Capsicums and Chillies 2014

CAPSICUMSAll capsicums begin green or purple.  They mature on the plant to red, orange or yellow.  Growing mature capsicums is a tricky business though because as the capsicum matures, so does it's seed.  When the plant gets the message that the seeds are mature, it stops growing and producing flowers and consequently its production stops as well.  In the early stages of the plant's life (the beginning of summer), we harvest the capsicums green or purple to allow the plant to grow bigger which in turn allows it to produce more fruit.  In mid-summer, we begin to leave the fruits on the plant to allow them to ripen.  At this stage, we will pick them as "turning' capsicums, which means the capsicum are beginning to show shades of red, orange or yellow.  These will continue to turn completely sitting on the kitchen bench or put into a bag with a banana.  This process may take 5-9 days.  In the Autumn, the capsicum turn more quickly on the plant as the plant gets the message that winter is coming and really wants to make sure it has produced viable seed.

We will continue to update the photo with new varieties as the are ready for harvest. 'Corno di Toro' An Italian heirloom sweet capsicum that produces curved, tapering fruits, 15 - 25 cm long, with a great, fruity flavour. When ripe they turn a stunning red or yellow. 'Purple Beauty' Absolutely stunning purple bell pepper. Tender crisp texture, mild sweet flavor. Holds in the purple stage for some time before ripening to a radiant purple-red. 'Emerald Giant' The Bell Pepper 'Emerald Giant' is a large, thick-fleshed green bell pepper that sweetens and turns red on the vine. Roasted, stuffed and baked, or eaten fresh in salads, 'Emerald Giant's' large, thick fleshed peppers have more vitamin C than an orange.

CHILLIES Chilli ‘Hungarian Hot Wax’  ‘Hungarian Hot Wax’ is a hardy, highly productive banana chilli with smooth, waxy fruits tapering to a point. The fleshy fruit, 12 cm x 3.8 cm, turn from yellow, to orange, to red when ripe. It is definitely hot, similar in heat range to Jalapeno or Paprika; Scoville heat scale 2500 – 8000 units. Chili ‘Cayenne Long Thin’ Cayenne Long Thin’ is a productive chilli with 12 – 15 cm long, curved, wrinkled, fiery-hot fruit that start green and ripen to crimson. Height of chilli bush is 90 cm. This is one of the best chillies for seasoning pickles, salsa and drying as chilli powder. It is very hot, similar in heat range to Tabasco; Scoville heat scale 30,000 – 50,000 units. Chili ‘Pimiento de Padron’ From Spain and named after the town where they originated, Padrons are served sautéed in olive oil with a little sea salt, and eaten as tapas (appetizer) in Spain.  Folk law has it that one pepper in 20 is hot.  Very sweet and mild and excellent for frying. The more mature the chili is, the hotter it becomes rating 3000 on the Scoville heat scale.

The 'Pimiento de Padron' are rotated through the boxes with people receiving enough to have as a tapas dish and to make heating the oil worthwhile.  We put the other chillies into the boxes by request.  If you would like to receive them, please send an email and we will add you to the list.