Cajun Belle Hybrid Pepper Seeds

Days to Maturity: 60 from transplant

AAS Winner 2010 (routinely wins taste tests, so prepare for sweet, mildly hot flavor that everyone in the family will find irresistible.)

The best container pepper for high yields and incredible flavor.

Talk about an ornamental edible. This pepper is grown for flavor, flavor, and still more flavor—yet take one look at it and you might think of designing your entire patio garden around its bright good looks. (Go right ahead.) Boasting a combination of sweet and mildly spicy flavor packed with vitamin C, these mini bells ripen from green to scarlet to deep red on vigorous, disease resistant plants just 2 feet high and wide. What's not to love?

The fruit is about 3 inches long and 2 inches in diameter, with 3 or 4 plump lobes and plenty of delectable eating. It arises in huge numbers, and the longer you let it mature on the plant, the more nutritious it becomes. A fully-fruiting plant at the height of the season is a summer Christmas tree of green, scarlet, and red.

But Cajun Belle is really renowned for its flavor. Stuff the peppers, slice them raw into salads and snack plates, or mince them for sautéing—that rich burst of sweet-and-hot taste remains. This variety has never known a taste test it didn't ace. No wonder it won a 2010 All-America Selection.

Boasting good disease resistance, Cajun Belle needs no staking, and performs as well on the patio as it does in the garden. You will love its ease of growth, space-saving size, and delicious peppers.

Sow seed indoors 6 to 8 weeks before last frost date, using your Bio Dome or other sterile, soilless medium. (If not using the Bio Dome, cover the seed lightly.) Germinate at 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit; it should sprout within 5 to 10 days. Grow the seedlings at temperatures around 65 degrees Fahrenheit. They're ready to transplant when they have at least 2 sets of true leaves. Tomatoes are good companions in the vegetable garden.