How to Grow Jalapeno Peppers

Capsicum annuum Jalapeno

If there is a quintessential hot pepper, it has to be the jalapeno. The conical, curved fruits are every restaurant’s go-to for spicing up burgers, margaritas, and sushi rolls.

I grow jalapeno peppers every year because I know for sure I’ll use them all up.

In recent years, store-bought hot peppers have lost some of their spice, in my opinion.

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If you prefer a slightly hot jalapeno, growing your own is a sure-fire way to get the heat you’re looking for.

Or if you love the flavor but want a guaranteed mild pod, you can accomplish that, too.

Whether you’re an experienced pepper grower looking to expand your repertoire, or you’re new to growing hot peppers, this guide will make the process of cultivating your own jalapenos easy.

Here’s what’s on the menu to help make that happen:

If you live in Zones 9 to 12, you can grow peppers as short-lived perennials. Otherwise, you’ll need to grow them as annuals.

The heat in jalapenos and all chilis comes from an alkaloid called capsaicin.

To give us an idea of how hot a cultivar is, we use the Scoville Heat Unit scale (SHU). At zero on the scale are bell peppers, which don’t contain any capsaicin.

The ghost pepper, aka bhut jolokia is on the other end of the scale at about 1,000,000.

There are even hotter peppers out there, like the scorching ‘Pepper X,’ which rates at a brain-searing 2.69 million.

But everyone’s tolerance is different, my mom finds even the mildest jalapeno to be intolerably hot!

While we don’t know its entire history, the original jalapeno probably came from the modern area of Vera Cruz on the Gulf of Mexico in central Mexico.

How to Sow

The easiest way to get started is to sow seeds. You can start indoors about eight to 10 weeks before your average last frost date.

Here’s how:

1. Fill seed trays or small pots with potting medium.
2. Sow the seeds about a quarter of an inch deep.
3. Keep the soil consistently moist and consider putting the pots on a heat mat if the soil is below 70°F. Ideally, the soil should be around 70 to 75°F.
4. After the seeds germinate, they need at least eight hours of direct light, so move the trays or pots to a suitable location or use a grow light.
5. Keep the soil evenly moist but not waterlogged.

When the seedlings have several true leaves, and all risk of frost has passed, you can harden them off ready for transplanting into the garden.

Transplanting

When you’re ready to plant, whether you started your own seeds or you purchased seedlings from the nursery, dig a hole twice as wide as the growing container or rootball.

Carefully remove the plant from its pot, loosen up the roots and lower the root ball into the hole. Fill back in around with more soil.

If you used biodegradable pots, make your holes the same size and pop them straight in.

Water well.

How to Grow

Jalapenos like lots of warm, sunny days to grow big and flavorful. Let’s talk about their preferred growing conditions.

Light

Give jalapenos as much sun as possible. They need at least six hours of direct light but preferably more. If you live in an extremely hot region, a little afternoon shade is fine.

In my region, we have cloudy springs and winters, so I can’t transplant early. I need to wait for the clouds to clear out before planting or I’m not going to see an abundant harvest.

So keep light quality in mind when you choose your location.

Soil

While peppers are adaptable, loose, rich, loamy, well-draining soil is ideal. Aim for a pH of 6.0 to 7.0.

With all that said, they’ve often been spicier since they’re stressed from growing in poor soil.

Temperature

Jalapenos don’t just taste hot, they like it hot, too. The temperatures should be consistently above 60°F at night and above 70°F during the day.

When it climbs above 100°F, the plants can become stressed.

I like to stick some shade cloth over them during these times, but sometimes I just make sure the soil remains moist and they generally do fine.

Since I live in a region with cool summers, I sometimes have to fake the heat. I use plastic tunnels and black mulch around my plants to help raise the temperature.

Watering

Peppers in general are easy when it comes to water – they like evenly moist soil. It should feel like a well-wrung-out sponge at all times, but not soggy.

The soil shouldn’t feel dry, either. However, if you want to try and stress the plants to make the fruits a bit spicier, go ahead and reduce water as the peppers are maturing.

As a rule of thumb, add water when the top inch of soil dries out.

And be sure to water at the soil level, not on the foliage. Damp foliage can attract fungal issues.

Fertilizing

Jalapenos are hungry plants. It’s best to keep them fed throughout the growing season using an all-purpose food.

Down to Earth All-Purpose

My favorite product is Down to Earth’s All-Purpose mix. It comes in one-, five-, and 15-pound boxes at Arbico Organics.

Cultivars to Select

Since most of the chilis that are grown commercially are used for processing rather than fresh eating, breeders have followed their demands for a more predictably mild chili.

Jalapenos have always been a bit unpredictable, with one plant giving you mouth-searingly hot and another offering bland fruits.

Breeders have been working to create a consistently mild fruit for commercial needs.

If you’re someone who prefers heat, look for an heirloom or a modern cultivar bred for it. If you prefer a milder jalapeno, you’ve got some great options.

Here are a few cultivars to get started:

Early

‘Early’ is my favorite for two reasons.

The first is that it’s spicy! Depending on the growing conditions, it is rated between 2,500 to 8,000 on the Scoville scale.

The second reason is that the fruits mature quickly, which is important if you live in a region with precious few hot days, which these peppers prefer.

‘Early’

The petite green fruits are ready in 65 days, though you’ll need to wait a few more weeks if you want to allow them to turn red.

This particular hottie was bred in Jalapa in the state of Veracruz, Mexico.

You can find seeds available at Botanical Interests.

Gigantia

‘Gigantia’ is one of the largest jalapenos out there, with each fruit growing over five inches long.

If you like to stuff or grill your peppers, this is the perfect choice. Not only are they huge, but they have thick walls as well.

‘Gigantia’

It takes about 70 days from transplanting for the fruits to mature to green and a few weeks more for them to turn red.

They can be anywhere from 2,000 to 6,000 on the Scoville scale.

You can find seeds in a variety of packet sizes at True Leaf Market.

Megatron

The name of this jalapeno takes me right back to my childhood when all I wanted was a Transformers toy for Christmas.

And true to its namesake, this pepper is a big one! Despite its chonky size, it’s ready early in about 65 days for green fruits.

‘Megatron’

It’s also as tough as Megatron, able to withstand tobamovirus and bacterial leaf spot.

As for the heat, it lands firmly in the center of the jalapeno scale at about 2,500 to 5,000 Scoville units.

You can pick up packets of 10 seeds at Botanical Interests.

NuMex Lemon Spice

Brought to us by the Chile Pepper Institute in New Mexico, ‘NuMex Lemon Spice’ stands out from the pack because the ripe fruits are bright yellow.

The flavor has just a hint of citrus, matching its lemon-yellow hue.

You can enjoy the peppers young and green or let them mature to their sunny yellow color, when they’ll have a moderate 2,500 to 5,000 Scoville Units of heat.

‘NuMex Lemon Spice’

They’ll be ready for harvest in about 70 days after transplanting.

You can find ‘Numex Lemon Spice’ seeds available at Botanical Interests.

Purples

I’m such a sucker for deep purple veggies. It’s completely visual.

I just like the color, but they also contain pigments called anthocyanins, so they’re healthier for you than your average greenie.

‘Purples’ requires patience because it takes 75 days from transplant before you can harvest the young fruits and even longer for them to turn deep purple.

‘Purples’

But if you can manage the wait, you’ll be treated to gorgeous mild to medium heat – 2,000 to 8,000 SHU.

You can find seeds available in a variety of packet sizes at True Leaf Market.

TAM

‘TAM’ was bred by Texas A&M (hence the name) to be mild, mild, mild. The plant is high yielding with lots of medium-sized peppers that lack heat but have oodles of jalapeno flavor.

‘TAM’

They’re ready in about 70 days for green peppers, with a Scoville Heat Unit rating of about 1,500, which is similar to a poblano. This, of course, can vary.

If mild is your jam, you can find seeds available at True Leaf Market.

Managing Pests and Disease

The good news when it comes to pests is that most herbivores like deer and rabbits do not tend to munch on chilis.

The exception is birds, as they aren’t sensitive to the capsaicin in hot peppers.

If you want to avoid birds eating your harvest, just toss a net over your plants as the fruits are ripening.

Insects are another issue entirely. There are many that feed on jalapenos, including aphids, armyworms, various beetles, cutworms, weevils, spider mites, and thrips.

Our guide to pepper pests will walk you through how to identify and control common insect annoyances.

If you’d like to learn more about the various diseases you might face, have a read of our hot pepper growing guide.

Harvesting

You’ll know your peppers are ripe when they start to develop white veins, also known as lignification.

As chilis age, they often develop this type of “corking,” which helps the skin become thicker so it won’t be damaged as easily.

Depending on the cultivar, most jalapenos are ready in about 65 to 80 days from planting. My favorite way to tell if they’re ready is to eat one. If I like the flavor, it’s ready.

I’ve personally found this indicator to be hit-and-miss.

Preserving

My jalapenos seem to last forever in the fridge. I wrap them in cotton cloth and stick them in a plastic bag, and they can remain crisp and tasty for two months or more.

You can also readily dry jalapenos by slicing them and putting them in a dehydrator at 135°F until they feel firm but not crisp. Smaller ones dry well whole, as well.

You can pickle or freeze them too. Or why not make a spicy jelly using the recipe from our sister site, Foodal.

Cooking Ideas

Instead of cooking ideas, it would be easier to recount the ways you can’t use jalapenos.

I mean, they’re perfect in everything from salads and soups to sandwiches, on steaks, stuffed, shredded, chopped into cornbread, fried up in breading, and even in desserts.

Our sister site, Foodal has some great ideas, but I’m particularly fond of the cheesy jalapeno black bean dip. I’ve wowed guests at more than one dinner party with this recipe.

Bring the Heat… or Not

For a classic hot pepper option, you really can’t go wrong with jalapenos.

They’re right in the tolerable heat range for most people, have a balanced flavor, and are a perfect size for using in most dishes.

And growing your own allows you to choose how spicy you like them and even what color you prefer.

Speaking of preference, I’d love to hear how you like to prepare yours! Give us all the details in the comments section below.

And for more information about growing other types of hot peppers in the garden, have a read of these guides next:

• Tips for Growing Hatch Peppers
• How to Plant and Grow Habanero Peppers
• Tips for Growing Cayenne Peppers