The oyster mushroom gets its name from its cap which, some say, resembles an oyster. The stem of the oyster mushrooms is perhaps more distinct; it unfurls something like one of those old-time paper lady's fans. The oyster mushroom has...

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How to Grow Hot Peppers

Hot peppers are distinguished from sweet peppers simply by their pungency or hotness of flavor. There are thousands of hot pepper varieties in the world. (This is the case because peppers easily cross pollinate to produce new kinds.)

The hotness of a pepper is determined by number of blisterlike sacs of capsaicinoids on the interior wall of the pepper. Capsaicinoids are organic chemicals. The more sacs of capsaicinoids the hotter the pepper.

Hot peppers go by several names. Most commonly hot peppers are called chili peppers in the United States. 'Chile' is Spanish for pepper. In Mexico chile dulce is a sweet pepper, chile jalapeño is a jalapeño pepper. When the name chile first came to the United States it was used to mean different kinds of peppers in different parts of the country. In time, the spelling "chile" was eventually corrupted to "chili" and the term came to be commonly used to describe any pepper that was hot flavored.

Here's how to get growing hot peppers:

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Blossom End Rot

Blossom end rot is a black, sunken area at the blossom end of tomatoes or peppers. The blossom end is the end of the fruit opposite the stem. Blossom end rot is most often seen on green fruits, usually the first fruits to appear on the plant.

Blossom end rot is caused by calcium deficiency in the fruit. That deficiency can be caused by a lack of calcium in the soil or the plant's inability to draw up calcium from the soil--most often caused by a lack of water. Blossom end rot is aggravated by drought or uneven soil moisture. Soil moisture taken up by plant roots delivers calcium to plant cells or by the excessive application of fertilizer, usually nitrogen or potassium.

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Pepper Growing Problems: Troubleshooting

Peppers--sweet peppers and hot peppers--share nearly all of the cultural and growing requirements of tomatoes. If you can grow tomatoes, you can grow peppers. Choose a site with full sun where the soil is moisture retentive but well-draining. If you are planting sweet peppers and hot peppers in the garden, give them some distance they can cross pollinate.

Here is a troubleshooting list of possible pepper problems with control and cure suggestions: (For a full description of pests and diseases and prevention and controls click over to the Pest Problem Solver or the Disease Problem Solver. For pepper growing details How to Grow Sweet Peppers and How to Grow Hot Peppers. (More pepper growing success tips are at the bottom of this post.)

Seedlings are cut off near the soil surface. Cutworms are gray or brown grubs that hide in the soil by day and feed at night. Handpick grubs from the soil around plants. Keep the garden free of plant debris. Place a 3-inch cardboard collar around the seedlings stem and push it 1 inch into the soil.

Leaves roll downward but there is no yellowing or stunting. Physiological leaf roll, not caused by pathogen; it may be a reaction to temperature or weather. Keep plants evenly watered. No action needed.

Leaves curl then become deformed and discolored; plants may be stunted. Aphids are small soft-bodied insects--green and gray--that cluster on undersides of leaves. Aphids leave behind a sticky excrement called honeydew; black sooty mold may grow on honeydew. Spray away aphids with a blast of water; use insecticidal soap; aluminum mulch will disorient aphids. Aphid predators include lacewing flies, ladybugs, and praying mantis.

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Pepper Varieties: Best Bets and Easy-to-Grow

Peppers demand a warm location from start to finish. For peppers to prosper: sow pepper seed in a warm seed bed and transplant seedlings into a warm planting bed where the air temperature will remain consistently warm until harvest. Cool weather and soil are a pepper's greatest challenge.

Here are best bet, easy-to-grow peppers, both easy eating sweet bell peppers and hot hot peppers.

Keep reading to the bottom of this post and I will give you my tips for sure-fired pepper growing success. (There is also more about pepper growing at How to Grow Sweet Peppers.)

Sweet Bell Peppers:

• Bell Boy. 70 days. Meaty, sweet pepper. Large, blocky fruit, 4½ inches square; thick walled, mostly 4 lobed; fruits turn from green to red. Sturdy compact plant Early yields. All-American selection; resistant to most diseases. Hybrid

• California Wonder. 68-89 days. Tender, juicy sweet with no hint of pungency. Smooth, blocky, 3 to 4 lobed fruit with glossy, 4½ inches long by 4 inches in diameter, dark-green skin; thick walled to ⅜ inches; ripens to bright crimson. Vigorous, upright plant 24 to 30 inches tall. Good leaf cover. Tobacco mosaic virus resistant. Open-pollinated

• Corno di Toro (also called Yellow Bull's Horn). 68-70 days. Spicy flavor, neither hot not very sweet. Fruit 8 inches long, 1½ inches in diameter at the shoulder; tapered to a curved point, resembling the horn of a bull. Ripens to a deep golden yellow or deep red depending upon cultivar. Traditional Italian favorite. Open-pollinated.

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How to Grow Sweet Peppers

Sweet peppers are most easily grown from transplants. Start seed indoors 7 to 10 weeks before the date you intend to set peppers into the garden. Peppers can be seeded in the garden or transplanted out 2 to 3 weeks after the last frost in spring after the soil temperature has risen to at least 65°F. Sweet peppers mature in 60 to 95 days.

How to prepare and cook sweet peppers: click here

Description. Peppers are tender perennials that are grown as annuals. Peppers grow on compact erect bushes 1½ to 2 feet tall. The fruit follows a single flower growing in the angle between the leaf and the stem. Sweet peppers vary in shape and color and include the slender banana pepper; the short, round cherry pepper; the small bright-red, heart-shaped pimiento; the multi-colored Italian frying pepper; and the blocky green to yellow to orange to red bell pepper. Sweet peppers can be eaten raw, cooked, or pickled. Not all sweet pepper varieties are mild flavored; some can be spicy and hot.

Yield. Plant 2 to 3 sweet pepper plants per household member.

Site. Grow peppers in full sun in soil that is rich in organic matter, moisture retentive but well draining. Peppers prefer a soil pH of 5.5 to 6.8. Work aged garden compost into beds prior to planting. The optimal soil temperature for peppers is 65°F or warmer.

Planting time. Sweet peppers grow best in air temperatures 65° to 80°F. Peppers are most easily grown from transplants. Start seed indoors 7 to 10 weeks before the date you intend to set peppers into the garden. Peppers can be seeded in the garden or transplanted out 2 to 3 weeks after the last frost in spring after the soil temperature has risen to at least 65°F. In temperatures greater than 85°F, peppers may drop their blossoms although set fruit will ripen. The ideal temperature for sweet peppers is a daytime temperature around 75°F and a nighttime temperature around 62°F.

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Cubanelle Peppers

The cubanelle sweet pepper is tasty lightly roasted and served on a summer sandwich or green salad.

Core and seed three or four of the long tapered cubanelles and place them on the grill or about five inches below the oven broiler element and cook until the skins blister and char on each side, about 10 minutes per side. Next, place the peppers in a large sheet of aluminum foil and leave until they are no longer hot; now, you slice and remove the ribs and seeds and peel the skins away and arrange these colorful peppers to their best effect.

(Tasty tip: an hour before roasting, place the peppers in a glass bowl with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, 3 or 4 sprigs of thyme, and salt and pepper to taste. Turn the peppers every 15 minutes so they will be evenly coated with oil.)

Ok, if that sounds like too much work, the mild and colorful cubanelle can be sliced raw right onto a green salad and topped with vinaigrette. Or slice up some cubanelles to add to fresh salsa.

Cubanelles are mild to spicy, less so with cooking. You'll find the flavor of the cubanelle akin to the popular Anaheim sweet pepper. Cubanelles range in color from green to yellow to red. A red cubanelle is a ripe pepper but not necessarily more spicy than a green cubanelle. When it comes to hot, be assured the Cubanelle barely rate on the Scoville unit pepper heat meter.

Cubanelles are also known as Italian frying peppers. They are popular in Italy added to casseroles and pizzas.

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Sweet Peppers

There's a lot to be said for sweet peppers.

You can eat them raw in salads, or you can eat them roasted or barbecued or fried or stir-fried or stuffed with fish or meat mixes. You can use them in casseroles or rice dishes.

Try this: sauté sweet pepper strips in olive oil with onions and garlic, sprinkle with vinegar, and chill. There you have a tasty weekend salad. But wait! You can use this same mix to top hot Italian sausages.

Yummy!

Sweet peppers are in season from late spring through late summer, May through August in the Northern Hemisphere.

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