Jalapeño Chilli

Why I grow it

If I could only grow one chilli, jalapeño would be a very strong contender. It has enough heat to make itself known without overwhelming everything else, and it's ridiculously useful in the kitchen. Pick them green for that fresh, distinctive jalapeño flavour or leave them to ripen to red when they become sweeter.

At a glance

Type: Jalapeño chilli
Heat: Medium — approximately 2,500–8,000 SHU
Fruit: Thick-walled, green ripening to red
Position: Full sun, warm and sheltered
Growth: Bushy
Best for: Fresh eating, cooking and pickling

The usual jalapeño range is around 2,500–8,000 Scoville units, although actual heat varies with the fruit and growing conditions. Bunnings

In the kitchen

This is an exceptionally useful chilli. Pick green for salsas, tacos, nachos, pizzas and anything needing fresh chilli flavour with manageable heat. Leave some fruit to ripen red for a sweeter flavour, or preserve a glut by pickling or freezing. 

Our slightly less conventional use: we blanch jalapeños in sugar syrup, fill them with vodka, dip them in chocolate and freeze them. They sound faintly unhinged. They are excellent.

In the garden

Jalapeños love warmth. Grow them in a sunny, sheltered spot outside once conditions have warmed, or give them a home in a greenhouse or large container. They form bushy plants and can crop generously through summer when they're happy.

Care

Plant into fertile, well-drained soil and keep watering consistent, particularly once flowers and fruit are developing. Feed regularly through flowering and fruiting. Stake if the plant becomes heavily laden and protect from frost. NZ growers recommend waiting until mild conditions and night temperatures are consistently above about 13°C before planting outside.

Jo's growing tip: I like planting chillies and capsicums in pairs. Although their flowers are self-fertile, I've found plants grown together perform particularly well — they create a sheltered little growing pocket, physically support one another as they fill out, and give visiting pollinators plenty of flowers to move between.

What you'll receive
One healthy, established seedling grown here at A Garden Between. Plants naturally vary in size and shape and may be supplied in reused nursery pots or growing bags — perfectly useful plastic doesn't need replacing simply because it doesn't match.