Gardening during the summer of 2024 has been “interesting”, to say the least, in panhandle Florida. The temperatures have been higher than recent averages and several storms have been quite violent.
The environment’s tantrums limited the choice of crops to the stalwarts able to handle the 90-degree temperatures, high humidity and the intermittent rains, some of which have been brutal in their hammering abuse of vegetable plants.
While many plants placed in the spring and summer have reached the end of their seasonal run, peppers are still delivering their tasty, and in some cases fiery, delicacy.
This popular vegetable grows well in north Florida and is a popular addition to fresh salads, the basis for many secret hot sauces, and a staple for stir fry and other ethnic dishes.
Peppers will continue to produce through October, but be ready to shield them from cold weather and frost.
Peppers, both sweet and hot, common to the region are part of the Solanaceae plant family which includes tomatoes, potatoes and eggplants. Curiously, this family also includes nightshade which is toxic.
Historically, peppers have been part of the human diet in the Americas for almost 10,000 years.
Archaeologists who specialize in botany think the chili pepper was domesticated and deliberately cultivated over 6,000 years ago in South America.
Bell peppers are thought to be native to Mexico, Central America and northern South America. They proved so popular with the early explorers that the seeds were carried back to Spain along with all the gold, silver and new world emeralds.
Cayenne peppers, native to the northeast coast of South America, were processed differently when they fell into the hands of French colonists. They were commonly ground into a fine powder and used as a seasoning agent.
The name Cayenne comes from a town in French Guiana of the same name where these hot specialties were once commonly grown.
Over the years, pepper cultivars have made their way around the globe and into numerous local specialties and nationally known cuisines. Each move resulted in local plant breeders “fine tuning” the plants to fit local taste.
Jalapeño peppers are one of the most popular selections. This pepper variety originated in Mexico and has a long history of use by the Aztec culture long before the Spaniards arrived. Its named was derived from an indigenous term for the city of Veracruz.
This thick robust pepper ripens to a deep red with a distinctive spicy flavor. It can be used fresh in dishes, and it dries easily. It is a prolific producer.
Another selection is the Cubanelle or Cuban Pepper. It has an elongated shape and is slightly spicy.
This pepper can be eaten when it matures to a yellowish-green appearance, but it ripens to a bright red. As the name implies, it is popular in Cuba and other Caribbean locations as an ingredient in Latin dishes.
Today’s gardener has an excellent selection of pepper cultivars from which to choose. They can be cultivated using either seeds or transplants.
Pepper plants are a relative hardy garden vegetable with the potential to last, and produce peppers, for several years. Cold and frost will kill them.
So, enjoy panhandle peppers as October progresses, but be ready to protect them when the inevitable cold weather appears.
Those that successfully make it through winter will have a head start in spring 2025.
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