Capsicum annuum (Peppers)

Ashe County Heirloom Pimiento Pepper

approximately 70 days from transplant-a fine pepper just now making its way into commerce. This open-pollinated variety was discovered, revived, and amply propagated by North Carolina seedsaver & permaculturist Rob Danford. He has found it to be the only pepper that reliably produces well in the short Smoky Mountain growing season (150 days or less). At maturity, it yields an incredibly sweet, bright red, thick-fleshed pimiento pepper measuring about 4" across. They taste great raw, as well as cooking, roasting, & canning well, holding a good texture and flavor. Their squat shape is ideal for stuffing. Culture: start in a greenhouse at least one month before last frost date. This pepper will tolerate cool evenings and morning dew better than most, but it will naturally yield best when temperatures stay warm toward the end of the summer. Very tolerant of drought-needed no watering beyond the seedling stage in North Carolina's bone-dry 2002. During the incredibly rainy & cool summer of 2003, some North Carolina High Country growers found that most of their peppers were still green as the first frost date approached, but yields remained high (4-5 mature peppers per plant) despite this most un-peppery growing season. This seed organically grown by my good friend Richard Boylan, who got his stock from Rob the year before (and wrote this fine description, except for the part about what a fine description it is). $2.50/25 seeds

HOPED-FOR ADDITIONS FOR THE FUTURE: Chilhuacle / Booney / Kashmir / Purple Cayenne / Quintisho / St. Helena