Peppers
Jalapeno
5–7 galPick green or let them go red.
- Indoors
- 8 wk (mid Mar)
- Outside
- Transplant after frost
- Where
- Grow bag or raised bed
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- Even but lean; a little stress builds heat
- Harvest
- Jul to Oct, green or red
Jalapenos are the garden's workhorse heat, picking from July until frost out of one 5 to 7 gallon bag. Two plants cover salsa, poppers, and the pickle jar, with enough left over to ripen red.
Growing
Eight weeks under lights from mid March makes stocky transplants ready for the third week of May. A 5 to 7 gallon bag suits one plant; jalapenos fruit earlier than the big sweet peppers, so the first green pods show in July. Water evenly but do not baby them; a slightly lean run concentrates heat. Pick often, and read corking (the tan stretch marks) as a pod at full size, not a flaw.
Varieties
Early Jalapeno is reliable even through a cool June; Jalafuego brings more heat and volume; El Jefe is a solid middle path.
In the kitchen
Green for salsa and quick pickles. The red ones are hotter and a little sweeter; smoked low over the grill until leathery, they are chipotles, which is all a chipotle ever was.