Pepper Varieties Could Fill Garden 05/03/01

Pick a Peck of Pickled Peppers...

Pepper varieties that have done well in K-State trials include:

Bell types – (green to red) Camelot, King Arthur, Bell Boy, Jupiter, Lady Bell, Keystone Resistant Giant, California Wonder, (green to yellow) Honeybell, Aladdin, Golden Bell, (light yellow to red) Gypsy, Canary (orange) Valencia, (purple) Purple Bell, Purple Beauty.

Other sweet types – Sweet Cherry, Pimento, Sweet Banana and Italian frying varieties.

Hot Types – (hottest) small orange Habanero varieties, (small and hot) Serrano, Red Chili, Super Chili, (larger and hot) Jalapeno, TamJal, (milder jalapeno) El Paso, (for chiles rellenos) Anaheim.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – For sheer variety in the garden, peppers probably take the prize.

"You can find scads of different sizes, shapes, colors and levels of hotness," says K-State Research and Extension horticulturist Chuck Marr. "There are varieties for making fresh salsa, roasting, stuffing in various ways, pickling and eating in salads. You could fill your whole back yard with nothing but peppers."

Pepper plants are more cold-sensitive than many garden crops, Marr said. If set out too soon, they often will drop their fruit and spend the rest of the season growing large, but producing no fruit.

The plants need fertile, well-drained soil and even, consistent watering. Like tomatoes, peppers may also need some protection from late summer’s intense sunlight.

"Expect hot pepper plants to require more space than bell peppers do," Marr said. "Also expect them to require more care during harvest. Hot peppers produce an oil that can penetrate skin and cause discomfort, especially if you get it in your eyes. I wear rubber gloves, even if the weather’s warm enough to make my hands feel like they’re in a sauna."

K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.