Greetings Chile Lovers

Welcome to the world of chiles. When I started my business 18 years ago, I knew there were other chileheads across the US. What a pleasure it has been to discover so many of you share my passion. Food issues sparked much passion across the globe this year. I was busy doing interviews, giving talks and participating on panels addressing the issues of sustainable farming, eating local, and going green. Gardening instead of mowing turned into a popular lifestyle choice instead of an oddity. Welcome to my world! We've never done as many farm tours as we did last season and we enjoyed every single one. Although we saw many planting a garden for the first time, the interest in container gardening continues to grow. I grew many more varieties in the greenhouse to find those best suited for container growing. You will see these varieties marked with a chile pepper in the alphabetical listings.

The best sellers of the 2009 season were Piri Piri and Chilhuacle. I already have many orders on file for both of these this season so please order early if you are longing for these sauce and mole chiles. Week after week my phone rang and my email filled up with people looking for mole negro chiles. I was puzzled over the sudden clamoring demand until a customer said he was inspired by Rick Bayless on Top Chef Masters. Thank you Mr. Bayless and another good reason to watch Top Chef.

I prefer not to grow hybrids and favor the superior taste of open-pollinated varieties. Keeping heirloom seeds alive and viable is the key to preserving our biogenetic diversity. The flooding that wiped out my 1998 crop really drove home the point of how fragile an individual seed bank can be. Large commercial agricultural companies focus more and more on hybrids that reduce the varieties the home gardener can try, especially if they wish to try their hand at seed saving. With the controversy surrounding patented and bioengineered seed, I am more than ever committed to preserving and sharing chile seeds. Even though I have bred some of my own varieties, I would never dream of patenting them. Chiles are meant to be shared. Although I do not sell seeds, I am always willing to trade. If you are looking for a type of pepper or are fondly remembering a chile from a past family garden, please let me know. I will do my best to track it down and make it available to chile lovers everywhere.

My plants always have been and always will be grown naturally, without any chemicals or pesticides. No federal certification labelling program will change the way that I farm. We have a term in Indiana to describe agricultural products that are produced naturally and sustainably: Hoosierganic. When you see our Hoosierganic logo, you know you are purchasing a product that has been produced with methods to protect our environment and for future generations as well.

Chile names are very confusing and as varied as the chiles themselves. A chile that goes by one name in one country and a different name in another may still be the same chile. I have tried to list chiles under their most common name. Sometimes I receive unidentified and unnamed chile seeds. If I can not match them to a known chile, I take the liberty of making up my own name. If you grow one of my plants and it reminds you of something else, please let me know. Let's all help each other clear up some of this confusing chile nomenclature.

We also provide sweet peppers, tomato and tomatillo plants. There is nothing to compare with eating that first salsa fresh out of your own garden. Although we ship plants all over the country, we encourage people to stop by the greenhouse and pick up plants. Bloomington is a lovely place for a day trip and Terry and I especially enjoy meeting our customers face to face. Our chickens, Jacob sheep and Petey, our regal llama all love to have visitors. Just call or email when you would like to come and we will be sure to be here to greet you.

Here's to a good growing season!