You probably know that today is Cinco de Mayo, but are you aware that – according to the National Garden Bureau – 2006 is the Year of the Chile Pepper?
Of the 200-plus varieties of chiles, more than 100 are indigenous to Mexico. And while you can’t prepare authentic Mexican cuisine without chiles, peppers add punch to food in just about every other country as well.
Without chiles, forget about pepperoni or Indian vindaloo or Thai lemongrass soup or Szechuan selections. From the American Southwest to the Far East, peppers are hot. And sweet. And smoky.
And pretty. Before peppers make their way to your kitchen for salsas or rellenos or to your front porch tied up as decorative ristras, chile peppers can spice up your garden.
“They do make a nice plant,” says Christy Bettis, who grew 47 Anaheim and hot red cherry pepper plants in her home garden last year. Bettis works as the accounting manager at the Rocky Mountain Seed Company in LoDo. The company, founded in 1920, sells seeds for 31 chiles and provides bulk seeds to chile growers near Pueblo, a mecca for chile fans.
The attractive, shrubby pepper plants come into their glory when producing their payload: glossy fruits ranging in color from rain-slicker yellow to fire-engine red to a vivid orange that rivals a Sunkist navel. Peppers also come in purple, brown and black. Green peppers are simply young peppers; when left on the plant, they ripen to their mature color.
For those who dare to sample chiles, the name – a homonym of “chilly” – seems a cruel irony given how hot some of the peppers taste. A pepper’s spiciness relies on its production of capsaicin, a chemical compound concentrated on the fruit’s inner ridges. While fire power is influenced by the variety of plant, chiles can vary substantially within the variety due to growing conditions: temperature, watering, fertilizing.
Hot, dry weather promotes the production of capsaicin, making Colorado gardens a place for chiles to stoke.
Capsaicin has caught on too as an over-the- counter preparation for arthritis and other joint or muscle pain.
Dr. Joel Cooperman, who specializes in muscoloskeltal medicine at the Denver Osteopathic Center, says capsaicin does have some clinical clout.
“What happens is that the capsaicin increases blood supply by widening the blood vessels, which then can deliver more nutrients to affected areas and facilitate healing,” he says.
Anyone with a passion for peppers knows the threshold for pain to the palate increases with time – and sweat. In other words, there’s an addictive nature to the hot stuff. Some speculate that peppers stimulate the brain to release endorphins – the same feel-good chemicals associated with sexual afterglow and runner’s high.
Peppers originated in Central and South America. In Mexico, archeologists unearthed evidence wild chiles were gathered by native peoples as early as 7,000 B.C. Cultivation of peppers began about 2,500 B.C.
When Christopher Columbus wound up in the Caribbean in the late 15th century, he sampled a vegetable he associated with black pepper and gave the food its misnomer. In fact, Piper nigrum – the stuff in the grinder next to the salt shaker – hails from the East Indies as the berry of a tropical vine.
New World peppers grown on shrubby plants belong to the genus Capsicum. Like tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplants, chile peppers and sweet bell peppers belong to the nightshade family known as Solanaceae.
On Columbus’ second voyage to the West Indies in 1493, a physician named Diego Alvarez Chanca brought the first chile peppers back to Spain. Eventually – either from European or Caribbean influence – chiles landed in North America.
In the United States, however, chile usage didn’t take off like wildfire. Colonial botanical records indicate that George Washington cultivated cayenne peppers at Mount Vernon and
Thomas Jefferson grew them at Monticello. But as far as kitchen usage, chiles remained regional foodstuffs not readily available outside of the Southwest or New Orleans.
Until the middle of the 20th century, that is. Chile peppers, more popular than ever, probably rank as the only vegetable honored with a magazine, food festivals and now a whole year of celebration.
Everything you need to know about chiles – when and where to plant and how to harvest
Plant an assortment to suit your palette. Chose from mild pimientos – the familiar red stuffing for green olives – to habanero, which the Sunset Western Garden Book describes as “near-incandescent.”
Colorado’s short growing season dictates two options: either start seeds indoors eight or 10 weeks ahead of last frost – in which case you are too late this year – or purchase nursery plants.
Wait until the end of May to put down chile transplants. Night temperatures should consistently remain about 50 degrees.
Avoid planting chile peppers in the same spot where tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes or tomatillos were grown in the previous year. They want full sun; the hotter the area, the hotter the chiles. They grow from 1 foot to 4 feet tall. Give transplants about 24 inches of space.
Fertilize with a weak water-soluble fertilizer when planting and again in a month. Water chiles regularly through the growing season, being careful not to overwater, which can cause root disease, particularly in our heavy clay soils.
Christy Bettis advises watering in the morning: “The evenings still get cool, and you can do more damage than good by watering in the evening,” says Bettis, of Rocky Mountain Seed Company.
Harvest green chiles when the peppers appear glossy and feel firm, usually in August. Green peppers left on the plants turn red by late September.
Healthy plants can prove extremely productive. Hybrid varieties allow earlier bearing, higher yields and fewer pests. Less vulnerable than many vegetables, chiles can fall victim to aphids, white flies, cutworms or pepper weevils.
Varieties require 60-95 days from planting until harvest. When harvesting peppers, use kitchen shears or scissors to snip off stems. Store peppers in a refrigerator drawer. Or do as Bettis does and dry them. “Then I put them in a coffee grinder and make chile powder,” she says.
From one variety to another, the pungent pods range in length from a quarter of an inch to almost a foot. A general rule holds that the smaller the chile, the bigger the heat.
Jalapeños seem to make that case. After handling chiles of any size, wash your hands thoroughly. Better yet, wear rubber gloves and keep your hands away from your face, because chiles can burn skin and eyes, along with tongues.
– Colleen Smith
Gardener-friendly chiles
With five species in cultivation, the most common chiles – Anaheims, Galapagos, cayennes, poblanos and serranos – and almost all other chile types used in the United States are all Capsicum annuum.
Colorado State University Cooperative Extension recommends growing the following chiles, ranked according to pungency.
Mild: NuMex
Medium: NuMex Big Jim or 6-4
Hot: Sandia or Espanola Improved
Very hot: Jalapeño and cayenne
