Sunday, September 23, 2007

Overwintering hot peppers - sunny season closing

The hot pepper plants will need to come in out of the cold soon so I've dug them up and repotted them in a pot that gave room for their rootballs to expand. Despite this insult, they haven't so much as shaken off a leaf.

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Caribbean red and fatali, both habaneros, I believe.

The fatali (with yellow fruit) is doing fabulous this year (year 2) and according to my neighbour is hot HOT HOT. How hot? Let's relive the conversation.

Me: "Do you like hot food?"

Neighbour: "Oh yeah, I love hot food."

Me: "I had quite the harvest of jalapenos this year."

Neighbour: "I don't find them too hot. Just a bit spicey."

Me: "I have a couple of really hot ones. A caribean red one and fatali."

Neighbour: "I've heard of that one."

Me: "Yeah? Want to try one?"

Neighbour: "Sure."

I go and get a fatali, gingerly, wrapping my shirt around it.

Me: "Here you go."

Neighbour: "Thanks." He starts to take a bite.

My face tenses but before I can say maybe you want to cook with it or something - too late.

Neighbour:"Oh yeah, it's hot. Woah. Yeah hot. Wow. That's hot. Ah. I have to go to the backyard now..."

So I guess it's hot.

Here are my jalapenos (also hot).

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Jalapenos with stretch marks

My long red cayennes are also in their second year but the top halves have died off. You can see the small one in the foreground.

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Hot peppers potted up for overwintering indoors, including long red cayenne.

Unlike the fatali, they were kept in irregularly watered pots all summer so I wonder if drought caused them to die back. Also, unlike the fatali that produced one crop, the cayennes produced several all summer. I'll re-pot them and see how they do this winter.

Links

Info on the Scoville Heat Scale for hot peppers

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bwahahahaha! I love it when stuff like that happens. Could he not just take your word for it? LOL!

Okay, I'm done.

No I'm not.

Bwahahahahaha!

Gardenista said...

I hear that drought makes peppers hotter -- which is why I'm keeping mine really moist! Of course, mine are all indoors in the basement as it is far too cold outside! It is good to know that you can overwinter them. I don't know too many people that do that!

Unknown said...

Very good story, indeed. I don't grow peppers due to a lack of heat and sun, perhaps you could send some of that Harpernista hot air from the house of Commons down our way? :-)
Seriously, am wayyyyy inspired by your peppers, and maybe i'll try growing them just for the lovely effect in the garden.

Whyite said...

My jalapeno peppers got some drought and heat so they are fiery red and hot too. Great post.

I am bringing in some peppers indoors as well.