• To not miss anything and get all the info to succeed in your pepper planting, check out our Ultimate Pepper Growing Guide

Known and used by the Aztecs in their time and soon to be cultivated by you, the Chilhuacle Negro pepper is an ancient pepper variety containing fruity flavors with deep chocolate notes. It has an appearance slightly reminiscent of a bell pepper and a smooth texture to the touch. This pepper is suitable for all audiences as it's very mild and is also used in cooking, particularly to make Mexican Mole Negro. The plant can become quite large and reach up to 1.20m without problem, so plan for a sufficiently large pot for transplanting.

• heat level: between 1,200 and 2,000 on the Scoville scale.
• plant size approximately 110 cm
• medium-sized fruit, approximately 7cm long
• fruit color: Chocolate at maturity
• genus: Capsicum Annuum
• ideal germination: between February and April.
• harvest: between September and November.

What Equipment for growing my peppers?

To optimize your results, we recommend equipping yourself with:

Chilhuacle Negro Pepper Seeds.
An enclosed growing space like a mini greenhouse.
Coco coir pellets, peat, or cotton (to germinate the seeds).
Labels (to avoid mixing up your seedlings).
Potting soil (ideally a mixture of 50% black peat and 50% blonde peat) or flowering-specific potting soil will also work.
Pepper fertilizer or tomato fertilizer, or 5-5-10 fertilizer for those in the know.
A water sprayer or watering can.
Gloves (if you don't like the feel of soil).
Pots with a diameter of 7 or 8 cm at first, before using 10-liter or larger pots depending on the pepper for transplanting.

To make your life easier, we offer our mini greenhouse for growing your peppers.

How to Germinate my Pepper Seeds?

Planting peppers is a process that requires patience and some knowledge, but don't panic, we'll explain everything to help you germinate your pepper seeds!

Pepper seedlings are typically started at the beginning of the year, generally between January at the earliest and March for early spring. To do this, you'll need the equipment listed above.

You then have 2 options:
Plant your seed directly in a pot full of potting soil at half a centimeter depth
Place a seed on a coco coir pellet or on a piece of cotton.

In both cases, once the seed is in place, you'll need to spray enough water to moisten the soil or cotton without soaking it, then place your coco coir pellet or cotton in a container like a mini greenhouse that will retain heat and humidity, thus providing oxygen. If you're using a flower pot, you can simply stretch plastic wrap over it and make small holes with a toothpick to oxygenate the plant.

The ideal is to maintain a constant temperature of 28 degrees. You can store your container behind a sunny window, on or near a radiator, or on a heating mat designed for this purpose.

OUR TIP:

Place your mini greenhouse on your internet router!

Remember to air out your growing area from time to time to prevent the appearance of fungi while keeping the soil moist. Once the first leaves appear, you'll need to make sure to give your seedlings enough sun for 12 to 14 hours per day. Once the second set of leaves is well developed, you can then transplant them.

Once potted, keep your plant near a heat source and exposed to the sun (ideally try to filter the light to avoid heat stress).

After the Ice Saints around mid-May, you can move your plant outdoors and plant your pepper in the ground if you wish, or leave it in a pot and place it on a balcony, a windowsill, or even along a wall, preferably on the south side.

How to water my Chilhuacle Negro Pepper?

For watering your Chilhuacle Negro pepper, be careful of over-watering. Too much water can drown the plant and lead to its demise. You simply need to let the soil dry between each watering to avoid insect proliferation and drowning of the plant.

Once the plant is well developed (once your plant reaches about thirty centimeters), you can cause water stress by stopping watering the plant for several days before resuming watering (be careful not to abuse this technique though, it would be a shame to let your pepper plant die).

How to properly prepare my harvest?

Once your pepper plant is in place, here are our tips to optimize your future harvest:

When your pepper plant reaches a height of 15 to 20 cm, you can pinch the top of the stem (without breaking it) which should allow the plant to grow bushier and produce a little more.

If flowering is early for one of your plants, remove the first flowers to prevent them from demanding too much energy from the plant.

If your pepper plant is outdoors, insects will take care of pollinating the plant which will then produce peppers. If your plant is indoors, you'll need to do this manually: take your clean finger and rub it lightly against each flower from one to another.

Don't hesitate to use a bamboo stake or rod to support your plant.

When to harvest my Chilhuacle Negro Pepper?

For harvesting your Chilhuacle Negro pepper, as with the others, you'll need to watch its color! This pepper is harvested once it turns Chocolate Brown.