Two More Peppers
Blog by Nanelle Jones-Sullivan
For many, one of the exciting things about late winter is starting new pepper seedlings. It has been too long since I tried a new pepper, and it is time to remedy that.
This year, I was inspired by Robert Sacilotto on Hungry Onion to add Er Jing Tiao, an annum, and Madre Vieja, a baccatum, to my usual collection of poblanos, Italian fryers, and chinenses. The beautiful pepper pictures are his!
I am replacing my three-year-old overwintering Aji Amarillo with a similar, but new to me, Madre Vieja. Madre Vieja (“Old Mother”) is a baccatum from Guatemala. Like its relative Aji Amarillo, it has citrus flavors with a moderate amount of heat, but unlike Aji Amarillo, it is supposed to be able to set fruit with day temperatures into the nineties. It took 10 days to germinate and four weeks to reach transplant size.
The other pepper that is new to me is the Er Jing Tiao, an annual from Sichuan, China. It dries to a beautiful red color, has great flavor, and heat comparable to cayenne. Perfect for chili oil! It germinated in about 5 days and is growing like gangbusters. I will probably need to repot them at least twice and pinch off flowers before planting them in their permanent home.
I “pot up” pepper seedlings in seedling trays when they have developed two to four sets of true leaves. Seedlings should be transferred to larger pots when their roots have filled the initial seed tray cells, but before they become root-bound.
Once the garden's soil warms to about 60°F (16°C) and the days are warm, I start putting the seedlings outside to harden off. For the first few days, seedlings are exposed to full sun for only a few hours, preferably morning sun, and I gradually increase the time they spend outside. I watch the seedlings for signs of stress and move them into shade if they start to wilt, and inside at night.
After a week or two, preferably when nights are about 55 degrees, the plants can be set in the garden. Most of the country seems to plan by the last freeze, but for us, nighttime temperatures are often the hurdle our plants need to pass to grow their best. For Er Jing Tiao, it is important to remove all flowers until the plants are at least a foot high because this variety tries to flower and set pods before the rest of the plant is ready.
Banner Photo by Jaouad JK: green and red chilies