Capsicum Sweet Delight

Why I grow it

Sweet capsicums are one of those things that make complete sense to grow at home. Sweet Delight produces crisp, juicy fruit that can be eaten straight from the plant, chopped into salads or thrown into whatever is happening for dinner. I like plants that don't require me to have a particular plan for the harvest — you can almost always find something useful to do with a capsicum.

At a glance

Type: Sweet capsicum
Heat: None
Flavour: Sweet and crisp
Fruit: Sweet, fleshy capsicums
Position: Full sun, warm and sheltered
Growth: Bushy
Best for: Fresh eating and cooking

In the kitchen

This is the sort of capsicum that disappears easily into everyday cooking. Eat it fresh and crunchy, slice it into salads and sandwiches, add it to stir-fries, curries, pasta and pizza, or roast it until the flesh becomes soft and sweet.

And when the garden starts producing dinner faster than you can eat it, capsicums are brilliant chopped and frozen ready to throw straight into cooked dishes later.

In the garden

Sweet Delight likes the same conditions as the rest of the capsicum family: plenty of warmth, sunshine and reasonably consistent moisture. It works well in a sunny garden bed, greenhouse or generous container and forms a naturally bushy plant.

Jo's growing tip

I like planting chillies and capsicums in pairs. Although their flowers are self-fertile, I've found plants grown together perform particularly well — they create a sheltered little growing pocket, physically support one another as they fill out, and give visiting pollinators plenty of flowers to move between.

Care

Grow in fertile, well-drained soil in a warm, sunny position. Water consistently while flowering and fruiting and feed regularly once fruit production begins. Support branches if they become heavily laden and protect from frost.

What you'll receive

One healthy, established seedling grown here at A Garden Between. Plants naturally vary in size and shape and may be supplied in reused nursery pots or growing bags — perfectly useful plastic doesn't need replacing simply because it doesn't match.