Most years, I grow four or five pepper cultivars, a few hot and the rest sweet. I have my tried-and-true, dependable standbys. But I like to try a few new introductions to add variety to my garden and, frankly, to have something no one else in the community garden has. I start by scanning seed catalogues through their “what’s new” section, usually in the front. And I may try a few of those if their descriptions tweak my interest. But I have little idea how they’ll perform.
For unbiased evaluation of new varieties of bedding plants and vegetables, I look to All-America Selections. This year, as luck would have it, AAS has given five new pepper cultivars of both persuasions the thumbs up [Note: For other 2015 and past winning introductions, check out AAS’ website – www.all-americaselections.org].
First up is Emerald Fire F1 jalapeno. It is at the low end of fiery at 2500 Scoville heat units (habanero and scotch bonnet are rated at 100,000 – 350,000). The fruit is extra large (3.5 inches long by 1.5 inches thick) with thick walls, ideal for roasting, stuffing, pickling or used in salsas. The fruit is resistant to cracking, even when allowed to ripen to red. The plant can reach over two feet in height and produce up to 25 to 30 peppers. Ready to harvest after 90 days.
Flaming Flare F1 fresno pepper is another mildly hot pepper (rated slightly higher on the Scoville heat scale), gaining in heat as it ripens. The sweet, spicy flavour notes are an excellent addition to chili sauces. Fresno peppers are slightly longer (3.75 inches) and more tapered than jalapenos. Plants grow to over two feet tall and produce 15 or more peppers. This is an early variety, ready for harvest after 75.
Hot Sunset F1 is a hot wax pepper, but mild in comparison to jalapeno or fresno types, rated at only 650 Scoville heat units. The judges noted that the large (7.5 inch long), thick-walled fruit had exceptional flavour unlike some hot peppers that are all heat. Great fresh, pickled or roasted. The peppers ripen to red on two-foot tall plants; ready to harvest after 85 days.
One to the winning sweet peppers, Pretty N Sweet F1, is a prolific multipurpose cultivar, producing over 100 peppers on medium-sized plants (18 inches tall). As the season progresses, the multitudes of small, conical upright-held peppers will be in various states of ripeness, ranging in colour from yellow to orange to fully ripe red. Is it an ornamental pepper or an edible pepper? It’s actually both, with a sweet delicate flavour. Great fresh in salads or added to stirfrys and other pepper dishes. Ready to harvest after 60 days.
Rounding out the winning five is Sweet Sunset F1 sweet banana pepper. Expect 15 – 20 large (7.5 inch long), tapered peppers per tall (two feet plus) but bushy plants. Immature peppers are light yellow, ripening to a bright red. As with the other varieties, this one also had winning flavour. Ready to harvest after 85 – 90 days.
These five peppers should be started indoors by mid-March and transplanted after all chance of frost is passed in late May/early June. They need full sun and moderate moisture. These sturdy plants do not require staking and will do well in the garden as well as in containers.
The AAS organization has trial gardens in Canada and the United States across many geographic and climatic regions. In addition to the network of trial sites, there are display gardens where home gardeners can view some of the recent AAS top picks. For several years, an AAS display garden has been planted on the north side of the Agriculture Building on the University of Saskatchewan campus.
