Hinkelhatz Hot Pepper
Botanical Name: Capsicum anuum
Description
88 days. Short 2 ft bush plants are prolific producers of 1” red hot peppers shaped like the heart of a chicken, which is where its name comes from. These peppers are very hot with an instant kick of strong pepper flavor that goes straight to the head. Grown by Pennsylvania Mennonites for over 150 years, this variety has boarded Slow Food USA’s Ark of Taste. The peppers are traditionally used to make spicy vinegar and tasty pickles. Our favorite recipe for them is packing deseeded peppers tightly in a jar and covering them with white vinegar, mellowing out the heat for a good snacking pepper. They also work great as a general purpose hot pepper in any dish needing a kick. NN
Growing
Growing Instructions (for USDA Zone 5b):
All peppers are warm-weather loving plants. Sow seeds indoors 3/15-4/1 into good seed starting mix (we recommend Vermont Compost’s Fort Light). Ideal temperature for germination is 80-90° (use heating mat). Days to germination: 6-28. Once leaves appear, grow plants at 72°. Be sure seedlings have adequate light (a windowsill will not do for peppers) and keep plants from becoming pot-bound because this will permanently stunt plants. If seedlings are getting too big for their pot but the weather is still too cold outside, transplant them into bigger pots. Plant seedlings outside late May into fertile garden soil with lots of compost or decomposed manure. If your soil pH is greater than 7 (which is typical of clay soils in Southeast Michigan) add sulfur to acidify soil before planting. Space plants 1 ½ - 2ft apart. If plants begin to flower when plants are less than 1ft tall, hand remove early flowers for 2 weeks until plants are bigger. Stake pepper plants if they begin to fall over.
Harvest:
Harvest when fully red ripe. Can be eaten fresh or dried.
Seed Saving Instructions (for gardeners):
Peppers are primarily self-pollinating but insects will cause significant cross pollination between pepper varieties. To keep variety pure, cover plants with low tunnels (using thin row cover fabric) to exclude pollinators. Or, isolation distance: 300 ft. Save seeds from the best plants. Save seeds from fully ripe peppers. Process either wet (fresh peppers) or dry (dried peppers). Process hot pepper seeds outdoors wearing rubber gloves and dust mask! Make sure seeds are fully dry before storing.
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