Ep. 26 Tomato vs. Pepper Part I

In this shady plant face-off, Sean and Erin explore two of the gardening world’s favourite nightshades: tomatoes and peppers. Both are members of the family Solanaceae, and have plenty of traits in common, so rather than splitting the episode in half our two hosts try a livelier approach this week, passing the stage back and forth to talk about their chosen plant’s botany, etymology, growing habits, and pest and disease management. Prepare for a wealth of interesting information (did you know the Spanish word for tomato references an old belief in their aphrodisiac qualities?) alongside practical gardening tips (make sure you don’t feed your pepper plant too late in the season).

And what about our other usual categories of cultural history, culinary and medical uses, and fascinating facts? Well, there’s just so much to say about these delicious horticultural staples that you’ll have to tune in next week to hear the rest.

Comments? Feedback? Want your garden question to be featured in a future Q&A segment? Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon.

Discord: https://discord.gg/K6wF9dY4Ja

Bluesky: @plantsalwayswin.com

TikTok: @plantsalwayswinpodcast

YouTube: @plantsalwayswinpodcast

Website: www.plantsalwayswin.com

Credits

Website Design and Illustration by Sophia Alladin

Intro and Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/when-my-ukulele-plays

License code: GWOIMMBAS15FG6PH

Citations

Tomato overview and etymology

Solanum lycopersicum (Tomato, Tomatoes). (n.d.). North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/solanum-lycopersicum/#:~:text=The%20genus%20name%2C%20Solanum%2C%20is,when%20they%20came%20to%20Europe

A History of Tomatoes

The University of Vermont. (n.d.). A History of Tomatoes. University of Vermont Extension. https://www.uvm.edu/extension/news/history-tomatoes#:~:text=Tomatoes%20have%20undergone%20centuries%20of,Andes%20of%20western%20South%20America

Heirloom Vegetables

Heirloom vegetables. (n.d.). Wisconsin Horticulture. https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/heirloom-vegetables/

Adventitious Roots on Tomatoes

Grant, A. (2021, June 19). Bumpy tomato stems: Learn about white growths on tomato plants. Gardening Know How. https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/tomato/white-growths-on-tomato-plants.htm

Carnivorous Tomatoes!

Chase, M. W., Christenhusz, M. J. M., Sanders, D., & Fay, M. F. (2009). Murderous plants: Victorian Gothic, Darwin and modern insights into vegetable carnivory. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 161(4), 329–356. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.01014.x

Bell pepper overview

Capsicum annuum Grossum Group (Bell Pepper, Green Pepper, Red Pepper, Sweet Pepper). (n.d.). North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. Retrieved June 2, 2025, from https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/capsicum-annuum-grossum-group/#:~:text=The%20Grossum%20Group%20of%20this,plant%20grows%20upright%20and%20bushy.

Hot pepper overview

Capsicum frutescens (Bird Pepper, Capsicum, Hot Pepper, Tabasco Pepper). (n.d.). North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. Retrieved June 4, 2025, from https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/capsicum-frutescens/

Growing peppers in Canada

College of Agriculture and Bioresources. (n.d.). Peppers. Gardening at USASK. Retrieved June 2, 2025, from https://gardening.usask.ca/gardening-advice/gardenline-nested-pages/food-plant-pages/vegetables/peppers.php

Planting conditions for peppers: home gardeners

Jeavons, J. (2012). How to Grow More Vegetables, eighth edition: (and Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Grains, and Other Crops) Than You Ever Thought Possible on Less Land Than You Can Imagine (8th ed.). Random House Digital, Inc.

Growing peppers profitably as a market gardener

Fortier, J., & Bilodeau, M. (2014). The market gardener: A Successful Grower’s Handbook for Small-scale Organic Farming. New Society Publishers.

Toxicity of capsaicin

Rohrig, B. (2013). Hot peppers: Muy caliente! In Chemmatters. American Chemical Society. https://www.acs.org/chemmatters

Timestamps

00:12 Introduction

01:08 What's Growing On: Erin's doing EVERYTHING

01:35 What's Growing On: Sean's Grafting, Chickens, and Late Frosts

03:40 Canada in June: A Compressed Garden Season

05:24 Water Break: Fruits vs. Vegetables

07:38 Botanical Background: Solanaceae, the Nightshade Family

10:50 Tomato Taxonomy

11:53 The Native Range of Tomatoes

14:07 Hot Peppers, Bell Peppers, and Cayenne Pepper

16:37 Aztec Empire Tangent

18:19 Etymology and Black Pepper vs. Capsicum Peppers

20:03 Caring for Tomatoes

22:36 How Deep do you Plant Your Tomato?

24:59 Starting Tomatoes from Seed

26:56 Soil and Fertilization for Tomatoes

29:53 Grafting Tomatoes

31:35 Tomato Toxins

34:33 How Peppers Grow

37:40 Don't Fertilize Peppers too Late

39:35 Should You Top Your Pepper Plants?

42:16 How Market Gardeners Grow Peppers

43:30 Irrigation and Blossom-End Rot

45:26 Pests and Diseases of Peppers

46:50 Pests and Diseases of Tomatoes

52:05 How to Mitigate Pests and Disease

59:41 Outro

Plants Always Win is a podcast where two Ontario gardeners dive down plant-fact rabbit-holes, answer audience questions, interview intriguing guests, and compete to bring you the most interesting stories and information. We care about ecologically sound gardening, strong human communities, and up-to-date science.

• No. of episodes: 26
• Latest episode: 2025-06-12
• Leisure Science Home & Garden Nature

Where can you listen?