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Posted by: John_Hamilton on 06/19/2012 10:14 AM
Updated by: John_Hamilton on 06/19/2012 10:16 AM
Expires: 01/01/2017 12:00 AM
:
Black Pepper, Black Gold...Grow Your Own with Kirk's Hydro
San Andreas, CA...Black pepper seems common to us now. It's the familiar spice in the shaker next to the salt. It wasn't always that way. Throughout most of human history, it was so rare and desirable it was known as 'black gold.' Columbus was looking for a quick route to tropical India where black pepper was grown when he famously got lost and landed in North America. Not only was he confused about his location, he confused language a bit, too. He called New World chiles 'peppers' because their fruity heat made him think they must be related to the the black pepper he had set sail to find. (They aren't related, though. The small, round black, green and white peppercorns used as a cooking spice are from the Piper species of plants. Bell peppers and chiles are from the Capsicum species.)...
The leaves of the perennial black pepper vine are very attractive. Heart-shaped when young, they are quilted and have a pleasing emerald green color. Like many plants from the tropics, they like to grow in bright shade or gentle morning sun in a humid atmosphere.
I have read that they can be planted outdoors in U.S. zone 9 (which includes Calaveras and Amador County) but I am skeptical. Our hot, dry summer winds don't have the moisture black pepper plants crave, though this could be solved by planting in a sheltered spot and giving them frequent mistings. Winter cold is more of a challenge. In theory, they will die back to the roots once frost arrives and will return with warming spring weather. I'd say try them outdoors if you're a risk taker. You are more sure of success if you plant them in containers and bring them inside as soon as the weather threatens to turn cold in the fall. Or you can grow them in a greenhouse or near a window where they never face frost or snow. Our seedling stock is growing by a sunny window with bright, diffused light and seem very happy about it.
They can be grown as small, weak-stemmed shrubs but they really want support so they can climb. Clever commercial growers in India grow them up the tall, straight trunks of palm trees but black pepper is equally happy climbing a mesh trellis or a moss-wrapped pole. Though they are difficult to start from seed, they are easily propagated from cuttings. In fact, if they trail along the ground, they will root anywhere the vine keeps contact with warm moist earth.
When the vine is about three-years old it will begin to flower and fruit. The pepper flowers are self-pollinating and the round peppercorns follow in grape-like clusters that are hand-picked, even in commercial operations. They are harvested when an immature green, then dried in the sun until they become the wrinkled black spheres we're used to seeing in the spice aisle of the grocery store.
They can certainly be grown in containers using a rich, slightly acid potting soil. We don't know if they can be grown hydroponically. Despite their high-value fruit, so far they are only grown commercially outdoors in tropical areas like India, Viet Nam, Bali and the Philippines. So we're going to experiment at Kirk's Hydro and try one vine in a hydroponics system. We suspect it will do well since they like moist but not boggy soil that dries out a little between waterings, and plants with those requirements usually thrive in an ebb-and-flow hydroponics system. We'll see. We'll have our Pepper Experiment set up as a demonstration so you'll know how fast it grows there just as soon as we do!
Piper nigrum plants are hard to find in the U.S. We spent considerable time searching before we finally found a small nursery in Florida which supplied us with a limited number of seedlings. They report they find it very easy to grow as an indoor plant and so far that matches our experience, too. So if you'd like to do some experimenting on your own with this venerable spice, visit soon before they're all gone!
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