Serrano Peppers

countrynaturals 4/14/2019, 2:00 pm

Granddaughter wants me to grow serrano peppers for her. It was too late to order seeds, so I had her get me an organic pepper from the store. Now, I don't know what to do with it and I can't find anything specific on Google except to put it in a blender and I don't like that answer. Is that the only way?

**sanderson** 4/14/2019, 2:43 pm

Are you trying to harvest the seeds from the pepper? If so, just cut it open and scoop or shake out the seeds.

countrynaturals 4/14/2019, 5:17 pm

sanderson wrote:Are you trying to harvest the seeds from the pepper? If so, just cut it open and scoop or shake out the seeds.

Do they need to be fermented like tomato seeds or just dried and planted? Or . . . how about if I cut the pepper open and just planted the whole thing with the seeds exposed?

OhioGardener 4/14/2019, 6:48 pm

CN, I just scrape the seeds out and spread them on a paper towel to dry. After they have dried for a couple days, they are ready to plant. Select the darkest colored seeds for planting, they are the most developed.

countrynaturals 4/14/2019, 8:19 pm

OhioGardener wrote:CN, I just scrape the seeds out and spread them on a paper towel to dry. After they have dried for a couple days, they are ready to plant. Select the darkest colored seeds for planting, they are the most developed.

That sounds easy enough Thanks, OG.

countrynaturals 12/4/2019, 10:47 am

That experiment failed, but I found seeds later on and grew a nice plant, which was just starting to produce when bad weather hit, so I brought it inside. It now has one pepper that's about 2" long, and another one just starting.

My question is about pollination. This plant has a bunch more blossoms that came on after I brought the plant in. Is daily shaking enough to cause pollination or do I need to do something else?

countrynaturals 12/4/2019, 1:15 pm

Found a 3rd one. Auto-focus grabbed a leaf instead of the fruit, so the pic is blurry. Sorry. Embarassed

Dan in Ct 12/4/2019, 3:12 pm

Hi Suz,

Perhaps you will get something like this for Christmas. I didn't ask for one because to use it effectively I thought it would be best if dressed in a black and yellow striped leotard with black tights to capture the spirit of pollination.

https://www.amazon.com/AeroGarden-Be-the-Bee-Pollinator/dp/B01D5G88ZE/ref=asc_df_B01D5G88ZE/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198092200243&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5077473849622590596&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9003191&hvtargid=pla-318198591746&psc=1

countrynaturals 12/4/2019, 3:51 pm

Dan in Ct wrote:Hi Suz,

Perhaps you will get something like this for Christmas. I didn't ask for one because to use it effectively I thought it would be best if dressed in a black and yellow striped leotard with black tights to capture the spirit of pollination.

https://www.amazon.com/AeroGarden-Be-the-Bee-Pollinator/dp/B01D5G88ZE/ref=asc_df_B01D5G88ZE/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198092200243&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5077473849622590596&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9003191&hvtargid=pla-318198591746&psc=1

**sanderson** 12/7/2019, 3:32 pm

Electric toothbrush?

countrynaturals 12/7/2019, 3:40 pm

sanderson wrote:Electric toothbrush?

Yup, got one for the maters. Time to dig it out, again. bounce

Dan in Ct 12/8/2019, 6:08 am

I actually bought a middle "C" tuning fork that was part of a set to have on hand but have never needed it as The Crazy Half Acre has been pollinator friendly from the beginning. Saw a video on when a tomato plant was touched by the tuning fork and was sold, the pollen exploded. The turning fork mimics the buzz of a bumblebee and now I am trying to create an environment for them to thrive here all season long. For my money bumblebees are the best pollinator for the home gardener, bar none. Cucumbers and squashes are the best indicators of the quality and quantity of pollination taking place in the garden. Smaller than normal or misshapen vegetables or fruit are a sure sign of lack of pollination. Learned much about pollination and pollinators while taking part in the Great Sunflower Project and would recommend it to anyone, Sunflowers are a great way to see which pollinators are showing up in your garden.

countrynaturals 12/8/2019, 10:16 am

Dan in Ct wrote: Sunflowers are a great way to see which pollinators are showing up in your garden.

Hubby is a great feeder of birds, so we have sunflower seeds everywhere. In addition to our hundreds of volunteer sunflowers, I also plant some, especially Mexican sunflowers for the late pollinators -- plan on planting even more next year.

Question: can serranos be picked and used green or do I wait until they turn red to pick them. (I don't do spicy, so I'll never know firsthand -- growing these for granddaughter.)

Dan in Ct 12/9/2019, 10:52 am

Suz, the longer a chili stays on the vine the higher it usually gets on The Scoville Scale. I pick Serranos green but at the end of season allow a couple to stay on the vine longer for seed saving. Didn't know but found out there are different varieties of Serrano, so you will see it in the Scoville Scale range. The hotness can vary from one plant to another grown side by side and as you probably know the heat is in the ribs and seeds and have had sweet peppers pick up some of the heat in cross pollination but I think it is rare because chilies have 4 groups and only 1 or 2 will cross with a sweet pepper. It is one of the few effects you will see from cross pollination in the same year. Serrano is as hot as I go and dehydrate for cooking, Capsaicin is good for reducing inflammation. Here is a link at Arizona University.

https://cals.arizona.edu/fps/sites/cals.arizona.edu.fps/files/cotw/Seranno_Pepper.pdf

countrynaturals 12/9/2019, 11:36 am

Dan in Ct wrote:Suz, the longer a chili stays on the vine the higher it usually gets on The Scoville Scale. I pick Serranos green but at the end of season allow a couple to stay on the vine longer for seed saving. Didn't know but found out there are different varieties of Serrano, so you will see it in the Scoville Scale range. The hotness can vary from one plant to another grown side by side and as you probably know the heat is in the ribs and seeds and have had sweet peppers pick up some of the heat in cross pollination but I think it is rare because chilies have 4 groups and only 1 or 2 will cross with a sweet pepper. It is one of the few effects you will see from cross pollination in the same year. Serrano is as hot as I go and dehydrate for cooking, Capsaicin is good for reducing inflammation. Here is a link at Arizona University.

https://cals.arizona.edu/fps/sites/cals.arizona.edu.fps/files/cotw/Seranno_Pepper.pdf

YIKES! Just reading this stuff makes my eyes water. thankyou

Dan. Granddaughter is coming over today, so I'll show it to her and let her decide if it's ready or not. There are 2 more coming along, and lots more blossoms. Also, my grab bag from Baker Creek had 3 more varieties of hot peppers, so it looks like I'll have a whole bed of them going next year. Rolling Eyes

**sanderson** 12/18/2019, 5:46 pm

Dan in Ct wrote:I actually bought a middle "C" tuning fork that was part of a set to have on hand but have never needed it as The Crazy Half Acre has been pollinator friendly from the beginning. Saw a video on when a tomato plant was touched by the tuning fork and was sold, the pollen exploded. . ..

Sold?

Dan in Ct 12/19/2019, 9:08 am

sanderson, sold on as my preferred way to pollinate tomato plants if I had to. I have never used it as I have never had a need to as tomatoes seem to pollinate easily here but could run an experiment to see if I get more tomatoes by using it. I do have problems every once and awhile with misshapen cukes and squash but for those you need pollinators or a small artist paint brush or Q-Tip. I have never done this either perhaps I should run a few pollination experiments this year. I remember the first time I read that there were male and female blossoms on summer squash, went out and looked and all I had were male blossoms and didn't know if someone was pulling my leg. I couldn't ask my dad because we only talked birds and bees, we never had the squash talk.

OhioGardener 12/19/2019, 9:30 am

Dan in Ct wrote:I couldn't ask my dad because we only talked birds and bees, we never had the squash talk.

OhioGardener 2/5/2020, 4:53 pm

The top 10 peppers for hot sauce according to Baker Creek

Top 10 Peppers for Hot Sauce

Sponsored content

Serrano Peppers

Serrano Peppers

Re: Serrano Peppers

Re: Serrano Peppers

Re: Serrano Peppers

Re: Serrano Peppers

Re: Serrano Peppers

Re: Serrano Peppers

Re: Serrano Peppers

Re: Serrano Peppers

Re: Serrano Peppers

Re: Serrano Peppers

Re: Serrano Peppers

Re: Serrano Peppers

Re: Serrano Peppers

Re: Serrano Peppers

Re: Serrano Peppers

Re: Serrano Peppers

Re: Serrano Peppers

Re: Serrano Peppers

Re: Serrano Peppers


	Hello Guest! Welcome to the official Square Foot Gardening Forum. There's lots to learn here by reading as a guest. However, if you become a member (it's free, ad free and spam-free) you'll have access to our large vermiculite databases, our seed exchange spreadsheets, Mel's Mix calculator, and many more members' pictures in the Gallery. Enjoy.