The Moore’s Produce stall at the N.C. State Farmers Market has become known for its vibrant array of many different peppers – from sweet and mild to super hot. Those peppers weren’t part of the original plan though. It’s been a colorful and distinctive addition that seems to amaze many of the farmers market customers.
“People ask us all the time, ‘where did you ship these in from?’ because they’re so exotic looking they don’t realize that they are actually grown in North Carolina,” said Stephanie Moore, the wife of Ronnie Moore who started the produce business with his brother.
The origin of Moore’s Produce at the farmers market goes back many years before peppers were part of the offerings. Ronnie and his brother sold only cantaloupes and watermelons seasonally at the former State Farmers Market location. When the market moved to its current location, they continued to sell cantaloupes and watermelons along with other summer-season produce. About 15 years ago they became a year-round vendor after expanding into spring and fall crops.
Mild and sweet peppers such as basic jalapeño and bell peppers were part of the offerings back when Moore’s Produce was only at the market seasonally. Then about ten years ago, Stephanie introduced hot peppers such as habaneros and ghost peppers and a few “super-hot” peppers.
“But those weren’t as hot as what I realize was out there then,” Stephanie said. “Everybody wanted hotter, and so each year I started adding more and more varieties. Then I got introduced to the breeders of the Carolina Reaper – the hottest one, the one highest on the Scoville scale.”
Those breeders were the folks at Pepper Joe’s in South Carolina. From there, Stephanie has expanded more and more because Pepper Joe’s has so many varieties available to grow. With trial and error on growing the varieties, she, Ronnie and their workers have found a lot of success with which one grow well at their farm in southern Johnston County outside Newton Grove.
“It seems like every year, I do get more and more varieties,” Stephanie said. “The last three or four years, it’s kind of been a running joke with my husband and some of the workers. They’re like, you’ve got to start taking off a pepper when you add a new one,’ because they’re getting more and more, and they’re like, ‘I don’t care what you add new, but you’ve got take something off.’ I always tell them I’m going to, but I never do, and so we just keep expanding.”
When it comes to growing super-hot peppers, Stephanie said she sticks to getting seeds from just a couple sources. In addition to Pepper Joe’s, she gets a few varieties from Tyler Farms in California. Hot peppers can also be a bit finicky when it comes to germination in North Carolina. The super-hot peppers often won’t germinate and start growing if the soil temperature drops below a certain level. So when they start the season in February by planting seeds in the greenhouse, they sometimes need to add warm water to keep the soil temperature in the seed trays warm enough. The peppers that start in the greenhouse won’t be transplanted to fields until mid-April, and it’s not until May that some sweet and mild peppers are ready to harvest. The hotter peppers take longer to mature.
“It’s such a time-consuming process to ever get the pepper on the shelf to sell. That’s the hardest part about growing them in North Carolina because it’s such a short season to sell them,’ Stephanie said. “It takes twice as long to grow them out and get them produced as we have them for sell. We don’t start picking the hot peppers until like mid-July or August. They like [the weather] hot.”
She believes that’s why many people are surprised to find out they’re grown here in North Carolina. Their success shows that it’s possible. The season for the super-hot peppers is just shorter here than it would be in warmer places. So she’s sure to point out to people that the peppers are only available for a certain amount of time each year.
The popularity of the peppers has made the extra effort and the short selling season worth it though. Some customers buy them just for the novelty, while others have sought out the specialty peppers, and some people become loyal customers.
“Some people would buy them just because they were so cool looking and so different. They didn’t even know what they were going to do with them,” Stephanie said. “But I’d have to warn them: ‘Now, you don’t play around with these peppers. This heat is extreme. “I mean, we have warning signs that say ‘Don’t let your children touch.’
“The color and the differentness of them is, I think, is what attracts people. And also it’s a hard thing to find. It’s not like you can walk in the grocery store and find some of the peppers we grow. That’s what I like to grow. I like to be outside the box a little bit.”
The peppers have also pulled Stephanie outside of the box a bit when it comes to eating peppers. She never thought she’d try some of the peppers she has now tasted, but now she’s sold on how the peppers add nice flavors to dishes without being overbearing.
“There’s so many peppers out there that have a good flavor with heat, but when it’s mixed with the right other ingredients, it’s just so good,” Stephanie said. “That’s one thing I’ve learned. I never thought I could eat anything hot, but now I have eaten a lot of different spices and recipes – things made out of it – that cooked with the right thing, is really good.”