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Last edited by shiny on November 08, 2026. View history

peperoncini Peperoncini

No scientific name recorded

A variety of chilli pepper

How to sow peperoncini: Direct seed indoors, transplant seedlings outside after hardening off

Sun requirement for peperoncini: Plant in Full Sun

Peperoncini are an Italian chili pepper cultivar of either Capsicum annuum or Capsicum frutescens. Peppers are thin, 7-15 cm long, tapered, and mature from green to red. They have a Scoville rating of 15,000-30,000 units and their flavor is more important than their spiciness in Italian cuisine. In America, they can be confused with pickled Italian Sweet Peppers, or Friggitello, which are often labeled "Pepperoncini". Further confusion is caused by their similarity to Banana Peppers.

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Peperoncini facts

Lifespan

Annual living and reproducing in a single year or less

Height × spread

75cm × 60cm

Row Spacing

45cm
Optimal temperature 18–30 °C
Absolute temperature 7–40 °C
FAO EcoCrop
Optimal rainfall 600–1500 mm/year
Absolute rainfall 400–2000 mm/year
FAO EcoCrop
Optimal soil pH 5.5–6.8
Absolute soil pH 4.3–8.3
FAO EcoCrop

Crop cycle

120–180 days
FAO EcoCrop

Max altitude

2000 m
FAO EcoCrop

Optimal light

very bright
FAO EcoCrop
What 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 peperoncini, the FAO EcoCrop database gives a lowest growing temperature of 7°C and a shortest growing cycle of 120 days at its best temperature, about 2040 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 peperoncini 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.

How members grow peperoncinis

Sunniness

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Peperoncini plantings

Peperoncini
Peperoncini
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peperoncini
peperoncini
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Peperoncini harvests

Peperoncini
Peperoncini
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Where peperoncinis grow

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Peperoncini harvests

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Find peperoncini seeds

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Time to harvest

If sown now, expect a first harvest in about 120 to 180 days.

From the growing cycle in the FAO EcoCrop database, which is the same wherever it is grown.

Ecological requirements

Data from the FAO EcoCrop database for Capsicum frutescens L.

Family / Taxonomy Magnoliopsida
Asteridae
Solanales
Solanaceae
Life form sub-shrub
Life span perennial
Habit erect
Optimal soil depth shallow (20-50 cm)
Optimal soil texture medium, organic
Optimal soil fertility high
Optimal soil drainage well (dry spells)
Optimal soil salinity low (<4 dS/m)
Photoperiod short day (<12 hours), neutral day (12-14 hours)

Learn more about peperoncinis

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