Genus: Capiscum

Species: annum & frutescens

Family: Solanaceae

Peppers are natives of the tropics, where they are woody perennial shrubs, growing up to 6-8 feet tall. Unfortunately, in more temperate climes with frosts & winter, they are grown as an annual reaching 2-4 feet.

They like warmth and need a long growing season to achieve ripe fruit.

In the Landscape

Pepper plants are really quite attractive with lush foliage & fruits; making them an great fill in with annual & perennial.

Many varieties have colorful fruit from yellow, orange, red to purple. Also, they stay attractive even after harvest.

In the Kitchen

Peppers come either sweet or hot in varying degrees.

Most all cuisines of the world use peppers. They flavor and spice up stews, sauces, salads, cheeses. And you can stuff them with meats, cheeses or rice.

Many recipes use roasted peppers whereas peppers are charred by direct heat and then peeled, using only the flesh.

I find this a tedious task & wasteful of the vitamin rich skin, so I just brown them & don’t peel off the skin.

Growing Organic Peppers

As long as you keep peppers warm & give them a long growing season, peppers are relatively easy to grow.

They are not easily susceptible to attack by insects or diseases. As long as they get adequate water and sunlight and soil rich in organic matter.