It’s estimated that there are 50,000 pepper varieties grown worldwide. We grow only a small portion of that diverse world. What we grow changes every year – I’ve conducted a pepper census and here’s the 2025 list:
Sweet
- Corno de Toro
- Lunchbox
- Jimmy Nardello
- Sheepnose pimento
- Shishito
Hot
- Cayenne
- Chilaca
- Espelette
- Jalapeño
- Pepperoncini
- Poblano
- Serrano
For those who like a game – how many can you ID in the photos below? Key at the bottom. Disclaimer: not all peppers are represented. And there’s a (slightly) spicy twist…
In all, we grow around two and a half acres of peppers, not counting the cayennes. Those are grown almost exclusively for floral purposes and are in the field with the summer flowers. In fall, we’ll harvest them for wreaths and bouquets.
The other peppers are all in one area, which we started planting back in April. They’re planted into mulch to help with water retention, weed management, and temperature control and are covered by a 30% shade cloth. This shade cloth protects the peppers from getting burnt, though some peppers on the edge won’t receive full protection. See below for a comparison of Jimmy Nardellos that weren’t under the cloth (on the left) to those that were (on the right). It also makes for a more pleasant harvesting experience; definitely better than harvesting tomatoes. Laying the mulch and putting up the shade cloth are a lot of work; read more about it here – we’ve made some tweaks to the process but mostly still describes what we do. We feel these extra steps are worth it since the result is a happier, more productive field of pepper plants and more unburnt, harvestable peppers.
And wow – the plants are very productive. It’s really incredible how many peppers Alfredo’s team can harvest, and even more incredible how many peppers are still on the plants after they’re done. Our jalapeños and serranos are some of the biggest and most beautiful I’ve ever seen. For those who don’t do spicy peppers, don’t worry: only sweet peppers go in the CSA boxes – we know not everyone is a fan of the heat. If you’re a canner/preserver, or are just a big fan of peppers and are interested in a bulk order of hot or sweet peppers, let me know!
Elaine Swiedler, CSA Manager
Key:
1) poblano 2) red pepperoncini (you’ll most often see them green. This isn’t a different variety from the green ones; they turn red if you leave the peppers on the plant.) 3) jalapeño 4) serrano 5) sheepnose pimento 6) lunchbox 7) Jimmy Nardello 8) Corno de Toro 9) red shishito (just like #2, it’s not a different variety than the green ones- this is what happens if you leave the peppers on the plant. They still aren’t hot!) 10) shishito
