2026 Pepper Descriptions
Go to 2026 Plant Sale Intro Page
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Download Shopping Lists (PDF files that can be printed)
- Our Garden, Walnut Creek (coming soon)
- Rivertown, Antioch (coming soon)
- West County, Richmond (coming soon)
Sweet Peppers
Note: Assume all varieties will be available at all three sale locations unless otherwise noted.
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.
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”.
Available in Walnut Creek Only. *Photo courtesy of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds 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.
Available in Walnut Creek Only.
Bridge to Paris
Sweet Non-Bell / Green to Red / 83 days
This sweet Italian type offers huge yields of big, elongated fruit with very few seeds and excellent flavor. Emerging green and ripening to red, the peppers can reach 7 to 9 inches long with a pleasing fruity taste. Enjoy the harvests fresh, fried, dried or smoked. The plants can grow up to 30 inches tall, with lots of fruit per plant.
Available in Walnut Creek and Richmond Only. *Photo courtesy of Territorial Seed Company.
Carmen
Sweet Non-Bell / Red / 60-80 days
One of the best-tasting Italian frying peppers! A beautiful pepper of the Italian "bull's horn" type, Carmen has a lovely, sweet taste for salads and roasting, especially when partially or fully red-ripe. Tapered fruits average 6" long by 2½" wide, ripening from green to deep carmine red. Maturity is early on an upright plant. Suitable for container gardening. This pepper is said to do well in cooler climates.
Available in Walnut Creek Only. *Photo courtesy of Johnny's Selected Seeds.
Cornito Giallo
Sweet Non-Bell / Yellow / 75-80 days
A 2016 All-American-Selections (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!
Available in Walnut Creek and Richmond Only.
Cornito Rosso
Sweet Non-Bell / Red / 75-80 days
Red "half-sized” version of the Corno di Toro Rosso pepper. Brilliant red when ripe, these are early, sweet and very attractive. Expect a heavy crop of 5" long by 2” wide peppers on strong plants. Ideal for roasting, frying, and grilling. While they are also delicious raw, their flavor intensifies when cooked.
Corno di Toro Rosso
Sweet Non-Bell / Red / 75-85 days
This is a traditional Italian pepper known as "Horn of the Bull". It's a bright red pepper measuring an impressive 8 inches long and 2 to 3 inches wide. They’re a perfect grilling pepper – very sweet with thin skin and thick walls – the skin lifts easily and the flavor is delicious. ("I was purchasing these large, very sweet peppers and roasting them at least 2 nights a week all summer long. My family couldn’t get enough of them.")
Available in Walnut Creek Only.
Escamillo
Sweet Non-Bell / Golden Yellow / 77 days
This “Horn of the Bull” type glows a beautiful yellow! A stocky Italian-type pepper bearing big, bold 6-ounce fruits on a compact plant. The fruits have a broad shoulder, an average length of 8 inches, and rest high on the plant for easy harvest. This very sweet pepper is traditionally used for frying, but also can be sautéed, stuffed or fire-roasted. Great raw as well! Escamillo peppers are known for their high yield.
Available in Walnut Creek Only. *Photo courtesy of Johnny's Selected Seeds johnnyseeds.com
Etiuda
Sweet Bell / Orange / 75 days
Originally a Polish commercial variety, Etiuda is equally great for the home garden. Its rich, sweet, citrus flavor has won over many growers. Can produce large fruits up to 8 ounces on large plants. The fruits are blocky and thick walled, and sugary sweet when ripe. Noted as being easy to grow. A lovely choice!
Available in Walnut Creek and Richmond Only. *Photo courtesy of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds rareseeds.com
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.
Available in Walnut Creek and Antioch Only.
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.
Available in Walnut Creek and Richmond Only.
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.
Available in Walnut Creek and Antioch Only.
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 Red
Sweet Non-Bell / Red / 75 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" to 2 ½” long by 1" wide, a bit smaller and earlier than the orange and yellow Lunchbox. These are tall, strong plants that yield well.
*Photo courtesy of Johnny's Selected Seeds.
Orange Bell
Sweet Bell / Orange / 75 days
This one promises lots of good-size blocky peppers that are reported to be among the best tasting of all peppers. Plants produce large yields of thick-walled, super sweet, brilliant orange fruit.
Available in Walnut Creek Only.
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.
Available in Walnut Creek and Antioch Only.
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.
Available in Walnut Creek Only.
Pimento Elite
Sweet Non-Bell / Red / 75 days
NEW FOR 2026! This is a beautiful pepper with a lot going for it. It’s a heavy producer of deep red, 3 inch by 3 inch heart-shaped fruits. Expect a meaty pepper with very thick walls, extra sweet flavor, and a good disease resistance package.
Available in Walnut Creek Only.
Sweet Bella
Sweet Bell / Green to Red / 73 days
The plant produces good yields of large 4 ½" long by 3 ½" wide sweet bell peppers. These peppers have thick walls (perfect for stuffing!) and turn from green to red when mature. Developed to be very disease-resistant. An excellent choice for home gardens!
Available in Walnut Creek Only.
Hot Peppers
Aji Fantasy
Mild to Medium / Yellow / 80-90 days / SHU 5,000-10,000
This two-inch, translucent yellow, bonnet-shaped pepper has much to offer. With medium mild heat and lots of tropical sweetness, it's snackable, fruity, and hot! The nuanced mild to medium heat and sweetness make it a delightful addition to recipes. The plants reach 4 feet tall and are high-yielding.
Available in Walnut Creek Only. *Photo courtesy of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds rareseeds.com
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.
Available in Walnut Creek Only.
Chocolate Habanero
Hot / Deep Brown / 110 days / SHU 425,500-577,000
This extra hot habanero has a distinct delicious flavor not found in other habaneros. It tastes good before the heat, making it a fantastic salsa pepper. It is the color of chocolate, but has no other similarities! The chestnut brown pods are 2 inches long and 1-1/2 inches wide and grow on 30 inch plants that produce an abundance of peppers all season long.
Available in Walnut Creek and Antioch Only. *Photo courtesy of Carstor / CC-by-sa-2.5
Datil
Hot / Yellow-Orange / 100 days / SHU 100,000 to 300,000
Bursting with fruity, hot goodness! Think Habanero, but the flavor is more complex, sweeter, and more fruity. Perfect for spicy salsas, sauces, and fabulous jellies! This renowned pepper originates from St. Augustine, Florida, where it is plentiful and celebrated. Its roots may be in the old world or the new world - legends abound! These blunt little 3.5-inch fruits ripen to a brilliant yellow-orange. The compact bushes also make excellent ornamental plants - they are covered with peppers from early summer to frost. Also suitable for growing in containers.
Available in Walnut Creek Only.
Fatalii
Hot / Yellow / 80 days / SHU 125,000-325,000
These fiery hot, wrinkled yellow peppers are related to habanero, and are at least as hot, if not hotter. Heat lovers will appreciate their excellent citrusy flavor! Maturing earlier than habanero, they are 2 to 3 inches long with a wide top that tapers down to a point, and are shriveled all over. Originally from Africa, these plants become 3 to 4 feet tall.
Available in Walnut Creek Only. *Photo courtesy of superhotchiles.com
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.
Available in Walnut Creek Only. *Photo courtesy of Johnny's Selected Seeds johnnyseeds.com
Garden Salsa
Medium / 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.
Available in Walnut Creek and Richmond Only. *Photo courtesy of HPS Seed
Habanada
Mild / Orange / 70-100 days / SHU 0-500
NEW FOR 2026! Love the flavor of a habanero but can’t take the heat? Here’s your answer: a brightly flavored habanero variety without the burn! Habanada, developed at Cornell University, is a unique, sweet, and flavorful variety of habanero pepper, developed to have all the fruity and floral notes without the intense heat. This vibrant orange pepper is a prolific producer of 2 to 3 inch long wrinkled fruits. Perfect for snacking, cooking, and adding to salads.
Available in Walnut Creek Only.
Hatch
Medium / Green/ 75 days / SHU 1,000-8,000
Authentic green chile flavor and mild heat! This heirloom variety, Hatch NM 6-4, has been grown in the Hatch Valley of southwest New Mexico for over a century. It's perfect for roasting and great in New Mexico inspired dishes. Chiles are 6 inches long on productive 30 inch plants.
Available in Walnut Creek and Richmond Only.
Jalapeño, Jalafuego
Hot / Green to Red / 70 days / SHU 4,000-6000
A large, vigorous plant with an excellent yield of extra-large, very dark green fruits. Good resistance to cracking. This is the hottest jalapeño pepper on the market. If you want a really HOT salsa, this is the pepper for you! Jalapeño Jalafuego is one of the most disease resistant peppers on the market.
Jalapeno Pantera
Hot / Green to Red / 70 days / SHU 4,000-6,000
NEW FOR 2026! The Pantera pepper is larger than most jalapeños with the peppers averaging 4 1/2 inches long. They are slow to check (the ‘stretch marks’ or brown lines sometimes seen on peppers). The smooth glossy skin and larger size make these an especially good choice for stuffing, pickling and roasting as well as the traditional use in salsas.
Available in Walnut Creek and Antioch Only.
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.
Available in Walnut Creek and Richmond Only. *Photo courtesy of HPS Seed
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!
Available in Walnut Creek and Richmond Only. *Photo courtesy of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds rareseeds.com
Leutschauer Paprika
Medium / Red / 85 days / SHU 1,000
A lovely drying pepper that comes from Hungary. The short, erect plants grow fast and are loaded with medium-hot paprikas sporting a sweet aroma and crisp texture. Its great flavor, uniform shape, and thin walls make it terrific for smoking, drying, and grinding to a delicious spicy powder. Very rare and not often found outside of its native Hungary!
Available in Walnut Creek and Richmond Only. *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.
Available in Walnut Creek and Richmond Only. *Photo courtesy of Johnny's Selected Seeds.
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 resistant to Tobacco Mosaic virus.
*Photo courtesy of HPS Seed
Red Savina Habanero
Hot / Red / 90-100 days / SHU 350,000-577,000
Extremely hot, the Red Savina was bred to be larger, hotter, and heavier than a traditional habanero. A beautiful crimson pepper that adds that lovely habanero flavor to sauces, salsas, soups, and more!
Available in Walnut Creek Only. *Photo courtesy of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds rareseeds.com
Serrano Tampiqueno
Hot / Green to Red / 78 days / SHU 6,000-25,000
This little pepper packs a big kick! It is crisp, bright and notably hotter than the jalapeño it resembles. Serranos are typically eaten raw, so no need to roast or peel. Popular for pico de gallo, salsas, and soups. This Tampiqueño variety has superior flavor compared to other serranos.
Shishito
Mild / Green / 60 days / SHU 50-200
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.
Super Thai
Hot / Red / 75 days / SHU 50,000-100,000
NEW FOR 2026! With its high heat level, this is the perfect pepper to add heat to your Asian-inspired dishes. A good choice for stir fries, sauces and for making chili oil. We’ve been looking for a Thai pepper with a larger pepper size and we’re hoping we found a winner with Super Thai, where the peppers measure 2 to 3 inches in length.
Available in Walnut Creek and Antioch Only.
Download Shopping Lists (PDF files that can be printed)
- Our Garden (Walnut Creek) (coming soon)
- East County (Antioch) (coming soon)
- West County (Richmond) (coming soon)