Description
Key Facts
- Great for salsa, hot sauce, jerk recipes and spice up recipes.
- Takes about 3 months to grow
- Available from Amazon
If you are into Mexican recipes like salsa this is a great pepper to grow.
Example recipes and growing advice further down the page
Background
- Originally from Brazil (Amazon) and now grown all over Mexico (Mainly Yucatan Peninsula).
- Very, very Hot
- Ideal for Mexican recipes (like salsa) as well as spiced up grilled pork, hot sauces and recipes.
- Days from seed to harvest – about 90 (3 months)
- About 120 to 150 cm high
Example Habanero pepper recipes
The Habanero pepper is a very hot pepper and great for salsa, hot sauce and jerk recipes. Also if you want to ‘spice up’ grilled pork, chicken or salmon.
Example recipes:
- Smoked Habanero Hot Sauce
- Habanero Hellfire Chili
- Yucatan-Style Habanero Salsa
How to grow Habanero pepper at home
The Habanero pepper can be grown from seed and will produce extremely pungent Fruits that change from green to ‘Chocolate brown’ in colour at maturity. High yielding. Very hot.
How to grow the peppers outdoors (garden, balcony, etc.)
The peppers prefer direct sunlight, well drained soil and need to be frost free.
If you want to grow them outdoors then the best option is to start them indoors about 8 to 12 weeks before the last frost and then transfer them when the nights are warmer.
Cultivation Sow early December-January Under glass, or for maincrop March – April. Spacing 30-60cm x 45-90cm. The seeds germinate between 25 and 30°C. Grow on at 16-23°C. The seeds require good ventilation so do not further cover the seeds in bags/propagators unless absolutely necessary.
Fully grown they can be upto 120 to 150 cm in height i.e. an individual pot might be the best option.
How to grow Habanero pepper indoors (hydroponics or aquaponics)
Because of the importance of moisture and light the peppers are ideally suited for hydroponics with additional lights.
For best results it is advised to grow the crop indoors with heat. This means that crops can be grown all year round with the correct temperatures. A very hot pepper extremely pungent plants reach up to 1 meter under cover.
The seeds do not need sunlight to germinate, but once they sprout you need to place them under fluorescent lights for 10 to 16 hours per day.
Not only are they easier to grow, but you will also get fast results.
Harvesting
Hot peppers can be harvested from green or once ripened into yellow, orange or red. A Hot Pepper’s heat usually intensifies with maturity. Once ripe fruits can remain on plant in good condition until temperatures begin to drop.
Harvest from early April/May, or maincrop from July. Only water when the soil around the roots is dry as overwatering can produce a smaller crop of more sour tasting fruits. A ph level in the growing media that is slightly acidic is useful.
Minze Vries –
This is well worth growing at home. Ideal for lots and lots of recipes – and if you use extra lights will generate a great crop