You may or may not remember my article Cherry Peppers for Stuffing, about my beautiful stuffed cherry peppers that were too hot for me to eat. I wrote that I’d finally found seeds for sweet, rather than hot, cherry peppers, in two varieties, both sold by Reimer Seeds.
The seeds of one, Kuners, failed to germinate at all—like many of the other seeds I bought from Reimer (whose representative told me, by the way, that the company would not replace or issue refunds for any bad seeds).
The seeds of the other variety, Red Cherry Large, sprouted well, but the plants produced irregularly shaped and sized fruits. Most of the peppers were conical rather than round. Only one of the plants produced truly round peppers.
But I saved the seeds of those round cherries and planted them last February. And the four plants that I set out produced beautiful sweet peppers, round, fairly uniform in size (no bigger than 1½ inches and no smaller than 1 inch), with virtually no cracking, and early. I took the picture above in mid-September.
I have stored the peppers in diluted vinegar and will fill them for the holidays as I described in Cherry Peppers for Stuffing.
This goes to show that plant breeding isn’t always difficult. But now I must hope that the seeds I saved from these pretty peppers aren’t crossed with any of the other pepper varieties that I’d planted in the same bed. It’s not easy to keep unique varieties going in a small kitchen garden. If you would like to help steward this cherry pepper, please let me know.
Love to help by growing some out in 19, plenty of isolation space too.
Hi, Linda! I too would be interested in growing some out on our farm. (Hi, Tim!!!)
I’ve been stuffing the standard mini-peppers with Italian sausage for appetizers or even dinner now (http://artofnaturalliving.com/2016/09/25/sausage-stuffed-mini-peppers/ ). I can see how these peppers would be beautiful stuffed–or even just pickled on a cheese board. If you have extra seeds I would love to try my hand (I can send postage). I don’t grow peppers since my CSAs supply them in abundance so less cross fertilization risk.
These look wonderful. I would love to grow these in my garden.
We’ve been looking for a good sweet round cherry pepper. Rally hard too find. Would love to try them!
Hi Linda–just wanted to leave an update on your pepper seeds. Germination was low, even on heater cables, but I have two nice looking young plants out of the 2017 seeds. One anemic looking 2018 seedling popped out, lingered then died, and another germinated 2+ months after I planted. It’s big enough now so I think it will make it too. I’m going to grow them in pots to take extra care. I’ll send another update in the fall. Thanks again!
Thanks, Inger! I myself got such good germination that I had to give away a bunch of the starts.
Perhaps mine knew what an ugly spring/early summer Wisconsin was going to have. Just saw your artichoke post and soooo envious!
Aren’t peppers one of the most fun things to grow! We have a small farm in the Tennessee Valley and have nearly half our property suffused with gardens, berry patches and food forests. Out of everything we grow here, peppers are my favorite crop and do quite well in our climate. I have been experimenting with producing a good, sweet stuffing pepper myself for a few years now, but haven’t yet “hit the mark”. Another I’ve found to be near impossible to procure is a mild spice pepper. We tried the Arroz con Pollo this year in the hopes that it would suffice, but while it’s nice in it’s own right, it lacks the sweetness I desire. I have been working on a spice blend for a couple years with a very distinct flavor profile in mind that I desperately wish to attain, but it all hinges on the right pepper. Any suggestions?
Your farm sounds like a magical place. By “mild spice pepper,” do you mean one that’s mildly hot? For that I immediately think of a ripe Anaheim. If you want a pepper that isn’t at all hot but that has a flavor that might be described as spicy, you might try Corno di Toro. Then there is the special, chocolate-like flavor of mulato and pasilla peppers, which range from quite mild to pretty darn hot. Hopefully, readers of this blog will have more suggestions.
I’m sorry I missed your message when you sent it last summer. Are you looking for any mildly hot pepper that’s also sweet, for a mild pepper for drying and grinding, or specifically for a mild cultivar of Capsicum chinense? I see there is a Caribbean “seasoning pepper” called Tobago that’s supposed to be mild, and another called Trinidad Perfume. I haven’t experimented with these peppers, because our summers aren’t really hot enough for them (though that may not be true for long). If you’re looking for a pepper for drying and grinding, you might try pimiento de padron. It is ALWAYS hot when it’s ripe, but not terribly hot once it’s dried and ground.