Description

LIPSTICK PIMENTO SWEET PEPPER (Capsicum annuum) has a beautiful cone/heart shape and thick juicy sweet flesh (even when green), very meaty and tasty. Great all around use but if you love Southern Pimento Cheese, this is the one you want to grow. Its wonderful flavor is piqued when roasted, so just combine your extra sharp cheddar with peeled roasted lipstick pimentos and add some Dukes mayo and it is heaven. Give plants tall tomato cages because they will grow 4'-6' and bear so heavily that they will break if not given support. They are productive even in cooler weather (right up to frost). I will always have this one in my garden! 55 days green - 75 days red from transplant. 15 seeds.

ABOUT GROWING PEPPERS: Whether Sweet or Heat, peppers must be started indoors and really appreciate bottom warmth and sufficient grow light for vigorous starts. Be sure to pick varieties that will have sufficient time to complete their growth in your area. Also, hot peppers will be hotter as the temperature rises, so if you want heat and live in the north, buy the hottest varieties available so you won't be disappointed. Vice versa for the south. In late spring or early summer, after the risk of frost has passed, transplant your pepper plants into well-drained soil in a sunny garden location prepared with lots of good organic matter, about 18'' apart in rows about 24'' apart. I like to give my peppers some support, usually a stake or cage, as productive plants can keel over from the weight of their fruit. Use organic mulch to fend off weeds and keep soil moist in hot dry summers. Peppers need regular moderate watering, but water from below to avoid spreading blossom end rot. Peppers are so versatile. You can use fresh, cook them in a variety of ways, dry many varieties easily, and freeze many varieties for later cooking.

END OF SEASON TIP: If you have grown a variety that you love and want to grow the following season, consider cloning this season's healthy plant. It's easy to do. Just take a healthy cutting and root in moist soil indoors. You'll want to remove any lower leaves and sink so that as much stem as possible is in the soil with just a few top leaves showing. I like to put on a heating mat under grow lights and then pot up after the roots have really gotten going. You can keep this cutting alive through the winter and early spring and get a jump on the growing season next year. Avoid using cuttings from any plant that shows signs of blight or pest infestation.