CompuServe Thread

#Habanero Peppers

15 messages in this thread
#345From: Alan FordFeb 4, 1992 11:30 AM
My wife has a desire to grow some habanero chile peppers. Does anyone know where she can order either seeds or starter plants? None of the garden centers here in Virginia claim to have heard of the habanero chile.
#347From: Diann Goldstone/CAFeb 4, 1992 1:20 PM
Alan — I get my pepper seeds (not habanero, although they are available) from The Pepper Gal in Florida somewhere. I keep promising to post the address, and I will do that tonight, promise! /Diann
#358From: Alan FordFeb 4, 1992 4:31 PM
Thanks in advance for the address of The Pepper Gal. I am constantly amazed by the amount of information available from other people on Compuserve. It would probably have taken me weeks on my own to find a distributor of pepper seeds.
#362From: Jeff BallFeb 4, 1992 4:37 PM
Alan, the Tomato Grower's Supply Company sells habanero pepper seed. Call for a catalog at 813-768-1119.
#444From: Bob SorceFeb 5, 1992 6:28 PM
Hi Alan, Your wife must really love hot peppers. Smithsonian magazine had a recent cover story on them, and they claim the Habanero is the absolute, unqualified, hottest pepper in the world!!! Best, Bob
#482From: Shepherd OgdenFeb 5, 1992 9:24 PM
Hey, they are great, though, for salsa. I have a customer, a friend…(Warren, remember Charlie Andrews from my 40th?) who is a commerical grower down in FL who had 1800' of habaneros!!!! And the market fell through….I'd almost be afreaid to try and plow them under!
#549From: Warren SchultzFeb 6, 1992 4:22 PM
Did that article discuss Scotch Bonnet peppers? I've heard that your eyes start watering the minute you look at them.
#616From: Mark PerkinsFeb 7, 1992 11:04 AM
Warren, Excuse me for jumping in, but unless I'm mistaken, Scotch Bonnet is just another name for Habaneros… Mark
#617From: John DennistonFeb 7, 1992 11:11 AM
Warren, excuse me for jumping in here, but I believe that Habaneros are also called Scotch Bonnets. I grew a few habaneros last year here in Richmond, Va., and I'll attest to their reputation as hot, hot, hot. And when they tell you to wear gloves when you work around them, well, they're right! They are pretty little peppers. I put out seedlings around mid-May and the "big" harvest came in around the first of October. The peppers looked almost like little Halloween candies. John
#619From: Alan FordFeb 7, 1992 11:31 AM
John, did you raise your habaneros is pots or in a garden? If in a garden, do you have that red clay stuff some people call soil? I bad-mouth the dirt because I'm also a Richmond resident. Is there anything special I need to do to get the peppers to grow in Virginia's climate?
#677From: John DennistonFeb 8, 1992 11:48 AM
Alan, I didn't do anything too special. I put them out in my "intensive Fan garden" pretty early, I think, with black plastic mulch and a lot of manure in the hole. Then I stood back and watched 'em heat up. And I agree with you on the soil. What mine lacks in redness, though, it makes up for in clayness. Every spring I try to "condition" the soil a little: that means dumping a wheelbarrow or so of clay into the alley behind my house and replacing it with peat moss or compost. Another 100 years, and, well, who knows?? John
#639From: Bob SorceFeb 7, 1992 5:38 PM
Hi Warren, I don't think Scotch Bonnets are mentioned. The author, Jim Robbins, says pepper heat is subjectively measured by the Scoville Organoleptic Test. Ordinary bell peppers are zero Scoville. Jalapenos are 5000. But Habaneros are a whopping 200,000 to 300,000!!! I like a spicy pepper, but that sounds a bit much, don't you think? Best, Bob
#652From: Shepherd OgdenFeb 7, 1992 8:18 PM
Anything organoleptic is too much for me….
#481From: Shepherd OgdenFeb 5, 1992 9:24 PM
We sell that seed. The Cook's Garden PO Box 535 Londonderry, VT 05148 (802) 824-3400
#495From: Carolyn Andre/ChgoFeb 5, 1992 10:35 PM
Alan – Three more sources for habanero seeds (the latter two are mainly hot stuff food sources, but carry various chile seeds too): Shepherd's Garden Seeds – $1.95 Connecticut – 203-482-3638 (8-9 EST M-F) California – 408-335-6910 (8-5 PST M-F) The Great Southwest Cuisine – $1 gram $1.95 New Mexico – 1-800-869-9218 Old Southwest Trading Company P.O. Box 7545 / Albuquerque NM 87194 1-800-748-2861 8:30 a,.m. – 5 p.m. MST (they carry the seeds, but are not listed in the catalog) My habs last year were grown from seeds a friend got from Brazil, and did quite nicely here in Chicago.