What’s New in Jenna’s Garden?
Pleasant Street resident Jenna Howard is providing updates on the peppers, squash and other vegetables growing in her plot at the new Burnham’s Field Community Garden. The reports and photos will allow GoodMorningGloucester viewers to follow the garden’s progress with a weekly answer to the question, “What’s New in Jenna’s Garden?”
By Jenna Howard
Week Eight
Peppers, peppers everywhere!
I have four different types of Peppers growing in my garden. Italian Peperoncinis, spicy Jalapenos, sweet Carmen peppers, and super HOT Habaneros. Over the past week I was able to harvest lots of different peppers. So, as you can imagine, everything I ate last week had peppers in it!
Of all my peppers I am most proud of my Habanero. It’s green (it will turn an orangy-red shade when it’s ripe) and not quiet ready to be picked yet, but an accomplishment nonetheless! Habaneros are actually pretty hard to grow because they thrive on hot weather and lots of sun. They are pretty fickle and should only be watered when dry. Overwatering can give the peppers a bitter taste.
The Habanero is one of the hottest peppers around! It packs a punch even though it will only get to be about an inch to two inches long. Habanero chili peppers are rated 100,000 – 350,000 on the Scoville scale.
Not familiar with the Scoville scale? (Neither was I!) The Scoville scale is a measurement of the spicy heat (or piquance) of a chili pepper. The number of Scoville heat units (SHU) indicates the amount of capsaicin present. Capsaicin is a chemical compound that stimulates chemoreceptor nerve endings in the skin. The highest rating on the scale is 16,000,000 — AKA PURE CAPSAICIN!
See where my peppers rate on the Scoville scale:
Habanero: 100,000 – 350,000
Jalapeno: 3,500 – 8,000
Peperoncini: 100 – 900
Carmen: 0 (no significant heat)
Good Morning Gloucester 