# Favorite Peppers



## karstopo (Jun 29, 2009)

My Fresnos are producing. Different kind of heat than a jalapeÃ±o, heat with sweet. Put in sets mid March so they are a fast producer getting to red fruit already. 

Cajun Belles have some immature peppers. Canâ€™t wait to try those. Other bell peppers have lots of immature fruit. 

The Jimmy Nardellos are slowly growing, just getting to the flower stage. Same for the Corno di Toro types. I did the Jimmy Nardellos, the Jalapenos and the Shi****o from seed and was late getting those going and the cold weather slowed them down. 

What are some of your favorite peppers to grow? How do you like to prepare them?


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## tec (Jul 20, 2007)

I like jalapeÃ±os and grow several plants every year. Sometimes they are nuclear hot but my favorites are regular hot. I've planted poblanos for the first time. We really like creamy soup made with them.


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

Peppers are among the easiest plants to grow in the home garden. 

I've tried several different varieties but have found over the years that plants with fruit at or above the Habenaros on the Scoville scale are too hot for handling safely. 

My current preference is bell peppers, Corno di toro (cows horn), jalapeno, and a very few habeneros. 

They all freeze easily and are used in just about everything we eat. Production will be continuous all year until a good freeze takes them out next Dec. or so. 

Production really seems to ramp up in the fall and that's when we normally get ours for freezing.


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## Mattsfishin (Aug 23, 2009)

I am growing bell and poblano so I can grill them or stuff them with dirty rice , Kevin Belton recipe for the dirty rice.


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## karstopo (Jun 29, 2009)

Serrano peppers are about at the top of the heat profile that I typically like. What do y'all do with the Habaneros? They are way hotter than a Serrano. I like salsa and pico with Serrano peppers. Anyone ever grow Serrano peppers?


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

From about late May to Sept we have a Pico salsa almost every day made from fresh garden ingredients including habeneros. 

The Roma tomatoes, 1015 onions, cukes, bells, jalapenos, and just a little habenero make for great fresh sause all from the garden. Sometimes we add sweet corn fresh picked.

We don't like much cilantro and use it sparingly, if at all, and also add avocado occasionally for variety but those along with salt, pepper, and limes are the only things not from the garden. 

I can eat a big bowl of the stuff almost every day...absolutely love it!


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## Rubberback (Sep 9, 2008)

Japs! Got 10 jap plants. I can em. But I like most peppers.


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## scotth891 (May 25, 2016)

Iâ€™ve got the usual jalapeÃ±os, cayenne, and Serrano this year. 

I added shi****o, ghost, habanero, spicy mexi bell, and orange sweet pepper or something like that. 

Iâ€™m looking forward to trying the shi****o. Also making some fermented hot sauce. 

My 2 birdseyes are coming along from overwintering as well.


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## Sugars Pop (Jul 10, 2008)

Calif. bells, bananas, hatch chilis, japs and pablano. Last two in the garden the hill and sweets by the house


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## Dick Hanks (Aug 16, 2007)

This year I'll have started from seed: Jalapeno, Anaheim, Sweet Yum Yums, Aji Dulce #2, Aji Mango, and Aji Rico.

The Yum Yums are small, but sweeter than regular Bells. Thick walled, no heat, as well. Very productive. You will get more volume of ripe fruit from these than you will a standard Bell.

Anaheim have less heat than Jalapenos, medium thick walls,and are great on sandwiches and hot dogs/brats in a bun. Good in Salsa and for stuffing too.

The 3 Aji peppers are all shaped, and taste a lot, like Habanero peppers. However, each has a slightly different fruityness. All are thin walled like Habaneros, but all of them have less heat than a Jalapeno. These are still pretty uncommon in the U.S. but are widely used in South America and some Caribbean countries. They make awesome sauces, ingredient in cooking, salsas, and even eating fresh out of the garden. I can't even eat a Jalapeno like that! My guess it will be several years before these will be available as started plants. Ya gotta buy the seeds and start them. Worth the effort if you are starting other plants as well.


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## karstopo (Jun 29, 2009)

Good to know about the Aji peppers. I like picking up seeds and starting from seed and did my Jimmy Nardellos, JalapeÃ±os and shi****os from seed. I picked up one set called a mad hatter pepper. Sounds intriguing.

https://bonnieplants.com/product/mad-hatter-pepper/


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## Stumpgrinder1 (Jul 18, 2016)

Im new to this and wondered how big a pot or planter yall are using for jalapeno or habanero plants ( adult)


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## Dick Hanks (Aug 16, 2007)

karstopo said:


> Good to know about the Aji peppers. I like picking up seeds and starting from seed and did my Jimmy Nardellos, JalapeÃ±os and shi****os from seed. I picked up one set called a mad hatter pepper. Sounds intriguing.
> 
> https://bonnieplants.com/product/mad-hatter-pepper/


That Mad Hatter sounds like it will be a good one. I'll be looking forward to your thoughts after the 1st picking of ripe ones. The Aji peppers have floral notes as well. The Mad Hatter is also very South American and may be closely related to the Aji peppers. Some additional thoughts:

Aji Dulce #2: My favorite Aji for flavor and low heat. 4th season growing this.
Aji Mango: Fruity, but it is kind of a stretch to taste Mango flavor specifically. 2nd season going it.
Aji Rico: This will be a new one for me this year.
Aji Crystal: Grew it last year and didn't care for it. It was very productive, but lacked good flavor and had more heat that the other Aji.

Taste preferences vary a lot between people, and the growing conditions between Texas and MN are big. Your taste results could be very different.:mpd:

Stumpgrinder3: Peppers can be grown in a 2 gallon pot, but it takes a lot of attention to keep the moisture and fertilizer correct in this small of a pot. Much better to step up to a 5 gallon pot. Takes way less grower attention to details.


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## RonnieS (Jan 1, 2010)

I grew the Mad Hatter last year, and have 1 that I overwintered. It was knocked back by the cold, and is now getting large and starting to load up. I've had good results with several overwintered peppers. They bush out and put out better the 2nd year. Have a couple others on their 3rd year. The Mad Hatters taste, to me, bell pepperish, with strong rich fruity flavors. My second favorite so far. My most favorite is Zavory from Rareseeds. It is similar in looks to the Aji, and is extremely fruity like nothing I have ever tasted. Doesn't taste like a pepper at all. We eat them fresh and on pizza mostly. Neither of these have any heat to us. Your taste may vary.


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## muleherder (Mar 7, 2006)

I grow Poblano and Anaheim for green salsa and roasting for cooking. De-seed and bake in a roasting pan with onion, garlic and cilantro, then chop in blender with sour cream and touch of salt and lemon juice. I love japs but just can't take the heat anymore. I'm trying Shi****o again this year as they didn't do well in pots last year. I also grow Royal Black and Chilly Chilly for ornamental at the base of a couple rose bushes.


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## karstopo (Jun 29, 2009)

Pepper update. 

Lunchbox orange, planted from a set, one plant planted and thatâ€™s been a productive one. Very sweet and almost citrusy. Nice one. 

Jimmy Nardello.4 plants from seed. Delicious blistered on a grill. Sweet with a rich pimento like flavor. Small plants, though, mine seem to produce only 5-7 peppers each, might have been late getting them in. My soil needs some additional organic matter and with a compost bin so Iâ€™ve got a good source now. 

One gypsy pepper plant from a set that has a good number of peppers. Had two in that light green shade, not a lot of flavor, going to let them color up more before having any more. 

JalapeÃ±o, 2 from seed, one from a set. The seed planted ones have been much more productive. Good as usual, but not particularly hot. 

Fresno, 2 plants from sets. Surprisingly productive. Keeps on producing. Best when bright red. Good flavor and sweeter than a jalapeÃ±o and the heat slowly develops and comes at the end of the bite. Use one with one jalapeÃ±o and it makes a great addition to pico de Gallo. 

Mad hatter, one plant from a set. Has several green peppers, a couple that look full sized, but have yet to turn red. Tall plant, interesting to look at. 

Carmen, one set each, Bulls horn, never set a fruit. 

Garden salsa, not terrible, not a favorite. 

Bell, six sets and Cajun belle 2 sets, both good and fairly productive. 

Tomato Horn worms have attacked some of the pepper leaves and stems. I use the big worms for catfish bait. Gets an almost instant take from a catfish and too meaty for sunfish.


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