Golden Marconi Capsicum

Capsicum annuum (nightshade)

Also known as: Marconi Golden, Yellow Marconi

A classic Italian sweet frying pepper prized for its size and rich flavour. Long, tapering fruit — sometimes reaching an impressive 18–25cm — start light green and ripen through to a deep, glossy gold, with medium-thick flesh and thin skin that stays sweet at every stage. Vigorous, high-yielding plants produce a generous harvest of large pods, equally good fried, grilled, roasted, or stuffed, and a natural fit for anyone building a proper antipasto spread.

Days to harvest 80–90 days
Fruit size 18–25cm, tapering, 2-lobed
Sowing depth 5mm
Germination 7–14 days at 24–29°C
Spacing 45–60cm apart
Aspect Full sun, well-drained soil
Frost tolerance Full sun, well-drained soil

Growing notes

Choose a full-sun spot with fertile, well-drained soil and shelter from wind — this variety grows tall and its large fruit puts real weight on branches. Or use 30L pots.

Soil preparation: Fertile, well-drained soil with plenty of compost worked in.

Support: Staking recommended once plants are carrying a full load of large fruit.

Watering & feeding: Water consistently and avoid letting plants dry out or sit waterlogged. Feed with a liquid fertiliser high in potassium once flowering begins.

Harvest: Pick first fruit promptly once it reaches full size to encourage further production. Can be harvested green, though flavour and sweetness peak once fully ripened to gold. Cut rather than pull to avoid damaging the plant.

Timing: A later-maturing variety — expect first harvest around 80–90 days after transplanting, with continued cropping through the warm months.

Key features

  • Open-pollinated Italian heirloom
  • Large, tapering fruit to 18–25cm
  • Medium-thick flesh, thin skin
  • Ripens from green to deep gold
  • Sweet at every stage of ripeness
  • Excellent fried, roasted, grilled, or stuffed

Short season tips

Best started indoors on heat mats — this variety needs 24–29°C soil to germinate reliably. Sow 8–10 weeks before the last frost or purchase as 6–8-week-old seedlings. Transplant into the garden only once soil temperature has reliably warmed to at least 15°C. Avoid disturbing roots when transplanting — capsicums resent being moved and stall easily. Being a later-maturing type, give it as long a warm season as possible for the best size and yield.

  • Spring
  • Summer

Tender perennial — most often grown as an annual

  • Best started indoors on heat mats — this variety needs 24–29°C soil to germinate reliably. Sow 8–10 weeks before the last frost or purchase as 6–8-week-old seedlings. Transplant into the garden only once soil temperature has reliably warmed to at least 15°C. Avoid disturbing roots when transplanting — capsicums resent being moved and stall easily. Being a later-maturing type, give it as long a warm season as possible for the best size and yield.
  • Other nightshades (tomatoes, eggplants, potatoes) Fennel

Traces back to the sweet frying peppers long grown in southern Italy, part of the same tradition as the Bull's Horn and other Italian roasting types. Believed to be named after Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi, though the exact story behind the name has been lost over time. Carried to North America by Italian immigrants in the early 20th century, it remains a fixture of Italian-American home gardens for its size, sweetness, and versatility in the kitchen.