We have been hard at work planning what will go in each raised bed of the Demonstration Garden the past few weeks. Now, the plans are done, seeds are ordered, and we are getting geared up for planting. Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing our detailed bed plans with you so you can plant along with us or at least garden vicariously!

Since Capsicums are the Herb of the Year this year, we wanted to feature a wide range of peppers, including some that are typically used as spices or for seasoning. There are also some new sweet pepper varieties out there, including some new All America Selections that we wanted to try.

Half of the bed will feature “hot” peppers / seasoning peppers. The other half will have the various sweet peppers. Normally I like to have us try more than a single plant of a variety. However, hot peppers are typically such heavy producers that we were afraid we would be swamped in a sea of hot peppers. We opted to plant single plants for each of 10 hot pepper varieties. The sweet peppers will have 3 plants of each variety.

Hot Peppers

1. ‘Feher Ozon’ Sweet Paprika pepper – This is an heirloom pepper that is dried and ground to make sweet paprika powder.
2. ‘Leutschauer’ Hot Paprika pepper – This is an heirloom pepper that is dried and ground to make hot paprika powder.
3. ‘Flaming Flare’ Fresno pepper – An All America Selection, sweet red pepper with mild heat.
4. ‘Aji Amarillo’ pepper, aka Aji Limon, aka Lemon Drop Hot Pepper – This Peruvian hot pepper is yellow and has a citrusy accent to the heat.
5. Thai Chili – Sometimes called Birds Eye Chili, these peppers are quite spicy and used in Thai cuisine.
6. Hungarian Hot Wax – Another heirloom, these peppers start pale yellow and ripen to red. They are often pickled.
7. ‘Espelette’ Basque Fryer Pepper – This is a type of frying pepper that is from the Basque region. Also dried and used for powder.
8. ‘Tabasco’ pepper – Yes, used to make Tabasco sauce.
9. ‘Sweet Heat’ Pepper – Another red, sweet pepper with some mild heat. I’ve grown this one at home, and it is great on pizza.
10. Aleppo Pepper – A Middle Eastern pepper that is typically dried and crushed.

Sweet Peppers

1. ‘Red Knight’ is a bell pepper that turns red at maturity.
2. ‘Escamillo’ is an All America Selection that is a golden-colored, bullhorn type pepper.
3. ‘Tawny Port’ is a bell pepper that is a brown/maroon color.
4. ‘Tangerine Dream’ is a orange, sweet snack pepper.
5. ‘Great Stuff’ is a green bell pepper that can reach sizes of 5″ across and 7″ long!
6. ‘Goddess’ is a sweet banana pepper.

I think we may be swimming in peppers this year, if all goes well. I’m excited to try some of these new (and old) varieties!