Our Sustainable Farm

The Chile Man offers a sustainable farm environment using organic growing methods in accordance with the holistic principles of nature. Double-digging, raised beds, no-till, mulch, companion planting, and more are used to enhance plant development, increase production, and prevent insect damage and disease. We use growing practices that are committed not only to providing high-quality food; such practices also help protect the environment and preserve our rural economy.

Our philosophy is to be stewards of the land in the most ecological way possible. We use farming methods that build the fertility of the soil, such as organic fertilizers and compost. Pest management is achieved through cultural practices and the application of compost and plant teas that strengthen each plant and increase plant resistance.

BioIntensive Growing

The Chile Man specializes in small-space growing, where we work with the land to increase production levels, without the time and expense of tilling large tracts of land. Though we live on 10 acres, we grow on just 2 ½ – yet, through sound soil management and innovative production techniques, we get yields of nearly 10x that of conventional agriculture.

Our biointensive farming methods - many of which are based on the work of John Jeavons and his text, How to Grow More Vegetables (Ten Speed Press) - help to bring the natural world into balance, and serve to minimize pest and disease problems. And by creating our own soil (we compost everything you would normally find in nature), we help to increase soil fertility, and add natural bacteria, fungi, and beneficial microorganisms to our growing areas.

Biointensive growing encompasses a variety of sustainable agricultural techniques which reach far beyond today’s organic farming to include companion planting, maintaining the balance of nature, and being good stewards of the land. In order to maintain a healthy growing environment, we use no synthetic chemicals as fertilizer, and no poisons of any kind - even “organic” poisons.

We also grow many other vegetables, fruits, flowers, and herbs, including basil, cilantro, parsley, oregano, feverfew, perennial sunflowers, coneflowers, yarrow, strawberries, gooseberries, elderberries, raspberries, and figs. In fact, we grow over 260 plant varieties, all designed to not only increase bio-diversity but to be used to supply food for our family, as dried ingredients in our everlasting wreaths, or to provide insect or disease protection for our cash crops.

The results are in the taste. Please try our all natural marinades and grilling sauces - and see why sauces and salsas from the Chile Man make anyone an instant success in the kitchen!

Pepper Varieties

There are thousands of varieties of peppers, many adapted to regional growth, but only five species. Most of the common peppers are placed in the Annuum species, which covers a broad range, from the non-pungent Bell to the pungent Jalapeno; the Frutescens, which is represented mainly by the Tabasco pepper; the Chinense, which includes the hottest of all peppers, the Habanero and the Red Savina; the Pubescens, which has the Andean Rocoto and the Serrano as its prototypes; and the Baccatum, which includes mainly the Peruvian and Bolivian Aji.

Each year, the Chile Man grows more than 70 kinds of chiles, including Afghan, Aji Habanero, Aji Limon, Anaheim, Ancho San Luis, Bulgarian Carrot, Caribbean Red (one of the hottest chiles in the world), Cayenne, Chile de Arbol, Datil and Congo Trinidad (both hotter than the Habanero), Czechoslovakian Black, Firecracker Piquin (the prettiest chile in the world, starting out purple and turning a fiery red), Louisiana Hot, Pili-Pili (from Africa), Red Squash, Sandia (great for stuffing), Scotch Bonnet, Serrano, Tabasco, Yatsafusa (from Japan), Red Savina (the hottest pepper in the world), and a few sweet varieties.

We also have a handful of special varieties, gathered in Asia for us by Shepherd Ogden, the founder of the best independent seed company in the U.S., The Cook’s Garden. Those include Bangkok Orange, Bangkok Red, Chinese Red Hot, and the Tears of Helena, a pendant bell-shaped pepper with a ton of heat!