Red Hot Chili Peppers

What’s the appetite for hot peppers among local growers in the community? On one hand, Hawaiian chili types are well known and one of the more widely produced peppers in the state. And of course, chili peppers are commonly used, both fresh and dried, in many different culinary dishes. On the other hand, the production of other chili types has not been nearly as common in Hawaiʻi.

So in order to gauge how well other specialty peppers would grow in our islands and how productive they might be, Oʻahu Extension hosted a field day July 23 at the Waimānalo Research Station.

Jensen Uyeda, Ted Radovich, Tina Mueller, and Jari Sugano provided growers and home gardeners with applied science-based information on producing specialty peppers such as jalapeños, green peppers, paprika, and other dry chiles. The interested crowd also took a walk through the field and greenhouse to get hands-on experience harvesting peppers – and to collect pepper samples to take home.

“Our objective of the Chili Peppers field day was to spark interest in producing these foods and to help further diversify the agricultural market,” says Jensen. “We also wanted to provide another “value-added” option for local growers, since dried chilis and hot sauces are such common products – and access to local peppers would help to increase the marketability of these products.”