The Peter Pepper is definitely an eye-catcher, as it reminds of a certain male body part. We introduce the curious penis chilli.
The strange looking variety ‘Peter Pepper’ (Capsicum annuum), also called penis chili, probably originally came from Central America. Today it is grown in the southern states of the USA, especially in Louisiana and Texas, as well as in Mexico. It is not known exactly why the interesting shape was created or whether it was selected by a breeder with a great sense of humor. The phallic-looking one provides a topic of conversation chili sure.
The ripe fruit, which can be admired in yellow, orange and red, is a real eye-catcher. The shriveled, often slightly curved pod has a slight indentation at the end of the fruit, which reinforces the image of the man's best piece. The length of the penis chilli is about 5 to 15 cm and about 1.5 cm in width. However, the shape of the fruit is quite variable and often differs on the same plant. So there is not always a real gem on the bush.
The sharpness of the ‘Peter Pepper‘
Reached on the sharpness scale ‘Peter Pepper‘ on average “only” a middle place, at least as far as the Scoville value is concerned. On average, values of around 25,000 Scoville are measured, which corresponds to a severity level of 4 to 5 on a scale of 1 to 10. With the right care, however, this can rise to 80,000 Scoville and really heat up the connoisseur. Tips and tricks for how to use your ‘Peter Pepper‘elicit more sharpness, You will find here.
Growing penis chilli
the ‘Peter Pepper‘ is offered either as seed or directly as a young plant in spring. However, since it is quite rare, you probably have better opportunities at local young plant markets, swap sites or in specialized online shops than in conventional nurseries and garden centers. The sowing of the chilli begins - as usual with the warmth-loving nightshade family - as early as mid-February. In some potting soil, the seeds germinate after about 10 to 14 days on average if there is plenty of moisture and warmth. When the first real leaves show up, the chillies can be pricked. From mid-May the young plants are then planted outdoors, either directly in the bed or in a bucket with a capacity of at least 10 liters. A detailed guide to the Planting chillies You will find here.
The plant reaches a height of about 70 to 90 cm and forms a spreading crown. With some organic slow release fertilizer like ours Plantura organic tomato fertilizer it produces a good harvest and lots of funny shaped fruits. The penis chilli will be ready for harvest around 60 days after flowering. It is particularly suitable for the preparation of sauces or dried and chopped up as a spicy seasoning. Pickled in vinegar or oil, you can still admire the wonderful chillies all year round. the ‘Peter Pepper‘ is a seed-resistant variety and can therefore be grown from its own seeds again. For this purpose, the pods are cut lengthways, the seeds separated and then gently dried. Incidentally, such a self-grown penis chilli is also ideal as an individual gift.
Tip: In addition to the ‘Peter Pepper‘ there are many more delicious varieties of chilli. You can now easily grow five of them yourself. As? With the Plantura chilli growing kit.
You can find more about the variety of chilli in our Chilli variety overview.