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12 Types of Peppers to Grow In Your Garden
12 Types of Peppers to Grow In Your Garden
With countless types of peppers out there, it can be difficult to choose the right ones for your garden. That’s why we’ve created a list of 12 types of peppers to grow, from fiery habaneros to Italian sweet peppers perfect for frying. Keep reading to learn more!
When it comes to vegetables, peppers, commonly known as chiles, might be one of the most diverse and versatile crops you can grow. Peppers (Capsicum sp.) come in a wide range of shapes, sizes, colors, heat levels, and flavor profiles. Peppers are also one of the few fruits you can eat at different stages of maturity.
While all Capsicum types are technically “chiles,” the word is commonly associated with hot varieties. A chile’s heat level is determined by its natural level of capsaicin, a compound in peppers that causes that burning sensation. Generally, but not always, the smaller the pepper, the hotter it is. As hot peppers mature, their levels of capsaicin increases and peaks when the pepper is fully ripe.
Peppers are perennial in tropical climates, but are commonly grown as an annual. Both sweet and hot peppers originate from just one wild species native to Central and South America. Today, there are thousands of pepper varieties from all over the world across five domesticated species.
Ready to choose peppers for your garden? Here are 12 types to try:
1. Bell
(C. annuum) Bell peppers are large, blocky, and bell-shaped. Crunchy, juicy, and with little-to-no heat, these peppers are primarily used as a vegetable, not a seasoning. Bell peppers come in a wide range of colors and can be harvested at a variety of stages of maturity. They are crunchiest when green and immature, but become sweeter as they ripen.
Bell peppers are great for fresh eating and snacking, and can also be roasted, fried, and added to a wide range of dishes. Their large size makes bell peppers excellent for stuffing.
Our picks:
2. Miniature Bell
(C. annuum) Miniature bell peppers are much smaller than traditional bell peppers, but just as sweet. These peppers are perfect for snacking and stuffing, and were first listed on the Exchange in the 1980s by former Seed Savers Exchange member Lucina Cress of Ohio. Lucina’s Miniature Stuffed Peppers are a hit year after year at her local hospital bazaar.
Miniature bell varieties:
3. Paprika
(C. annuum) Paprika peppers are dried bell peppers which have been ground to a powder. However, paprika varieties have been bred to have thinner skin than most bells, conducive to drying.
Our picks:
4. Italian Frying
(C. annuum) This group of sweet peppers range in size and heat, but are overall sweet, mild, and very large with a long, conical shape. Many of these types originated from Italy and are excellent for eating fresh, frying, roasting, and grilling.
Our picks:
5. Shishito
(C. annuum) This Japanese heirloom pepper is usually mild, but an occasional pepper (about one in 10) is hot. Traditionally eaten in the green stage, Shishito peppers are incredibly crunchy with just a hint of heat. When red, the fruits are sweet and slightly hotter but not as crunchy. These versatile peppers can be pan-seared, grilled, stir-fried, or eaten fresh.
Kitazawa Seed Company played an instrumental role in introducing ‘Shishito’ to the United States seed trade; Seed Savers Exchange acquired the variety in the 1980s from the Urban Farmerseed company of Convent Station, New Jersey, and introduced it into SSE’s seed catalog in 2021.
Best seller and staff favorite!
6. Poblano
(C. annuum) Poblano peppers are larger and medium-hot, but milder than jalapeños. These peppers have a rich, earthy flavor and are commonly used in sauces, for stuffing, roasting, and are the main ingredient in the Mexican dish chile relleno. Poblano peppers mature from a dark green to red. Ancho chile peppers are poblanos that have ripened to red and dried.
Our pick:
7. Jalapeño
(C. annuum) Jalapeño peppers are one of the most common types of hot peppers, and are often substituted for other cultivars in recipes. Jalapeños are typically harvested while still green and immature. Green jalapeños have a somewhat herbaceous flavor profile and moderate heat. Commonly used in salsas, jalapeños are also great roasted, pickled, and eaten fresh.
Jalapeños ripen from green to red, when they become slightly sweeter and hotter. Chipotle peppers are red, mature jalapeños that have been dried and smoked, typically for grinding into powder.
Our pick:
Looking for a pepper with the appearance and flavor of jalapeños, but without the heat? Try the ‘Nadapeno’ pepper!
8. Hungarian Wax
(C. annuum) Long and tapered, Hungarian Wax peppers pack about four times more heat as a jalapeño. These peppers ripen from yellow to orange to red, increasing in heat as they mature, though they are commonly harvested at the yellow stage for the best taste and crunchiest texture. Hungarian wax peppers can be enjoyed fried, stuffed, or pickled, and are popular in mole sauces and a myriad of Hungarian dishes.
Our pick:
Looking for a variety with the appearance and flavor of these peppers, but without the heat? The ‘Hungarian Yellow Wax Hot’ pepper also comes in a sweet version!
9. Cayenne
(C. annuum) Cayenne peppers are significantly hotter than jalapeños and are commonly dried and ground into a powder or crushed into flakes to enhance a variety of dishes. Long and thin in shape, cayenne peppers are usually harvested when mature (red), and are also great for fresh eating.
Our picks:
10. Tabasco
(C. annuum) Tabasco peppers are harvested at their mature, red stage and are famous for being the main ingredient in the hot sauce that bears their name. Tabasco peppers are small, just 1-2 inches long and slightly tapered, though certain cultivars, such as Thai peppers, are even smaller. These peppers can be eaten fresh, roasted, pickled, or dried.
Our pick:
11. Habanero
(C. chinense) Habanero peppers are among some of the hottest on the market, and the hottest peppers available in our seed catalog. Small and rippled, these Caribbean favorites are many times hotter than jalapeños and have a distinctive fruity, almost citrus flavor.
Habaneros are a common ingredient in hot sauces, and can be roasted, dried, and used in salsas and stews. Brave souls may even enjoy these peppers fresh. Due to their size, these peppers are excellent container varieties and can even be overwintered indoors.
Our picks:
12. Ornamental
(Often C. annuum) Not all peppers are grown purely for consumption; there are highly ornamental varieties as well! Ornamental pepper plants are compact and great for containers. As they ripen these small peppers put on a show in the garden, undergoing several color changes from all over the rainbow. While commonly grown for their beauty, ornamental peppers are also edible and are usually medium-hot.
Our picks:
How to Grow and Save Pepper Seeds
Peppers have a long growing season and are usually started indoors and then transplanted into the garden after the last spring frost and when soil temperatures have warmed. In general, sweet peppers (60-90 days) mature faster than hot peppers (85-100+ days).
With their hollow fruit cavities, peppers are a great crop for beginner seed savers. Peppers grow well throughout the United States as long as they receive enough sun, heat, and moisture.