When to Pick Serrano Peppers? The best guide

The serrano chili pepper is known as the jalapeno pepper, it’s similar in color but smaller in size. They grow between 1- 4 inches long and about ½  in wide. Serrano peppers are super easy peppers to grow at home. But most people think of it as “when to pick Serrano peppers”.

Serrano peppers can happily thrive in containers or raised in beds. These are considered to be the earliest pepper varieties to harvest. The fun fact about them is that you can keep producing peppers all summer long and can eat fresh chili whenever you want.

What Are Serranos?

Serrano peppers are the chili peppers that belong to the capsicum genus. It’s long and tin and resembles a smaller version of Jalapeno peppers. These are yellow, orange, red, or green in color but change their color as they grow. Serrano are one of the popular crops to be grown in the garden.

People used to call them serrano peppers but this is not correct, they are chilies. When these are green in color they give a spicier taste. People use to eat them when they turn green and attain a height of about 2-3 as long as chili peppers.

Serrano peppers rank between 10,000 and 23,000 Scoville heat units, making them hotter than Anaheim or paprika peppers, but not as spicy as ghost peppers. Serranos are mostly grown in Mexico and originated in the mountain regions of Puebla and Hidalgo. Like jalapeno, They have a bright, fresh kick with a medium to medium-hot spice level.

Common Name	Serrano pepper
Botanical Name	Capsicum annuum ‘Serrano’
Family	Solanaceae
Plant Type	Perennial, vegetable
Size	2–3 ft. tall, 1.5 ft. wide
Sun Exposure	Full sun
Soil Type	Loamy, moist, well-drained
Soil pH	Mildly acidic, neutral (6.0 to 7)
Bloom Time	Summer, Fall
Hardiness Zones	9–12 (USDA)
Native Areas	Central America

When To Pick Serrano Peppers?

It’s easy to grow serrano peppers in the garden but you need to know when are serrano peppers ready to pick. It’s important to know when to pick serrano peppers from the garden. When these peppers start to turn green, they will attain a length of 3-4 inches. It’s a sign that this is the correct time to harvest them.

When the serranos are growing, they will change their colors too, they will start to turn from green to yellow or red color. When it’s happening, some of them start to fall down or maybe destroy. So it’s highly recommended that you pick serranos when they are green in color.

What is the best time to harvest the Serrano peppers?

Serranos take almost 80 days to get prepared, you see that if you grow serranos in the right way they will be prepared in this particular time. Their style is the biggest reason behind the change in its harvesting time. This is how to tell when serrano peppers are ripe so that you can attain it.

You are bound to wait until they acquire the best taste. Their style. Size and flavor can be varied. It is highly suggested that you should harvest the peppers when they become green in color, at that time, they will be more productive. You can cut them with the help of a knife.

Here you have to be careful not to cut the stem. You can answer the query of how to pick serrano peppers. You can wear any gloves and pull them. You can preserve them in the freezer for later use. They will be better there.

How can you care for the serrano peppers?

Everything needs care as they need. It’s important to take care of your plants if you don’t they will be destroyed. Here are some tips to take care of your plants:

Sunlight Needs

Serrano peppers used to grow at the place where they get full for their growth. You have to provide them with at least 6 hours of sunlight if you want your plant to successfully grow.  You can say that Serranos are sun worshippers.

They thrive with a minimum of six hours of direct sunlight daily. That kind of solar devotion is the key to their spicy success, as sunlight uses the flowering and fruiting stages essential for that fiery production.

Water needs 

There is a special guide about the water needs of the Serranos plant. You need to water your plant when the soil gets dry about 1-2 inches deep down. But you have to be active and try not to overwater them.  But you can try to water the bottom of the plants as it will help them in preventing diseases.

You have to keep the soil moist throughout the growing season. Consistency is the key in this process while the fruit is developing.  Plants require on average 1 inch of water per week, especially during the dry spell they need more.

Fertilizer needs

Serrano peppers need heavy fertilizers for their growth and production. But balance is important so you have to provide them with balanced vegetable fertilizers at the time of planting. Because peppers react well with balanced vegetable fertilizers with an N-P-K ratio of 10-10-10. 

Liquid fertilizers can be used with the same ratio but you have to make sure to dilute them according to the manufacturer’s instructions. You have to fertilize them once a month at least to get the desired results.

Soil Needs

Serrano Peppers will grow best in organic soil and well-drained soil. So, give them so that they can grow at their best. Peppers need well-drained and nutrient-rich soil.

Amend soil with compost, manure, or other organic matter before planting. Pepper prefers soil pH between 6 to 7. It’s enough for them to grow their best.

Types of Serrano Peppers

There are some types of Serrano peppers, you should know all about them.

Serrano Del Sol

Serrano Del Sol is a type of serrano that tends to have large peppers and is famous for their notoriously prolific. You can easily grow them in your home garden.

It enables you to enjoy the fresh serrano whenever you want and can get its benefits. Their harvesting requirements will help you grow them easily.

Serrano Purple

This is another variety of serrano that grows in different colors. When it becomes mature it gets a purple color. It seems charming and attracts people’s attention.

If you want to grow this kind of serrano pepper in your garden, you can easily do this. You just have to take care of this plant and provide it with proper requirements.

Serrano Tampiqueno

This is a different type of serrano. You can say that it comes under the hot and favorable types which are used to grow in distinctive club shapes.

This type can easily grow in any garden. You only need to check the pH level of the soil on which you are going to grow it and also you hab]ve to pay attention to the schedule of watering it.

Serrano Peppers vs. Jalapeno Peppers

The Serrano Peppers and Jalapeno Peppers both belong to the same species and look almost the same appearance and flavor which which may get you confused. Serrano peppers are smaller and skinny than jalapeno. But still, they can be 10 times hotter than jalapeno. 

The serrano peppers have a higher rate as compared to jalapeno which rate between 10,000 to 23,000 Scoville units for heat. You can also find them in yellow, orange, and red.

Ways to Plant Serrano Peppers

You will find capsaicin in the pepper which is a substance, responsible for the heat that is produced by peppers. You need to follow these steps while planting serrano peppers:

Secure growing conditions:

• You must have to follow these steps while growing serrano pepper seeds:
• You have to provide them with rich, loamy soil, full sun, and ample space to grow.
• Water will be the main element in this process.
• You should select a well-drained pot to put seeds in.

Enrich the Soil:

• When seeds are going to germinate, you have to fulfill all their requirements so that they can grow healthier.
• You can also add some fertilizers to the soil.

Plant after the last frost

• The perfect time for planting the seeds is overcast but that should be a dry day.
• You should sow the seeds during warmer weather.

Choose a sunny spot

• Place the pot in a way so that the plant can get full sun.
• It will grow best if you provide them at least 6 hours of full sunlight per day.

Space out accordingly

• You need to water the seeds thoroughly after sowing them.
• In the case of the serrano plat, per plant can hold fifty pepper pods so you need to give the space about food and a half so that they grow best.

Conclusion

Serrano peppers are the chili peppers that belong to the capsicum genus. People used to call it serrano but this is not true, they are chilies. Serranos are the most popular pepper to be grown in your garden.

You can easily grow its different types just by following those steps. You also have to be attentive and actively consume your time on its field to get the desired results.

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