#capsicum annuum

[lovelyloquat]

Capsicum Annuum

This was one of my sketchbook drawings for an observational drawing class.

[askwhatsforlunch]

Growing Tip: Growing Bell Peppers

As I always say, gardening, especially growing fruit and vegetables, teaches one patience and perseverance. And I can also say that it often rewards it, too.

Last year, I Planted Bell Peppers in the Lasagna Garden. After a week, some of the young seedlings were gone, and those which did take and started growing were eventually eaten (by whom, I am not sure; certainly not me!)

What this taught me was that I maybe had not waited enough before planting the seedlings, which were too young and fragile.

Thus, I kept the ones I still had upstairs in 'The Nursery' there. All Summer, Autumn and Winter! I watered them regularly, oftener in the warm months, and decreasingly as the days became chillier and then properly cold. Whilst it was freezing outside, my seedlings, then growing into leafy plants were warm and cosy under the window, providing them with all the light they needed.

In April of this year, they were lush and green, and just about to bloom! I was absolutely chuffed.

I waited until all risk of late frost had passed and, a month later, on the 19th of May, I prepared two large pots in the garden, which I filled with a mix of garden soil, vegetable potting soil and compost. I planted my three Bell Pepper Plants in them.

Soon enough, they were growing and flowering beautifully!

And in early June, some of the flowers became tiny Bell Peppers!

And from then on, they grow quite quickly! All one has to do is to water them regularly (their soil should always be moist, but never soggy), every two weeks with a mixture of 1 cup Onion Skin Decoction and 4 cups Nettle Soup in a watering can, topped with about 8 litres of water. It both encourage growth and protects them from insects. Likewise, if slugs manage to crawl into your Bell Pepper pots (they are very fond of the leaves!), sprinkle Coffee Grounds generously at their feet; it shall deter them!

And then, just watch the magic happens as they grow bigger with each passing day. These pictures (above) were taken in late June!

And these (still above) in early July!

Finally, I harvested my first Bell Pepper on the 8th of August! It is big enough, eh!

And there are plenty more growing on the plants, which are also still flowering! I am very happy I learned to be patient; --and this isn't the first of my qualities!-- it was more than worth it!

You can harvest Bell Peppers green, and let them ripen in the kitchen, they will become orange-y before turning red! I like to have a mix of colours in my dishes, thus I allow them to reach different degrees of ripeness. They will also taste and feel different: Green Bell Peppers are firmer and crisp, and fresh whilst Orange and Red ones are softer, mellower and sweeter in flavour.

[walks-the-garden]

Full pepper harvest, November 6th, 2022.

Top to bottom, left to right clockwise:

Bubblegum White, Numex Suave Orange, Yellow Reaper, Aji Norteno, Murasaki Purple, Sugar Rush Peach, Tobago Seasoning, Cheiro Roxa, Pink Tiger Yellow, White Ghost mix, Pimenta De Neyde, Aji Mango Stumpy, Purple Reaper, White Chuphentino.

90% Capsicum Chinense, with a few Capsicum Baccatum (Aji Norteno, Sugar Rush Peach, Aji Mango Stumpy) and one single solitary Capsicum Annuum (Murasaki Purple).

Ranging from sweet to Superhot, most being in the middle.

[may-k-world]

ピーマン収穫！ 今年もまた食べたピーマンの種から育ったものです。 まだ花も咲いているけど、収穫はこれで最後かな？😌

[katiajewelbox]

“Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.” (Macbeth, by William Shakespeare) This isn’t a blood spattered Halloween prop, this is a homegrown Romano Pepper (Capsicum annuum). If that scientific name sounds familiar, it’s because most domesticated peppers belong to this single species. Although they look different and command higher prices due to their fine mellow flavour and texture, the Romano peppers are the same species as the common, mild flavoured but tough-skinned, Bell Peppers. Even the fiery jalapeño and hot cayenne peppers are members of the same species. There are some domesticated peppers in traditional Latin American cuisine that come from other Capsicum species native to central and South America, but Capsicum annuum is by far the most widely cultivated. 

The main flavour difference lies in the concentration of “Capsaicin”, an alkaloid evolved to deter mammals and fungi from eating the fruits. Capsaicin is the chemical that causes the burning hot sensation we feel when eating Chili peppers. Evolutionary biologist hypothesise that birds are better at spreading wild Chili pepper seeds because birds swallow the fruits without chewing. Mammals tend to chew up the seeds while eating the fruit, which destroys the seeds. How ironic that this “deterrent” would lead to humans spreading the plant all over the world due to its exciting flavour!

[biosemiotica]

Domenica 30/08/2020

Peperoncino serrano (Capsicum frutescens)

[shadyufo]

This Black Pearl pepper plant is so stunning! I picked it up at a local farmer’s market the other day while loading up on pumpkins. It’s a cultivar of Capsicum annuum and the berries are supposedly edible but extremely hot and have a citrus-y flavor. 

That little inch worm was a big fan too! <3

[podartists]

Paprikas | César González Palomo | Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)