Sweet specialty peppers are becoming popular because of their high yields and unique flavors and because they are easy to grow. Two types of specialty peppers that do not get a lot of notice are heart-shaped pimento and cherry.
Pimentos are sweet peppers that are juicy and aromatic with a small, round heart shape. They are popular stuffed with cheese and served as appetizers and also are delicious for eating fresh. Pimentos are best when fully mature and become a deep scarlet red.
Lipstick and apple are two recommended varieties of a heart-shaped pimento pepper. Many gardeners consider lipstick the most delicious sweet pepper . It produces heavy, attractive, dark green fruit about 4 inches long, tapered to a blunt point and ripens to a glossy, rich red. Peppers are a mature green in about 53 days and turn red in about 73 days. They are thick, juicy and sweet for salads and cooking and are perfect for roasting and salsa. Another benefit to lipstick is it produces well even during a cool summer season.
Apple, the other heart-shaped pimento, has a mild, juicy and sweet fruity flavor. It is at its peak just as the mature fruits are turning green to red. Four-inch, top-shaped fruits are more rounded than lipstick, are, a little heavier and mature a few days later. Being a medium-sized plant makes this pepper good for container gardening. Apple also produces well under adverse weather conditions.
Cherry peppers are another non-bell type that are recommended because of their sweet flavor and high production. Sweet cherry peppers dress up salads and vegetable trays, and they are great when stuffed.
So, when planning your garden these next few weeks, consider leaving room for some of these pimento type peppers. You probably will find yourself planting more the next year.
Garden tip: If you do not have enough room in your vegetable garden to try new varieties of peppers, plant a few in the flower garden. Pepper plants have dark-green foliage, make a wonderful background to other low-growing annuals, add height to a garden, are compact plants and produce lovely fruit.
Send questions to Dave Vargo, Valley News Dispatch, 210 Fourth Ave., Tarentum PA 15084. Vargo has a degree in horticulture from Penn State University and owns Arnold Feed & Garden Center and Kiski Plaza Garden & Feed Center.
