HotPepperIndex
Capsicum annuum

NuMex Joe E. Parker

Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States
Mild
Also known asJoe E. Parker · New Mexico Joe Parker
Scoville
0SHU
Heat0%
500–3k SHU · HortScience 1993 paper and commercial seed catalogs

NuMex Joe E. Parker is a mild Anaheim-type chile developed at New Mexico State University. It produces thick-walled, uniform 6-8 inch pods with rich flavor, ideal for roasting, stuffing, and Southwestern dishes. Released in the early 1990s, it offers higher yields and better uniformity than New Mexico 6-4.

The NuMex Joe E. Parker is a standout New Mexican chile cultivar developed at New Mexico State University. It produces long, tapered pods 6 to 8 inches long and 1.5 to 2 inches wide with thick, meaty walls and few seeds. Fruits start vibrant green and ripen to deep red, delivering a mild heat of 500 to 2,500 Scoville Heat Units with an average around 800 SHU. Flavor is rich and earthy with no off-notes; red pods turn sweeter. Plants are highly productive, growing 24 to 30 inches tall with strong branching for heavy yields. Bred as an improvement on New Mexico 6-4 for thicker walls, higher green and red yields, and dual-purpose use. Excellent for roasting, chiles rellenos, canning whole, grilling, sauces, and fresh use in green chile recipes. Very reliable for home gardeners in the Southwest.

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Backstory

The NuMex Joe E. Parker chile was developed in 1993 at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico, by plant breeder Paul W. Bosland and team. It originated from a single-plant selection within an open-pollinated population of the 'New Mexico 6-4' variety. The cultivar was named in honor of Joe E. Parker, a 1950 NMSU graduate and longtime collaborator with the chile breeding program who assisted in its evaluation. It was bred for improved traits including thicker fruit walls, higher yields, greater uniformity, and dual-purpose use for both green and red chiles.

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Flavor

Rich, full-bodied earthy flavor with mild heat; red pods are sweeter.

earthyrichmildsweet when ripe

Culinary uses

roastingstuffingcanninggrillingsauceschiles rellenos

Q&A

Substitutions

New Mexico 6-4Big Jimstandard Anaheim

Related variants

Appearance

Color
green to red
Seeds
few
Shape
tapered Anaheim type
Walls
thick and meaty
Width
1.5-2 inches
Length
6-8 inches

Growing

Sun
full sun
Soil
well-drained fertile
Notes
Highly productive; start seeds indoors 8-10 weeks before last frost; frost sensitive annual
Water
moderate consistent
Harvest
green or red at 6-8 inches long
Spacing
18-24 inches
Plant width
20-25 inches
Plant height
24-30 inches
Days to maturity
70-80 from transplant

Origin detail

Region
New Mexico
Country
United States
Breeder
New Mexico State University (Paul W. Bosland)

Tags

mildanaheimnew-mexicoroastingstuffingcanningproductive

Sources

Huge shout-out to the breeders, growers, researchers, and seed savers linked below — their independent work is what lets us fact-check our own. Go visit them.

These references are used to verify what we publish — not as the source of the content itself. Seed catalogs, breeder pages, research papers, and cultivar databases let us cross-check every fact before it lands here. Open any card to read the original or dig deeper.

3 sources · 8 searches · Added May 13, 2026, 09:10 UTC
Origins
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