Jo's Long Orange Capsicum

Why I grow it

This one started with a particularly long, delicious orange capsicum that I grew many years ago and liked enough to save the seed from. I've kept the seed line going ever since.

I don't have a grand cultivar history for it — just a very good reason for growing it: the original fruit was long, sweet and delicious, so I saved the seed. Sometimes that's all the justification a plant needs.

At a glance

Type: Sweet capsicum
Heat: None
Fruit: Long, ripening to orange
Flavour: Sweet
Position: Full sun, warm and sheltered
Growth: Bushy
Seed: Home-saved line

In the kitchen

I originally saved this because I loved the fruit, so this is very much an eating capsicum. Let the fruit ripen fully to orange for its sweetness, then use it fresh, sliced into salads and sandwiches, roasted, grilled or chopped into whatever happens to be dinner.

The long shape also makes these rather lovely split lengthways and roasted.

In the garden

Like other capsicums, this appreciates warmth and plenty of sun. Grow it in a sheltered garden bed, greenhouse or generous container and allow the fruit to ripen on the plant if you want that full orange colour.

Worth knowing: This is a seed line I've maintained myself, so individual plants and fruit may show some natural variation — which is part of the fun of growing from saved seed.

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.