Mark Murphy

For The Daily News Journal

Peppers are a wonderful choice for the home garden. They reside in the same plant family as tomatoes; Solanaceae in Latin, or commonly called nightshades. However, while tomatoes tend to be quite susceptible to blight and wilt diseases, peppers are relatively robust.

In my organic garden, I never consider any spray or potion for pepper plants because they are not seriously bothered by pests or diseases. It seems all that peppers need to be happy is warm weather, good soil and sunshine. Once established, most pepper plants will produce heavily, sometimes to the point of making more fruits than the gardener can keep picked; great for sharing with friends and family.

Available in a wide range of varieties, there is surely a pepper to satisfy any palate.

For the chef, peppers offer a tasty and versatile ingredient that can be served raw, such as in salads, or in an infinite variety of cooked preparations. It’s been said that we eat with our eyes, and peppers satisfy that need for visual interest with rich colors of green, red, yellow, orange and purples that can even grow dark enough to appear almost black.

Some peppers are tiny, no thicker than a pencil, while others are large enough to fill your hand.

Sweet peppers can be very flavorful but lack the heat of hot peppers. Traditional bell peppers are probably the most widely known sweet peppers.

For something different, a couple of my favorites are cubanelle (or Havana) and Italian sweets. Those have a more elongated shape than bell peppers and a different flavor profile.

Some hot peppers are long and pointy while others are oval or button shaped. Their level of heat can range from very mild to seemingly radioactive, and everything in between.

Be cautious when handling hot peppers. Otherwise, it can be very painful to learn the hard way, as hot peppers can burn your skin, eyes, nose and mouth. This is critical with the super-hot pepper varieties such as ghost chilies or Trinidad scorpions.

But, even the heat of more tame peppers can accumulate, such as when you’re slicing a plate full of jalapenos for canning or freezing. In the kitchen, wear suitable food preparation gloves to keep the pepper oils off of your skin. If a glove gets worn through or nicked by a knife, change it immediately. The juices can get airborne as you cut and prepare peppers; goggles or a face-shield are great to save the eyes. Do not let children handle hot peppers.

For the spring planting season, you can find several varieties of pepper transplants available at the local garden stores. For more choices, check the seed racks, catalogs and online sources, and grow your own pepper plants from seed.

Start those seedlings in mid-March and your transplants should be ready to move into the garden around May 1.

From plain to peculiar, placid to piping, enjoy picking a plentitude of prolific peppers.

Garden on!

Contact Mark Murphy at mark.tnmg@gmail.com.

If you go

What: Mark Murphy will be speaking in Murfreesboro at the Boro Garden Party. His presentation “Garden, Grow Food, Naturally” is timely for gardeners interested in growing organic produce at their home or in their community.

When: 10:30 a.m. March 19

Where: Lane Agri-Park Community Center, 315 John R Rice Blvd.

Details: For more information, visit Facebook.com/BoroGardenParty.