Description
There has been a glaring absence of chili peppers in our catalog over the years, as we’ve been skeptical of how they’d be received among mild-palleted PNW growers. We hope you will prove our skepticism wrong by giving this amazing variety a go! We took our time surveying a wide range of hot peppers before choosing Hot Portugal for the win. Among 15 other peppers grown outdoors in the cool breeze of Whidbey Island, it was only one of two varieties to successfully produce a full display of ripe red fruits in August. The other variety was Aci Sivri. Hot Portugal makes a good gateway pepper for the spice-timid. It’s actually quite sweet, only boasting a moderate level of spice in the pith and around the seeds. Perfect to add flavor and spice to soups, meats, and Asian cuisine or for making a big batch of hot sauce. Grower beware: this pepper is virtually indistinguishable from the popular sweet pepper Jimmy Nardello, so don’t plant side by side!
Days to Maturity: 80
Latin name: Capsicum annuum
Life cycle for seed saving: Annual
Planting Instructions:
Start Hot Portugal Pepper indoors mid-March through early May. Optimal soil temperature for germination is 85°. Seed depth: ¼”. Maintain temp around 70° for healthy growth. Plant spacing: 12-18”. Row spacing: 18-36”. Harden off before transplanting. Plant in full sun.
All of our seed is Non-GMO and Certified Organic by Washington State Department of Agriculture. We grow the majority of our varieties here at Deep Harvest Farm on Whidbey Island while we purchase the rest from other small, organic Northwest seed growers. Finally, all of our offerings are open-pollinated (OP) so that you too can save and share seed from these plants!
