The vegetable that disorientated Columbus and is still embroiled in an unusual misunderstanding

Before we get to the Sunday salad, that chili It went through thousands of years of history and domestication.

His ancestry – that of Capsicum annuum– accompanies civilizations before the Inca Empire and his name still preserves traces of these roads: chili in Nahuatl, chili in Taino.

Then, of course, Columbus appeared, mistook power for kinship, and baptized him pepperconvinced that he had found the male version of Pepper.

This journey full of departures, failed arrivals and cultural appropriations today leads to one simple fact: this chili It is one of the most valued vegetables that can be grown in Germany Garden Argentinian.

Gabriela Escrivá, a student of home cultivation, explains how it deserves treatment: “You have to offer it the minimum conditions: warmth, living soil and a patient hand.”

Planting is a ritual that defines the horticultural year: Early spring, light seedbed, appropriate temperature. When the seedlings are eight centimeters tall, the bell sounds: a gesture that seems bureaucratic at first glance, but which determines their fate.

The next step will take place if the weather cooperates. Only then that chili enters the garden. The distance is crucial: fifty centimeters between plants This is not a capricious academic requirement, but rather the space they need to develop branches without competing for light or air.

In this scenario, the tutor appears as a secondary but essential character. “The weight of the fruit and the wind can break young stems, which are deceptively fragile,” explains Escrivá.

Humidity is a separate chapter. The chili needs frequent watering but hates wet soil..

That’s why compost – between three and five liters per square meter – is a perfect ally: it creates structure, activates microorganisms and regulates air humidity.

“A straw cover over this compost protects the soil, moderates the temperature and protects the superficial roots. which account for a large part of the plant’s vitality,” says Escrivá.

And in a plot where nothing exists in solitude, Basil appears: companion, protector, strategic neighbor of the chili. “One basil plant for every four or five chili peppers is a perfect combination – says Escrivá –. “They get rid of aphids without chemicals and build up a lively defense.”

The end result, whether in a salad or in homemade jam, is just an anecdote. The really fascinating thing about it is the cultivation Chili peppersWe belong to an ancient lineage that continues to mutate, adapt, and survive late frosts and extreme summers.