Peppers

This is your friendly reminder that if you’re the type of person who likes actual fresh peppers in your food, now is the time to plant them. Jalapeños, habaneros, and anything spicier (I’m looking at you, Carolina Reapers and Ghost Peppers) are extremely difficult to come by on a regular basis, especially if you don’t want to pay $99 a kilogram. Many Americans end up planting their own to satisfy the need for heat in some of the dishes we love. With that being said, it is relatively easy to find canned jalapeños if you’re in a pinch.

If you have a green thumb and are successful growing from seed, one of the most popular places to get seeds is Kings Seeds based out of Kaitikaiti. They have a huge selection of everything from banana peppers to bell peppers (usually called capsicums here) to a variety of habaneros, and even shishitos. They have quick delivery, too, if you’re not local.

If you aren’t a grow-from-seed person, there are any number of nurseries and all of the big-box hardware stores and Warehouses have garden centers. My favorite place to go is King’s Plant Barn (not associated with Kings Seeds I believe) especially the new location on Lunn Ave. Each of the eight locations has a cafe attached and a way to entertain kids. It makes it a great destination to go to when you need to feed children and let them burn off some energy - especially on rainy days. Today I picked up an assortment of jalapeños, Anaheim, Thai Hot, and capsicum to put in our garden. If everything goes well, we’ll have more than enough peppers for our family.

Happy gardening!