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Garden Word of the Day
Are you fed up with greed?
Tell everyone how you feel.
#EnoughAlready
Tell everyone how you feel.
#EnoughAlready
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Ever since learning how easy it is to grow edibles at home, I keep finding foods that make my landscape look more interesting and my meals more delicious. I decided to see if I could grow my own paprika. It ends up I can and so can you! You may be surprised to learn, as I was, that the paprika we buy in stores is simply dried and ground up sweet peppers (Capsicum annuum). In some cases, the peppers are smoked over oak wood or roasted. Tomato peppers (Capsicum annuum var. annuum) are the most commonly used, but pretty much any pepper can be used. Types of paprika Paprika is classified as ‘sweet’ or ‘hot’. Sweet paprika is made from the flesh, or pericarp, and only half of the seeds of sweet peppers. Hot paprika includes some of the seeds, stems, white part (placenta), and calyces (flower sepals) of sweet peppers along with chili peppers and cayenne peppers, for extra flavor and heat. Most of the paprika you buy in the store is a Hungarian sweet recipe, but cooks and aficionados take paprika more seriously than that. According to The Complete Book on Spices & Condiments With Cultivation, Processing and Uses, there are several grades of Hungarian paprika:
Spanish paprika (pimentón) is classified as mild (pimentón dulce), mildly spicy (pimentón agridulce) and spicy (pimentón picante). My dear friend gifted me with some delicious Turkish paprika - thank you, Steve! How about we create a new set of categories: store-bought and homegrown? Paprika peppers While practically any peppers can be used to make paprika, Hungarian and Spanish varieties are the most commonly used. Hungarian peppers tend to be 2 to 5” long, oblong to pointy, and thin-walled. These peppers are mostly mild with only a few exceptions. Spanish peppers are larger, ranging 5 to 9” long, are thick-walled and more susceptible to disease. Personally, I love these bell-shaped peppers. [Does anyone know where I can get seeds?] How to grow paprika peppers Paprika peppers are perennials in Central America but they are grown as annuals everywhere else. Paprika peppers are grown the same way as other peppers, which means they need time, heat, and lots of sun exposure. You can grow them in the ground, in raised beds, or in large containers. But don’t try starting peppers until temperatures are well above 50°F. Plants should be spaced 12” apart. Like other peppers, paprika peppers need steady moisture but cannot tolerate soggy soil. Mulching around your pepper plants will help retain that moisture and stabilize soil temperatures, which will give you a bigger crop. Paprika pepper pests and diseases Aphids, flea beetles, and hornworms may attack your pepper plants, but row covers can provide good protection. Diseases include leaf blight, leaf spot, wilt diseases, and viral diseases, such as mosaic, are common. Too much direct sunlight can cause sunscald on the fruit and irregular irrigation can lead to blossom end rot. Harvesting paprika Your paprika peppers are ready to harvest when they develop full color. Since different varieties are different colors, you need to read that seed packet or plant label. And don’t let the colors fool you. Reddish paprika peppers are more mild, while the brown and yellow paprikas are hotter. Preparing your paprika Depending on whether you prefer sweet or hot paprika, you may want to incorporate those other, hotter peppers, or remove most of the seeds and pith for a sweeter paprika. In either case, the peppers must be thoroughly dried. You can use a thread and needle to string your paprika peppers up to dry.
The beautiful pods you asked about look like our own PeriDot available at SGM. Seeds mine are dwindling and not very viable but will try to grow some this year. Failed last year. Nobody knows the trure name of this very mild variety. Maria de la Fuentes thought they looked like Peri Peri and my wife Dot saved the first seeds from a guy I had lost track of. Maria was boss of the extension and named this favorite PeriDot after Peri Peri and Dot Maley. The PeriDot is almost for sure Brazilian.
Keith
2/21/2020 03:42:46 pm
I never knew this. Super interesting! Thanks! Comments are closed.
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