Jalapeños!

[JR05]

Well I have been watching the plants to see when the right time to pick them is and I think I found it. The outside of one of them had turned colored slightly in streaks, another had started to show little hairline cracking or sorts. I picked them both and cut them up and put them on a burger with cheddar cheese. WOW they were amazing and they were HOT. I usually load my burgers with the crappy canned ones, but these things were burning! very happy with the results.

Lets hope I get some more since the beetles really gave them hell when they got done with my basil. I think I have mostly dealt with them now (must have crushed dozens of them at night), the basil and peppers are both recovering well.

[sheeshshe]

ahhh, I've meaning to ask this very question... how do you know when to pick them! so how long did it take from when they were full size till you picked them?

[Nick D]

I try to pick mine right before the little cracks show up, but it's no problem if they do. I find the ones with the cracks somewhat hotter than the smooth ones, though.


From my admittedly limited experience, the size isn't as important as the taste and texture. My hot peppers (jalapeno and cayenne) don't get as big as the store-bought ones, but they're sweeter and a LOT crunchier, and, incidentally (to the great joy of my wife) about two notches hotter!


FYI, putting a piece of fresh-cut cayenne pepper on your tongue just to see how hot it is is NOT something I would recommend.

[FieldofFlowers]

FYI, putting a piece of fresh-cut cayenne pepper on your tongue just to see how hot it is is NOT something I would recommend.

I wouldn't think so. Is this something you learned from experience, perhaps?

I'm just waiting for mine to ripen another pepper. So far I've been enjoying Hungarian wax peppers out of the Burpee hot pepper mix. Those things are surprisingly hot!

[LindsayArthurRTR]

We are growing hungarian wax peppers from the local seed and feed. They were the first ripe pepper. DH picked them out because they said sweet and hot on the label. The first one that was ripe, he bit right into and started to chew......BAHHHHAhahahahahaahahahaaaaa! I bout peed my pants laughing at him! He drank about a half gallon of milk and finally a few spoonfuls of sourcream cooled him off. I touched it to my tongue and it was at least as hot as a ripe Cayenne. Poor thing, bless his heart..but it was funny.

I actually really like them, they are really small plants, and produce a large amount of peppers for their size. Maybe a foot tall at the most. They have a brilliant orange color and they are hot! I put some of them in with pickles and they really gave a great warmth. I have some drying too, they look great dried! They will definitely be a repeat next year

They would make a great chile oil or flavored vinegar!

[FieldofFlowers]

LOL! My Hungarian wax peppers were also the first to ripen. (not counting one sad tiny Jalapeño produced by one that I overwintered) I think I picked about 5 or 6 of them already and had to freeze about three of them. The wax peppers look like banana peppers. My grandma thought so, but I told her they are not. Fortunately she doesn't touch my peppers. I learned very early a little bit goes a long way and they make for tasty burritos, sandwiches, etc. They do seem as spicy as a cayenne pepper, but I think they taste a bit sweeter. Maybe it is just me, but I notice after the burning feeling stops, the warm feeling after is somewhat soothing.
I'll have to let a few ripen to see the orange color.

Anyways, I found this in our garden today:



(came out of the same seed mix as the wax peppers.)

[Shoontok]

Im growing all three peppers talked about on this thread. Hungarian Wax, Cayenne, and Jalapeno, They Cayenne definetly seems the hottest but the Hungarian wax definitely has a good burn too, lol. And the Jalapeno's? well they are just Jalapeno's, but they definitely are the biggest of all my pepper plants and produce nicely.

And yes biting into a fresh cayenne pepper to test its heat is quite painful, lol. And i also tried this method with a Carribean Red this year, lol. OUCH!

I sometimes let my girlfriend test the peppers first while telling her the pepper to be tested is a sweet variety meanwhile its a hot to super hot type. She has fallen for it twice and don't think she'll fall for it again, but we'll see, lol. :evil grin:

Them Jalapenos are a good all around pepper tho. Good producer, not super hot and great for lots of different dishes and cooking methods and cold salsa's.

[731greener101]

Do not let the seeds turn black.With a little experience and time you will know by looking at the outside of the pepper.My peppers tend to come in waves.When one pepper in a wave is right the rest are pretty much at the same level of ripeness.I loved them filled with cream cheese,wrapped in bacon,then roasted on grill.Greener

[gixxerific]

I loved them filled with cream cheese,wrapped in bacon,then roasted on grill.Greener

My freind does this with pepperonchini. But he uses thinly sliced beef tenderloin than bacon and then grilled. Served with a home made sauce they are to die for.

[applestar]

OK, now I have to go buy some bacon!

[csvd87]

Definitely trying the bacon wrapped Jalapenos, I got a single plant on my front porch, has about 9 Peppers on it and like 50 more buds on their way, good thing I pinched all its buds earlier and brought it inside during Juneuary Otherwise it might look like my banana pepper plant...

[731greener101]

Has anyone tried thhe bacon wrapped peppers yet that hand not tried it before? what did you think if you did?Greener

[garden5]

Great thread. I'm growing hot banana peppers, not sure if these are the same thing as a Hungarian wax pepper (they look alike).

I have a question, do any of you save your pepper seeds? I tried this with the jalapenos last year, but they never grew....not one of them. It seems like you have to let the peppers be on the plant for a long time before the seeds mature enough.

Anyone else experience this?

[tedln]

I will be having the bacon wrapped peppers this evening cooked on the grill with a sweet potato. When they are cooked, the steak goes on. I'm also steaming a pot of carrots, onion, and squash, from the garden. I will add some cabbage to the mixture from the grocery store. To many pests for me to grow cabbage.

Ted

[tedln]

Thank you for reminding me about the bacon wrapped jalapenos. I've always loved them. We used to put 1/2 of a jalapeno with cheese inside of a dove breast. Wrap the breast in bacon, hold the packet together with a toothpick and grill over a wood fire. They were great.

You can do the same thing with small pieces of chicken breast. Simply make a pocket in the breast or wrap strips of breast around the cheese stuffed pepper half. Then wrap the bacon.

Didn't have chicken breast or dove breast tonight so I just split the peppers, removed the seeds and membranes, filled with cheddar cheese, wrapped in bacon; and grilled. I made six of the wrapped peppers tonight hoping the wife would eat some. I couldn't detect any pepper heat, but the wife tasted one and said they taste great, but are to hot for her. I enjoyed all six.

I need to buy more bacon. I have a lot more peppers to cook. Since I haven't been using them very fast, some of mine have turned red on the plant. I pulled a few of those and used them. They had a totally different taste than the green jalapenos and may have even tasted better.

Ted

[garden5]

OK, now I have to go buy some bacon!

I'm going to have to second that . Everything just tastes better with bacon, doesn't it?

[731greener101]

It's all about the pig. Greener

[The Helpful Gardener]

As Emeril Lagasse says, "Pork fat rules!"

FOF, looks like that jalapeno should have gotten picked a week or so back. I havev noted a tendency to get woody as they get too old... pick 'em smaller if you need to and keep the water on them...

HG

[Shoontok]

Ok, after reading this i know what im gonna do with the 5 or 6 Jalapenos that are ready to pick.

I gotta some bacon and cheddar in the fridge. And i got a grill/smoker. And got the charcoal and hickory chips. Damn i think im outta starter fluid!

Oh well, guess ill have to use some paper and kindlin wood to get them coals a cookin'

[Richee]

I cut a Jalapeno into slices last week, then breaded it like you would breaded Okra.

It turned out REALLY good.

[Shoontok]

Yep, there be sum jalapeno and cheddar under that there fatty bacon. Weather permitting.... out door grill/smoker or bake it on the oven?

[Richee]

Nice!

[Shoontok]

Hmmmmm, three of them dissapeared before i got the camera out. Ummm i got a mild burning sensation in my mouth and damn that was good! See ya later i think i got 7 more to eat!

[Shoontok]

now if i only i could grow sliced bacon on a plant id be all set! But i'll settle for the free jalapenos in my backyard

[FieldofFlowers]

As Emeril Lagasse says, "Pork fat rules!"

FOF, looks like that jalapeno should have gotten picked a week or so back. I havev noted a tendency to get woody as they get too old... pick 'em smaller if you need to and keep the water on them...

HG

Okay I finally ate it. Not bad, nor was it woody, but it seemed way more mild than I desired. I like 'em hot. Because of that I was beginning to think I picked it too early and should pick any future ones later. O_o

I'll have to try the bacon thing. I have at least a couple if not three others ripening. As far as water goes, I've been trying, but there are 3 days each week when I am away at least 12 hours (work + commute) that things have to be on their own. Presently 2 of those days when I get back home it is near or past sunset and I'm mobbed by mosquitoes, so not much night watering can be done. One one of those days I have a close to an evening shift and a following morning shift, so no morning watering can be done. Things can be badly wilted by the time I get home in the evening.

When I do water, I use a soaker nozzle and move it around every few minutes to an hour.

[tedln]

I prefer leaving some heat in the peppers when you cook them. I removed all the seeds and membranes from mine in hopes others would eat them. Still to hot for them though. I think some people break out in a rash if they hear the word "jalapeno". Next time, I'll just remove the seeds and leave the membranes.

Ted

[garden5]

What do you mean by "membrane"? Do you mean the starchy stuff that the seeds are attached to?

I'm also curious to know how many of you leave the seeds in the pepper or remove them.

I, personally clean out all my peppers because, as Ted said, not everyone likes them hot.

[731greener101]

Membranes are as you described.I personally remove both.My peppers are still extremely hot this year.I believe it's partly because of variety and partly due to soil.Last years(in a different garden)peppers were so mild I used them like bell peppers.They really spiced up my Chinese dishes though.Long live the pepper.Long live the worm.Greener

[garden5]

Thanks for the clarification. I've heard that if you bury a match when you plant each pepper, the sulfur will make the plants grow better and the peppers hotter.

Personally, I think this is a bit of an old wive's tale. Anyone ever try this with any luck?

[731greener101]

I've not tried the match trick as I wanted to see what Scoville my soil produced.In the garden I grew in last year I plan to add some sulfur but not a lot.I find my tomatoes have less acidity in that soil.In the other garden I will not add sulfur as my peppers are plenty hot.Greener

[tedln]

Thanks for the clarification. I've heard that if you bury a match when you plant each pepper, the sulfur will make the plants grow better and the peppers hotter.

Personally, I think this is a bit of an old wive's tale. Anyone ever try this with any luck?

There are a lot of wives tales that have no basis in fact. My problem has always been determining which do and which don't.

I always questioned the old story about the Indians burying a small fish in the hole when they planted corn. I predug some holes for tomato plants this year. I placed the seedlings in each hole still in their containers. In a few cases I pressed them firmly into the soil. I left them like that for a few days before removing them, removing the container, and replanting. I noticed in one hole, I had pressed a large frog into the soil along with the plant. I planted the tomato on top of the frog. It grew better than the other tomato plants.

Ted

[731greener101]

Poor frog he gave his all for the tomato.I live near a large lake and fish there a lot.At the ramp I use to put my boat in and out there is a fish cleaning station that has half barrels to collect refuse.I have frequently thought of asking the owner(a friend) if I could remove some of the material.He returns the fish parts to the lake where turtles wait for the free meals.Greener

[garden5]

Pretty good investigating, Ted. I planted 2 of my tomato plants in holes that had a banana peel place in them and it didn't seem to make much of a difference. The peels do work well with rosebushes, though.

[The Helpful Gardener]

I have found some lime in the soil to be beneficial with peppers for heat, maybe gypsum for a really stable source...

HG

[jal_ut]

Thanks for the clarification. I've heard that if you bury a match when you plant each pepper, the sulfur will make the plants grow better and the peppers hotter.

Personally, I think this is a bit of an old wive's tale. Anyone ever try this with any luck?

Yes. I have done that. Not just a match, but about ten of the book matches. I think it is for the phosphorous, not the sulphur. The peppers did well. I must confess I did it to all, so had none without the matches to compare.

[garden5]

I have found some lime in the soil to be beneficial with peppers for heat, maybe gypsum for a really stable source...

HG

Do you put it directly in the hole or spread it over the general area before you plant?

How much do you use?

This is one I've never heard of.

[tedln]

I have found some lime in the soil to be beneficial with peppers for heat, maybe gypsum for a really stable source...

HG

I've found the gypsum wall board pulverized into a powder works well. It also helps prevent blossom end rot. The older wall board works best because it had basically only gypsum and glue. The newer wall board has other components I prefer to not put in my garden. Don't use Chinese wall board because it has some really toxic stuff in it. To be really safe, simply buy some garden lime at the garden center.

Ted

[The Helpful Gardener]

Or pelleted gypsum... or plain old lime...

G5, I really never amend soil in a hole (ocassionally a sprinkle of compost). I broadcast lime on the surface and watered in; a surface app of gypsum pellets would work the same way...

HG

[garden5]

Or pelleted gypsum... or plain old lime...

G5, I really never amend soil in a hole (ocassionally a sprinkle of compost). I broadcast lime on the surface and watered in; a surface app of gypsum pellets would work the same way...

HG

Oh, OK.

I've heard that you shouldn't lime unless you know what your ph is and even then, only if it's too low.

Do you agree with this, or do you think that an annual application of lime is beneficial regardless?