Flower Drop on Chile Plants

system Chile Gardening Leave a Comment

Dave,I am from Jacksonville, Florida, just a few miles from St. Augustine. I have a very large, bushy and seemingly healthy Datil plant that I have raised from a pup. As I said it looks healthy enough; however, upon setting a bloom and looking as if it might fruit; it will drop the bloom and not produce anything. Would you …

Environmental effects on Capsaicin Production

system Chile Gardening Leave a Comment

Hi Dave,I enjoy getting your "Fiery-Foods and Barbecue Magazine." I’m growing 30+ varieties of peppers this year in my container garden. Same spot for 6 years now. Problem this year is that my peppers have very little heat. Using the same seeds as have used years before. Extremely hot and dry this summer. I live near Kansas City, MO. Orange …

Chiles and Tomatoes interbreeding?

system Chile Gardening Leave a Comment

Hi Dave,Years ago I grew tomatoes and peppers in the same garden, side by side. One of the tomato plants’ fruit seemed to acquire all of the properties of the bell pepper–hollow inside, with the seed cluster in the middle, towards the top–but it was still a tomato. I thought it was just a fluke, so I took the seeds …

Recommended Peppers for Indoor Growing

system Chile Gardening Leave a Comment

Dear Dave,Please tell me which peppers are good for indoor growing.–AlisaHello Alisa:To successfully grow peppers indoors you need a very bright southern-exposed window or artificial lights–and no cats, as they will eat the foliage. Generally speaking, the smaller-podded chile plants grow the best in containers, probably because their habit (physical size and stature) is small and compact. Try piquins, tabascos, …