Lemme's Italian Sweet Pepper, Heirloom (Sweet), Organic

Seed Exchange -Pepper lovers can thank Albert Lemme of Altoona, Pennsylvania, for this heirloom variety. Seed Savers Exchange received this pepper from Darrell Merrell, an Exchange lister from Oklahoma who received it in 1996 from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. It matured early when grown in 2014 at Seed Savers Exchange’s Heritage Farm, and makes its début in the Seed Savers Exchange catalog as a From the Collection variety in 2026. 

Vigorous, productive pepper plants bear heavy yields of glossy, sweet, red fruits throughout the growing season.

These slender, pointed peppers ripen from green to a brilliant red and average about 6" in length. Their thin skin and moderately sweet flavor make them an excellent pepper for frying and making dried pepper flakes. Fruits hold well on the plant and resist cracking.

• Organic
• Red fruits grow to 6 inches long
• Moderate to high heat
• 25 Seeds

Instructions - Sow seeds indoors ¼” deep. Peppers germinate best in warm soil, so gentle bottom heat may be helpful until seedlings emerge. Wait to transplant outdoors until soil is warm.

• Sow indoors 8 weeks before the last frost
• Plant 1/4" deep
• Germinates in 14 days
• Plant Rows 12-24" apart

Firefly Farm & Mercantile may substitute based on supplier availability