Padrón peppers are small, bright green Spanish chili peppers known for their famously unpredictable heat: most are mild and sweet with a nutty flavor, but about one in ten can be surprisingly spicy, leading to the saying, "some are hot, some are not". They are typically 2-4 inches long, have a conical shape, and are often sautéed in olive oil with sea salt as a popular tapas dish, though they can also be eaten raw or pickled. 

Padrón peppers (Pimientos de Padrón) originate from the town of Padrón in Galicia, Spain, where Franciscan monks cultivated them from seeds brought from the Americas in the 16th century, creating a unique landrace variety known for its mild, sweet flavor with occasional spicy surprises, served fried with salt as a popular tapa. 

Color & Size: Small (1-4 inches), bright green when immature, turning red when ripe.

Texture: Thin skin, waxy, with a slightly crinkled or lobed appearance.

Taste (Immature): Mild, sweet, slightly grassy, and nutty.

Taste (Mature/Ripe): Becomes sweeter but also hotter as they ripen. 

Key Characteristic: Unpredictable Heat 

Scoville Scale: Generally 500-2,000 SHU, but highly variable.

The "Russian Roulette" Factor: Some peppers are mild, while others pack a significant punch, often becoming hotter as they grow larger or if the plant is stressed. 

Tapas: Most famously fried or grilled with olive oil and sea salt.

Versatile: Can be eaten raw, stuffed (e.g., with cheese), pickled, or added to other dishes. 

Their name means "little beaks" and it's easy to see why. This diminutive and sharply-tapered variety of chili pepper is one of the stars of the Spanish table. Have you ever tried them?

These peppers are simultaneously sweet, spicy, and smoky thanks to some time spent over wood fires after harvesting. The slow-roasting also cooks away much of the water in the pepper, concentrating and intensifying the natural flavors. 

The Spanish Piquillo pepper (a.k.a. the little beak pepper) is usually seen coming out of a jar. This sweet pepper with modest heat –nearly imperceptible– has both smoky and tart undertones. It received a European PDO (Protected Denomination of Origin) and cannot be commercially grown outside its Navarra, Spain region, but we have home garden seeds available for you to grow them in your own garden.

For a delicious treat, make our Marinated Piquillo Peppers Recipe. 

A rare heirloom from Northern Spain with a real surprising and delicious flavor. The 3”-4” peppers ripen from olive-green to fre-red. They grow on productive 3’ tall open-pollinated plants. Capsicum annuum  (85) Days

Heat Level: Very Mild  Scoville 0-500

~ Packet contains 10 seeds. 

Mexico Midget

This south of the border favorite continues to always prove its value as a salad tomato.  These tiny red cherry type fruits have big heirloom flavor and are sure to surprise your taste buds. The plant gets overloaded with trusses of 1/2" fruit that weigh it down. Needs staking.

The original seeds were collected in Mexico by Barney Laman in the 1990s. He brought them home to North America and grew the plants and found them to be the same addictive luscious flavor he had found in the wild.

Open-pollinated heirloom (65-70 days) 

Plant Habit: Indeterminate. Plant Size: 4 ft’.  Fruit Color: Red. Shape: Round. Size: 1/2”. 

Pasilla is the dried form of the Chilaca chile and means little raisin in Spanish. This refers to its appearance with dark brown wrinkled skin. Use this pepper fresh for enchilada sauce or salsas. Use it dried and powdered in Mexican mole sauces. This heirloom is easy to grow. 

Have you used Pasillas before?  They’re a workhorse chile that will frequently pop up in traditional Mexican sauces and salsas.

Like most dried chiles, they have a different name than their fresh counterpart.  So to get a Pasilla chile you need to start with a ripe Chilaca chile.  De-hydrate it and you’ve got a Pasilla on your hands.

You may also see Pasillas referred to as Pasilla Negro chiles or Chile Negros.Narrow 8-10" peppers are mildly hot with a sweet flavor when fresh, and a rich smoky flavor when dried. Tall 30" plants produce dark green chiles that turn dark brown when mature. Capsicum annuum (85 days) Open-pollinated - Heirloom - Non-GMO

Heat Level: Mild  Scoville 1000 - 2000

~ Packet contains 10 seeds. 

A very good variety from Yucatan Mexico with very good flavor.

Excellent aroma and taste

Bright orange color. 

C.Chinenese

SHU 100,000-300,000

Not-treated

SHU: 150,000-300,000.

Used in salsa, hot sauce, spicy dishes. 

Fruity and smokey sweet.

Capsicum Baccatum

Taste like a wine grape.

SHU 1000-30000

Pod Size: 1-2”

Plant Height: 2-4+ ft.

Days to Harvest: 70-100 Days

Spoon Cherry Tomato (Currant Type) produces tiny, vibrant red fruits just 5–10 mm in diameter—so small they fit perfectly on a spoon. These bite-sized tomatoes are bursting with intense, sweet-tart flavor and have a juicy pop that makes them irresistible for fresh snacking. Prolific and easy to grow, they form long trusses loaded with miniature fruits, ideal for salads, garnishes, lunchboxes, and garden grazing straight off the vine.

Plant Habit: Indeterminate. Plant Size: 4 ft’.  Fruit Color: Red. Shape: Round. Size: less than 1 cm. 

Grow without maintenance. 

This distinctively rich Mexican poblano has a smoky yet sweet flavor. When poblano peppers are dark green-black they can be used for stuffing and roasting. When the peppers ripen to red, they can be dried as ancho chiles and used to make sauces, soups, and meat seasoning.

This classic Mexican pepper is heart-shaped and over 4” long by 2-1/2” across at the shoulder. Plants are 24” high and will continue to grow more peppers if picked frequently. When fresh it is Poblano and when dry it is Ancho. 

 Capsicum annuum (95 days) Heirloom - Open Pollinated

Heat Level: Mild Scoville: 1,000-3,000

~ Packet contains 10 seeds. 

In early spring, start seeds indoors 8 weeks prior to warm nightly temperatures. Place the seeds in sterile media and cover 1/4” deep. Provide 85°F bottom heat, bright light, and keep moist at all times. Seeds will germinate in 7 - 21 days. Transplant seedlings into pots and grow until there are 6 true leaves on the plant. Plant them directly into rich soil, 30” apart or into large 5-gallon containers. Harvest peppers when they are green.