How to Grow Hot and Spicy Peppers in Your Garden Like a Boss
If you love spicy food, you might want to grow your own peppers in your garden. Admittedly, I prefer milder and sweeter peppers, so if you’re like me, do the opposite to help reduce the heat potential in your crop! Peppers are easy to grow and come in a wide range of colors, shapes, sizes, and heat levels. You can use them fresh, dried, pickled (which I highly suggest trying), stuffed, or cooked in various dishes. But how do you grow peppers that are hot and spicy? What kind of soil, fertilizer, and other factors affect the heat of your peppers? In this article, I will answer these questions and give you some tips that I’ve learned over the years on how to grow hot and spicy peppers in your garden.
Proper Soil
Peppers are tropical plants that need warm, well-drained, and fertile soil to thrive. They prefer a soil pH of 5.8 to 6.5, which is slightly acidic to neutral. You can test your soil pH with a kit or a meter and adjust it accordingly with lime or sulfur if needed. Look for a simple and easy at-home pH testing post here soon!
One of the best ways to improve your soil for peppers is to add organic matter, such as compost, manure, worm castings, or peat moss. Organic matter helps to retain moisture and nutrients, improve drainage and aeration, and provide beneficial microorganisms and fungi. It also adds nitrogen, potassium, and other essential nutrients that peppers need to be big, hot, and healthy. Chunky peps.
You can make your own compost from kitchen scraps, yard waste, leaves, grass clippings, etc. or buy it from a garden center or nursery. We also stock a variety of soil materials such as calcined clay, peat, humus, pine fiber, perlite, and worm castings! You can also use manure from cows, horses, chickens (which we stock and customers love it!), or other animals, but make sure it is well-rotted and aged before applying it to avoid burning your plants or introducing pathogens. Worm castings are the excrement of earthworms that are rich in nitrogen and other nutrients. You can buy them in our shop or make your own by setting up a worm bin. Peat moss is a decomposed plant material that is harvested from peat bogs. It helps to increase the water-holding capacity and acidity of the soil. However, it is not a renewable resource and may have environmental impacts, so use it sparingly or look for alternatives like Pine Fiber! Seriously give it a try!
You can amend your soil with organic matter before planting your peppers or transplanting them from pots. You can also add it as a mulch around your plants during the growing season to conserve moisture and suppress weeds.
Fertilizer for Peppers
Peppers are heavy feeders that need regular fertilization to produce abundant fruits. However, too much fertilizer can also cause problems, such as excessive foliage growth at the expense of fruiting (such as with Nitrogen abundance), blossom end rot (a calcium deficiency disorder), or reduced heat levels.
The best fertilizer for peppers is one that is balanced and organic. You can use a granular or liquid fertilizer that has an N-P-K ratio of 10-10-10 or similar. N-P-K stands for nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K), which are the three main macronutrients that plants need. Nitrogen promotes leafy growth and green color, phosphorus promotes root development and flowering, potassium promotes fruit development and disease resistance.
You can apply fertilizer at planting time by mixing it into the soil or adding it to the planting hole. You can also apply it as a side dressing every 2 to 4 weeks during the growing season by sprinkling it around the base of the plants before watering it in. Follow the label instructions for the amount and frequency of application.
Some organic fertilizers that you can use for peppers are:
- Alfalfa meal: A by-product of alfalfa hay production that is rich in nitrogen and other nutrients. It also contains triacontanol, a plant growth hormone that stimulates flowering and fruiting.
- Feather meal: A by-product of poultry processing that is high in nitrogen and slow-release. It helps to provide late-season nitrogen when other sources are depleted.
- Soy meal: A by-product of soybean oil extraction that is high in nitrogen and protein. It also contains amino acids that help plants absorb nutrients more efficiently.
- Bat guano: The droppings of bats that are high in nitrogen and phosphorus. It also contains beneficial bacteria and fungi that improve soil health.
- Worm castings: As mentioned above, they are high in nitrogen and other nutrients. They also contain enzymes and hormones that stimulate plant growth and immunity.
- Fish emulsion or freshwater aquarium water: A liquid fertilizer made from fish waste that is high in nitrogen and other nutrients. It also contains trace elements that are beneficial to overall plant growth.
Besides soil and fertilizer, there are other factors that can affect the heat of your peppers. One of them is the variety of pepper you choose to grow. Some peppers are naturally hotter than others, depending on their genetic makeup and their capsaicin content. Capsaicin is the chemical compound that gives peppers their spicy kick and triggers a burning sensation in your mouth. The more capsaicin a pepper has, the hotter it is.
You can measure the heat of peppers by using the Scoville scale, which ranges from zero to over two million Scoville heat units (SHU). For example, a bell pepper and our mad hatter peppers have near zero SHU, a jalapeño (JAL-AH-PEN-OH if you want to mess with people) has 3,500 to 8,000 SHU, a habanero has 100,000 to 350,000 SHU, and a Carolina Reaper has an average of 1.5 million SHU. The hottest pepper in the world, according to Guinness World Records, is the Pepper X, which has a whopping ~3.18 million SHU.
If you want to grow hot peppers, you should choose a variety that suits your taste buds and your tolerance level. You can also try different types of peppers from different regions and cultures, such as cayenne, serrano, Thai chili, scotch bonnet, ghost pepper, etc. You can find seeds here in our store on occasion when in season and in stock, or seedlings online or at your local nursery or garden center. We always suggest supporting local growers! You can even check the Facebook marketplace for local home growers! We’ve acquired some interesting cultivars this way in the past.
Another factor that can influence the heat of peppers is the location on the plant. Peppers that grow at the top of the plant tend to be hotter than those at the bottom. This is because they are more exposed to sunlight and heat, undergoing additional stress, which stimulates capsaicin production. Peppers that grow on the side facing south or west also tend to be hotter than those facing north or east.
A third factor that can make your peppers hotter as mentioned above is stress. Stressing your plants by reducing water or nutrients can trigger a defense mechanism that increases capsaicin levels. However, you should be careful not to overdo it, as too much stress can also harm your plants and reduce their yield and quality.
One way to stress your plants is to hold back on watering them. Peppers need consistent watering to grow well, but waiting longer between waterings can make them think they are in drought conditions and boost their heat. You can do this when your plants are just setting fruit or when they are about to ripen. You should water them only when their leaves start looking droopy or wilted.
Another way to stress your plants is to keep nitrogen levels low. Nitrogen is a nutrient that promotes leafy growth and green color, but it can also reduce fruiting and heat. You should use a balanced fertilizer that has an N-P-K ratio of 10-10-10 or similar and apply it sparingly during the growing season. You can also use organic fertilizers that are slower and gentler, such as alfalfa meal, feather meal, soy meal, bat guano, worm castings, or fish emulsion.
A third way to stress your plants is to add sulfur to the planting hole. Sulfur is an element that helps peppers absorb nutrients and resist diseases. It also seems to increase their heat by enhancing capsaicin synthesis. You can use matches that contain sulfur in their heads and toss a few unlit ones into the hole before planting your peppers. You can also mix sulfur with the soil or sprinkle it on the plant itself.
A fourth way to stress your plants is to avoid cross-pollination. Cross-pollination occurs when pollen from one type of pepper fertilizes another type of pepper. This can result in seeds that are milder or different than expected in future generations. To prevent this, you should grow different types of peppers far apart from each other or use barriers such as nets or bags to cover the flowers.
A final factor that can affect the heat of peppers is ripeness. Peppers are at their hottest when they are fully ripe and have reached their final color. For example, a green jalapeño will turn red when ripe and will be hotter than a green one. You should harvest your peppers when they are ripe or slightly overripe for maximum heat and flavor. If you prefer them a bit milder, harvest them early on! This can also encourage additional fruiting.
You can also harvest your peppers before watering them to ensure a higher concentration of heat and flavor. Watering them before harvesting can dilute their juices and make them less spicy.
With any luck, you’re going to be the pepper boss this season, and as always, share your crops with neighbors (that you like), if you don’t like them, share the spiciest ghost peppers with them and tell them they’re “not that hot”. I’m kidding, sort of.
If you have any issues or questions feel free to comment here and I’ll try to answer! :)
-Steve