SOME LIKE IT HOT
Peppers
in some form or another have been cultivated and eaten for thousands of years.
We are all familiar with the sweet pepper known as the bell pepper as we eat it
fresh in salads or cooked in numerous dishes very frequently. However hotter peppers
such as cayenne, chilli, Thai peppers, Jalapeno, Habanero, Scotch Bonnet and if
you like it dangerously hot Dorset Naga are all very healthy. They also add a
bit of spice and heat to a wide variety of dishes in curries, as paprika, Tabasco,
or they may be dried, ground or pickled.
The
active ingredient in hot peppers is capsaicin and the amount present varies
according to type grown, method of cultivation and climate.
The
hottest types are also the source of capsaicin extracted from chillies and used
as non lethal pepper sprays by police for crowd control.
Take
great care in handling the hottest fresh chillies as the sap can cause severe
burning of hands, eyes, lips and other parts of the flesh in contact. Wear thin
rubber gloves and thoroughly wash all knives, utensils and cutting boards after
use.
Always
thoroughly wash all kinds of peppers as they are mainly grown in countries that
are still using high levels of pesticides that adhere to the surface of the
fruit.
Peppers
may be picked green or left to ripen and go bright scarlet, though this often
reduces the amount of fruit produced. The red fruits are very high in Vitamin C,
vitamin A, and most of the vitamin B range, as well as the minerals potassium,
magnesium and iron. If you can build up a tolerance to hot peppers they are
recognized with excellent health benefits. Studies indicate they are useful in
treatment of arthritic pain, reduces blood cholesterol, and the peppery heat can
reduce nasal congestion. Capsaicin studies are also helpful in stopping the
spread of prostate cancers.
The plant
thrives in hot climates like South America, Mexico, India and Thailand, so up
in Scotland we need to grow them in a glasshouse.
Cultivation
This year
I have been growing some Jalapeno peppers, but the cultivation of other types
is very similar. Only tall varieties may need staking or some form of support.
My Jalapenos are now five foot tall bushes that seem to be fine without any
support but as the fruit swells I will support any shoot that looks likely to
bend over with a heavy crop.
Seed was
sown in mid March in seed trays on a windowsill. Young seedlings emerged in a
few weeks then were pricked out into small pots and kept on the sunny windowsill.
These soon grew and needed potting up into larger pots. Once established they
were transferred into the glasshouse in early May and three weeks later planted
into a growbag at three per bag. They can also be grown direct into borders
that have been well prepared by incorporating ample well rotted organic matter.
Peppers benefit from high temperatures and ample sun so they are on my south
facing border in the glasshouse.
Keep them
watered and fed once a week with a high potash feed just like tomatoes.
They can
get troubled with red spider, greenfly and whitefly, but so far I have had no
problem.
Keep them
well ventilated to build up a strong plant and start to pick the fruit when
green or wait a bit longer till they turn red.
Plant of the week
Fuchsia Mrs Popple has always been my favourite hardy
outdoor fuchsia. It will grow about three to four foot tall and gives a mass of
flowers from early summer till winter. It is not fussy about soil as long as it
has good drainage. I grow mine at the top of a wall in a bed with variegated
ivy ground cover. This gives the base of the fuchsia some frost protection in
winter. If the winter is severe the bush can die back to ground level, but it
always seems to survive and grow away strongly again in spring. Once growth has
started in spring cut back all dead shoots to tidy up the bush. It propagates
very easily from cuttings taken in late summer, but needing winter protection,
so I keep mine on a windowsill.
END
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