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Hottest Hot Sauce
Buffalo Wing Sauce
Dry Rubs & Spices
Fixin's & Drink Mixers
Pepper Lights & More
Out of this World (15+)
No Sugar Added
Around the World
Rude & Crude
Blair's After Death
Mad Dog Inferno
Ring of Fire
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Grow Your Own Hot Peppers
By Eric Vinje, Cosmic Chile
If you're an aficionado of hot sauce and salsas, chances are you've thought of growing your own chile peppers. You're not alone. More backyard farmers are growing peppers. According to Colorado State University (CSU), cultivating peppers is second only to growing tomatoes in terms of popularity. CSU cites two reasons for the surge in chile pepper cultivation: the hundred of varieties available and the fact that peppers are prolific producers.
If you've successfully grown tomatoes, you can grow hot peppers. They require similar care and conditions. Here are some tips on how to grow the chile peppers that you love.
Warmer is better both for hot sauces and for growing conditions. Hot peppers crave warmth. Ideally they need temperatures between 60 degrees Fahrenheit (at night) and around 80 degrees Fahrenheit (during the day.) They don't do well when the temperature dips below 60 degrees Fahrenheit. They germinate at soil temperatures of 75 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures of more than 90 degrees Fahrenheit during flowering can result in the plant's blossoms falling off and affecting yields. (A shortage of water can also diminish your crop.) In areas where warmth is a problem, consider growing them indoors and then transplanting outdoors once the threat of frost is past. When starting plants, also consider using a heating pad to keep the soil warm. Keeping a plastic cover over your soil until your seeds sprout is another good idea. If you live in the northern latitudes of the United States like Cosmic Chile, which is based in chilly Bozeman, Montana, consider keeping your pepper plants indoors, growing them in a cold frame or cultivating them indoors in either a sun room or in a greenhouse. Remember to cover your plants if the temperature dips below 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
Picking planting time. The Chile Pepper Institute of New Mexico State University recommends starting seeds indoors about eight to 10 weeks before the last expected frost in your area. Generally that will mean starting plants in mid-May to late June.
Matching your climate to the right pepper. According to eHow.com, if you live North of United States Department of Agriculture Zone 4, you'll get better results with short-season varieties such as Long Slim, Hungarian Wax and Gypsy. The Ohio State University Horticulture and Crop Science department also recommends Long Red Cayenne and Large Red Cherry for cooler climates. If you're blessed with hot weather, consider planting peppers with a "TAM" or "NuMex" in their names, eHow.com says. "They've been bred to produce well in very high temperatures," the web site notes. Regardless of what variety you choose, look for disease and insect free plants.
What about water? While chile pepper plants don't need a lot of water and dislike soggy water-logged soil, they do need moist soil to thrive. A shortage of water at bloom time can result in blossom drop or a failure to "set" fruit.
Soil wars. Chile peppers prefer well-drained, sandy or silt-loam soil. Soil should be moist, not wet, when planting. Before planting your chile peppers, enrich the soil with manure or compost. Most peppers prefer soils with a pH range of between 6.0 to 8.5. Also consider dusting your planting surface with a fine layer of Epsom salts and work it into the soil. According to eHow.com, the Epsom salts will provide magnesium "which peppers need for good development."
No shocks to the system. If you start plants indoors, get them adjusted to outdoor temperatures slowly. Don't just plunk them in soil outdoors. Instead, let them sit outside in their containers for ever longer