Pepper growing advice

Here is an article on hatch chilis. I tried to grow them last year and had no luck. Now, Anaheim grew great.

Growing Hatch Chile

I ordered my seeds here. New Mexico Chili, NM Chili, NM Chile, New Mexico Chile, Hatch NM, Hatch New Mexico, Hatch Green Chile, Chile Gifts and more, Guajillo (wha-hee-oh)powder, green chile in a jar and growing seeds!

Amazon.com : Hatch Green Chile - 30 Seeds from New Mexico - Medium Hot : Plant Seed And Flower Products : Patio, Lawn & Garden
These are the same seeds I got from www.nmchili.com

They have really good items. I ordered several bags of dried chilis. It looks like they (nmchili)are out of hatch seeds right now,

 

I set these up like a square dance...lol

 

Thank you, next year I prune.

 

I will tell you one thing, be sure to wear gloves when working with any hot pepper. I was roasting my hatch and anaheim chili and accidently touched my forehead. The only way I could get relief is to use a ice pack on my face for 3 hours. You never forget that stuff. It has happened once to my hubby and he was miserable for a while had his head in the sink of water.

 

We get hatch chilis here from August 15 to Sept 15. I roast them and canned some and froze some and saved some for seeds.
I am sure you could get them too during the same time period. Some grocery stores have roasters outside to get them roasted for you.

 

Those really look like Big Berthas.

Big Bertha Bell Pepper: Large Fruit, Disease-Resistant

One of the replies to this above site said to winter them and they are HUGE the next year. Where is the world will I put them..lol

 

Big Bertha or Big Jim. seems every year they have a new name.
buried 'em deep then cut 'em down. got stocks about an inch in diameter and hard as steel.

 

Whoaaaaa, those are ginormous peppers, @TheJackBull!! Well done! Hey, @Ganado, I have my soft, mild pepper, feminine side that I get in touch with once in a while! And yeah, @pearlselby and I talk hot once in a while!! LOL

Great advice above, especially about starting them early. The big box stores will be selling already-started pepper plants about April or so, and those work great also, but there's something very satisfying about raising your own peppers from seeds. To start with, get good quality seeds. The Ferry-Morse brand is a good one, as are Burpee brand. Also, the sites quoted above for ordering pepper seeds are great. Another great source is Pepper Joe: http://www.pepperjoe.com/shoppingcart/html/pepper.html Go towards the bottom of the page for the milder peppers.

There are tons of sites that have info on growing peppers. One thing to definitely keep in mind is that peppers cross-pollinate in a heart beat! Don't plant mild near (probably within 20' or so) hot peppers or you will likely end up with half-hot, half-mild peppers. And don't get discouraged when you see them flowering and then the flowers die and fall off without producing peppers.....that's normal, at least up to a point.

As for roasting them, any bbq works......gas fired or charcoal. Heck, you can even roast them over a burner on a gas stove using tongs. Get a medium heat going, lay your peppers on the grill and roast, turning when each side turns black and blisters. Then put them in a paper bag and close tightly or in a heavy duty ziplock bag and seal. Leave them for about10-15 minutes, then peel under running water. You can then cut them up into slices or pieces and freeze them (vacuum seal after they're frozen and they'll last almost forever), cut into pieces and put in vinegar and use the juice as a vinegar sauce, make salsa or pico de gallo, place in vinegar with the proper stuff and hot water bath can them to keep crispy (although I find this gives them a strange, hard texture) or cut into little pieces and eat in soups or, like I like them...over rice and gravy. All kinds of things to do with them.

Gloves. Yep, definitely gloves! I've set myself on fire from pepper juice too many times to count. Milk does wonders to help soothe the heat. Especially a milk soaked paper towel. *Don't ask me what I've had to use these milk soaked paper towels on! LOLOL*

If you're in Zone 8, and have good soil, about all you'll have to do is put the plants in the ground in a nice sunny spot, give them a good watering and a little bit of fertilizer and then jump back quickly! They should do great in that climate.

Good luck and please keep us posted.

Kajun

 

Best Pepper Plants, Tomato Plants & Eggplants - ChilePlants.com

You all can download a catalog.

 

Thank you for that idea.