Friggitello Pepper Seeds

Friggitello pepper seeds grow into bushy plants reaching 25–30 in, bearing yellow fruit about 3-5 in long, thin-walled fruit. Heat category: Sweet. It is especially suited to pickling, fresh use, preserved peppers, containers, and seed saving. Maturity is 70-79 Days.

About Friggitello

Friggitello is a sweet pepper grown as Capsicum annuum L. Plants have a bushy habit and reach 25–30 in; support is listed as stake. The principal mature or market color is Yellow, with fruit described as about 3-5 in long, thin-walled fruit. Reproductive classification: Open-Pollinated (OP). Maturity: 70-79 Days. Names associated with this variety include Sweet Italian Pepperoncini, Pepper Seeds - Sweet - Italian Pepperoncini.

• Scientific name:Capsicum annuum L.
• Life cycle:Annual
• Planting season:Spring
• Growth habit:Bush
• Plant height:25–30 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:Yellow; About 3-5 in long, thin-walled fruit
• Heat:Sweet; 100-500 SHU

History and seedkeeping context

The North American pepper cultivar archive records Italian Pepperoncini in a 1998 entry as an open-pollinated Italian heirloom pepperoncini type. The same record describes bushy plants and yellow fruit that turn red. Cornell independently identifies it as a sweet heirloom Italian pickling pepper.

Pepperoncini is used broadly for mild pickling peppers, and Friggitello is a separate name found in Italian pepper traditions. The evidence used for this product does not establish that the seed lot is Friggitello, so that alias is not added. The available sources do not establish a named person’s tribal identity.

Fruit, flavor, and kitchen use

Pick the slender yellow fruit for brining, antipasto, salads, sandwiches, and mild cooked pepper dishes. Red fruit are fully ripe and useful for sauces or seed saving. Non-pungent to sweet pepperoncini type; no fixed Scoville value is assigned here. Sweet does not mean every fruit tastes identical; harvest stage and growing conditions still affect texture and sweetness. Friggitello is especially useful for pickling, fresh use, preserved peppers, containers, and seed saving. Flavor and eating quality are described as non-pungent to sweet pepperoncini type; no fixed Scoville value is assigned here. Sweet does not mean every fruit tastes identical; harvest stage and growing conditions still affect texture and sweetness. Heat classification: Sweet; listed range: 100-500 SHU. Pungency can shift with genetics, weather, water stress, and ripeness.

How to grow Friggitello

Start Friggitello 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 bushy plant or fruit load warrants it. Mature height is 25–30 in.

Season care

• Warmth matters most during germination; keep Friggitello 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 70-79 Days as a planning range rather than a guaranteed calendar date; weather and transplant stress can shift first harvest.

Harvest and maturity

70-79 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 Friggitello 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