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

This pepper will be hot for those not accustomed to spiciness. If you want to reduce its power, you will need to mix it with products such as milk, cream, cheese, or oils. These products have the effect of diluting the capsaicin.

The mysterious and majestic country of Peru naturally produces peppers that grow in the wild. Plant and bite into your Aji Pepper and immerse your taste buds in Mayan flavors!

• heat: between 30,000 and 50,000 on the Scoville scale.
• plant size: approximately 90 cm.
• fruit size: approximately 15 cm long.
• fruit color: green then chocolate and red when ripe.
• genus: Capsicum Baccatum
• ideal germination: between January and April.
• harvest: between September and November.

What Equipment for Growing My Peppers?

To optimize your results, we recommend that you equip yourself with:

Red Aji Pepper Seeds.
An enclosed growing area such as a mini greenhouse.
Coco 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 potting soil which will also do the job.
Pepper fertilizer or tomato fertilizer, or 5-5-10 fertilizer for connoisseurs.
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 the beginning before using pots of 10 liters or more depending on the pepper for repotting

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 you need to know to germinate your pepper seeds!

Pepper seedlings are sown at the beginning of the year, generally between January at the earliest and March for the beginning of spring. To do this, you will 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 deep
Place a seed on a coco pellet or on a piece of cotton.

In both cases, once the seed is in place, you will need to spray enough water to moisten the soil or cotton without wetting it, then place your coco pellet or cotton in a container like a mini greenhouse which will retain heat and humidity, thus providing oxygen. If you use a flower pot, you can simply stretch film 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 box!

Remember to ventilate your growing area from time to time to prevent the appearance of fungi while keeping the soil moist. Once the first leaves appear, you must be careful to give your shoots enough sun for 12 to 14 hours per day. Once the second set of leaves is well developed, you can then repot them.

Once in a pot, 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 window sill, or even along a wall, preferably on the south side.

How to Water My Red Aji Pepper?

When watering your Red Aji pepper, beware 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 will 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 a rod to support your plant.

When to Harvest My Red Aji Pepper?

For harvesting your Red Aji pepper, as with others, you will need to look at its color! This pepper is harvested once it is red.