UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa

Pepper Collections for 2022

Several green and red chile peppers. ©UC Regents

Go to Cherry and Paste Tomatoes Collections

Go to Beefsteak Tomato Collections

Go to Slicer Tomato Collections

Go to Other Veggies and Herbs

Pepper descriptions are grouped as Sweet Peppers (17 varieties) vs. Hot Peppers (17 varieties).

Sweet Peppers

Description	Photo
Ace Sweet Bell / Red / 55-70 days. Ace is an extra-early, highly productive standard bell pepper with heavy yields of medium sized fruit. It is widely adapted, but performs particularly well in cooler climates where bell peppers are difficult to grow successfully. Its medium thick walls are sweet and tender - a good all-around, reliable bell pepper. *Photo courtesy of Johnny's Selected Seeds johnnyseeds.com
Ajvarski Sweet Non-Bell / Red / 80 days. Here's a truly outstanding pepper from eastern Macedonia. This pepper is thick-walled, with a broad wedge shape. It reaches 6" to 7” long. A unique feature of this pepper is its fragrance: under the right conditions, it can be smelled from 10 feet away! Let it ripen to deep red for maximum flavor. Exceptional for roasting, and it's unsurpassed for making the traditional sauce called “ajvar”. *Photo courtesy of Baker Creek HeirloomSeeds/rareseeds.com
Alliance Sweet Bell / Green to Red / 70 days. This bell is known to be one of the best for disease resistance, allowing for a healthy yield of large 4 ½” blocky fruits with thick walls and smooth skin. Peppers mature from an attractive green to deep red and can be used at any stage. These strong, sturdy plants have good leaf canopy, offering protection from sunscald.
Cornito Giallo Sweet Non-Bell / Yellow / 75-80 days. A 2016 AAS winner. Yellow “half-sized” version of the Corno di Toro Giallo pepper. These new peppers are earlier and smaller but with the same sweet, fruity flavor. Good any way you eat them – raw, roasted, fried, or grilled!
Cornito Rosso Sweet Non-Bell / Red / 75-80 days. Red "half-sized” version of the Corno di Toro Rosso pepper. Expect a heavy crop of 5" long by 2” wide peppers on strong plants. Brilliant red when ripe, these are early, sweet and very attractive. Ideal for roasting, frying, and grilling. While they are also delicious raw, their flavor intensifies when cooked.
Flavorburst Sweet Bell / Yellow / 60-80 days. Flavorburst is a stunning pepper with excellent flavor. The early color is lime green, turning to golden yellow when ripe. This medium to large bell type pepper is always a winner in salads and mild stir-fries.
Gourmet Sweet Bell / Orange / 85 days. This pepper produces vibrant orange fruit. The strong, compact plants produce prolific yields of medium to large fruit, with thick walls and very sweet flavor. This pepper has a reputation for being easy to grow under a wide variety of conditions, and has good resistance to tobacco mosaic virus.
Jimmy Nardello Sweet Non-Bell / Red / 80-90 days. An Ark of Taste winner, long considered to be one of the best frying peppers in the garden. It's a long, thin Italian-type pepper with thin skin that ripens to a deep, fire engine red. Sweet and crisp when eaten raw, or quickly grill or sauté with olive oil, fresh garlic and a sprinkle of sea salt for a great treat! It's very prolific and has the added benefit of drying easily.
King Arthur Sweet Bell / Green to Red / 60-80 days. Extreme earliness combined with large size, super-sweet flavor and wide adaptability to a variety of growing conditions makes this a great choice! Plants produce thick walled peppers, picked green through red. Exhibits excellent disease resistance.
Lunchbox Orange Sweet Non-Bell / Orange / 80 days. These beautiful mini-sized peppers are remarkably sweet and flavorful. They are delicious sautéed, or used as an addition to salads. Of course, they are perfect for a healthy snack in the garden or a lunch box. Fruits average 2 ½” to 3" long by 1 ½” wide. These are tall, strong plants that yield well. *Photo courtesy of Johnny's Selected Seeds johnnyseeds.com
Lunchbox Yellow Sweet Non-Bell / Yellow / 80 days. These beautiful mini-sized peppers are remarkably sweet and flavorful. They are delicious sautéed, or used as an addition to salads. Of course, they're perfect for a healthy snack in the garden or a lunch box. Fruits average 2 ½” to 3" long by 1 ½” wide on tall, strong plants that yield well. *Photo courtesy of Johnny's Selected Seeds johnnyseeds.com
Orange Blaze Sweet Bell / Orange / 70 days. An All-America Selections Winner (AAS). These vigorous plants bear gorgeous 2 to 3-lobed bell peppers that quickly turn bright orange, providing an early harvest. With both fabulous color and flavor, this pepper is just right for cutting into salads or for cooking. Not only are the plants vigorous, they are highly disease resistant.
Orange Marmalade Sweet Bell / Orange / 75 days. This bell pepper has produced well in multiple locations across the U.S., making its reputation as a top performer. Sturdy, compact plants produce high yields of very sweet 4” peppers that ripen from green to orange. Glowing reports from pepper trials show Orange Marmalade to have superior disease resistance. It is ideal for eating fresh and great for stuffing.
Paradicsom Sweet Non-Bell / Yellow / 80 days. This is one of the truly great peppers to come out of Hungary. The pepper is unique in that it has the ribs and shape of a pumpkin, a bit squat and flat, with a bright yellow color. It is known in Hungary for its exceptional flavor. This is a rare but winning variety.*Photo courtesy of Baker Creek HeirloomSeeds/rareseeds.com
Shishito Mild Non-Bell / Green to Red / 60 days. This mildly spiced pepper is popular in Japan where its thin walls make it particularly suitable for tempura. It’s also very good in stir-fries or sautés. In Asia, this pepper is always cooked green, but they also may be used red, thinly sliced into salads or coleslaws. Medium, upright plants produce a good yield over an extended harvest period. The heavily wrinkled fruits are thin walled and 3 ½ to 4” long.
Topepo Rosso Sweet Non-Bell / Red / 80 days. This is the type of pepper you see pickled in large jars in Italian delis. The round fruits are 2" tall x 2" wide, with a sweet, succulent flavor. With smooth skin and EXTRA thick walls, they can be eaten fresh, roasted, or pickled. Their brilliant scarlet color resembles a tomato (hence the name combining tomato and pepper). Plants have a strong upright habit and good leaf cover to protect against sunscald.
Yum Yum Hybrid Sweet Non-Bell / Mixed Colors / 72 days. This pepper produces a high yield of nearly seedless 2 ½” peppers in a seed mix of orange, red and yellow peppers. Which one will you get? It's a surprise! They keep well and maintain their crunch once harvested. Very sweet - perfect for snacks, on kebabs or stuffed for appetizers - or enjoy these gems fresh.

Hot Peppers

Description	Photo
Aleppo Hot / Red / 85 days / SHU 10,000. The Aleppo pepper is a popular spice in the Middle Eastern and Mediterranean regions. It is a small pepper that grows several inches long and up to an inch wide. Let this pepper mature to red before use. Traditionally used dried and crushed into flakes, it's moderately hot, with wonderful fruity undertones. *Photo courtesy of Restoration Seeds
Flaming Flare Hot / Red / 70 days / SHU 1,000. An All-America Selections (AAS) winner. A Fresno style pepper that's sweet with mild heat, Flaming Flare offers a bit of spiciness and a whole lot of flavor. Cone-shaped fruits are thin walled, averaging 4" long. Best used at full maturity when ripened to bright red. Excellent for fresh use, stir-fries, sautéing, hot sauce, and DELICIOUS for chili sauce. High resistance to tobacco mosaic virus. *Photo courtesy of Johnny's Selected Seeds johnnyseeds.com
Garden Salsa Hot / Green to Red / 73 days / SHU 2,500 –3,000. A great salsa pepper usually picked green for salsa, but ripens to red. Medium hot, but can get hotter in dry weather. This one is a Tobacco Mosaic resistant hybrid. *Photo courtesy of HPS Seed
Habanero Hot / Orange / 100 days / SHU 100,000-350,000. Traditional extra-hot pepper with fruity citrus notes. The extremely pungent wrinkled fruits avg. 2" by 1 ¼" and ripen to salmon orange. A key ingredient in Jamaican "jerk" sauces. The yield potential is good, but can be erratic in cooler, shorter summer locations. *Photo courtesy of Johnny's Selected Seeds johnnyseeds.com
Jalapeño, Early Flame Hot / Green to Red / 70 days / SHU 4,000-6,000. Early Flame Jalapeños set their 3½ inch chiles on the top of the compact plants, pretty and perfect for container planting. Shiny and thick-walled, Jalapeños are everyone’s favorite all-purpose chile, adding delicious mild to medium heat and savor to any dish. Enjoy abundant harvests of crispy, deep green chiles to slice up for salsas and sandwiches, or sauté or roast to add a delicious spicy lift to every day cooking. *Photo courtesy of reneesgarden.com
Jalapeño, El Jefe Hot / Green to Red / 67-90 days / SHU 4,000-6,000. High-quality fruits are smooth, glossy, and dark green with thick walls. Known for its well-rounded flavour that sweetens somewhat as it ripens, this is a moderately hot jalapeño that's good fresh, dried or pickled. High yields over a long growing season. This hybrid has good disease resistance. *Photo courtesy of Johnny's Selected Seeds johnnyseeds.com
Jalapeño, La Bomba Hot / Green / 56 day / SHU 5,000. La Bomba has lots of flavor and mild heat with smooth, thick, juicy walls. They have a hint of sweet followed by a mild flavor with no bitterness and finish with a burst of true jalapeño heat. Highly productive, even in cooler climates. Plants have superior disease resistance. Perfect for nacho toppings, for adding some zip to soups and sauces, for pickling, and for jalapeño poppers. *Photo courtesy of HPS Seed
Jalapeño, Purple Hot / Purple to Red / 75 days / SHU 4,000-6,000. Uniquely, this jalapeno turns dark purple and stays purple for a long time before finally ripening to red. A bit larger than most jalapenos, but with the same thick walls and fiery heat. Can be used either at the purple or red stage - great for use in salsas. 75 days.
Jalapeño, Tricked You Mild / Green / 90 days / SHU 0. IT’S TRUE! This pepper is a TAMED jalapeño with NO HEAT! You will find excellent jalapeño flavor but without the heat of the traditional. Great for combining with hot peppers to customize the heat in homemade salsas and hot sauce. Excellent resistance to Bacterial Leaf Spot. *Photo courtesy of HPS Seed
Krimzon Lee Mild to Medium / Red / 62-82 days / SHU 3,000-5,000. This thick-walled frying pepper has mild to medium heat. Beautiful, big, 6" to 8" by 2" paprika type pepper holds heat in its ribs. Its thick, sweet and spicy flesh is choice for roasting, frying, grilling, salsa, and adventurous salads. Medium-size plant is upright and bushy. *Photo courtesy of Johnny's Selected Seeds johnnyseeds.com
Lemon Drop Hot / Yellow / 100 days / SHU 15,000-30,000. From Peru, where it’s a popular seasoning with a distinct citrus note. Bright yellow, crinkled, cone- shaped fruits are 2" long by ½" wide. Dense plants grow to 2 feet tall and wide, and are typically covered with neon-bright fruits, making this an excellent choice for container gardening. A MUST use for this pepper is making up a batch of hot pepper sauce. It's slow to mature to its brilliant, yellow color but worth the wait! *Photo courtesy of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds/rareseeds.com
Padrón Mild / Green / 60 days / SHU 100-1,000. If you want an authentic regional pepper from Spain, this is it! Used when small for mildest flavor, these peppers are a favorite in tapas bars across Spain. They are traditionally picked green, sautéed in olive oil and finished with coarse-ground sea salt for a delectable appetizer. Note this pepper is humorously referred to as “Spanish Roulette”: although 90% of them are mild you will occasionally come across an unpredictable hot one. *Photo courtesy of Johnny's Selected Seeds johnnyseeds.com
Poblano, Baron Mild / Green to Red / 65-85 days / SHU 250-1,000. Green poblanos are the unripened fruits that are used when making chile relleno. When ripened to red and dried, it is known as an ‘Ancho’. Baron has thick-walled, mildly hot fruit with a rich, mellow flavor. It has proved to produce well under a wide variety of conditions. These two lobed peppers are large, averaging 5" long by 3" wide, making them easy to stuff and cook in their signature dish, chile rellenos. Superior disease resistance.
Poblano, Trident Mild / Green to Red / 69-85 days / SHU 250-1,500. Extra-large ancho/poblano peppers grow to 7" long by 3 ½” inches wide, maturing from mid-green to deep red. Fruits are glossy, firm, straight and often two-lobed. Good used fresh or dry. Vigorous plants set continuously in a wide variety of soils and climates. This hybrid is highly resistent to Tobacco Mosaic virus. *Photo courtesy of HPS Seed
Red Flame Hot / Red / 60-80 days / SHU 80,000. This cayenne-type pepper dries quickly to a bright crimson for an eye-catching presentation. Sweet-hot flavor. Thin walled peppers on big, productive plants. Widely adapted. Fruits are long, averaging 6 to 6 ½” inches. *Photo courtesy of Johnny's Selected Seeds johnnyseeds.com
Serrano, Impala Hot / Green to Red / 57-77 days / SHU 6000-16,000. This new traditional-sized serrano replaces Hot Rod, which was discontinued. Impala's fruits average 3 to 3 ½” and are borne on large, bushy plants. The dark green fruits are traditionally used green but also make fine chipotles if allowed to ripen to red. *Photo courtesy of Johnny's Selected Seeds johnnyseeds.com
Serrano Sureño Hot / Green / 75 days / SHU 4,000-7,000. Small, robust plants are highly productive with large, straight, firm-bodied fruits. Most flavorful when green. Recommended for curries and chutneys as well as salsas. Early harvest, and highly resistant to Potato Y virus.

Download pdf of pepper collection

Download complete shopping list