Oviedo, FL, USA Zone 10A FL

Post outline:

• Brief Introduction
• My Spring 2024 Pepper Collection List
• My Spring 2024 Pepper Reviews

Introduction: After learning that there are over 1000 pepper varieties in this world, I am on a quest to grow at least my 12 different pepper varieties each year. All my pepper plants are potted due to the root-knot-nematode in the ground soil.

My Spring 2024 Pepper Collection List

1. Aji Mango Pepper
2. Aji Strawberry Pepper
3. Sugar Rush Peach Pepper
4. Shishito Pepper
5. Orange Thai SSE Pepper
6. “Mini Dwarf Hot” Pepper
7. Hangjian #4 Comet Tail Pepper
8. Variegated Thai White Pepper
9. Small Jim
10. Hangjian #2 Meteor
11. Orange Ancient Sweet
12. Peach Charapita

My Spring 2024 Pepper Reviews

1. Aji Mango Pepper

Aji Mango is a sweety fruity pepper with some heat. The plant produces fruits constantly. Good organic fertilizer would helped make the fruits grow bigger but I am still learning about that part.

2. Aji Strawberry Pepper

Aji Strawberry Pepper has a sweet fruity flavor with some shocking heat near the pith. Don’t let this tear drop shape pepper folks you. I took a nibble at the bottom tip and find it fruity sweet with no heat. So my husband took a big bite and the high heat was “very hot” to him. I got lucky then. 😂 The ripen color should be red but for some reason mine only turns dark orangy red. Seeds purchased from Hot Pepper Shop on Etsy.

3. Sugar Rush Peach pepper

SRP is one of my top favorite sweet fruity pepper with some heat. The best time to harvest Sugar Rush Peach pepper is when the fruit has a light peachy yellowish-orange color. Harvesting it too early won’t allow you to taste that juiciness and fruitiness. Its sweetness is subtle, does reminds me more of fruit juice. My best friend and her relative also like the Sugar Rush Peach too. I saved seeds from previous years.

4. Shishito Pepper

Shishito is my favorite sweet pepper. Shishito is a sweet Japanese pepper that’s great for grilling and sauteeing. My first encounter with Shishito peppers was at a Japanese restaurant. The roasted and fried Shishito peppers is so delicious and addicting for me. It is a must have in my garden. Shishito produces heavily. I bought a tray of Shishito peppers at the Asian market and saved the seeds to start it in my garden.

5. Orange Thai SSE Pepper

Well, I think Orange Thai SSE is the hottest pepper in my collection this year. Orange Thai SSE was originally purchased from Hot Pepper Seeds Shop on Etsy. This Thai chili strand heat level is similar (very hot for me but just right for my husband) to red Thai chili. The fruit size is smaller about three inches long but loaded with heat and has a proliferic fruit production. Orange Thai SSE is ideal for Asian hot chili sauces and chili paste added to curry and Thai cuisines.

6. “Mini Dwarf Hot” Pepper

These “Mini Dwarf Hot” peppers are my favorite hot variety. I originally bought the pepper plant from the pepper guy at Renningers Farmers Market in Mt. Dora, Florida. It’s not too hot, just a little and the heat only lasts about two or three minutes long. I pop the pepper in my mouth like candy. 😂 I can’t handle jalapeno, but I can handle these mini hot peppers. The mature plant size can fit well in a two gallon pot. I like how it doesn’t take up much space and its small compact shape makes this Mini Dwarf Hot Pepper a nice gift too.

7. Hangjian #4 Comet Tail Pepper

This is one of the Chinese Hangjian space pepper strand. Comet Tail pepper produces long pods about six inches long.

The taste Hangjian Meteor pepper ranges from bland and heatless when green to somewhat sweet when fully ripen with a little heat. It gets hotter as it turns red but just not hot enough compared to any of the Thai chili strands. You can find any of the Hangjian space pepper seeds at Hot Pepper Seeds Shop on Etsy.

8. Variegated Thai White pepper

This Thai chili strand has variegated green and white foilage, making it a beautiful ornamental pepper plant as well. The pepper fruits start out as white and light yellow and ripens with a medium orange color. Its hot level is equivalent with other Thai chili peppers. My husband like to eat this pepper. I love the variegated foilage. It’s a keeper in my garden!

9. Small Jim pepper

Small Jim took a longer time to fruit and ripen but when it does, the plant looks beautiful. Small Jim may be small but is loaded with some heat. It’s like a mini red bell pepper in disguise with its sweetness. Small Jim is sweet but still has a pepper taste. Seeds purchased from Urban Farmer online.

10. Hangjian #2 Meteor:

insert image

Meteor is a Chinese Hangjian space pepper strand. I bought the seeds from Hot Pepper Seeds Shop. So far this plant has the lowest fruit production among my pepper collection for this year. I am waiting on for the one and only pepper to fruit. The fruit is very long. To be updated…

11. Disliked: Orange Ancient Sweet Pepper

Orange Ancient Sweet pepper is big, sweet, just like the crunchy sweet peppers I have tasted from the markets but the flesh is thin. For a sweet pepper, it is just not meaty enough to keep growing. So out it goes. Note: Orange Ancient Sweet supposed to turn orange but mine never did. It has signs of rotting in some parts. Fruit production wise, it’s proliferic compared to the sweet bell peppers I have planted before.

12. Disliked: Peach Charapita Pepper

The Peach Charapita peppers are small and round. Not sure if I picked the fruit too early or not but I took a nibble and the pepper tasted plain dull like an ordinary pepper with some heat. I didn’t like it so I yanked the plant out into the yard waste bin. There is just no point wasting my time growing something I don’t like eating.

My preferences: I like to eat peppers that are fruity sweet with some heat. The sweet without heat are great for grilling and snacking. The hot Thai chilies strands are grown for my husband since his heat tolerance is much greater than mine. I use the hot peppers to make chili pastes, hot sauces, in stir fry and soups some times.

General Pepper Information:

• Light: Needs full sun in spring and fall, but prefers partial sun in the summer of Florida
• Watering: Needs watering every in spring, summer, and fall and maybe once a week in the winter if needed.
• Grow from seeds outdoor: I would wait until weather starts increasing above 75F degrees until I start sowing seeds outdoor.
• Pepper plants can be planted as an annual. It is possible to overwinter the mature pepper plants and let it produce again as a perennial the following year in Florida.
• Common pepper pants pest issues and treatment:
• What I Learn NOT to do: Here in central Florida, winter is a joke. There is no need to use a heating mat. Sowing seeds before March will take a long time for th peppers to sprout, so I recommend sowing pepper seeds around mid March outdoor. I learned not to germinate seeds during the winter because it’s a bit too chilly and I have to baby the seedlings. Forget that idea of you are a low maintenance lazy gardener like me. I also learned not to sprinkle in all ten seeds I to a pot. Sowing 3 pepper seeds and thinning it out is plenty enough since I always get 100% germination rate so far.