Today we’d like to introduce you to Thera Snyder
Hi Thera, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
In 2020, my parents graciously afforded us the opportunity to follow our dreams, turning family land into what we now refer to as our Pepperdise. Moving from Jacksonville, FL where Nick and I met, chased spicy concoctions, and had backyard hot pepper gardens, we dove head first into farming.
After trying our hand with the 2018 Farm Bill, we decided to go in a different direction in 2021. Our love for hot peppers and spicy foods gave us the idea to plant 1,500 hot pepper plants out in one of our fields. During this growing season we had 2 ideas for our harvest: freeze drying peppers to make hot pepper powders and making hot pepper infused salts, as we’ve previously experimented with both for our own personal use. Once August 2021 came, we were drowning in pounds and pounds of hot peppers. Wondering what else we could do with our harvest, we decided to contact a couple of farmers markets to see if there would be any interest in the community for our fresh superhot peppers and the products we were making. We got our first shot with the Healthy New Albany Farmers Market. Getting everything we thought we may need together and setting up for our very first market was exhilarating, and it surpassed any and all expectations. We had found our people and our community. This first market pushed us forward and gave us the confidence we needed to excel in growing hot peppers and producing the spiciest products. We now have over 40 varieties of freeze dried hot pepper powders, infused salts, several spicy dry rubs, a variety of hot honey, from the apiary we added to our farm, hot pepper candied pecans and walnuts, and a couple of new products to look forward to this year.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Our first year of 1,500 plants gave us one of our biggest lessons as none of the seeds we ordered matched the plants we grew. We were baptized by fire figuratively and literally as we had to eat our way through the identification process.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We specialize in superhot peppers and love connecting with our community and fellow chili heads. We’ve been coined the “pepper people” by a few folks around town and we’re ok with it. We plant our peppers from seed in February of each year. In the spring we sell live plants to those who like to grow their own. We hand plant each pepper in our raised rows by June. Once our peppers start showing their angry little faces in August, we begin harvesting and selling fresh hot peppers from our farm, online, and at our markets. In between planting and growing we focus on producing our products which are available year-round. What sets us apart from others is the freeze drying process of our pepper powders rather than traditional dehydrating as freeze drying gives a fresher, more flavorful product. We are working to become a one-stop-hot-pepper-shop! We are most proud of ourselves, as my husband likes to refer to us as the tag team champs of the world.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
We love playing pickleball. As busy as our schedule keeps us, finding a way to play pickleball is mandatory.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ohiyopepperco.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ohiyopepperco/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ohiyopepperco/
Image Credits
Laura Grace Photography
