. I have planted peppers using the above 'pocket of food' method and others nearly side by side using Mircale Grow. The plants with the pockets of 5-5-5 granules outgrew and out produced the Miracle Grow plants by a large margin. I have also simply mixed 5-5-5 fertilizer in the dirt before planting and achieved acceptable results.
Reader's tip: Big Bell PeppersAt planting time in addition to good soil and a balanced fertilizer, I include a 'book of matches'. It seems that a touch of sulfur really encourages the plant to develop large bell peppers and they seem to ripen to their color more quickly. I simply remove the paper cover from the book of matches and place it in the planting hole just below the transplant root wad. One other comment on Bell Peppers, those with tree distinct bulbs on the bottom of the fruit are best for using raw, those with four distinct bulbs on the bottom of the fruit are best for cooking. Mert Grief.
HOW TO NURTURE: Water daily and keep the weeds out. You can do supplemental feedings of Miracle Grow. However, if you use the pocket of food method you will not need to do so.
HOW TO SUPPORT: Normally you don't need to support these bush like plants. However, using the method above the plants will be so heavy with pepeprs that a short tomato stake will ensure they don't break. Simply tie the stems to the stake using strips from an old white T-shirt.
HOW TO HARVEST AND STORE EXCESS: To harvest don't pull them off the stem. Use scissors to avoid damaging the plant. Use your own judgment as to when to harvest them. Jalapenos are hot and fiery at 2 inches and make for a great salsa. Let them grow to 3-4 inches and use the recipe below for great poppers. Pepper poppers! I like saying that. One note on anahiem chile pepeprs. Once they get over 4-5 inches long the skin tends to be tough and stringy. You can make the excess into Chow Chow as shown below or use your food dehydrator to store them.
PESTS: I am not averse to sprinking a little Sevin Dust on the ground around the young plants, especially with a new garden site. However, once they start to bloom I would not put Sevin on the leaves. You will kill the little bees and other insects trying to pollinate the blossoms. Chester Burley of CT writes that he uses marigolds. 'Plant marigolds thru out your garden.' This is a nice earth friendly way to avoid insects and other pests in your garden.
RECIPES FROM YOUR GARDEN: Click on the recipe below using the above as an ingredient and it will pop up for you.
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