I have grown many varieties of sweet peppers over the years as well as hot ones. I have about 6 varieties of hot peppers growing in my garden right now, but only one sweet pepper- Carmen. For a pepper to be both, hands down, the sweetest pepper and, by far, the most productive out of all the sweet peppers I’ve ever grown is abnormally virtuous in the world of fruit. Usually you give up some production for high sugar.
I like to have peppers for stuffing, and Carmen is just not good for that. Well it works, but the thin walls have little flavor when compared to others. I grew this one called Sweet White, and it is prolific, but extremely not sweet, I would say even bitter, but once cooked tastes really good, closet I’ve found to meet my cooking needs. Looking though still for a more universal sweet pepper. For now I use Yellow Monster and Spanish Mammoth, not fantastic producers, but the peppers are amazing, and huge, and super thick walled, they have to have thick walls.
SM is a late producer, but once going does well for a bell type.Both are OP heirlooms, so no need to ever buy seed again.
Peppers can be used green, are red when mature, they just keep growing, so late season. I need an early season type!
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Whoa. Nice looking bells there.
I’m with you on the thin walled peppers. It’s OK if they are thin-walled and hot or spicy, because of the intensity of the flavor, but for a sweet pepper, I like to have some substance. I grew Jimmy Nardellos b/c everyone raved about them. They were OK, but “Where’s the beef?” The JNs are still producing strong as are the Trinidad Perfume but I’m pulling them both out tonight, in fact. To me, it’s the dif between a cherry tomato and a beefsteak, they both have their niche.
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We don’t stuff peppers here and most of the peppers I use are chopped and frozen when red ripe and used the 9 months fresh peppers aren’t in the garden. The sweetness is a major plus and no other pepper I’ve grown has it. However, it is all about what and how you cook and individual tastes. I tend to alter my taste needs based on what grows best, and thick walled types I’ve grown have never been very productive and are prone to rot here. It would take more than 4X the space and effort to grow the same weight of harvest. I’m not a retired man and never will be if my body doesn’t require it.
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I have too, one of the most productive peppers I ever have grown. I agree, again that darn thin walls.[quote=“alan, post:144, topic:6802”]
We don’t stuff peppers here and most of the peppers I use are chopped and frozen when red ripe and used the 9 months fresh peppers aren’t in the garden.
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Yes using them like that is perfect niche for them, Carmen is an awesome grower, and a very nice pepper. It’s me, not the pepper. It would fit the needs of many. It is a stand out no doubt. Thanks for pointing it out. Jimmy Nardellos which i think are Italian frying peppers? Would give Carmen a run for it’s money in production. If you have less than 30 on your plant you’re doing something wrong!
Spanish Mammoth grows well, but only 6-15 peppers a plant.It would produce more if I over-wintered it, may solve my problem, maybe I will! I often put it in the garage at night in October to ripen the last few. I may try overwintering it. It would grow like crazy in zone 9 or 10 and produce and produce.
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I tend to look at it also from a production standpoint. I would guess that one of my sweet bells would equal in weight 5-6 JNs. That’s a lot more cutting and seeding especially for the same end yield. So in the end maybe your 30 JNs/plant equal the weight of your 6-15 SMs/ plant. But the processing time is MUCH different IMHO.
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That’s a good point!
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I love poblanos but am deciding they’re better bought than grown way up here for 2-3 peppers per plant.
I am currently growing Jimmy Nardellos which are insanely good on the grill, and just to look at, fish pepper is my current favorite. A really cool ornamental.
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Paradicsom Alaku Sarga Szentes Pepper. This one tastes great and looks like a little flattened pumpkin. (I picked this one a few days too early because I was orcharding by flashlight.)
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Peppers started to ripen in numbers
On the bottom Antohi Romanian very fine sweet pepper. In the middle Nu-mex Sunset, orange nice looking productive peppers, but they have very thick skin and not sweet, they taste like cardboard even when ripe. On the left the small bell peppers are hybrid of Mandarin pepper and something else. I actually liked them a lot, they are early productive and quite hot. I will grow them next year even if they won’t be exactly true. On the top are very large Aconcagua sweet peppers, they are also productive and easy to process. Top right are Carolina reaper peppers, they smell very good when dried, but they also are very hot, I do not think that I’ll use them for cooking.
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I like them a lot too.[quote=“SMC_zone6, post:149, topic:6802”]
Paradicsom Alaku Sarga Szentes Pepper.
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Looks interesting!
That one is on my want list!
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I can sent seeds to everyone who wants it, I just hope that it won’t be cross-pollinated.
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Yes always a chance, same with my seeds, sure, I’ll pm you as a reminder.
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I did the same thing with a couple of large colored sweet bell peppers, 2 years ago. I had no idea what I was doing or if it would work, but it was a raging success. They were also much more resistant to leaf problems than the store-bought seedlings.
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I finally found real Thai chilies in my Asian market. They had green, (under-ripe) and red very ripe! They are vey hot!!! But I added them to my green curry last week and it was delicious. It is so great to finally taste all of these new fruits and veggies!
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Just saw this thread. I had already tried asking you about the differences you’ve observed with Big Jim and the rereleased Big Jim Heritage in the older thread of yours.
Reading the papers from New Mexico State University, NuMex Heritage 6-4 has higher volatile compounds and is consistently rated as having the best flavor.
I felt the flavor difference was so small. I was very disappointed to have fallen for the hype.
These days I only grow legacy. All I grew the last few years.
Also to be clear is big Jim Legacy is a sub cultivar of Big Jim. A specific line of big Jim.