How Are Your Chiles Doing?

Most of my pequin survived the winter (wasn’t it brutal this year?), but so far the habaneros show no signs of life. I’ve got my fingers crossed, but I’ve also got seeds drying in a shot glass on the kitchen counter.

Some of the jalapeños are starting to leaf, but mostly just the ones that wintered in the greenhouse. Might be better just to start from seed every year.

I’ve got some chiltepin in starter pots, but so far, no growth. And I’ve got some canicas that I brought back from Guanjuato. They’re growing in the ground. Wish me luck.

I’ve got a couple chile plants that are starting to green, but I’m not sure what kind they are. Serranos, maybe. I’ll probably have to wait till they start to produce fruit to know for sure.

And you?

3 comments

  1. Spouse’s family grows chile in Hatch, NM. His Uncle, Harmon Black, used to be the mayor there. Austrian immigrants that made chile a household staple and has saturated the market. Not growing any in these parts, Dallas burbs, but make sure to have frozen bags of Hatch stuffed in the deep freeze for those intermittent cravings. Read that chile contains up to 7 times the Vitamin C level of an orange and has a large range of health benefits.

    And how about your local L & J Cafe’s special red salsa? Got jars of it lining the back wall of my pantry. The best! If I don’t bring it back with me from El Paso, it can always be ordered online.

  2. I checked the piquin and tepin plants out here in the DFW metro, either they are dormant or dead. Plants were given to my brother by one of his work mates last year. Once the fruit started growing we couldn’t tell which was which so I checked at the store. Tepins are small and round but just as hot. Here is a link to the tepin:

    http://www.specialtyproduce.com/produce/Tepin_Chile_Peppers_9548.php

    I have some store bought piquins because it’s one of those spices one needs at the table for sprinkling heat.

    I’m planning to bake some Dutch-style sourdough rye in the next few days, schedule and flour permitting, and thinking about grinding some piquins and adding to half of dough.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *