Pasilla Bajío Pepper Seeds

Pasilla Bajío (Chilaca) pepper seeds grow into upright, erect plants reaching 31–36 in, bearing green fruit about 5.9 × 1.0 in (150 × 25 mm). Heat category: Hot. It is especially suited to green-stage chilaca use, mature dried chile, sauces, seasoning, and seed saving. Maturity is 80-89 Days.

About Pasilla Bajío (Chilaca)

Pasilla Bajío (Chilaca) is a hot chile pepper grown as Capsicum annuum L. Plants have an upright, erect habit and reach 31–36 in; support is listed as stake. The principal mature or market color is Green, with fruit described as about 5.9 × 1.0 in (150 × 25 mm). Reproductive classification: Open-Pollinated (OP). Maturity: 80-89 Days. Names associated with this variety include Pasilla Bajío, Pasilla Bajío pepper, Pepper Seeds - Hot - Pasilla Bajio (Chilaca).

• Scientific name:Capsicum annuum L.
• Life cycle:Annual
• Planting season:Spring
• Growth habit:Upright/Erect
• Plant height:31–36 in
• Sunlight:Full sun
• Seed depth:1/4 in
• Germination:7–14 Days at 75–90 °F
• Spacing:18 in between plants; 24 in between rows
• Soil:Loamy; pH 6.0–6.5
• Water:Moderate
• Support:Stake
• Reproductive type:Open-Pollinated (OP)
• Fruit:Green; About 5.9 × 1.0 in (150 × 25 mm)
• Heat:Hot; 1,000-2,500 SHU

History and seedkeeping context

A 1997 cultivar-description entry records Bajio as an open-pollinated pasilla-type chile. It explicitly notes that the green stage is called chilaca and documents narrow fruit about 150 by 25 mm, deep-green-to-brown ripening, plants around 900 mm tall, moderate pungency, and resistance to tobacco mosaic virus. Mexican culinary naming distinguishes the fresh chilaca from the dried pasilla.

The words describe harvest and processing stages as well as pepper type; the page does not apply the pasilla name to an immature green pod without explanation. Disease resistance is limited to tobacco mosaic virus because that is the pathogen named in the record. The available sources do not establish a named person’s tribal identity.

The North American cultivar archive lists Bajio at 80 days. The source does not state the counting point, so the value is placed in 70–89 Days as a comparative reference.

Fruit, flavor, and kitchen use

Use green chilaca fruit roasted, sautéed, or in sauces. Allow pods to mature dark brown and dry them for pasilla-style sauces, moles, stews, marinades, and toasted chile preparations. Moderately pungent according to the cultivar archive; no fixed Scoville number is assigned. Pungency varies with genetics, temperature, water stress, fruit position, and ripeness; any heat figure is a range, not a promise for every pod. Pasilla Bajío (Chilaca) is especially useful for green-stage chilaca use, mature dried chile, sauces, seasoning, and seed saving. Flavor and eating quality are described as moderately pungent according to the cultivar archive; no fixed Scoville number is assigned. Pungency varies with genetics, temperature, water stress, fruit position, and ripeness; any heat figure is a range, not a promise for every pod. Heat classification: Hot; listed range: 1,000-2,500 SHU. Pungency can shift with genetics, weather, water stress, and ripeness.

How to grow Pasilla Bajío (Chilaca)

Start Pasilla Bajío (Chilaca) indoors about 8 to 10 weeks before the last expected frost. Sow 1/4 in deep in a warm, evenly moist seed-starting mix; expect 7–14 Days near 75–90 °F. Provide strong light as soon as seedlings emerge, pot up before roots become crowded, and harden plants gradually before transplanting after nights are reliably warm.

Plant in full sun with loamy soil near pH 6.0–6.5. Space plants 18 in apart and rows 24 in apart. Maintain moderate moisture, mulch after the soil warms, and avoid excessive nitrogen. Install stake early where the upright, erect plant or fruit load warrants it. Mature height is 31–36 in.

Season care

• Warmth matters most during germination; keep Pasilla Bajío (Chilaca) seed warm without leaving the medium saturated. • Harden seedlings gradually and wait for warm nights before transplanting, because cold soil and wind can stall peppers for weeks. • Install stake before branches carry a heavy crop, and keep moisture even while fruit is setting. • Harvest at the color stage suited to the recipe, but leave fruit fully mature on selected plants when saving seed. • Use 80-89 Days as a planning range rather than a guaranteed calendar date; weather and transplant stress can shift first harvest.

Harvest and maturity

80-89 Days from transplant to first representative harvest; the same value is used in every description. Peppers can often be used at an immature green or transitional color, but fully ripe color is required for mature seed.

Saving seed

Peppers are largely self-pollinating but insect movement can produce crosses. To save Pasilla Bajío (Chilaca) true to type, grow several healthy representative plants, isolate them from compatible pepper varieties or use blossom bags or cages, and remove clear off-types before flowering. Allow selected fruit to reach full biological color, handle hot fruit with gloves, remove the seed, dry it in a thin labeled layer until fully hard and dry, then store it cool, dark, and dry. Keep the harvest year, source, isolation method, and selection notes with the lot.

Common questions