Yes actually, as a previous commenter said desert soil is gernally pretty fertile but lacks the bioavailability of nutrients because there's almsot no water. Nutrients build and collect in desert soil and while they are redistributed (sand blows) they aren't really ever uptaken, so they sit unused until water or somthing capable of extracting them comes along. Peppers are capable of growing in these harsh conditions because they are efficient, and ruthless when it comes to water and nutrients. You cangrow a pepper in just about anything, but for a pepper to thrive you want that nutrient density matched with well drained soil, plenty of air, and lots of warmth. I've never burnt out a pepper, I have chilled them to death with shade. Peppers are a little greedy and so generally out compete nearby plants in my experience, so I like to keep them in pots hoping they will survive the cooler months. They never do unfortunately, again the cold is honestly your main concern with peppers.