Hot stuff.

While I have for some reason never had success growing bell peppers in my backyard garden, we always have a large crop of hot peppers.  Last year we did banana peppers, and the year before we grew green jalapenos.  This year we are growing red cayenne peppers.

These are great to add to dishes for a little heat, and also to dry and grind up - in that form, we add them to chili frequently.  In the past, when we've had a big surplus, we've chopped them up and either scattered them over our plants or made them into a liquid that we can spray to protect from pests (this has had mixed results, but isn't too labor intensive and doesn't cost anything, so we continue to try).  We only have one red one so far, but there are more on the way...

I personally find it fascinating how they go from green to such a vibrant red.  Very easy to tell when these are ready for picking!