1 comments about Chile Peppers (Brooklyn Botanic Garden All-Region Guide).

1. I bought this book used because I wanted to compare the BBG CHILE PEPPER book with other pepper books and the price was right. I have a confession. I never eat peppers. I can grow anything that smacks of capsicum, but I don't even like the smell of green peppers on pizza. Okay, I make chili and do it the right way with several tablespoons of ground chili pepper, and I eat plenty of Asian food including various dishes with pepper, and I love Salsa, but I avoid items on the menu with the little chili pepper (Szechewan, "hot" Thai) and I no longer eat Black Pepper because it makes me sneeze. My son-in-law pops whole peppers in his mouth - right off the plant, and the hotter the better. He scoffs at Scoville units, and he's teaching the bolder of my granddaughters to engage in the same crass behavior. I know that Capsicum helps relieve pain, so he should feel no pain this summer. I prefer my Capsicum in tablet form or as an ointment.
   
   I grow peppers because they are so pretty and easy to grow. I place them in clay pots and line the driveway. I take the tall purple and black varieties and lace the perennial beds. I use them as the "fill" in potted arrangements. Peppers make great accent plants, and they can handle drought in hot summer. In fact, they love drought. Apparently, the more drought the better the pepper. The BBG CHILE PEPPERS monograph includes a section on growing `Small Chiles and Ornamentals', but it's very short, lacks photos and is not terribly helpful for those who would like to enhance their garden plots. I found Rosilind Creasy's EDIBLE PEPPER GARDEN more helpful.
   
   The BBG CHILE PEPPER book is filled with recipes for main dishes, pepper dishes and salsas and vinegars, and shows you how roasted peppers should look before you whip them into a salsa.
   
   I like the book because it is short and to the point with lots of photos. As a gardener, I find it more cook book than anything else, although it includes the inevitable section on pests and diseases. I am always puzzled by this, because the least of my concerns with peppers are pests and diseases. In fact pepper can be used as an insect deterrant.

1 comments about Peppers: Vegetable and Spice Capsicums (Crop Production Science in Horticulture Series).

1. I developed an obsession with growing peppers over the last year and I have found this book to be very informative on this subject. This book is written for scientists but I believe anyone should be able to follow it pretty closely.

1 comments about The Pepper Lady's Pocket Pepper Primer.

1. A must for the dedicated Chile-Head. As well as the background and the variety classification of chile peppers, Jean's book also presents the reader with dozens of stunning photographs. Each is accompanied by details of shape, colour, size, heat levels and interesting remarks.

No comments about The Chile Chronicles: Tales of a New Mexico Harvest.

1 comments about Jane Pepper's Garden: Getting the Most Pleasure and Growing Results from Your Garden Every Month of the Year.

1. Jane Pepper has been writing a gardening column in the Philadelphia Inquirer for more years than I can remember, and for just that long, she has been part of my gardening life. Pepper has a way with words, and a way with plants, that make her columns a pleasure to read and very easy to understand, "Jane Pepper's Garden" is a treasure trove of her best advice.

   I am giving this book to several gardeners on my holiday list to tide them over the long winter months. It is such a pleasure to read, and written with such enthusiasm, that one starts daydreaming even on a snowy day: "Maybe I should start roses this year. Maybe I can really do it...I wonder if I should move my hostas?"

   Born in Scotland, Pepper retains that distinctly British no-nonsense voice. The book begins in the month of March, as she explains what can be done and should be done to prepare for the season ahead. It is like talking to a favorite aunt over tea, and one cannot help feeling inspired.

   Houseplants are not neglected in this book, and Pepper speaks of them with the same enjoyment that she does roses...and everything else.

   This book is a treasure. Do yourself a favor and buy it for yourself. Then, when the weather is at its bleakest, you can turn to "Aunt Jane" and talk gardens to your heart's content.

3 comments about Peppers: The Domesticated Capsicums, New Edition.

1. First published in 1984, Peppers is one of the most beautiful books about any food plant we've ever seen. Author Jean Andrews is not only the artist behind 34 full color plates of the world's capsicums, she is also a thorough historian of food whose work has influenced many books about capsicums that followed hers. Peppers is to the capsicum family what Redcliffe Salaman's The History and Social Influence of the Potato is to solanum tuberosum, with the bonus of color illustrations. Andrews' book explores the origins of the plant, its travels beyond South America, its biological and economic story, its multiple varieties, its most recent high tech implications, and ends with several recipes, and a photographic glossary of botanical terms. Any student of food plants will find repeated value in this book.



2. Andrews is an agent of the dominant culture. She homogenizes chiles and attributes Christopher Columbus for discovering them. In fact, the book is dedicated to this age of exploration tyrant. What a joke! She gives a nice little backstory about why chiles are referred to as peppers and how chiles are the number one condiment in the world.
   Wake up Andrews! Chile is not a condiment! It's a staple of various aboriginal cultures throughout the world: from Asia to the Americas. Andrews perpetuates the genocide of these cultures by degrading them to condiments! And this updated version of the book includes so-called new medicinal uses of chile. The aboriginal people of the world have been using chile for medicinal purposes for centuries upon centuries! So, what are we to do now? Attribute the medicinal discovery to Andrews, just as she attributed Columbus's "discovery"? Please. Orwell warned us that whoever controls the present now, controls the past. Therefore, the dominant culture can rewrite (continually) history as they see fit. Praising their alleged heroes for introducing "new" discoveries.



3. I bought this book as a chemist looking for information on the chilli pepper. I certainly found it. The book is exquisitely illustrated with numerous colour plates, photographs and drawings. No excuse for confusing your Habanero with your Pimento. It has also got a very detailed bibliography. In between the covers there is a detailed account of the history of peppers, their biology and their uses. The author belongs to the prevailing culture that dictates that chemical structures should not appear in a popular science text, but that's my only criticism. I look forward to reading it again.

3 comments about Peppers of the World: An Identification Guide.

1. After reading "The Pepper Garden" also by Dewitt and Bosland I bought "Peppers of the World: An Identification Guide". The book gives you a very good overall view of the whole pepper family on the planet. Nice photos and good descriptions. However two things are wrong.

   First: For each pepper the authors should also have included a photo of the plant and the flower. Without that identification in many cases is almost impossible as many pods resemble each other very much indeed.

   Second: The metric conversion chart in the back of the book is wrong. Centimeters and inches must have changed places. The way it is now a 10 inch pepper like for instance Numex Big Jim is about the lenght of a thumb!! I dont think New Mexican commercial growers would like that. Keep that in mind if the publishers are contemplating a new edition.

   But otherwise - thanks for a great book which is a must for all pepper fans.




2. I have recently become interested in peppers and chilis of all types, and my thirst for knowledge on the subject led me to buy books. I have bought some 10 books on the subject, and although other books may appear more glossy and have more 'tales' or recipes (this book has neither, nor is it intended as such), this book has a wealth of colour pictures of just about every conceivable chili. Whilst not claiming to have all varieties within it, it gives a good, structured view on the pepper (capsicum) families and provides a quick and easy reference for identification and description of most varieties. Of all the books I have this is always the first I turn to for information. Well worth the money.



3. David Dewitt has put out several useful books on peppers. This guide is useful to identify the many many varities and cultivars of hot peppers. While you may not be able to find the seeds to all those cultivars, the book is very useful and the color photos are excellent. Sections divide the different classifications of peppers. If you are into peppers this book may be a necessary reference on your shelf. Also usefuls is Dewitt's book The Pepper Garden.

4 comments about Edible Pepper Garden, The (The Edible Garden Series).

1. As a do-it-yourselfer of limited skill, I'm always excited to see Ros Creasy come out with a new book. She covers a lot of ground (no pun intended) in how to use peppers as a decorative plant as well as one to bring into the kitchen. Bravo!



2. I have a hugh selection of pepper books, this is one of the best. Great illustrations, good listing of pepper types and sources, and great, yet simple receipes. If you grow peppers , as I do, the section on gardening is straight forward. A hint, always grow larger types in a cage.



3. In THE EDIBLE PEPER GARDEN, Rosalind Creasy demonstrates a variety of ways to grow both sweet and hot peppers (beds along the driveway,in the flower bed next to the street or in containers). I very much appreciated some of her tips about pepper plants such as warning the reader that temperatures can be either too hot or too cool, especially for potted pepper plants, and that PH balanced soil is important for happy peppy plants. Apparently, not only can pepper fruits experience sunscald, the pepper plant roots can literally be cooked on the south side of the pot. And, pepper plants like soil on the sweet side.

   I knew very little about hot peppers before 2004 (I'm growing them for my parrots who likes them very much), but I found most of what I need to know in Creasy's book. This spring, I purchased six pepper plants from Seeds of Change, and promptly mixed them up when I repotted them. Creasy includes many great photos and a section with pictures with text descriptions of the main pepper plant categories, so thanks to her I think I've just about sorted them out. This book is not an encyclopedia however, and as a result of my carelessness, I am still trying to determine the identity of two of the plants. Type matters, apparently, as Creasy says some peppers are best harvested green while others should be allowed to ripen. If you are interested in growing peppers in pots or garden beds, this is a great place for the novice to begin.




4. The author never really focusses on a paricular audience. She speaks to those who have never grown peppers, but then provides an encyclopedia of varieties which should be grown. Unfortunately, seed and plant sources for many of the varieties are not provided. This is dissapointing, and makes me suspect of the book. Describing a fantastic variety in detail, but not providing a source to obtain it, is wrong. I could write lots of books like that.
   Recipes look good.

3 comments about The Pepper Garden.

1. A comprehensive tool for the beginner chile pepper grower and a great reference manual for the more experienced. This book walks a novice through the entire growing process; from seed propagation techniques to garden layout. Covers the history of chile peppers from the beginning of recorded history (well, at least close) to present day commercial and home growing operations. No pepper afficianado should be without this manual. Some full color illustrations, many useful line drawings, and a bushel basket full of additional pepper seed sources.



2. The Pepper Garden provides everyone with a vast collection of information ranging from the history of peppers to the pests and diseases that attack them. Unfortunatly, the book falls short in providing the reader with in-depth information on growing peppers during the most crucial stage; seeds and germination. Overall, the book is a must-have reference for all gardeners interested in "growing fire"...



3. An exceptionally well written book. Dr. Bosland from NMSU, Las Cruces is recognized as one of the top pepper researchers in the country (along with Molly Kyle at Cornell). Dave DeWitt adds his ineffable brand of humor to the thoroughly readable text. This book is not as technical as some other books written for the hobbyist or small scale farmer, but it covers a wide range of topics concerning pepper production. I own a number of books about vegetable production in general and peppers in particular; this book is one of my favorites. In addition, some excellent books about pepper pathogens are offered by the AVRDC in Taiwan.

1 comments about Grow the Best Peppers: Storey Country Wisdom Bulletin A-138 (Storey Publishing Bulletin ; a-138).

1. Great little pamphlet. Quick to read, a lot of helpful information that I didn't find elsewhere in larger gardening volumes. Highly recommended.