Last edited on 9 Oct 2019. View history
Pimento Pepper
A variety of chili pepper
How to sow pimento pepper: Direct seed indoors, transplant seedlings outside after hardening off
Sun requirement for pimento pepper: Plant in Full Sun
Pimento, Pimiento, or Cherry Peppers are a chili pepper cultivar that produces red, heart-shaped peppers 7-10 cm long and 5-7 cm wide. Pimentos have very thick flesh that is sweeter and more aromatic than bell peppers. They have a Scoville heat rating of 100-500 units, but there are some spicy varieties. Like other peppers, Pimentos are not frost tolerant and grow best at temperatures above 13° C. They can be grown in containers and brought inside in cooler regions. Pimentos can be eaten fresh, stuffed, pickled, or added to Pimento cheese spread.
- 1
- planting
- 0
- harvests
- 0
- seed packets
Pimento pepper facts
Lifespan
Height × spread
60cm × 60cmRow Spacing
60cmWhat are growing degree days?
A plant grows with warmth, not with days. A growing degree day is one day's worth of useful warmth: how many degrees the day's average temperature is above the lowest temperature the crop grows at. Add them up from planting and you know how far along the crop is, whatever the calendar says.
Say that lowest temperature is 10°C. A day averaging 17°C gives 7 growing degree days. A day averaging 8°C gives none, as it is too cold for the crop to grow. That is why the same lettuce takes about 50 days in a summer and 90 in an autumn: it needs the same total warmth either way.
For pimento pepper, the FAO EcoCrop database gives a lowest growing temperature of 8°C and a shortest growing cycle of 60 days at its best temperature, about 930 growing degree days to a first harvest.
Where you've told us where your garden is, we use this and the weather there to predict when your pimento pepper will be ready to harvest. We don't use it for how long a plant lives or when it finishes: we go by what members have logged for that.
Growing pimento peppers
- Sow seeds indoors somewhere warm 10 weeks before planting out
- Pot on the seedlings 6 weeks before planting out
- Harden off the seedlings 1 week before planting out
- Set or refill beer traps for slugs and snails at planting out every week
- Stake the plants 2 weeks after planting out
- Water regularly at planting out every week
- Check for aphids 2 weeks after planting out every 2 weeks
- Feed with tomato fertiliser 6 weeks after planting out every 2 weeks
- Pick chillies regularly at first harvest every week
- Bring pots in before the first frost 3 months after first harvest
How members grow pimento peppers
Sunniness
Planted from
Plant pimento peppers with
ginger
Video
Where pimento peppers grow
Only plantings by members who have set their locations are shown.
What people are saying about pimento peppers
Nobody has posted about pimento peppers yet.
Sign in or sign up to post your tips and experiences growing pimento peppers.
Who's planted pimento peppers
- dzada Garden
dzada
Pimento pepper harvests
Nobody has harvested this crop yet.
Sign in or sign up to track your pimento pepper harvests.Find pimento pepper seeds
There are no seeds available to trade on Growstuff right now.
- Purchase seeds via Ebay
- Sign in or sign up to list your seeds to trade.
Ecological requirements
Data from the FAO EcoCrop database for Capsicum annuum L.
| Family / Taxonomy | Magnoliopsida Asteridae Solanales Solanaceae |
|---|---|
| Optimal temperature | 17 - 30 °C |
| Absolute temperature | 8 - 35 °C |
| Optimal rainfall | 600 - 1250 mm/year |
| Absolute rainfall | 500 - 1700 mm/year |
| Optimal soil pH | 5.5 - 6.8 |
| Absolute soil pH | 4.5 - 7.0 |
| Crop cycle | 60 - 180 days |
| Max altitude | 3000 m |
| Life form | herb |
| Life span | annual |
| Habit | erect |
| Optimal soil depth | medium (50-150 cm) |
| Optimal soil texture | medium, organic |
| Optimal soil fertility | moderate |
| Optimal soil drainage | well (dry spells) |
| Optimal soil salinity | low (<4 dS/m) |
| Photoperiod | short day (<12 hours), neutral day (12-14 hours) |
| Optimal light | very bright |
Learn more about pimento peppers
Resources outside Growstuff.
