NuMex Joe E Parker

NuMex Joe E. Parker

NuMex Joe E. Parker is a mild New Mexican chile with thick-walled peppers that usually reach 6 to 8 inches long. Fruit start green and eventually ripen red.

Heat is pretty mild, usually around 500 to 2,500 SHU. Enough to notice, but nothing crazy.

A New Mexico Classic

Joe E. Parker was selected from the New Mexico 6-4 line and released in 1990. It was named after a New Mexico State University student who helped with the breeding work.

Plants have dense foliage and produce big, meaty peppers with thick, juicy walls. These are really good roasting peppers. Also great for stuffing, grilling, and canning.

Uses and Growing

Use them green or let them ripen red for a sweeter flavor. They fit right into New Mexican and Southwestern cooking and are especially useful when you want a larger chile without much heat.

Plants like sun, warmth, and regular watering. Nothing unusual there in comparison to any other pepper.  Start seeds in a high quality seed starting medium, a little damp, not soaked.  Provide a warm environment (75-90F) for seeds to germinate. Do your final transplant when the nighttime temps are mostly above 55F. Technically you could plant them once the threat of frost has passed.  Sounds counterintuitive, but, planting later will result in healthier plants that will produce sooner. Cold nights in the upper 30s and 40s stunts young plants.

And yes, an older version of this description said they were good for “snuggling.” Still not recommended. Kudos to anyone who actually reads all the way down here.

We give the flavor an A+.