Peppers

I’m a big fan of spicy food. So, I planted a bunch of peppers in the first week of June. Starting on the far left and going clockwise… poblano pepper, red pepper, jalapeño pepper, green chile, serrano, and italian green chile (I was curious).

End of June update…

Pepper plants are gettin’ bigger! The only two that haven’t really shot up are the traditional green chile and the serrano (the are behind the Italian green chile you see to the right). So far, there aren’t any peppers. All I have been doing is pulling weeds and watering. I added hoses to the drip system because they weren’t getting enough water. The rocks are there to form/direct the hose to the plant. Unfortunately, this box needs a new wall because it is warped and a lot of water leaks out. That will be another project to tackle soon.

The pepper plants had a bit of trouble standing up so I tied them to some sticks/stakes.

Update July 19, 2012 ~

Green Chile Peppers (above) and Italian Green Peppers (below). Mmm!

The first harvest (below)! These peppers were picked August 5th. I learned that peppers will only grow to their max and then they stop. This is unlike zucchini, pumpkins, squash, etc., which will keep growing until you pick them! What you see is only a fraction; I gave a bag full to my friend…

I roasted them! And they are delicious! I roasted them by lightly brushing them with vegetable oil (don’t use extra virgin olive oil; it will cause it to burn/smoke in the oven). I used my toaster oven since they all fit. I simply set it to broil and cooked the peppers for about 10-15 min (until they started to brown), flipped them and cooked for another 10-15 minutes. I immediately put them in a ziploc bag so they would create some steam, which helps them keep some moisture and it allows the skin to come off easily. Once they are cool enough to handle, remove the stem, slice open, remove the seeds and the stems, and enjoy!! These green peppers were not spicy, but they were very flavorful… I almost ate them all in one day!

 

 

The popular green and red bell peppers that we see in supermarkets are actually the same thing; the red peppers have just been allowed to mature on the plant longer, changing color and also gaining a higher content of Vitamin C.