Orange Pippin - chili pepper

Capsicum Annuum

Story: Seeds often encapsulate histories of connections and exchanges. Randa was handed these seeds from their friend and mentor Beni at Wolves Lanes Centre. The seed originally comes from True Love Seeds, who are seed keepers in Philadelphia, USA. 

The Orange Pippin chili pepper (originally Buena Mulata pepper) is named after Horace Pippin. Pippin was a painter who depicted everyday life and the legacies of racial segregation and slavery. In the 1940s he gave these seeds in exchange for receiving bee-sting therapy by H. Ralph Weaver. Decades later Weaver's grandson found them in a freezer and reintroduced these and other varieties through a seed exchange network in Philadelphia.

The fruits start with a beautiful deep purple and pass through salmon, orange and a striking red when fully ripe. You can eat them at the immature purple stage or when more ripe towards the orange and purple when they are sweeter in taste. Much like a cayenne!

When to sow: from mid-February to early April indoors in pots or seed trays of seed compost.

Requirements: well draining soil, and full sun.

Harvesting: late summer/early autumn. When the fruit turns red-coloured, it is ready. Or feel free to pick them earlier for tangier notes.

When to harvest seed: When fully red, late summer

Seed harvested: 2023

Seed contributors: Omved Gardens

Please remember, if you’re an individual grower you can order up to 3 packets of seeds. If you order more than this, you will receive just three packs to begin with. This is to ensure we get plenty of data in return and to keep our stocks sustainable for years to come.* 

*Community groups and Experienced Growers can order larger quantities, please email us if this is the case.

If an item is out of stock we will send a close alternative.