Cayenne Pepper

25 seeds

Matures in 70 days

Planting companions: Basil, Coriander, Beans, Onion, Parsley, Tomatoes

The Cayenne Pepper plant produces thin and twisted, very hot fruits measuring up to 6 inches long. When young, they are green but turn bright red when mature and produce 4000 Scoville Heat Units. You can harvest them when they are as short as 1 inch, as Cayenne peppers quickly develop their spicy taste.

Eight weeks before the last expected soil frost, sow your seeds indoors at a depth of ¼ inch and maintain room temperature at 25 – 30 °C (60-65°F). Provide them with supplemental light to prevent plant elongation. When all risk of soil frost is eliminated, acclimate your plants for a few days and plant them in the garden at a distance of 12 to 16 inches apart. Pepper plants prefer rich, moist, and weed-free soil; provide them with mulch to help with better control.

Normally, peppers have a stronger flavor if allowed to ripen longer on the plant. However, ripe peppers signal the plant to stop production. Harvest them while still green to ensure a longer vegetable production.

During harvest, cut the stem with scissors to avoid breaking the plant's fragile stem. Protect your hands and eyes when handling peppers; they can cause irritation!