What Is Your Favorite Sweet Pepper?

wyanokie said:
Regarding low-heat Capsicum baccatums, I grew Aji Habanero quite a few years ago and it was very mild and had a nice, fruity, sweet flavor. They are not as large as bells, Jimmy Nardellos, etc., so be aware of that. Someone sent me seeds for a type called Aji Guyana this year, they are a little longer and are said to be quite spectacular with low heat. I'll keep you posted on that.

Someone mentioned Aji Dulce above, they're very good. They are synonymous with Aji Cachucha, if you ever come across those. They are in the Capsicum chinense species, which includes habaneros, scotch bonnet peppers, etc. Two other nice peppers in that species that have a nice habanero flavor but are sweet are Trinidad Perfume and Habanada.

If you go with Lesya, be aware that they are also regarded as a very good paprika pepper, if you happen to have a dehydrator.
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Last year was my first growing Lesya. I was very impressed but lost many due to pepper maggots. Now that I know what I’m dealing with I hope to get to eat many more of them
 
Late to this thread, but we’ve tried a bunch of different bells and California Wonder gave us the biggest yield so far and have had the best flavor (both with the green and red stages). Poblanos I think get grouped with the spicy peppers but have never found to be so and they grew great this last year and tasted really good in many dishes. Carmen and Shishitos are on our list to grow this year as well as Jimmy Nardello peppers.
 
The Fig Chronicles said:
Late to this thread, but we’ve tried a bunch of different bells and California Wonder gave us the biggest yield so far and have had the best flavor (both with the green and red stages). Poblanos I think get grouped with the spicy peppers but have never found to be so and they grew great this last year and tasted really good in many dishes. Carmen and Shishitos are on our list to grow this year as well as Jimmy Nardello peppers.
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Not that late. 🙂

Thanks for the recommendations!
 
Inflorescence said:
Thank you for the recommendations! I will definitely keep an eye out for those.

I did find Aji Cachucha from Baker Creek and ordered it, good to know it is the same as Aji Dulce!
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Let me know how you like it! They are really good pickled and on pizza.

BTW, you asked about a mild C. baccatum upthread. Another one (with a funny name) came to mind. I haven't grown this one but have read many good reviews of it over the years. I tend to lean heavily towards hot peppers so sweets are a bit of a blind spot, but this one is well-regarded among experienced growers: https://www.southernexposure.com/products/ubatuba-cambuci-spice-pepper
 
wyanokie said:
Let me know how you like it! They are really good pickled and on pizza.

BTW, you asked about a mild C. baccatum upthread. Another one (with a funny name) came to mind. I haven't grown this one but have read many good reviews of it over the years. I tend to lean heavily towards hot peppers so sweets are a bit of a blind spot, but this one is well-regarded among experienced growers: https://www.southernexposure.com/products/ubatuba-cambuci-spice-pepper
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Thanks, I’ll check it out!

I actually like hot peppers as well, for sauce and stuff. But I’m going to try to make a landrace sweet pepper variety starting this year. To do that, you need different shapes and colors of the same type of thing to get as much genetic diversity in there that you can manage for cross-pollination. I don’t think I can keep the hot peppers away far enough to prevent them from adding their pollen. So I’m kind of bummed about that because I would like to grow some of the hot ones too, haha.

But I’m also really excited for getting my own sweet pepper variety that will grow well in my area. I’m super curious what is going to come from this. But I figure starting with favorites will put some good genetics in there. Those that do landrace gardening seem really happy with the results.
 
TorontoJoe said:
A good, big sweet pepper is important for me.
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Thought of you when looking at seeds just now… Sweet, good flavor, thick-walled, up to a foot long, heavy crop, great yields, Italian…

store.experimentalfarmnetwork.org

'Holy Italian' Sweet Pepper

Capsicum annuum Origin: Carbondale, Colorado Improvement status: Cultivar Seeds per packet: ~30 Germination tested 12/2024: 95% Life cycle: Annual From Wild Mountain Seeds: "After the discovery of this extra-large deep-red Italian sweet pepper in our 2017 sweet pepper breeding plots, Casey...
store.experimentalfarmnetwork.org store.experimentalfarmnetwork.org


IMG_2913.jpeg
 
Inflorescence said:
Thought of you when looking at seeds just now… Sweet, good flavor, thick-walled, up to a foot long, heavy crop, great yields, Italian…

store.experimentalfarmnetwork.org

'Holy Italian' Sweet Pepper

Capsicum annuum Origin: Carbondale, Colorado Improvement status: Cultivar Seeds per packet: ~30 Germination tested 12/2024: 95% Life cycle: Annual From Wild Mountain Seeds: "After the discovery of this extra-large deep-red Italian sweet pepper in our 2017 sweet pepper breeding plots, Casey...
store.experimentalfarmnetwork.org store.experimentalfarmnetwork.org


View attachment 4612
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While I know peppers can outcross on their own. Will you need to do some hand pollination to insure the genetic spread for the landrace? We definitely are also going down the landrace gardening route here.
 
SpiritFarmVa said:
While I know peppers can outcross on their own. Will you need to do some hand pollination to insure the genetic spread for the landrace? We definitely are also going down the landrace gardening route here.
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I’ve been wondering that myself. The estimate is that about 10% of the peppers will cross on their own. I am going to plant them a little closer together than usual and fill the bed with them. I’m hoping that will up the percentage a little. Of course, if any are eliminated before they can flower because of pests/critters, it will reduce my chances and I may need to help out more then. I’m still doing some research on it though, so I’ll see if I find more input on it.

I’m crossing everything that I plant this year if possible. The tomatoes will have the same challenge as the peppers. But the cucumbers, melons, and squash should cross very nicely. Spinach is also supposed to cross quite well.

Have you seen this chart? Not sure if it helps any…

IMG_2904.jpeg
 
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Inflorescence said:
I’ve been wondering that myself. The estimate is that about 10% of the peppers will cross on their own. I am going to plant them a little closer together than usual and fill the bed with them. I’m hoping that will up the percentage a little. Of course, if any are eliminated before they can flower because of pests/critters, it will reduce my chances and I may need to help out more then. I’m still doing some research on it though, so I’ll see if I find more input on it.

I’m crossing everything that I plant this year if possible. The tomatoes will have the same challenge as the peppers. But the cucumbers, melons, and squash should cross very nicely. Spinach is also supposed to cross quite well.

Have you seen this chart? Not sure if it helps you any…

View attachment 4613
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I haven’t see that chart before. Thanks.

Supposedly potatoe leaf tomatoes outcross on there own better.
I think eggplants will pose the same challenges as peppers.
It will be interesting.
It seems like three years is the time it takes to really see the landrace gardening start coming in to its own.
 
SpiritFarmVa said:
I haven’t see that chart before. Thanks.

Supposedly potatoe leaf tomatoes outcross on there own better.
I think eggplants will pose the same challenges as peppers.
It will be interesting.
It seems like three years is the time it takes to really see the landrace gardening start coming in to its own.
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Yep, three years is it. This season will hopefully end with Grex seeds and next season should see improvement from those seeds. Next season will be interesting with the results!

What are you planning to landrace?
 
Inflorescence said:
Thought of you when looking at seeds just now… Sweet, good flavor, thick-walled, up to a foot long, heavy crop, great yields, Italian…

store.experimentalfarmnetwork.org

'Holy Italian' Sweet Pepper

Capsicum annuum Origin: Carbondale, Colorado Improvement status: Cultivar Seeds per packet: ~30 Germination tested 12/2024: 95% Life cycle: Annual From Wild Mountain Seeds: "After the discovery of this extra-large deep-red Italian sweet pepper in our 2017 sweet pepper breeding plots, Casey...
store.experimentalfarmnetwork.org store.experimentalfarmnetwork.org


View attachment 4612
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Wow! I immediately went to order a pack but stopped short when I arrived at the $20 shipping. They look awesome. Hopefully I can find them distributed more widely in the near future.
 
TorontoJoe said:
Wow! I immediately went to order a pack but stopped short when I arrived at the $20 shipping. They look awesome. Hopefully I can find them distributed more widely in the near future.
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$20 shipping?! Whoa… Okay, there’s gotta be a cheaper way to get those to you.
 
Inflorescence said:
Yep, three years is it. This season will hopefully end with Grex seeds and next season should see improvement from those seeds. Next season will be interesting with the results!

What are you planning to landrace?
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Pumpkins is a big one this year for landrace. We saved the seeds from 5 different pumpkins we bought for decoration( Heirloom types) All had thick dark orange flesh. Okra, zucchini/yellow squash, cucumbers, watermelons, probably kale.
Hopefully we can get some True Potatoe seed too.
 
Inflorescence said:
Yep, three years is it. This season will hopefully end with Grex seeds and next season should see improvement from those seeds. Next season will be interesting with the results!

What are you planning to landrace?
Click to expand...

We are also going to do a section of the gardens as “Chaos” gardens. We have a bunch of seed that’s getting older and just needs used, so why not!
 
SpiritFarmVa said:
Pumpkins is a big one this year for landrace. We saved the seeds from 5 different pumpkins we bought for decoration( Heirloom types) All had thick dark orange flesh. Okra, zucchini/yellow squash, cucumbers, watermelons, probably kale.
Hopefully we can get some True Potatoe seed too.
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Awesome, I love it!

Have you checked out cultivariable.com for true potato seed? Here’s a link if you haven’t: https://www.cultivariable.com/catalog/potato/potato-varieties/domesticated-potato-seeds/

They have other things too, but that link will take you to the domesticated potato seeds.

Also, this site has a blend of true potato seed: https://goingtoseed.org/products/potato-2025

That last site is associated with Joseph Lofthouse and so they have all sorts of seeds set up for grexes or landraces. All the seeds there are free and they also have free courses for any who want to learn more. It’s a community donated type arrangement.
 
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