Ashe County Pimento

Ashe County Pimento Seeds

Ashe County Pimento is an early-producing sweet pepper from the mountains of North Carolina. This one is a little personal for me. I grew up in North Carolina, spent plenty of time in the foothills, and went to college in the Appalachian mountains, so I have a soft spot for peppers from that part of the country.

The variety was created by seed saver Rob Danford. Plants stay fairly stocky, usually around 24 to 30 inches tall, and can put on a heavy crop of bright red pimento-shaped peppers. The fruit is thick-walled, very sweet, and usually around 4 inches long.

Uses

These are great for roasting, baking, canning, stuffing, or just eating fresh. The thick flesh holds up well in the kitchen, and the sweetness is the main attraction.

Growing

Ashe County Pimento was selected for a shorter mountain growing season, so it tends to mature earlier than a lot of sweet peppers. Plants are productive and handle cooler conditions a little better than many peppers.

20+ seeds per pack!

I still get a kick out of growing this one in Ohio. NorthCarolinaPeppers.com someday? Nah. We’ll stick with the Buckeye State.

2025 update: apparently my cousin Ben now owns ncpepperseeds.com     Guess it’s genetic