Experimenting in Collective Pepper Growing
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Salem, Garnet, Zee, Quince, Macha and Remi these are some of the names of the hot peppers that were part of a breeding project at the Hudson Valley Farm Hub this year. While the peppers shared similarities including their variegated leaves, there were subtle differences—some were tall and lanky while others squat and stocky, some had deep purple leaves while others had stripes of white, green and purple hues.
The pepper breeding project is the brainchild of K Greene who leads the Seed Growing Program at the Farm Hub. The concept was inspired by the program’s goals of seed education and skill sharing. Seed Growing Program staff, including Dyami Soloviev and Adriana Yates, grew the peppers, all third generation crosses, in the greenhouse at the Farm Hub.
As the peppers grew, they were potted, given personal names, and showcased in conference rooms along with interactive activities. Staff also had the opportunity to bring one to their office. The educational activities were designed to have staff get to know the plants as individuals and learn more about pepper breeding, including exploring hand-pollination and understanding genotypes and phenotypes. The project concluded with an opportunity for staff to taste-test the peppers and rate them on scales of hotness and flavor.
“The purpose is really the educational piece. I want everyone to learn about pepper breeding and for everyone here, including staff who aren’t in the field, to be able to learn about and touch plants. This is creating an opportunity for people to learn more skills,” says Greene. “It’s a collective process,s and I think it’s exciting to have many different perspectives. Even vegetable growers don’t always know how varieties are bred.”
“Professional pepper breeding usually focuses on compartmentalized goals like ornamental, commercial agricultural, or culinary. In breeding the peppers, Greene highlights the goals of “bringing all these different types of breeding focuses together into one to see can we create a plant that is beautiful, delicious, productive, easy to harvest and a healthy plant. We are looking at what makes a good pepper plant for the Hudson Valley.” The bottom line? “I want peppers that people want to grow, eat, and love,” he says.
This autumn the peppers were harvested and the seeds that were cross pollinated were saved to be replanted in 2025. What is next for the pepper breeding project? There are hopes to share this emerging collective breeding method with other land-based organizations.
-Amy Wu