Scorching Summer Peppers Ready for Planting
Backyard farmers can try their hand at growing arguably the world’s hottest pepper this summer. A limited supply of young ghost pepper plants are available in 4-inch pots for $3.99 at the Farm Store.
Requiring full sun and moderate water, the compact plants grow similarly to tall habaneros. In the right environment, they are perennial producers. Ghost peppers thrive in sizzling weather, so home gardeners should expect harvests in August and September. Mature plants can produce 100 peppers in a season.
For those who don’t possess a green thumb, the Farm Store will sell individual ghost peppers later this summer.
The small flaming red fruit delivers a powerful punch, averaging just over 1 million Scoville Heat Units. In comparison, habanero peppers register at about 200,000 Scoville units and jalapenos at 5,500 units, according to the Chile Pepper Institute at New Mexico State University.
The Farm Store is open daily, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, visit www.csupomona.edu/farmstore/.
