Growing Peppers and Chillies

Peppers and Chillies - capsicum

The sweet pepper group is made up of a range of annual plants. They can be long, narrow pointed, square or round. The most usual varieties for us to grow can be green when young [they don’t have a lot of flavour at this stage], yellow, red or black.

Chilli Peppers are usually perennials though short lived. In a warm or temperate environment [usually the ornamental varieties which, can still be eaten] they will last and be productive for 2 – 3 years. However, in the UK outdoors or in an unheated greenhouse or poly-tunnel they will only last for one fairly short season.

o   Sowing and Growing – the advice for growing in cool climates – that’s us – is to grow in unheated poly-tunnels or greenhouses. Although, some sites say that you can grow peppers and chillies where you can grow tomatoes, I have found that tomatoes are a great deal more tolerant of outdoor conditions in southern UK. They are best germinated from now, in a propagator – taking into consideration, how they will be grown on to give them enough heat and light [don’t under-estimate their light requirements], for proper and productive development. Although it is fine to sow later, it will reduce the growing season and, obviously, the harvesting season. I usually sow two seeds into 5cm pots or modules to allow for unpredictable germination [then remove 1 seedling if both germinate. For some varieties, this can be a little extravagant as they will give only half a dozen seeds in the packet. However, propagator space is also limited and with careful handling the seedling can be transplanted into another pot. As the seedlings grow they can be transplanted into increasingly larger pots until planted in their final growing space.

I have found that, although the plants are not tall, they can require support for the sometimes, very heavy crops. The plant stems are quite brittle. The weight of the fruit and even just brushing against them to look after the crop, can break branches off. It has been suggested that the top growth of plants is nipped out to produce more branched growth but, I have not found this necessary.

When planting in a poly-tunnel or greenhouse [in pots – large, or in the ground], ensure the compost is rich, fertile and is kept well watered.

 

Types and Varieties

Peppers –

The term ‘pepper’ normally refers to the large sweet peppers which have no chemical heat. There is an amazing variety of colours and shapes on the market as seeds though, usually only a few of these are available in the shops to buy as vegetables.

The Bell peppers, so familiar to us can be round, oval or square shaped. Longer varieties horn or banana shaped have also gained in popularity and are great on the barbeque. The colour usually develops from green through yellow into bright red as they mature however, there are orange, black and brown varieties available to add some interest to our salads.

Check in the seed catalogues to see what suits you best – My favourites for reliability and heavy cropping are California Wonder which is a square/blocky shape and for the longer pointed pepper I do like Corno di Toro Rosso [horn of the red bull]

Chillies -

Most growers will choose them for their heat for use in cooking though many grow them for their interest in the very different varieties. The heat is measured in Scoville units after Wilbur Scoville who developed the scale for measuring the ‘hotness’ of chillies. The highest measurement is about 15,000,000 – 16,000,000 in the chemical capsaicin. At this point and at some distance below this level, it is toxic. The highest rating for any chilli grown is somewhere in excess of 1,000,000 - Naga Jolokia and quite close to that the Ghost Chili. To put this in perspective, Scotch Bonnet and Habanero, both available on the market and considered very hot are from 100,000 – 350,000 Scoville units. Bird’s Eye chillies are about 50,000 – 100,000.

For the gentler palate, which enjoys a ‘bite’ in its food – Jalapeños have a Scoville measurement of 2,500 – 5,000 and Joe’s Long, my favourite chilli has a measurement of about 3,000. Sweet Peppers contain none.

The amount of the chemical in the fruits will depend somewhat on the season, how much sunshine the plants have had and the ripeness of the fruits.

Of course, the effects on the body don’t stop just with the palate. A couple of years ago, I was helping my daughter to prepare her substantial harvest of assorted chillies [and she does like a bit more heat than I do] for the freezer. After a couple of hours of slicing the fruits I was reminded of a report I had read from one of the organic seed houses where they said that it was necessary to replace the protective gloves of those collecting the seeds from the chillies every hour as the chemicals ‘dissolved’ the gloves. I suffered for a good twelve hours and no application we could come up with helped. My sleepless night in considerable pain will remind me forever to be careful of these fruits.

o   Harvesting and Storing

Before ordering your seeds for each of these crops, consider your planned use of the fruits.  For many, as well as for me, it is an interest in growing, what is essentially, a tropical plant. While I have managed to grow the plants successfully outdoors in a warm year [for us in the south-west UK], they have not been particularly successful. The fruits took so long to ripen that slugs had decimated them by the time they were red enough to harvest. In my poly-tunnel, even in a cool cloudy year, I have had a very satisfactory harvest though in cooler years the fruits will be slower to ripen and you well find yourself with a large collection of half ripe peppers to use. Peppers freeze easily either sliced and packed in suitable freezer containers or bags or cooked with  made up into a

With chillies, as they are so prolific, you need to consider how you can preserve them for the coming winter and spring. For the fleshier varieties, think about slicing and freezing [remember the protective gloves]. For the thinner fleshed varieties like Joe’s long – once they are ripe or even half ripe – harvest and hang up in bunches to dry. They will then stay good in a reasonably shady spot over winter to be used in chilli dishes, curries, etc. Or, you can, once they are well dried, store in plastic bags in a dark cupboard for several years. They will lose their potency and flavour after a while.

o   Nutritional Value

Excellent source of	Useful Amounts	Traces
Vitamins A and C		Vitamins – E, K, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, B6, folate Dietary fibre Minerals – calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, manganese
Peppers and chillies are very low in fat and cholesterol. However, they also contain very large amounts of Sodium [salt]

o   Pests and Diseases

Indoors, the only pest I have found which will affect my plants is red-spider mite. This is probably the worst and most troublesome of greenhouse/ indoor pests. These are not spiders [I remember my father, years ago, tenaciously killing tiny red spiders in our back garden. I believe he thought they were that terrifying red-spider mite. In N. Ireland, where it notoriously damp, how likely was that? I discovered red-spider mite when I first moved to London. I lived in a centrally heated flat and had no idea what this pest was which affected my plants, nor how to eradicate it. Now many years later, when I discovered it in the house I had bought in Bristol, I banished all soft plants from my house for many years – now, fingers crossed, I can have plants free of this pest.

But, in my poly-tunnel, a couple of years ago, when I looked closely at some plants which were clearly not thriving, I discovered the dreaded red-spider mite. It will establish on almost any plant where the conditions are warm and dry and will quickly spread to nearby plants. When you notice the damage, it is probably too late – but not necessarily for the neighbouring plants. If you are unfamiliar with the damage – look for, mottled, dry looking leaves, overall wilting or an unhealthy plant, fine webbing over the leaves, especially the undersides. On very close inspection you can see minute [¼mm] yellow-orange coloured insects moving on the webbing.

They don’t like moist/wet conditions. I surprised myself a couple of years ago when I sprayed my tomato and chilli plants, which had been infected with red-spider mite, with ‘SB plant invigorator’ [do check this out – it is organic and is definitely effective] then followed up with frequent sprayings with water to keep the environment damp. Of course, the damp conditions can lead to other problems eg, botrytis [grey mould] which will affect almost any plant – woody or non-woody and destroy it. Botrytis [Grey Mould] I have found this mould has destroyed some of every crop I have grown indoors – tomatoes, peppers, chillies, aubergines but, removal of signs of the mould at an early stage, spraying with SB Plant invigorator and vigilance has kept these destructive diseases within acceptable bounds.

Slugs and Snails  - outdoor crops can be devastated long before they reach maturity. I have not attempted to grow these crops outdoors even in warm dry years for many years – it just doesn’t seem worth it!

Frost – early frosts, when the young plants have just been planted into the ploy-tunnel or greenhouse, can kill the plants and will do so again later in the year when crops may still be ripening in October. Protect the crops or harvest and use appropriately even if not fully ripe – try making salsas, or slicing for freezing. Think about chutneys or Indian, South American dishes where they could be used or frozen for winter.

Some Useful Recipes

Spicy Chicken or Pork Schnitzel

Ingredients

4 large chicken breast fillets or 2 pork tenderloin

 200g [8 oz] white breadcrumbs

2 eggs – well beaten

50 g [ 2oz plain flour]

3-4 fresh bayleaves

½ tsp black pepper

½ tsp mixed peppercorns

2 tsp – fennel leaves[dried]

2 – 3 dried red chillies

1 tsp sea salt

Method

·         Blitz the spices, salt and bayleaves in a grinder or food processor until fine.

·         Using a filleting knife – finely fillet the chicken or pork to give wide thin fillets.

·         Place these fillets between two layers of greaseproof paper or clingfilm and hamer gently with a rolling pin until the meat is thin and tenderised.

·         Mix the spices with the beaten eggs.

·         Coat the meat fillets in flour then recoat in the spiced, beaten eggs.

·         Coat each fillet in the breadcrumbs and cook

·         These fillets can be cooked in hot oil for 10 to 15 minutes – drain well and serve with chipped potatoes, rice, salad, lemon wedges, etc.

·         Or, for a lower calorie version – place the coated fillets on  non-stick greaseproof paper and bake in a moderate oven for 25-30 minutes. Serve with baked potatoes and a mixed salad.

Home made Tomato Ketchup

2Kg ripe tomatoes ( 4½ lbs)                            2 – 3 fresh bay leaves - crushed

568ml white vinegar( 1 pt)                              piece of cinnamon bark

190g white granulated sugar ( 6oz)                2 – 3 cloves garlic - crushed

1 Tblsp. salt                                                     2 – 3 red chillies ( dried or fresh)

¼ - ½ tsp ground allspice                                ¼ - ½ tsp ground cloves

Large pinch coarsely ground black pepper                                                                

Method

Wash and roughly cut the tomatoes and put in a preserving pan or large saucepan with the salt, bay leaves, cinnamon bark, crushed garlic cloves and vinegar (be fairly sparing with the salt at this stage – add more in the final stages as necessary).

2.      Add the chopped chillies. Take care with these, especially if the ketchup is for children ( I have used dried  Joe’s Long, grown indoors - which are medium heat)

3.      Bring to the boil then simmer gently until the tomatoes are thoroughly softened.

4.      In the meantime, sterilise the bottles or jars – keep hot in low oven.

5.      Remove the cinnamon bark and bay leaves then, sieve the tomato mixture through a coarse sieve – preferable nylon. Return the juice and pulp to a clean saucepan.

6.      Add sugar then ground allspice, ground cloves and black pepper gradually, tasting frequently to ensure the flavour is not too strong. Remember, when the ketchup is cold, the flavour will be somewhat milder. You may also want to add more salt if needed.

7.      Simmer the mixture until it starts to thicken. Don’t make it too thick at this stage as it thickens as it cools.

8.      Put the heated sterilised bottles/jars on a wooden surface and fill them with the ketchup while it is still very hot. Seal the jars immediately. This ketchup should keep safely for several months.

Hot Red and Green Pepper Relish

I have developed this recipe to use up the significant quantities of half ripe peppers I have grown. I have used a mixture of bell peppers and pointed peppers. Of course you could use half green peppers and half red peppers.

10 – 12 good sized red/green peppers [washed, and chopped with seeds, cares and stems removed]

4 medium onions [peeled and chopped]

2 good sized fresh red chillies [ I’m using Joe’s Long]. Leave the seeds in if yu like your relish to be hotter

1 good Tblsp salt [tablespoon]

1 ½ pts vinegar – preferably white [ brown is fine but, won’t look as good]

8 oz [175gm] granulated sugar – do add a little more if you like your pickles sweeter.

2 tsp allspice

Method

·         Wash and split the peppers – remove seeds and stems and white..ish inner parts.

·         Chop them fairly coarsely. Put the chopped peppers into a large colander over a bowl into which the colander should fit comfortably.

·         Pour boiling water over the peppers and leave to sit for 5 minutes. Drain the water off and repeat the process, allowing 10 minutes for soaking.

·         In the meantime, chop the onions and chillis and put them with the vinegar, sugar, salt and allspice into a large pan. Bring the mixture to the boil gradually allowing the sugar to dissolve.

·         Drain the peppers thoroughly and add to the vinegar mixture. Bring to the boil then simmer until the mixture has thickened and the vegetables are well cooked and blended.

·         Taste for salt and heat [ taking care as the mixture will be extremely hot] You may want to add more finely chopped chilli if you like your relishes to be very hot. Add any extra chilli before the end of the cooking process to ensure it has cooked.

·         Pot up into hot, sterilised pots. Cover, seal and label. Allow at least a couple of months before eating to allow the relish to mellow.