| Growing Chile ~ Growing Chile ~ Peppers ~ Capsicum Pepper plants are picturesque plants of bushy habit, generally treated as annuals in cold climates, though in warm places they are true perennials. 15-20 chile plants will supply the average family with plenty of peppers for table use. The colorful fruits are attractive when used with other vegetables for table arrangements, and in salads provide a touch of color as well as nutritive value. Peppers are a fine source of vitamin C. Culture: Since the pepper is a very tender vegetable and one which requires a long growing season, the plants must be started inside about 8 to 10 weeks before the outside planting date. One packet of any variety will provide more than enough plants for the average family. Seed can be started in a flat or flower pots in a sunny window, hotbed, or a cold frame. Put a layer of pebbles or coarse material for drainage in the bottom of flats or flower pots, and fill to ½-inch of the top with a finely screened mixture of one part sand, one part loam, and one part compost. Keep the containers evenly moist until germination has occurred and the seedlings are growing well. When the plants have at least their first pair of true leaves and are crowding, move to plant bands, or to flats, allowing each plant at least two inches in all directions. To prevent wilting and sudden death of young plants from fungus infection, be very careful not to over water, especially during damp cold cloudy weather. When the weather has become warm, and absolutely all danger of frost is over, set the pepper plants in a sunny location in the garden in rows two to three feet apart, with 18-24 inches of space between the individual plants. They will grow in any well-prepared garden soil and do not require a great deal of fertility. During very dry weather give the plants an occasional thorough watering. Mulching the plants with grass clippings or hay will save work by smothering the weeds, and by holding moisture in the soil. Because the chile plants requirements are so similar to those of tomato, many gardeners when setting out a planting of tomatoes, substitute pepper plants for tomato plants here and there throughout the planting. Peppers are also grown amid flowers and shrubs. Insects and Diseases: Peppers are not especially susceptible to insect. Sometime when the plants are first set out, cutworms cause damage, but they can be quite easily controlled by placing cardboard collars in the ground to protect the stems. The most serious disease is mosaic, a virus infection. Leaves become malformed, mottled in color, and the plants are stunted and eventually die. Remove and destroy such plants at once. Wash hands (or tools) before touching healthy plants. Varieties: Peppers are classed in two groups: the sweet or mild, and the hot. The sweet-fleshed peppers are desirable for slicing, salad, and stuffing. World Beater, California Wonder, and Merrimack Wonder are good sweet varieties. Anaheim, Barker, Sandia, Dynamite, Red Cayenne, and Tobasco are good hot varieties. The hot varieties are fine for sauces, flavoring and pickling either fresh or dried. Harvesting: The sweet varieties are usually picked when they have reached sufficient size and are still green in color. However, if green chile is allowed to turn red before picking, the vitamin C content will be higher. The hot varieties are picked when ripe and usually green or a bright red. All chile should be cut from the plant with ½-inch of stem or more, not pulled. Note: when commercially picked, they are pulled with an upward twisting motion...so you do not damage the plant. by Barbara J Hardy....edited in part by ChileMasters. |
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