Hot pepper Cayenne Long Slim
Regular price €3.00
The Cayenne pepper, also known as the ‘Guinea spice’ or simply ‘red pepper’ (especially in its powdered form), is a hot chili pepper used around the world to flavour food. The name is taken from the city of Cayenne, the capital of French Guiana, and is thought originally to stem from the Caribbean-Indian word kian. Whatever the derivation, today, ‘cayenne’ has become synonymous with hot pepper. Cayenne is generally found in its ground form, either being dried and pounded to a powder or pulped and baked into cakes before being ground. Cayenne peppers have also long been used as a herbal supplement, having been mentioned as far back as the 17th century in Nicholas Culpeper’s book Complete Herbal. Culpeper warned that the chili, with its 30,000 to 50,000 Scoville units, ‘might prove dangerous to life’! Although that seems unlikely, a pinch of cayenne will definitely wake you up!
Details
Latin name
Capsicum annuum
Name
Hot Pepper
Variety
Cayenne Long Slim
Quantity
40 seeds
Plant size
Height 70 cm
Width 45 cm
Container size
Height 30 cm
Width 30 cm
Companion plant
Basils, okra, onions, radishes, calendula, mints.
How to grow
Sowing
Indoor Feb-Mar
Outdoor May-June
Timing
Germination 15-30 days
Harvesting 70-90 days
Spacing
When sowing 3-5 cm; Depth 0,5 cm
When transplanting 25-35 cm
Growing
Sunligth Full sun.
Soil Well-drained, light and fertile soil.
Watering Regular, moderate watering.
Feeding Heavy feeder.
Caring
Expert tip Did you know that container-grown peppers can also grow as perennials in colder climates if you bring them indoors for the winter? This way, a plant can live for up to 10 years!
Supporting
Pollinators
Although peppers are self-pollinating plants, pollinators will increase fruit set.
Pests
Grow companion plants that attract ladybirds to prevent aphid attacks.
How to eat
Harvesting
The more habanero peppers you pick, the more you will harvest! Pick the peppers often – as soon as they are ripe – to ensure a continued harvest.
Eating
Medicinal properties As Culpeper said, cayenne ‘helps digestion, provokes urine, relieves toothache, preserves the teeth from rottenness, comforts a cold stomach, expels stones from the kidney and takes away dimness of sight’. Trust him.
How to eat Cayenne peppers are used liberally in styles of cooking ranging from Cajun and Mexican to various Asian cuisines. They can be used either in their powdered form or as whole spices, as is the case in Sichuan-style dishes.
