April

Bhut Jolokia, the Ghost Pepper has a reputation. It was officially the worlds hottest Chilli in the Guinness Book of Records from 2007 until 2011. At over 1 millium SHU's it is still one of the hottest pepper in the world. Each chilli ripens from lime green to orange to red. The flavour tends to have a smoky, earthy taste with a somewhat fruity aftertaste.

With a great fruity tang, and not too hot, this rare little beauty produces bright red peppers that have a crisp texture, a sweet pleasant flavour with only a mild pungency. Named for its distinct three-sided shape, 'Bishops Crown' is great to eat raw as an edible decoration. Cut the chillies in half, remove the core and add to salads or garnish hors d'oeuvre.

Long Slim Red Cayenne is one of the best known hot chili peppers, it is a good long hot chilli that always performs well and dries nicely. Producing an abundance of very wrinkled fruits which have thin flesh, they are used fresh in hot sauces or dried and ground for cayenne pepper.

Pepperoncini peppers originally hail from Europe, specifically Italy and Greece, often served in salads and on antipasti platters. They barely nudge the pepper scale and have a slightly sweet 'tang’ especially when pickled. Mild, tasty and crunchy, they bring many foods to life.

If you love the taste of Jalapenos but can’t take the heat, 'Jalapeño Tam' is the one for you. Developed by Texas A&M to have the Jalapeno flavour without the heat, and at only 1,000-1,500 SHUs, this is much milder than the typical Jalapeno so you and all the family can enjoy all the flavour and not worry about it burning your tongue.

Jalapeño peppers are among the most popular and commonly available hot chilli pepper seeds in the world. They are very versatile: hot enough for a good kick, but still mild enough to use as a vegetable. The smooth, dark green fruits which ripen to red have thick walls with a rounded tip.

The 'Jamaican Hot Yellow' aren't the hottest chillies in the world, but clocking up to 100,000 to 200,000 SHU's these are probably as hot as one really needs to go. Behind the heat will be found a gorgeous fruity, citrusy flavour. Use in salsas, chutneys soups and sauces, they mix especially well in salsas with fruit.

Pepper 'Little Wonder' has a compact growth habit and produces festive, deep scarlet, conical shaped peppers. Edible and ornamental, it seems a shame to confine them to just the veggie patch when they can be grown all year long in containers. Sown May to June they will produce fruits in perfect time for Christmas.

Pepper ‘Picante a Mazzetti’ produces attractive cone shaped, chillies which grow vertically with many fruits per bunch. known as 'Bouquet di Peperoncini', they mature to a festive, deep scarlet red, and have a multitude of ornamental as well as edible uses. Sown May to June they will produce fruits in perfect time for Christmas.

Pimientos de Padrón are amazingly tasty, tiny fresh peppers. The Spanish delicacy often served in Tapas bars, chances are if you have been to Spain you have gobbled up small plates of these in one sitting. Padrón peppers can be harvested as early as mid-May when small and sweet.

The 'Scotch Bonnet' was the first Caribbean Hot Pepper to be known by a specific name in the export market. Most commonly found in hot Caribbean dishes, use sparingly, fresh or dried to recipes. Also great for pickling, garnishes, sauces and jerk rubs, it develops a rich, multi-sided, tropical-fruity flavour.

Serrano peppers are fleshy and meaty with the unique flavour so popular in Mexican cuisine. The abundant candle-flame shaped fruit are green, then red at full maturity and are borne on attractive erect, branching plants. They red chilies are often be threaded on string and dried as a colourful ornament.

Tabasco peppers are an American legend. Originally from Costa Rica they are the most well known type of Capsicum frutescens.These fiery little jewels are the primary ingredient in tabasco sauce. This Greenleaf strain has been bred to be resistant to tobacco etch virus (TEV) and give a lot of firepower!

Unashamedly bright and vibrant, Firecracker is an edible and very ornamental little pepper. They pack some chilli kick but the amazing fruity flavour is never overpowered by the heat. The peppers can be used fresh or dried, they are lovely when made into miniature herb wreaths and kitchen swags, or threaded and hung in miniature garlands.

Californian Wonder is the widely adapted standard variety, a favorite with gardeners and for commercial production. It consistently produces large yields of blocky, four-lobed thick-walled fruit that is mild and sweet, tender and flavourful. Perfect for salads, to stir-fries, grilling or stuffing.

Think of the Cubanelle like a sweeter, more flavourful bell pepper, and you’ll understand why they are so popular. While stuffing is a possibility, fried with a little olive oil, the Cubanelles mild sweet taste really comes to life. It is perhaps best thought of as providing 'taste' rather than 'heat'.