Introduction to Farming Peppers

by Mustafa Mannan February 07, 2021

Like many businesses, we’ve experienced a unique set of challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. But with challenge comes opportunity, and we’ve embraced the opportunity to develop a growing capability in partnership with Porta’Lu Farms to supplement our Trinidadian pepper supply.

This past weekend our team took part in planting the Scotch Bonnet, Scorpion, and Pimento peppers. We put about 1500 seedlings in the ground. The experience was humbling, and it’s safe to say we each have a new appreciation for migrant workers.

We started with three fields to plant the peppers. Each field having different soil types and moisture. The fields were plowed with a tractor (this was a lot of fun) and further deweeded with hand tools thoroughly. After the field was properly prepped we could now move on to planting the sprouted plants.

Every seed was individually placed in its own separate tray with a bit of soil. These were placed in a greenhouse and allowed to sprout for about a month. These sprouts were then ready to be planted, we separated the sprouts by type and planted them in separate areas of the fields.

For the entire plowed field, we dug holes by hand (about a foot apart) and planted the sprouts with a bit of fertilizer and water. Then the roots were covered with and soil and the sprout held to stand upright.

We then waited about three months until harvest, check for the next update!