Growing Sweet & Hot Peppers in Kihei

Santa Fe Grande, Guyana and Cyklon 

Fabulously fruity hot peppers

Peppers can be challenging to grow in Kihei. They're affected by mites, aphids, white flies, pepper weevils, powdery mildew and the hot summer sun. Although pepper seeds can be planted at any time of the year, I've found the ideal time to plant seeds is from late November through mid-February. When planted by early February, most varieties of peppers will produce an abundance of fruit that will turn color by June, just prior to the hottest months of the year.

Long Red Slim Cayenne

a medium hot Spanish Capsicum Annuum 

Most sweet and hot peppers are part of the Capsicum Annuum species. These are difficult to grow in Kihei due to the heat and bugs as they seriously damage the tender emerging leaves and flower buds. The plants will grow but won't always look healthy and produce many peppers. The bug population increases significantly in my garden during the summer months as the surrounding area becomes very dry due to lack of rainfall.

Red Habanero

a very hot Capsicum Chinense

The peppers I've grown that the bugs didn't seem to bother were the Aji group, Bird Pepper, Guyana, Habanero group, Kaleidoscope, Nepalese Bell, Rocotillo, Tabasco, Tobago, Trinidad Perfume and Zavory. These peppers are from the Capsicum Baccatum and Capsicum Chinense species.

 Aji Chinchi Amarillo

a hot Capsicum Baccatum

Although most are small, not all are scorching hot. Aji Dulce, Kaleidoscope, Rocotillo, Nepalese (Christmas) Bell, Trinadad Perfume, Tobago and Zavory are mild or mildly spicy. A good description of the different capsicums can be found here: 

The Capsicum Genus

Peppers will grow all year in the lower elevations in Hawaii. Some peppers are perennials, especially the baccatum group,  and will continue to grow and produce indefinitely. In the islands the Hawaiian Bird pepper, when planted in the ground, will grow into a 3 to 4 foot tall mini-tree that will produce for several years. Birds really do eat the hot Bird peppers.

Medium Length Peppers Protected From Birds with Organza Bags

When transplanting the seedling plants into my garden bed I use a disposable plastic cup,
with the bottom removed, as a sleeve to protect the young stems from being chewed apart
by slugs or snails.

Longer Peppers Protected with Paper Lunch Bags

Peppers are more sensitive to the solar cycle than tomatoes and thrive in increasing daylight. Not all varieties of perennial peppers will fruit year round - some don't produce during the fall and winter months.

Corno di Toro
a sweet Capsicum Annuum

Corno di Toro was one of the more productive and heat resistant varieties of the sweet annuum peppers. They grow 7 to 9 inches long and make great Italian fried  peppers.

Many of the sweet peppers I've grown haven't been very flavorful and that might be due to the hot Kihei climate.

Aji Amarillo

a Capsicum Baccatum

Peppers grow well in containers - I grow most of my peppers in large self watering containers. I amend the potting soil with green sand, OMRI agricultural epsom salt (for magnesium) and an organic all-purpose fertilizer. The water level in the containers should be checked every day especially during the summer months. If planting in regular containers, the peppers usually need daily water. I fertilize pepper plants with fish emulsion twice a month or an organic all-purpose fertilizer once a month.

If the plants have yellowing leaves, they may be low on magnesium. I recommend watering or spraying the pepper plants with 1 or 2 Tbsp of OMRI epsom salt diluted in a gallon of water. More information about using epsom salt can be found here:
How to Fertilize a Garden with Epsom Salts

Aji Angelo
a Capsicum Baccatum

The baccatum peppers grow well in our acidic soil. I add a generous amount of an organic all-purpose fertilizer and a hand full of OMRI epsom salt prior to transplanting. Then add organic all-purpose fertilizer at one month intervals. Surprisingly, they haven't been negatively affected by the root knot nematodes that live in our Kihei soil.

For help diagnosing problems and insects that affect peppers:
Chili Pepper Pests & Diseases

In the late summer and fall, peppers can become infested with aphids and white flies. The aphid population escalates during the summer due to the heat and lack of rainfall. Sometimes during the summer I've had problems with the pepper weevil. Birds can be another problem as they'll attack the fruit just as they're starting to change color. For birds, I think the best solution is to cover the fruit with organza drawstring bags or small paper lunch bags.

Sweet and hot pepper seeds are widely available. Tomato Growers has several of the milder non-Capsicum Annuum seeds. Trade Winds Fruit and Reimer Seeds have great selections and some of the hottest pepper seeds available.

More information about the peppers I've grown successfully can be found on my blog

A Kihei Garden Cuisine 
the pepper posts are indexed on the sidebar under My Garden Trials.

How to Preserve Peppers
Italian Fried Peppers
Preserved Roasted Red Peppers
Jalapeno Bread & Butter Pickles
Mango Harbanero Hot Sauce
Habanero Pepper Jam
Citrus Pickled Peppers
Hot to Make Chili Oil
Peri Peri Sauce
Roasted Red Jalapeno Hot Sauce

Growing Cucumbers in Kihei

Japanese Climbing

Cucumbers will grow all year in the Kihei climate.

And, it's easy to get them to grow up a 6 foot trellis.

Marketmore

Japanese Climbing is the earliest cucumber I've grown and Marketmore is almost always a straight and picture perfect cucumber. Marketmore is promoted as being disease resistant but I haven't found it to be any more disease resistant than any of the others.

Suyo

The cucumber that was the most productive in the late fall and early winter months was Suyo, an Asian variety. The vines grew a good deal longer than regular salad cucumbers and seemed to be less sensitive to the diminishing daylight.

I've trailed a number of other Asian/Japanese cucumbers but it was too hot to grow them in Kihei, even during our cooler months. I plant Suyo exclusively from October through December as they've never failed to grow and produce beautiful fruit during the late fall and early winter.

Empereur Alexandre

Not all cucumber seeds will grow year round. Some varieties are much more sensitive to increasing and decreasing daylight. Empereur Alexandre seeds germinated but wouldn't grow during the late fall but grew prolifically when seeds were planted in the winter and early spring.

Cucumbers are very susceptible to the ever present powdery mildew in the air here. Even the varieties I've grown that were noted as resistant were affected.

Suyo

Melon fruit flies and pickleworms are a problem predominately during the spring and summer months. The melon flies don't bother the cucumbers as often as the melons and squash. I put white paper lunch bags around the pollinated females to protect the fruit. Wilted vines or leaves could be evidence of pickleworm activity as pickleworm larvae will tunnel into the vines as well as the fruit. For more information, see my post on Pickleworms.

Katrina

a parthenocarpic cucumber

If the melon fly larvae and pickleworms become a serious problem parthenocarpic varieties of cucumbers can be grown under a light row cover. They're F1 hybrid cucumber seeds that produce only female flowers and don't require pollination. These types of cucumbers are seedless and are commonly grown in greenhouses. I also recommend these seeds if you don't have any bees or bees that that will pollinate cucumber flowers.

 Diva and Katrina are the only parthenocarpic seeds I've grown - they produce smooth, dark green fruit. These seeds are available from Johnny's Selected Seeds. Johnny's has a variety of parthenocarpic cucumber seeds available. I've also found Diva seeds on etsy and ebay.

Parisian Pickling

Cornichon is French for gherkin, a miniature cucumber that's used to make a small pickle that's very popular in France. The Parisian Pickling are the smallest cucumber I've grown and they can be used for this type of pickle.

The cucumbers in the photo are around 4 inches long but they can be cut from the vines when they're smaller. When harvested at 4 inches or less, they're seedless and crunchy and they make great pickles.

I plant cucumber seeds in regular or self-watering 15 inch containers. I amend the potting soil with n organic or natural all purpose fertilizer and add additional fertilizer twice per month. When the vines begin to grow the need for water increases significantly. In the summer, if you use self-watering containers, it's a good idea to check the reservoir twice per day.

Unfortunately, self-watering containers are an ideal breeding place for mosquitoes. To control this activity, I block the reservoir opening with a rolled up/compressed plastic bag.

Cucumbers are delicious when juiced. Sometimes I juice them with other vegetables like celery, carrots and tomatoes when I have an abundance of these vegetables in my garden. And of course they make wonderful pickles. 

A Quick Pickling Recipe
Daphne's Dill Pickles

Dr. Ben Kim's Cucumber Kim Chi
Fermented Pickles - Bread & Butter Pickles
French Cornichons

Most of these seeds, with the exception of Diva and Katrina, are available from

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds and Seed Savers Exchange. Sometimes Baker Creek has parthenocarpic cucumber seeds - search "greenhouse cucumbers" on their site.

Etsy is also good source for reasonably priced heirloom seeds.

How to Store Cucumbers