Garden fresh spicy peppers heat up the kitchen

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(NC)—Take it up a notch this spring by planting a variety of spicy hot peppers to give your cold and hot dishes some extra punch, crunch and colour. The level of 'spicy' can go from Habanero, one of the hottest peppers, scaling down through - Cayenne Hot, Jalapeno Hot, Loco or Red Cajun Bell.

Most hot peppers mature from green to a glossy, scarlet colour while others may advance from green to orange to red. “Chefs will tell you that the longer you leave them to ripen on the vine, the more full flavoured and healthful they become,” says Jeff Howe, the president of Bonnie Plants Canada. “So the more patient gardener harvests a tastier pepper with a better “hot” kick with enhanced nutrients, fibre and antioxidants.”

Whether you grill them, use them in hot sauces, casseroles or salads, your palate and your guests will notice that there is a new, firey ingredient in the kitchen. “The Jalapeno Hot pepper, for example, is well known by chefs for use in nachos and salsa, or the red ones can be smoked over mesquite chips to make chipotle sauce,” adds Howe.

Peppers are easy to grow in any sunny location that is well-drained. They are good candidates for roomy containers on a patio or balcony. Peppers grow naturally upright so staking them helps when the plants become heavy with fruit.

There are more tips on planting and caring for peppers online at: www.bonnieplants.ca. With over twenty varieties of peppers, ranging from sweet to hot and spicy, an edible garden is an exciting, healthy choice.

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