For My Hombres Back in Nuevo Mexico...

A very good friend, Tim Blotz, did a wonderful thing and mailed me some new seeds I'm very eager to try out. Tim has a bit of a green thumb himself. The Blotz clan lives in Minneapolis and has an amazing garden in a place most people relate to snow, hockey, and ice fishing. That hasn't deterred Tim. How many people do you know grow their own CORN in their home garden? That deserves a tip of the straw hat.

NuMex Espanola Improved Chile

So what has me so "fired" up about these seeds? Because they will sprout and produce two chile varieties found in my old stomping grounds of New Mexico.

The Land of Enchantment will always hold a special place in my heart. But, it's also the heart of the chile universe. Most famous is the Hatch chile found only in Hatch, New Mexico (well at least authentic Hatch chiles).

The opportunity to grow something from New Mexico (a place where I lived for two years, have family, and found my best of friends) in our garden is very exciting.















NuMex Heritage 6-4 Chile

Last week I dropped the seeds in two small planters, similar to what I did with the other seed varieties. The first chile variety we have is the NuMex Espanola Improved Chile. According to the CPI (Chile Pepper Institute) at New Mexico State University, this chile is very hot and has been adapted to grow in the shorter growing season of Northern New Mexico. If you haven't been to New Mexico, the northern part of the state is very mountainous and the climate is much cooler.

The second chile species Tim sent us is NuMex Heritage 6-4. This variety is an improved chile from the original 6-4. The 6-4 is one of New Mexico's original pod types with medium to hot heat level. The Heritage 6-4 has a better yield and 20% more flavor.....so say my friends at the CPI.

According to the growing instructions, these seeds need to be sowed 8-10 weeks before planting in the garden outside. Depending on soil temperature, it will take 2-4 weeks to germinate. The optimum soil temp is between 80-90 degrees. I can tell you that I don't have the soil at that temp. It is probably around 70-75 degrees. I'd need to add a propagation mat for heat. I don't think I'm going to go that far.

Once these babies get going, I hope to have them outside in May and get a nice crop by late summer to roast or use in a chile stew. If you want to add a little "caliente" to your garden, I highly recommend checking out the CPI's website. The Chile Pepper Institute
They also sell all kinds of seed varieties and instructions on how to grow chiles and prevent diseases.

By the way, here is a look-see at our seeds we sowed a couple weeks ago. The acorn squash and cilantro have taken off. I'm worried that we've had too many cloudy days for them, so they have become leggy in their search for sunlight. I need to research how I can fix this problem.