Growing Jalapeno Plants
If you love to have adventures in both gardening and cooking, jalapeno plants are just what the doctor ordered. Jalapeno plants are both beautiful and useful in creating those spicy additions that make a Mexican burrito or plate of nachos really “pop” with authentic flavor. You will find that when you add your own freshly picked jalapenos, these fiery additions will multiply the active agents for an all-out assault on the taste buds.
Starting your Jalapeno Plants
Experienced jalapeno planters know that the best way to insure your jalapeno plants take hold is to start them in a planter indoors. This insures that you can control all the factors that go in to having a successful planting experience. Just buy a packet of jalapeno seeds from your local nursery and sprinkle them into the planter. Plant them in late winter and make sure to keep the soil moist and the temperature warm. Jalapenos are hot-blooded plants that love the warmth.
You will have to be patient during this period. Jalapeno seeds take three months until they will finally begin to germinate. Just faithfully water them every day and don’t get discouraged. They will reward you just when you are about ready to give up all hope.
Planting Your Jalapeno Plants
When they finally do germinate, it is time to plant them outside. Hopefully, you have timed things properly so that you are now in the warm days of spring. You need to be careful not to plant your jalapenos prematurely, however, since an unexpected late frost can hamper their growth.
The central criteria you should look for when planting your Jalapeno plants is sun, sun, and more sun. Jalapenos are a sun loving plant. It is almost as if they take the sun’s rays and bury them deep inside themselves to produce that taste that burns. So place your jalapenos in a very sunny spot and water them well. You want your jalapenos’ bed to be well watered but not waterlogged. If the soil is soggy, the roots will have difficulty anchoring themselves.
Now you will have to wait again. It will seem as if the jalapeno plants are growing at glacial rates. Often this waiting can take up to two months. All of a sudden, however, you will notice a white bud beginning to open just as you have reached the dog days of summer. Then before you know it, beautiful white flowers will burst forth willy-nilly. Many gardeners love to plant the jalapeno plant just because they find these white flowers so pleasing. They can certainly make an aesthetic addition to your garden in and of themselves.
Soon, from the center of these flowers you will begin to see the distinctive green jalapenos growing. At this point, you should no longer be watering your jalapeno plants with as much frequency as you did early on. Every other day or once every third day should be enough.
Wait until your jalapeno is fully-grown and then snip them loose. You can let your jalapenos grow up to five or six inches in size, but most cooks know that the best, spiciest jalapenos are the smaller ones with their concentrations of fiery spices. The bigger the jalapeno becomes the less hot and the sweeter.
If you leave them long enough the jalapenos will don red hues with milder tastes.
How to Get More Jalapenos the Next Year
The best way to ensure you continue to get more growths year after year is to cut your jalapeno back after the growing season. When you do this, be sure to spare some leaves. These will help them to grow back the following year.