Capsicum annuum (88 days) Open-pollinated. Not for the “chickenhearted,” this rare Pennsylvania Dutch heirloom packs considerable heat. Its name aptly describes the size and shape of its ¾ x1½" pendent peppers that taper to a blunt point and are covered with tiny bumps and wrinkles, like chicken hearts. Ripening from green to red, the tough skins when cut open emit a fruity redolence and reveal a thick juicy flesh. Rarely eaten raw, the peppers were traditionally used for pickling and pepper vinegar. Nearly as hot as habaneros, they do not require quite as long a season, nor are they as picky in cool environments. Plus they are compact enough to grow in a pot to bring inside for the winter. Hinkelhatz has boarded Slow Food’s Ark of Taste. Thank you, Amy LeBlanc, for bringing it to our attention. About 125,000 Scovilles. ①BACK!
Chiles have been consumed in Mexico for more than 5,000 years. In the U.S. hot peppers have increased dramatically in popularity.
Capsaicin compounds cause most of the heat in peppers. Warm nighttime temperatures stimulate maximum development of capsaicins and increase pungency levels. Pungency is expressed in Scoville units, after Wilbur Scoville, an Englishman who devised the method used for eighty years to measure the heat in peppers.
Some Scoville ratings for general categories are:
Bell, Banana and Pimiento peppers 0
Habanada 0
Beaver Dam <1k
Ancho, Poblano 1–2k
Anaheim ~1–2.5k
Czech Black 2–5k
Fireball 2.5–5k
Jaluv an Attitude 2.5–5k
LRN Cayenne 3.5–5k
Early Jalapeño 4–6k
Hungarian Hot Wax 5–10k
Hot Portugal 5–30k
Fish 5–30k
Bulgarian Carrot 5–30k
Thai Hot 25–40k
Ho Chi Minh ~30k
Matchbox 30–50k
Hinkelhatz ~125k
Habanero 200–325k
self defense pepper spray 2–3M
police-grade pepper spray 5.3M
straight capsaicin 15–16M.
If you overdose on hot peppers, plain carbs like bread, rice or tortillas are better than any liquid at removing the heat from your mouth. Handle hot peppers with caution; capsaicin is highly alkaloid and can burn skin.
Peppers
Days to full-color maturity are from transplanting date.
Capsicum comes from the Greek kapto which means ‘bite.’
Culture: Start indoors in March or April. Minimum germination soil temperature 60°, optimal range 68-95°. Set out in June. Very tender, will not tolerate frost, dislike wind, will not set fruit in cold or extremely hot temperatures or in drought conditions. Black plastic highly recommended. Row cover improves fruit set in windy spots. Pick first green peppers when they reach full size to increase total yield significantly. Green peppers, though edible, are not ripe. Peppers ripen to red, yellow, orange, etc.
Saving Seed: Saving pepper seed is easy! Remove core of the fully ripe pepper (usually red or orange) and dry on a coffee filter. When dry, rake seeds off the core with a butter knife. To ensure true-to-type seed, grow open- pollinated varieties and separate by 30 feet. Use only the first fruits for seed; allow only 3–4 fruits per plant to grow and remove all others. Fewer fruits = larger seeds = greater seed viability. Later fruits often have germination rates of only 60%.
Diseases:
BLS: Bacterial Leaf Spot
CMV: Cucumber Mosaic Virus
TMV: Tobacco Mosaic Virus
Germination Testing
For the latest results of our germination tests, please see the germination page.
Our Seeds are Non-GMO
All of our seeds are non-GMO, and free of neonicotinoids and fungicides. Fedco is one of the original companies to sign the Safe Seed Pledge.
This item is certified organic