Vegetable Gardening (27 page)

Measuring heat with the Scoville scale

To help you decide how hot you want to go with hot peppers, the Scoville Heat Scale was developed in 1912. The scale ranges from 0 to 350,000 and measures pepper hotness in multiples of 100. Table 5-1 shows some of the most popular hot pepper types and their hotness ratings. The chart gives a range for each rating because weather, growing conditions, and pepper variety can all affect how hot a pepper is. This chart can help you decide how hot you want your peppers.

Picking some hot peppers to grow

Here are some hot pepper varieties that you can grow:

‘Anaheim TMR 23':
These moderately pungent, open-pollinated, smooth-skinned, 7-inch-long-by-2-inch-wide peppers are produced on 3-foot-tall, leafy, tobacco mosaic virus resistant (TMR) plants. They mature in 75 days. You can use the dried pods to make the
ristras
(wreaths of dried peppers) popular in the Southwest.

‘Ancho 211' (Poblano):
These open-pollinated, red, mildly hot, 4-inch-long, wrinkled, heart-shaped peppers often are stuffed and served as chile rellenos. You also can dry them and make them into wreaths or powder. They take 80 days to mature.

‘Big Chili II':
This hybrid Anaheim-type roasting pepper is 8 to 10 inches long and mildy pungent. Yields are high and early at 68 days.

‘Cherry Bomb':
These mildly hot, 2-inch-round, thick-walled hybrid fruits mature in 65 days to a bright red.

‘Habañero' (
Capsicum chinense
):
These are some of the hottest peppers known to mankind! These 1-inch-by-1-inch, lantern-shaped fruits mature to orange on 3-foot-tall open-pollinated plants. They thrive in the hot weather and take a long season to mature — 100 days. The hottest variety of this type is a red variety called ‘Caribbean Red,' which tops 445,000 on the Scoville scale.

These hot peppers can be dangerous, so take care when handling and eating them.

‘Hungarian Hot Wax':
These medium-hot, 7- to 8-inch-long, tapered open-pollinated peppers mature from yellow to red and are great for pickling. They take 70 days to mature.

‘Jalapeño M':
The classic salsa, nacho, and pizza hot peppers. These moderately hot, 3-inch-long, round-tipped open-pollinated fruits taste great when eaten green or red. ‘Jalapa' is a more productive hybrid version, and ‘Tam Jalapeño' is a milder variety. These peppers take 75 days to mature.

‘Mariachi':
This AAS-winning hybrid hot pepper features high yields of 4-inch-long and 2-inch-wide mild fruits that are very attractive. The peppers start yellow and mature to red in 66 days.

‘NuMex Joe E. Parker':
A very productive open-pollinated variety of a popular breeding line from New Mexico State University. The 6- to 7-inch-long fruits have a mild to medium spice. They mature in 65 days.