GARDENINGPURSUITS/ July 2015
RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS
Y
By “Model Gardener” Kelly Emberg
SOME LIKE IT HOT!!!! I’m not going to lie; that describes
my tastebuds to a T. Eating chili peppers is part of my daily
routine. When I run out of my fresh peppers or the season
is over I have my dehydrated, blackened cayenne pepper
salt that I made just for those occasions.
Chili pepper contains a long list of
compounds in them that are known to have
disease preventing and health-promoting
properties, all the more reason why you
should plant them in your veggie garden!
HEALTH BENEFITS
The hotness of chili is measured in “Scoville
heat units” (SHU). On the Scoville scale, a
sweet bell pepper scores 0, a jalapeño pepper
around 2,500-4,000 units, and a Mexican
habaneros may have 200,000 to 500,000
units. Capsaicin is the strong spicy pungent
character in chili peppers.
Experiments suggest that capsaicin has
anti-bacterial, anti-carcinogenic, analgesic and
anti-diabetic properties. It is said to reduce
20 Westlake Malibu Lifestyle JULY 2015
LDL cholesterol levels in obese individuals.
Chili peppers are very good for you and
are rich in vitamin C, which is required
for collagen synthesis inside of your body.
Collagen is one of the main structural proteins
required for maintaining the integrity of
Chili Peppers
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blood vessels, skin, organs, and bones.
Here are a few growing, harvesting and
storing tips for those who are not afraid of this
fiery fruit:
GROWING
Feed your chili plants weekly with high
potash tomato fertilizer once the fruit has set.
Water chili peppers regularly throughout
the growing season.
Pinch out the growing tip of the first
flowering shoots to promote more branching
and therefore increase your harvest.
When growing chili plants it’s best to keep
them a little on the dry side as stressing them
very slightly helps to produce hotter peppers.
Taller varieties of chili peppers may
require staking.
You can provide a thick mulch of organic
matter around the base of the plants to help
conserve moisture and reduce weed growth.
When growing chilies indoors, don’t
forget to open windows and doors to
provide insects with access to the flowers to
ensure good pollination.
GARDENINGPURSUITS/ July 2015
You can also hand pollinate
chilies - simply move from flower
to flower tickling the center of each
one with a fine paintbrush.
Chilies require warmth and long
sunny days to ripen properly.
HARVESTING
To harvest, chilies can be picked up
while they are green, or when they
reach complete maturity and dry on
the plant itself. In general, the fruits are
ready for harvesting once they mature
and turn red. They are then left to dry
under sun and shrink in size.
Harvest chilies singularly by cutting
them from the plant with scissors.
If your chili crop is particularly
successful you may want to store
some for later.
on eggs, or meat dishes. Be careful,
a little goes a long way.
SOMETHING DIFFERENT TO
SPICE UP YOUR GARDEN
I like to grow things you don’t see
everywhere and these are a few
varieties that are unique:
SWEET RED CHERRY PEPPERS
– They are among the mildest chili
peppers with a Scoville heat rating
of less than 500 its.
Chilli Peppers roasting
STORING
Chilies can easily be dried or
frozen. Drying Chili peppers Simply use a needle to thread
the stem of each chili pepper
together to that they form a string
of peppers, then hang them in a
warm, well-ventilated spot and let
Chilli Peppers drying out on a rack
the air dry them out. This process
can take 4 or 5 weeks.
consistent heat you get from this chili. Like
You can dehydrate peppers if you have a
most of my peppers, I love to leave them on
dehydrator or oven:
the plant until fully ripened which is when
Place your fresh peppers onto a cookie
they turn red. Then they have a lovely
sheet and ‘bake’ at the lowest setting
sweet taste.
(approximately 150F or lower) with in oven
for several hours to gradually dry out the
peppers. Turn peppers frequently, and make JALEPENO
Jalapenos have thicker skin and they have a
sure peppers are not being overheated.
flavor unlike the Serrano. I love that flavor
Freezing Chili peppers - Chilies can
when they are hot but they often don’t have
be frozen in freezer bags straight from
that punch behind them and can be as mild
the plant without any further preparation.
Although the flavor of hot chili peppers will as a bell pepper. But watch out; if you get
a hot one it can send you running for the
be retained, the flesh will be slightly soft
fridge to guzzle a gallon of milk.
when defrosted so frozen chilies are best
used in cooked dishes.
HABANEROS
Chili peppers should be stored in the
They come in an orange and red variety and
refrigerator inside a plastic bag where they
the red is twice as hot as the orange variety.
will stay fresh for about a week.
So if you don’t like a lot of fire, avoid planting
Dry chilies can be stored at room
this one. The Serrano or the Jalapeno seem
temperature in a cool, dark place, inside
like a bell pepper compared to this chili.
airtight containers for many months; and
My friend from Guatemala shared a
can be milled to powder using mixer/
spicy habanero salsa recipe that makes my
grinder as and when required.
mouth water just thinking of it, but watch
SOME OF MY FAVORITE VARIETIES
out it is crazy hot!
SERRANO
Habanero chopped, chopped onions,
Serrano’s are one of my favorites because
lemon juice, cilantro, salt and pepper. My
they are dependable when it comes to the
lips are burning just thinking of it. It’s great
22 Westlake Malibu Lifestyle JULY 2015
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BULGARIAN CARROT – Spicy,
crisp, juicy with a fruity flavor,
its crunchy flesh is perfect for
roasting, but the flavor is superb
for pickles, salsas, chutney, and
marinades. They go from a green to
a fluorescent orange. I grew them
for their color but they are nice and
hot as well.
THE BHUT JOLOKIA also known
as the GHOST PEPPER - The word
Bhut means ghost and was probably
named this because of the way the
heat sneaks up on the one who
eats it. It might not be the hottest
pepper out there but it sure is close
to the hottest pepper. Beware; just search
YouTube for videos of brave idiots who
filmed themselves eating them. My son Cole
and his buddies found it extremely amusing.
It hurt me to watch them. This is the first
pepper to scientifically test over 1 million
scovilles. I dare you to grow this one. I am!
Can’t wait to see what peppers you decide
to grow. Good luck on your growing
journey! See you next issue with more tips
on simply growing!
For more Simply Growing and Cooking tips
visit my website at: www.kellyemberg.com.
There are lots of videos, photos of my garden
and ideas on how to make your life simpler!
Follow me on Instagram & Facebook.
My best always,
Kelly Emberg, the model gardener