C. Annuum
Here you will find some information on Capsicum Annuum as well as links to the different blog posts here on the Chili Life.
Brief information on Capsicum Annuum
C. Annuum is the most popular chili species to grow and is cultivated in countries such as India, China, and South East Asia.Because the varieties cross-pollinate very easily, there are thousands of different varieties around the world. The plants are perennial and can survive for many years. It may be worth knowing that the plants will often produce less fruit for the older they become. Capsicum Annuum plants grow very fast and can grow very tall. Most varieties will grow eight to fifteen leaves before the first flower appear. There are, of course, some factors that determine when the first flower will appear. For example, it depends on the temperature and the genotype of the chili you grow.
The flowers of the C. Annuum type of chilies can be fertilized by their own pollen and they are very good for the first time chili growers. Capsicum Annuum can be anything from mild to hot (0 to 80,000 SHU measured on the Scoville Scale) and the pod have different sizes, colors, and shapes.
The Chili Life’s Annuum:
I started growing chilies 3 years ago and, so far, I have cultivated Capsicum Annuum, Capsicum Chinense, and Capsicum Baccatum. My first chili plant was Cayenne Long Slim. In 2017 I tried to grow Jalapeno Giant as I planned to make chipotle chillies but the plant got attacked by black aphids.
Cayenne Long Slim
Long Slim is a high-producing and hot chili. The plants grow relatively small, about 60 cm, but provide a huge amount of 10-13 cm long burning spicy fruits. The fruit changes color from green to red when they maturity. I have dried most of the fruits and used them to spice up my chili dishes.
| SHU | Heat | |
|---|---|---|
| Scoville: | 30,000 – 50,000 | Medium |
Jalapeño Giant
This pepper was named for the town of Jalapa in Mexico were it was originally sold. The fruit have really thick walls which makes them ideally to smoke. I grew one plant of Jalapeño Giant the growing season of 2017 but the poor plant got infested by black aphids. My plan was to smoke it and then use it in my chili dishes but I had to throw the plant away. You can see my post Black aphids are killing my Jalapeño plant where I write about my fight against the aphids (they did win in the end.)
| SHU | Heat | |
|---|---|---|
| Scoville: | 4,000- 8,000 | Mild |
Poblano
I also grew 2 Poblano pepper plants during the grow season 2017. Poblano is a very mild (1,000 – 1,00 Scoville) Capsicum Annuum variety. The fruits are typically picked when they are green but they can also turn red. If dried when green, they are typically called “ancho” or “chile ancho”. I tasted one of my green poblanos and it had a sweet taste without any heat at all. The rest of the poblanos I dried in the oven. Next growing season I hope I’ll have a better way to dry my fruits.
| SHU | Heat | |
|---|---|---|
| Scoville: | 1,000 – 1,500 | Mild |
When I grow more of Annuum, I will add more information and photos, along with links, on this page.
