What Is Your FAVORITE Heirloom Pepper?

[smalltownMO]

Jimmy Nardello. First year with it and my wife says it's the best pepper she's ever had.

[italigarden]

Originally Posted by smalltownMO

Jimmy Nardello. First year with it and my wife says it's the best pepper she's ever had.

Yep.

[EmeraldSkye]

I'm not usually a fan of bell peppers but a couple of years ago Bakers Creek sent me a free pack of Sweet Chocolate peppers. I planted them and now they are a mainstay in the garden. The are a beautiful chocolate brown when ripe and have an even sweeter, milder flavor than the orange, reds, and yellows that are commonplace. I love these peppers.

You can see them there in the left of this basket:

[zeedman]

There are two heirlooms I grow every year.

"Greygo" is a very large cheese pepper, up to 4-5" across. It takes awhile to ripen, but usually does so if I can get my transplants in on time. When red, it is sweet with no aftertaste, and the wife & I eat them like apples. The walls are exceptionally thick. Not the highest yielder, but I wouldn't go a summer without them.

"Beaver Dam" is a 6-7" long conical pepper, with walls as thick as a bell. It has mild heat, depending upon the weather & when you pick it. The yield is phenomenal, it develops a large number of good sized peppers on a very compact plant. I make gallons of salsa with it.

If the topic is "OP" rather than "heirloom", I would have to add "Pizza Pepper" to the list. It is a thick walled pepper that looks like an over-sized Jalapeno about 2" wide. It can have a little zing if picked during hot weather... but it has a secret. If picked green during cool weather (as in just before frost) it becomes completely sweet. I try to plant it later than the other peppers for that reason. The peppers are exceptionally crisp, and I would rate them as gourmet quality if harvested in cool weather. The plants have a pretty decent yield, and the peppers have incredible storage qualities - I store them in plastic bags in my unheated garage, and am still eating fresh peppers 6-8 weeks after frost!

[Sherilou]

I'm so inspired by your pepper suggestions, that I just placed a big order with Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (I had an email subscriber's coupon for 15% off).

EmeraldSkye... Beautiful photo, thank you! I should have included those Sweet Chocolate Peppers, but they're on my "wish list" for my winter order. Like you, I'm not usually a fan of bell peppers. I have found that everything grown in my garden is infinitely better than the grocery store, so I'm going to grow some bell peppers... some one will eat them, if I don't.

zeedman... I've researched every pepper that is mentioned in this thread, but Greygo has me stumped! Where did you get your seeds? I do actually have Pizza Pepper from Territorial Seeds and it got a late start, so your post was very affirming for me.

[San Antonio]

I ordered the chocolate pepper for my fall garden also. Those look great. Hope mine look as nice.