Peppers: Hot & Sweet

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This year we have a wide selection of various hot and sweet peppers at the nursery, and this weekend we're celebrating our biggest pepper stock of the season! Hurry in and pick some up today, but first, keep reading and learn what peppers you don't want to miss according to Randall, our Bedding Manager! 

Sweet Peppers

'Cubanelle' Sweet Pepper

'Cubanelle' Sweet Pepper

In the United States, the term "sweet pepper" encompasses a wide variety of mild peppers that, like the chilie, belong to the Capsicum family. Both sweet and hot peppers are native to tropical areas of the Western Hemisphere. Sweet peppers can range in color from green, yellow, orange, red, purple, brown to black. Their usually juicy flesh can be thick or thin and flavors can range from bland to sweet to bittersweet.

A sweet pepper's Scoville scale is 0 and therefore doesn't bring any spice or heat to your palate, just wonderful texture and flavor! (What's the Scoville scale? Read on to learn!)

The best known sweet peppers are the bell peppers, so-named for their rather bell-like shape. They have a mild, sweet flavor and crisp, exceedingly juicy flesh. When young, the majority of bell peppers are a rich green, but there are also yellow, orange, purple, red, and brown bell peppers. The red bells are simply vine-ripened green bell peppers that, because they've ripened longer, are very sweet. In cooking, they find their way into a variety of dishes and can be sauteed, baked, grilled, braised and steamed. Sweet peppers are an excellent source of vitamin C and contain fair amounts of calcium, phosphorus, iron, thiamine, riboflavin and niacin.

Hot Chiles

'Santa Fe Grande' Pepper

'Santa Fe Grande' Pepper

One of the wonders that Christopher Columbus brought back from the New World was a member of the Capsicum genus, the chile. Now this pungent pod plays an important role in the cuisines of many countries including Africa, China (Szechuan region), India, Mexico, South America, Spain, and Thailand. There are more than 200 varieties of chiles, over 100 of which are indigenous to Mexico. They vary in length from a huge 12 inches to a 1/4" pewee. Some are long, narrow and no thicker than a pencil while others are plump and globular.

Their heat quotient varies from mildly warm to mouth-blistering hot. As a general rule, the larger the chile the milder it is. Small chiles are much hotter because, proportionally, they contain more seeds and veins than larger specimens. Those seeds and membranes can contain up to 80 percent of a chili's capsaicin, the potent compound that gives chiles their fiery nature. Since neither cooking nor freezing diminishes capsaicin's intensity, removing a chile's seeds and veins is the only way to reduce its heat. After working with chiles, it's extremely important to wash your hands thoroughly, failure to do so can result in painful burning of the eyes or skin (wearing rubber gloves will remedy this problem). Chiles are a rich source of vitamins A and C, and a good source of folic acid, potassium and vitamin E.

The Scoville Scale

The Scoville scale measures the "hotness" of a chile pepper or anything derived from chiles, including hot sauce. The scale measures the concentration of capsaicin, the active ingredient that produces that heat we feel when biting into a chile. The Carolina Reaper comes in at a whooping 1.4 to 2.2 million points while a common Jalapeno measures 2,500 to 8,000 points. How much heat can you handle?

Growing

Pepper love full sun and a regular watering. When the first blossoms open give the plants a light application of E.B. Stone Organics Tomato & Vegetable Food 4-5-3 to help them maintain healthy growth and an abundant harvest!

A Few of Our Favorites

When you stop in, don't miss a few of Randall, our Bedding Manager's favorite varieties...

'Cubanelle' Sweet Pepper - A new type for us, this is known as a "frying type" with 4-5" long, red peppers also great roasted, baked, stuffed and fresh.

'Grandpa's Favorite Jalapeno' Hot Pepper - 2" dark red peppers that are excellent fresh in salsa and salads, dried or pickled.

'Santa Fe Grande' Pepper - A long, thin-walled pepper with a spicy-hot flavor used dried in sauces and soups. 

The Herb List

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Each Spring, we bring in an abundance of herb varieties for your to choose from. Whether you're looking for Sweet Basil to make a classic pesto sauce (one of the best Basils to use!) or something a little more unusual, we've got it!

Check out more information on each herbs including growing habits and pairings below and visit us for garden-fresh herbs today! 

Warm Season Veggies

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Starting around the first week of April you will see our summer veggies and herbs in stock! If you are eager and your greenhouse is ready, we have plenty of seeds in stock now!

Warm Season Crops 101

            Setting "fruit" (eggplants, peppers, squash, tomatoes, etc.) is the objective of warm season crops. These crops require warm soil and short days to germinate, but need long days and higher temperatures to form and ripen fruit.

            Early varieties need less total heat than later ones because in general, have a shorter growing period to mature fruit. Early varieties of tomatoes include cherry tomatoes (think small to medium-sized fruit) and varieties that are more cold tolerant.  If you're living on the other side of the tunnel (Berkeley, Oakland and Alameda residents) you'll have the best luck with early varieties because of the weather and thus, the shorter growing season. 

Late varieties require more heat to mature. The larger tomatoes, like Beefsteak that needs at least 80 plus days of good consistent heat to ripen, and do best on this side of the tunnel. For those living in Lafayette, Walnut Creek and areas with hot hot summers can plant mid-April and then again in late June, early July. By staggering your planting, you can be harvesting your summer veggies till October!

Vegetables for April - August (warm season)

  • Tomatoes
  • Peppers
  • Beans
  • Corn
  • Cucumber
  • Eggplant
  • Melons, including Watermelon!
  • Pumpkins
  • Squash, both summer and winter
  • Strawberries, plant these year-round! 

Figuring Out Planting Time

            Our area is not subject to prolonged frost or water saturated soil. Warm season crops need warm temperatures. In many cases, you will not speed up your harvest by planting earlier than suggested. Plants grow more slowly in cool weather, so earlier planted vegetables of the same type end up being harvested at the same time as those planted later.

Just beginning your edible garden? Check out Randall, our Bedding Manager's Five S's of Starting an Edible Garden. 

Salad with Roasted Beets and Citrus

INGREDIENTS

  • 4 medium beets (Chioggia is a beautiful variety)
  • 3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
  • 1 medium fennel bulb
  • 3 citrus fruit (I used a mix of orange, blood orange, and Meyer lemon)
  • 1 head escarole
  • 1 head green radicchio
  • 1/2 head red radicchio
  • 1/4 cup mint leaves
  • 1/4 cup tarragon leaves
  • 1/3 cup roasted hazelnuts, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus some for drizzling on beets
  • 1/8 teaspoon coarse sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Trim the beets of their tops and scrub clean. Pat beets dry and place cut side down, along with the garlic cloves, on a large rectangle of aluminum foil. Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Wrap foil tightly, place the packet on small baking sheet, and roast in oven until beets are tender, about 45 minutes to one hour. Carefully open foil and let cool briefly. When able to handle, use a paper towel to rub the skins off the beets, and cut each beet into eight pieces. Reserve the roasted garlic cloves for the vinaigrette.

For the fennel, trim the green stems and cut bulb in half through root. Trim away most of root. Thinly slice the fennel and reserve in cold water. Drain before using.

For the citrus fruits, cut a little bit off each end, exposing the flesh below. Place cut side down on cutting board and trim away the pith and zest (the white and colorful stuff, respectively) by following the contour of the fruit with your sharp knife. Next, cut crosswise into round slices (pop the seeds out if you can) or cut out segments by trimming alongside the inner membranes.

Cut the radicchio into one-inch-wide pieces and tear the escarole into smaller pieces. Pick the mint and tarragon leaves off the stems and wash along with the chicory.

For the vinaigrette, remove the roasted garlic from the cloves and whisk together with the lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, Dijon, and olive oil. Season with a three-finger pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper.

Combine all of the ingredients together in a large bowl. Start by using about 1/2 to 3/4 of the vinaigrette, adding more to taste. Your clean hands make great salad tongs.

This recipe is from the website of Kaiser Permanente, Food for Health, Recipes for Life.

How To Read Our Rose Signs

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We pride ourselves on providing both informative signage throughout the nursery and professional advice from our staff to help you find and choose the best plants for your garden. That said, with the abundance of plant varieties available at the nursery, sometimes the hardest part is narrowing down the choices!

Our rose signage features key details that we hope, make it a little easier to choose. Our signs are designed to help steer you in the right direction, whether you're planting for fragrance, color, cutting and beyond! Below, you'll find our easy guide to help you master our signage. As always, our staff is on hand to help with any questions that may arise! 

Sample Rose-edited.jpg

1. Group Categories

Modern Bush - Refers to those roses typically used for cut flower arranging and exhibition. Includes Hybrid Tea, Floribunda and Grandiflora.

Landscape - Plants in this group have been hybridized for easy care - they rarely need to be sprayed or deadheaded. 

Climbing - These are roses that send out long canes and can be trained on a wall or over an arbor.

English Style - Roses that combine the open-flowering habit and fragrance of Old Garden roses with the continuous bloom and color range of modern hybrids. 

Miniature - Roses with little flowers and petite foliage on plants that stay 24" high and under.

Patio Tree - Floribunda and Miniature hybrids grafted on 24" stems to form a small tree.

Standard Tree - Hybrid Tea, Grandiflora and Floribunda hybrids grafted on 36" stems to create a larger tree. 

2. Fragrance

Each "f" denotes the level of fragrance. One "f" is light while "fff" is strong.

3. Good For Cutting

If the signage features a scissor symbol, this means the rose is good for cutting. This is especially important if you are planning on using your roses to create bouquets and arrangements. 

4. Disease Resistance

A "+" sign denotes that the particular variety has shown more resistance to one or more of the major rose diseases including rust, powdery mildew, black spot, etc. 

5. Rose Types

Hybrid Tea - Typical cutting rose. Long stemmed, usually one large blossom per stem.

Floribunda - Usually shorter than Hybrid Tea. Multiple smaller blossoms. Can still be used for cutting. 

Grandiflora - Usually taller than Hybrid Tea. Large, well-formed flowers in clusters. Can be cut. 

Other Types - For more information on some of the many other rose types, please ask for assistance from our Nursery staff!

6. Height and Habit

Explains how the plant grows. 

7. Petal Count

Roses with a high petal count require more heat to open fully. On the cooler side of the tunnel (Oakland and Berkeley), choose roses with 35 or less petals, on the warm (hot) Lamorinda side, roses with 30 or more petals do well. 

8. Introduction Date

Or AARS Award, and a brief description.