The serrano pepper (Capsicum annuum ‘Serrano’) is essentially a scaled down jalapeno pepper. Serrano peppers clock in between 5,000 and 23,000 Scoville units. They are usually a bit hotter than jalapenos and are always a fabulous addition to salsas, sauces, relishes, or any recipe that could use a spicy kick.
One of the most representative ingredients of Mexican cooking, serrano peppers not only get their name, but a good chunk of their origin from the mountains of the Mexican state of Hidalgo and Puebla (the name serrano referring to the sierra, or mountains in Spanish).
Along with the mild to intense heat and great taste serrano pepper brings, it also adds a ton of value to a diet. It has low fat and calorie content alongside a stunning quantity of vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber, which explains why serrano peppers are gaining popularity all across the globe.
According to reports, serrano peppers have 0.04 grams of fat and 34 calories for every 100 grams. Additionally, in that same serving, they provide 74% of the DV for vitamin C, 20% of the DV for vitamin A, as well as significant amounts of vitamin B6, iron, and magnesium.
Furthermore, Serrano peppers provide 3.7 grams of dietary fiber per 100 grams. Fiber assists in reducing blood sugar as well as cholesterol levels while slowing down the rate at which sugar is absorbed by the body.
Capsaicin, the compound responsible for the spiciness of hot peppers, also possesses various health benefits. For example, due to serrano peppers being beneficial for the heart, they can be included in a heart healthy diet considering their cholesterol-lowering benefits.
Hot peppers are also known to help in preventing the contraction of arteries which helps maintain blood circulation to the heart. Additionally, capsaicin is used for inflammatory bowel disease and studies have shown that hot peppers can kill the bacteria that cause ulcers in the stomach.
Capsaicin was found to have some health benefits, one being the ability to cause cancer cells to self-destruct through aprocess known as apoptosis. It is understandable why serranos are gaining popularity considering how much value they add in terms of health.
While serranos still haven’t hit the popularity levels of jalapenos, more and more grocery stores in the US are stocking them, and their sales internationally are on the rise.
How to the Grow Serrano Pepper Plant
Growing Conditions for Serrano Peppers
Peppers thrive in sunny spots with well-drained, deep loamy soil. If your garden’s soil isn’t loamy, rich, and deep, augment it with approximately one inch of compost for every six inches of soil.
If you have previously grown hot peppers in your garden, try a new planting location every year. Doing so should help mitigate the lackluster performance we see from peppers planted in the same location year after year. In order to properly thrive, these crops need full sun, meaning at least 6 hours of direct sunlight a day.
Peppers do like organic matter in the soil, but be cautious when adding anything containing nitrogen in the garden for growing peppers because over-nitrogened soil will make your pepper plants grow too vigorously which will reduce their productivity and increase their vulnerability to pests and disease.
How to Plant Serrano Peppers
If the weather permits, try planting your serrano seedlings on a cloudy day, and make sure to do it after the last frost. Set the seedlings about 18 inches apart so that the each has enough space to grow. Be sure to soak them with water after planting.
Care of Serrano Peppers
Since peppers tend to a strong appetite when feeding, soil must be treated with a vegetable fertilizer for pepper plants. Towards planting, serrano tends to have increased appetite for food, therefore fertilizer needs to be applied monthly. This has to be done after every watering of the soil.
Ensure you frequently soak your pepper plants during the entire growing period. Deep watering every three to four days is more effective than light watering every day. Most of the time, checking the soil, especially during extremely hot days is a must.
If moisture is present approximately an inch and a half beneath the surface, that indicates additional deep watering is not yet necessary although the top layer may seem dry.
Adding a mulch layer aids in retaining soil moisture and maintaining temperature, but don’t do so until the soil is warm. Applying mulch to cooler soil restricts the growth of peppers.
Pepper plants may become laden with fruit, which causes the stems to bend unnaturally in the absence of additional support. To minimize the strain on stems feeling this slight pressure, secure the stems to stakes with old pantyhose.
Do not use twine or twist ties since they tend to strangle the stems even if left loosely tied, and the stems can grow into the ties to the point where they may break the stems completely.
There is no need to do pre-staking on each stem, as there are some branches that will not require support. All you need to do is monitor the plants to the most and control them when necessary.
Harvesting Serrano Peppers
Remove the early buds so your plants can send their energy to the growing of large fruit later on in the season. Harvest is possible quite early during the growing period where the peppers are immature and green or purple, but they tend to taste better as they ripen.
You can harvest the serranos when they are red, yellow or orange in color and when they are full-sized but green. During this stage, the serranos are ready to harvest. Remove the fruit from the stem using hand pruning as pulling them off can heavily damage the plant and prevent it from producing another set of peppers.
Serrano Pepper Pests and Diseases
Serrano and other peppers like growing in warm conditions, and for the most part they are carefree plants, however, there are a few exceptions to the norm. It is not as common to see pests and diseases in pepper gardens as compared to their relatives in nightshade family like tomatoes. However, some of the same issues can emerge that affect close relatives of salsa.
Employ good cultural practices such as crop rotation and intercropping. If you have a problem with burnt tips of leaves or barring of pepper plants, aim to control those problems first and you will have an easier time in dealing with other issues in your gardening ventures.
Make an effort to pull weeds, since they carry pests that can spread diseases and fungal infections. Do not work in the garden right after heavy rains.
Companion Planting Tips
Serranos are well-suited to the company of carrots, radishes, basil, beets, shrimps, tomatoes, garlic, onions, parsnips, and even parsley. However, make sure there are no kohlrabi or fennel because those are detrimental. These peppers love the company of other plants that are equally hot.
Just be sure to alter the location of your peppers each growing season for the best possible production.
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