The Complete Chilli Pepper Book: A Gardener's Guide to Choosing, Growing, Preserving, and Cooking [Hardcover]

I have recently got into growing my own Chillies and this book has been a great help. I wanted something to guide me through the growing process and this book certainly does that. As well as lots of detailed information it has many great photographs too. To top it off it also gives some great recipes with drying and preserving instructions. So you really have got everything from start to finish in one book.

The content is really interesting and I read it right through in a couple of sessions. I'll also continue dipping into it many more times and using it as a reference.

budding(sorry!)gardeners interested in growing chillies will benefit from the information in this book, although it's slanted more towards those in the US than the UK.there's a good section on identifying different pods, but i'd have liked more variety, not just types more common in the USA/New Mexico.
still a good addition to your bookshelves, but try to get it as cheaply as possible!

The major regret I have is that I didn't buy this book BEFORE buying my chile pepper seeds. It is so jam packed with information about chile peppers that it even helps you decide on a more informed basis which peppers to choose for your garden. I am still happy with the peppers I have chosen to grow, but I will be buying other varieties now because of what I learned so far. For example, I'm thinking of planting a couple of ornamental peppers to beauty up the place and give the birds something to nibble on and leave my other peppers alone.

I have done some extensive researching about chile peppers on the internet before buying this book and found some contradictory information here and there which kind of left me confused. Having one reliable source like this book around is really great, as it addresses a myriad of topics relating to chile peppers. However, I did find that the majority of the information I already knew about the subject from searching the net, was exactly the same as in the book, plus there are some websites that the book refers to that offer more advice and tips regarding specific areas.

The author seems to have a very close association with The Chile Pepper Institute in New Mexico, which is considered like the Oxford of chile pepper research. Having ordered my seeds from that same institute, I noticed that one of the authors was talking about each and every type of chile pepper that they offer (plus a couple that they don't), which is an advantage if you plan on growing your own peppers since you can directly look it up in the book, which gives more details about each type of pepper than the website. However, the Authors have not included many other types of chile peppers and that does prove a bit disappointing considering it is "the complete" guide.

If you have the slightest interest in chile peppers or are curious about growing them, then this book will take you to the next level. However, for the average gardener, like myself, the book can get a bit too technical, especially in the beginning where it discusses cultivation, but ultimately, it doesn't hurt to go through it and gain some knowledge. The book also contains some recipes and uses for chile peppers, in addition to an entire section on diseases that affect chile peppers and how to treat or avoid each type. I found the section on pests and diseases very helpfull especially when I had to fight off a serious aphid infestation on one of my Spanish Piquillo plants! Also, the preserving section has given me great ideas on how to use peppers and preserve them... I even go out and buy peppers in bulk so that I can preserve them in different ways.

The one topic that the book address ineffectively was under the preservation of chile peppers where it describes how to make wreaths, it is not illustrated which makes it almost impossible to do yourself! That was one of the major disappointments for me in this book. I also hoped that the book would shed some light on using liquid tomato food at half concentration to feed the chile plants, as suggested by several websites, but unfortunately it does not. But I have later found out that you can use it that way and it works wonderfully for chile peppers or any other liquid NPK fertilizer will do just fine.

The book has been a real attention grabber for me and I have been hardly been able to put it down and I read through it from cover to cover in a breeze, probably will over and over again. Overall, it is a valuable reference book that every chilehead must have handy!

October 2011 Update:
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Last year I have grown the following pepers with success:
- Black Cuban/Prince
- Spanish Piquillo
- Tabasco
- Caribbean Red Habanero
- de Arbol

I currently have a new tabasco plant growing in the office as well... I find the heat in tabasco pepers just right! Habaneros are too much!