Hi Dave,I have a question which may be out of the ordinary for you, but I pray you can answer it for us. We ordered a chicken dish from a Chinese Restaurant, General Tso’s Chicken, and there were these whole, really small, red peppers in the dish. My son fed our beagle, Freckles, some of the chicken. Shortly after she …
Storing Dried Pods
Hello Dave,I just received a very large box of New Mexico dried red chili peppers as a gift. How can I store them long term, i.e., in what type of container (glass, plastic, box) and for how long? Thank you very much.Carl Hello Carl:Even dried pods are susceptible to mold and insect infestations. They probably are only partially dehydrated. If …
Pruning for Over-Wintering?
Hi Dave,The last crop of peppers from my Habaneros are coming in, and since we’re approaching winter I wanted ask if I should cut back the foliage on my plants at all. I live about 3 miles southwest of downtown Los Angeles, so frost is quite a rarity around here. Unless we get an unusual cold snap, the plants should …
Seeds from Immature Pods
Hello Dave,I have a C. annuum (Pimento de Padron) plant and have protected it from insects using row cloth. The problem is that I started this a bit late in the season and not sure the designated, marked pods are going to mature to red. If worse comes to worse, will seeds from large green pods be viable next year? …
Freezer Burn
Hi, Dave!I got a good crop of habaneros with my first effort growing them this year (and more on the way!). I decided on freezing them for long-term storage. As I’m concerned about the possibility of freezer burn, I have 2 questions for you:1. Once I start using my habaneros, how would I tell if they have been affected by …