About Hot Pepper Mix
Hot Pepper Mix (Capsicum annuum) features an exciting blend of Metchosin Farm's favourite hot peppers, offering a range of colours, shapes, and levels of spiciness. Prolific, compact plants provide a generous and continuous harvest throughout the season. Hot peppers thrive in warm locations, making them perfect candidates for greenhouses, sunny garden spots, or container gardening on a patio. Excellent for adding fresh heat to dishes, pickling, drying, or preserving for year-round enjoyment.

Where Can You Grow Hot Pepper Mix?
Hot Pepper Mix grows best in Zones 4-9, preferring warm, sunny conditions and fertile, well-drained soil. Best grown in greenhouses, hot microclimates, or patio containers.

History and Historical Uses
Hot peppers have been widely cultivated and valued worldwide for their flavour, medicinal properties, and culinary versatility. Originating from Central and South America, peppers have a long history of use, traditionally enjoyed fresh, dried, or preserved, and remain integral to cuisines across the globe.

Canadian Zone Information
Zones 8-9: Start seeds indoors early spring, transplant outside after frost; harvest midsummer through autumn.
Zones 5-7: Start seeds indoors 8-10 weeks before the last frost; transplant when soil warms sufficiently.
Zones 4: Best grown in greenhouses or containers; start seeds indoors early for optimal yields.

How to Grow and Harvest Hot Pepper Mix

• Planting: Sow seeds 6mm (¼in) deep indoors; transplant seedlings 30-45cm (12-18in) apart after frost.
• Watering: Provide consistent moisture, avoiding overwatering; maintain warm growing conditions.
• Harvesting: Pick peppers regularly to encourage continual fruiting; harvest at desired maturity or heat level.
• Maintenance: Stake plants if necessary; pinch early flowers to encourage bushier growth.

Seed Saving Tips for Future Supply

• Select Best Peppers: Choose mature, fully coloured peppers from healthy plants.
• Extract Seeds: Cut open peppers and remove seeds carefully; wear gloves if handling very hot varieties.
• Dry Seeds: Spread seeds out on a paper towel or screen, drying thoroughly.
• Store: Store dried seeds in airtight containers in a cool, dark place; viable for up to 5 years.

Certified Organic By
Islands Organics Producers Association (Cert#1962)