I'm focusing this year on peppers I eat every day, and peppers I use for my sauces. Usually I grow a good 20+ varieties, but this year I am sticking to only 6. I am growing 8+ plants of many of these varieties, so it will still be a pretty packed garden. One omission that might be noticed is aji amarillo. I absolutely love aji amarillo, but I still have 4 full gallon bags of aji amarillo pods from last year in my freezer. That will last me through 2019.
My list is as follows:
Peruvian Red Rocoto-These are great for stuffing, fresh sauces, fermented sauces, kebabs, etc. A classic Peruvian pepper, that is very productive in my area. So many of my South American friends ask me if I have any for sale or trade in the Summer, that I doubled the plants this year. 8 plants will be going in 10 gallon pots.
Aji Limo-I cook with this Capsicum Chinense almost every day. It is in my opinion, the ultimate pepper to provide flavor and heat to any fish/seafood dish, plus it's amazing with chicken. This is THE pepper used in Peruvian ceviche, which is my all time favorite food. I use this for just about everything. I'm growing out some seeds from the aji limo plants I grow every single year, but also growing out some seeds from a pack a friend of mine brought me from Peru this January. 9 plants will be going in 7 gallon pots next week.
Peach Bhut Jolokia-Great building heat, great non floral flavor. This is the one pepper in the 800K SHU+ category that I really enjoy cooking with. I am growing out extra plants this year for my passion fruit and guava ghost sauce. Super prolific plant, and an early bloomer, compared to many of the other peppers in it's category. 8 plants going in 7 gallon pots next week.
Aji Largo-Based on taste tests with many seasoned chile heads in my area, out of about 15 different Pubescens cultivars last year, Aji Largo was universally chosen as the best for flavor. The plants get absolutely massive, even for a Pubescens, and need to be staked well to support all of the pods. The pods aren't ideal for stuffing, but are insanely juicy, and have a sweet almost persimmon like flavor. One healthy plant usually gives me a good 80+ pods in a season. Since I am using most of these aji largo pods for bottled sauce, I will be putting 5 plants in 7 gallon pots next week.
P. Dreadie Scotch Bonnet-This will be my second year growing this variety, and I was really pleased with the heat and flavor of the pods I grew last year. I plan on tinkering wih these pods in the kitchen with dishes, and in sauces this Summer. 2 plants going in 10 gallon pots next week.
Mini Red Rocoto-There isn't much to say here except, "wouldn't it be nice to have the same flavor and heat of a rocoto, without it being the size of an apple?". This is a great variety to quickly kick up the heat on a salad, pickle, and generally snack on. It's a bite sized rocoto for pete's sake! 2 plants going in 10 gallon pots next week.
I'm also growing some veggies as always:
Ping Tung Eggplant
Japanese Eggplant
Rosa Bianca Eggplant
Black Egg Eggplant
Black Beauty Eggplant
Tomatillo
Okra
San Marzano Tomato
Costeluno Gemovese Tomato
Beefsteak Tomato
Mortgage Lifter Tomato
Brandywine Tomato
Herbs:
Quilquiña
Huacatay
Culantro/Shado Beni
Oregano
Sweet Basil
Lemon Thyme
Rosemary
Pics coming next week while transplanting outside.
My list is as follows:
Peruvian Red Rocoto-These are great for stuffing, fresh sauces, fermented sauces, kebabs, etc. A classic Peruvian pepper, that is very productive in my area. So many of my South American friends ask me if I have any for sale or trade in the Summer, that I doubled the plants this year. 8 plants will be going in 10 gallon pots.
Aji Limo-I cook with this Capsicum Chinense almost every day. It is in my opinion, the ultimate pepper to provide flavor and heat to any fish/seafood dish, plus it's amazing with chicken. This is THE pepper used in Peruvian ceviche, which is my all time favorite food. I use this for just about everything. I'm growing out some seeds from the aji limo plants I grow every single year, but also growing out some seeds from a pack a friend of mine brought me from Peru this January. 9 plants will be going in 7 gallon pots next week.
Peach Bhut Jolokia-Great building heat, great non floral flavor. This is the one pepper in the 800K SHU+ category that I really enjoy cooking with. I am growing out extra plants this year for my passion fruit and guava ghost sauce. Super prolific plant, and an early bloomer, compared to many of the other peppers in it's category. 8 plants going in 7 gallon pots next week.
Aji Largo-Based on taste tests with many seasoned chile heads in my area, out of about 15 different Pubescens cultivars last year, Aji Largo was universally chosen as the best for flavor. The plants get absolutely massive, even for a Pubescens, and need to be staked well to support all of the pods. The pods aren't ideal for stuffing, but are insanely juicy, and have a sweet almost persimmon like flavor. One healthy plant usually gives me a good 80+ pods in a season. Since I am using most of these aji largo pods for bottled sauce, I will be putting 5 plants in 7 gallon pots next week.
P. Dreadie Scotch Bonnet-This will be my second year growing this variety, and I was really pleased with the heat and flavor of the pods I grew last year. I plan on tinkering wih these pods in the kitchen with dishes, and in sauces this Summer. 2 plants going in 10 gallon pots next week.
Mini Red Rocoto-There isn't much to say here except, "wouldn't it be nice to have the same flavor and heat of a rocoto, without it being the size of an apple?". This is a great variety to quickly kick up the heat on a salad, pickle, and generally snack on. It's a bite sized rocoto for pete's sake! 2 plants going in 10 gallon pots next week.
I'm also growing some veggies as always:
Ping Tung Eggplant
Japanese Eggplant
Rosa Bianca Eggplant
Black Egg Eggplant
Black Beauty Eggplant
Tomatillo
Okra
San Marzano Tomato
Costeluno Gemovese Tomato
Beefsteak Tomato
Mortgage Lifter Tomato
Brandywine Tomato
Herbs:
Quilquiña
Huacatay
Culantro/Shado Beni
Oregano
Sweet Basil
Lemon Thyme
Rosemary
Pics coming next week while transplanting outside.
