‘Biquinho’ has a unique smokey, yet fruity flavor. It’s a spicy hot pepper, but not a killer. Photos by Doug Oster Tribune Review

For most of us the mornings aren’t cold enough to stop peppers in their tracks yet. But it won’t be long until a frost will kill them. In my garden it’s time to pull them in favor of other things. Believe it or not, I’m still planting this late in the season.

It tried a new variety of hot pepper this year and I’ve had fun with it. ‘Biquinho’ puts on tiny (one inch) bright red peppers. The fact that they are so small makes them a pain to harvest, but the flavor is worth it. ‘Biquinho’ has a sort of sweet, smokey flavor with a kick. The heat will wake you up, but it’s not overpowering. I’ll add four or five to a dish. They are too hot for most people to eat right off the plant, but are fine when cooked and added to a dish.

The plant grows like a shrub and puts a first flush of fruit on early. Then it adds more top growth, producing a second crop. On my plants the bottom crop is ready to harvest, but the top peppers are still pale green. My plan is the pull the plants and hang them upside down inside. I have no idea what turning them upside down does, that’s just the way I’ve seen it done.

The same day I’ll be planting garlic in the bed, I’ll talk more about that in an upcoming post.

I’m hoping the remaining peppers will ripen and I can enjoy their unique flavor through the fall.

The seeds are available though Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds and I got the plant at Plant-It Earth Greenhouse near Blairsville.

I love to experiment with new varieties and when I go to a place like Plant-It Earth I ask a lot of questions, looking for fun things to try. I’m thrilled that Karin Eller, who runs the place, turned me on to ‘Biquinho.’

When planting season comes around again, take your garden friends across a couple rivers and explore different nurseries. Each one will have something wonderful for you to try.