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Re: Hot Bells & Mean Jalapenos

Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html

At 11:51 AM 8/10/99 -0500, you wrote:
>Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html
>
>Bonnie C. asked:   Anyone have any scientific reason for why bell peppers
>would end up hot?
>
>Yes, the same reason Jalapenos and Habeneros are hotter some years than
>others--lack of water.  If a sweet pepper does not have a steady supply of
>water, sugars don't develop and the capsicum (the stuff that makes any
>pepper hot) develops.  There is a small amount of capsicum in every
>pepper--it's normally masked by sugars in a bell.  Hot weather is a factor,
>in that it deplete soil moisture faster.  The person who posted tips for
>growing peppers emphasized mulch, and he is dead on with that
>recommendation.  It does more to insure even soil moisture than anything
>else.  Mulch, however, must be thick.  Six to 12 inches isn't too much.
>
>On a related subject, if you want to grow really mean hot peppers (there are
>those like my husband who love that stuff), be mean to the plants.  Don't
>water them, situate them in hot, dry spots (near concrete and south-facing
>walls for reflected heat) and don't feed them too much.  The soil should be
>on the alkaline side and very lean in nutrients.
>Doreen Howard
>Zone 5b, where the Habeneros are meaner that heck this summer.
>
Doreen, what is your source for your comment that sweet peppers contain
capsaicin (I presume that's what you meant) that is intensified during a
drought? Thank you, Margaret L


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