I just wanted to share something I found interesting.
Peppers do horrible here, so much that my husband asked me not to try again, but I just can’t help myself. I keeping hoping we will find the magic pepper that gives us a ton of fruit up in the mountains.
Well I planted 10 pepper seeds in a tray (5 varietals) and the only ones that have come up are the Tam Jalapeño. Both seeds came up and they are older seeds.
Maybe Tam will be the pepper that I can get to sprout early enough every year. I got the seeds from Mary’s heirloom seeds.
I am only using a hot water bottle at night to try to sprout so I am impressed.
I know we have a long way to go, but at least that one’s off to a good start.
2 Likes
Tam Jalapeno is a very good mild hot pepper which can be used in a ton of ways. If you want it to really produce, give it some composted manure to grow in. If you can’t get composted manure, see if you can locate a bag of alfalfa based rabbit feed. You can use it in the soil the same as manure. Be careful as it decays very hot. The only other caution is that all peppers need full sun.
3 Likes
I grew one TAM jalapeño plant in 2025 that produced like gangbusters for me. No disease to speak of. Was close to five feet tall by the end of my long Mississippi growing season.
3 Likes
TAM Jalapeño grew well here last summer. It started taking off earlier than the other pepper varieties I was growing - most of them really don’t seem happy until July when the temps are consistently higher.
2 Likes
I’m so glad to hear it is a useful pepper. I have a really hard time with peppers, but it just popped right out. Some of the others haven’t even shown themselves while Tam is steadily growing.
Second place for ease of sprouting goes to Corno Giallo.
What do you think about goat manure?
I read the goat manure doesn’t even need to be composted. It is considered a cold fertilizer.
Also, it helps aerate the soil as the dry pellets breakdown they leave air pockets.
What great news - you guys are getting me super excited about possibly doing OK with peppers for a change. 
1 Like
I like the sound of that - I can’t believe it got 5 feet tall!
I will keep everyone posted how it does for me. I hope I have as great of results as you did. Thanks for sharing.
1 Like
Well it got really cold and snowed.
My two Corno Giallo’s that sprouted after Tam looked limp but guess what?
Tam was hanging in there.
Edit to add:
I put a hot water bottle under the sprouts and Corno Giallo recovered.
