Peppers: hot, sweet, and healthy

With a variety to choose from, peppers are a must-have in vegetable gardens. From sweet, blocky bells to spicy, colorful hot peppers, it’s a good idea to grow multiple varieties to satisfy a wide range of recipes and palates of flavors. Here are several that do just that.

For more: www.burpeehomegardens.com or www.panamseed.com

Production:

New ‘Tangerine Dream’ has a look that’s hot, but the flavor is not. The shiny orange-red peppers pack a lot of flavor with just a hint of heat. The compact bush-type pepper plant is covered with 3 x 3-inch fruit, a size that makes it great for grilling recipes. Its beautiful plant habit and fruit count also make it a pleasant ornamental patio plant as well.

• Light: Sun
• Fruit Size: 3 x 3 inches
• Matures: 70 days
• Plant Spacing: 12 to 15 inches
• Plant Size: 12 inches wide, 18 inches high
   

For more: www.burpeehomegardens.com

Harvest ‘Cajun Belle’ mildly spicy bell peppers green or red. Prepare as a tasty side dish: stuff with cheese and rice and bake. It’s also excellent for salsa. At 24 inches tall and wide, it is a good size for growing in containers. Gardeners will enjoy these tasty peppers up to two weeks earlier than other sweet bell peppers.

• Light: Sun
• Fruit Size: 2 to 3 inches x 3.5 niches
• Matures: 61 days
• Plant Spacing: 24 inches
• Plant Size: 24 inches tall and wide
   

For more: www.panamseed.com

Sweet and mildly spicy like pepperoncini, with a smoky flavor, ‘Sweeet Heat’ is perfect raw, grilled, or in salsa. This variety is also part of the Burpee Home Gardens BOOST Collection, which identifies vegetables higher in antioxidants for health-conscious consumers. Sweet Heat can produce 65 percent higher vitamin C content than the average garden pepper. It is early to produce fruit and remains compact, so growers can ship larger containers with developing fruit. Harvest peppers green or red.

• Light: Sun
• Fruit Size: 3 to 4 inches x 1-1.5 inches
• Matures: 56 days
• Plant Spacing: 16 inches
• Plant Size: 12- to 16 inches wide, 8 to 12 inches high

For more: www.panamseed.com

Both ‘Cute Stuff Gold’ and ‘Cute Stuff Red’ are apple-shaped mini-bells that have a sweet taste. Eat it fresh or as a stuffed dish. For growers, Cute Stuff times well in both colors, so you can ship them together. Produces fruit continuously through the season. Cute Stuff Gold is green-to-gold; Cute Stuff Red matures green-to-red.

• Light: Sun
• Fruit Size: 3 x 2.5 inches
• Matures: 56 days
• Plant Spacing: 20 inches
• Plant Size: 12-20 inches wide, 18-24 inches tall
   

For more: www.panamericanseed.com

One of the largest jalapeño peppers, ‘Gigante’ matures as much as 5 inches long. It’s easy to grow in any sunny garden or large patio pot. It can be harvested throughout the summer when they’re green or red. Gigante is good for salsa or stuffing as poppers.

• Light: Sun
• Fruit Size: 5 x 3 inches
• Matures: 80 days
• Plant Spacing: 18 - 24 inches
• Plant Size: 16 inches wide, 18 - 24 inches tall
   

For more: www.burpeehomegardens.com

Did you know?
Peppers were introduced to Europe by Christopher Columbus, who also bestowed the name pepper on the exotic fruit.