'Ermelinda' Sweet Pepper

Capsicum annuum

Origin: Westport, MA

Improvement status: Cultivar

Seeds per packet: ~30

Germination tested 10/25: 97%

Life cycle: Annual

'Ermelinda' is a new medium-to-extra-large red, thin-walled, wrinkled and slightly pleated sweet pepper. Bred by our friend Bill Braun and the Freed Seed Federation crew in southeastern Massachusetts, it is delicious and versatile, excellent for fresh eating, frying, and more. Named after Bill's beloved Vovoa (Portuguese for grandmother) from the Azores, the plants are strong and upright. Don't be surprised to find variation in fruit forms from plant to plant, ranging from long and pointed to extra-large and blunt-ended. This diversity is intentional, with the genetic diversity behind it leading to a more resilient population over time.

We asked Bill if it would be appropriate to consider this a breeding population or grex, and he insisted that the uniform plant architecture marks it as a distinct variety. We trust Bill's plant instincts, born of decades growing vegetables, and so we're thrilled to be offering it for wide release for the first time. Though adapted to the particular climate of southeastern Massachusetts — a quiet stretch of land between Rhode Island and Cape Cod known as the "Farm Coast", with a slightly milder, more maritime climate than most of New England, but also right in the path of every plant disease that eventually blows out to sea from the rest of the country's agricultural regions — this variety is nevertheless likely to thrive in other regions. Please let us know how it does for you!

GROWING TIPS: Start early indoors, as any other pepper. You may want to stake or otherwise tie up and support plants later in the season.