Long Joe's Cayenne Chilli - Seeds

Long Joe's Cayenne Chilli - Seeds

$5.80
$5.80
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Long Joe's Cayenne Chilli - Seeds
  • Long Joe's Cayenne Chilli - Seeds
  • Long Joe's Cayenne Chilli - Seeds
Long Joe's Cayenne Chilli - Seeds

Long Joe's Cayenne Chilli - Seeds

$5.80
$5.80

Minimum 25 seeds per packet.

Postage included. Bundle to save. Raised from heirloom seed at Turtledove Farm.

Can't be posted to Western Australia.

Capsicum annuum


A Calabrian heirloom cayenne with very long, thin, slightly wrinkled fruit, 20–30cm long, that ripen from green to a glossy scarlet. The walls are thin, so the chillies dry quickly and evenly. That makes them a good choice for stringing up to dry, crushing into flakes or grinding into powder. The heat is a solid medium-hot with some sweetness behind it, and it builds as the fruit ripens. The plants are compact and heavy-cropping, and the long red fruit hanging off them looks striking in the garden and at a market stall. Compact bush — a single stake helps carry the load of long fruit.
25,000–40,000 (medium-hot)

Days to harvest70–85 days from transplant
Fruit sizeLong, slender, tapering fruit, 20–30cm
Sowing depth5mm
Germination7–21 days at soil temperature 25–30°C (it can be slow, so be patient)
Spacing45–60cm apart
AspectFull sun; well-drained soil rich in organic matter
Frost toleranceFrost-tender — plant out only once frosts have finished
LifecycleTender perennial, usually grown as an annual. It can be kept over winter under cover in a frost-free spot.
Container suitableYes

Growing notes

A hot, sunny, sheltered position suits it best. Chillies need a long, warm run to ripen, and the more heat they get the more heat they carry.

Soil preparation: Dig in well-rotted compost before planting, with a balanced feed. Too much nitrogen gives you leaves at the expense of fruit.

Support: A single stake at planting time keeps the plant upright once the branches are loaded with long fruit.

Containers: Grows well in a pot of 20L or more. Keep water and feed steady, since pots dry out faster than beds.

Watering & feeding: Water deeply and consistently at the base. Let the top of the soil dry slightly between waterings. Side-dress with a potassium-rich feed once flowering starts. Pinching out the growing tip at about 15cm gives a bushier plant with more fruiting branches.

Harvest: Pick green for a milder, fresher flavour, or leave the fruit to ripen fully red for more heat and sweetness. For drying, pick fully red fruit with a short stem and thread it onto string. Hang the strings somewhere warm, dry and airy until the fruit is brittle. Regular picking keeps the plant setting new fruit.

Timing: First fruit ready around 70–85 days from transplant.

Short season tips


Sow indoors on bottom heat 8–10 weeks before your last frost. Chilli seed won't germinate well in cool soil. In Coonabarabran and similar inland zones, plant out from late October once nights are reliably above 12–15°C. If autumn frost threatens before the crop has ripened, pull the whole plant and hang it upside down in a dry shed. The green fruit will keep colouring up, and thin-walled cayennes like this dry well hung this way.

Origin


A southern Italian heirloom kept for generations by the Sestito family of Calabria. Calabria is a region where strings of red chillies drying in the sun are part of the landscape. The family carried the seed with them when they migrated to North America. It passed from garden to garden among Italian-American families before seed savers took it into the wider heirloom trade. Gardeners still grow it for what it has always been good at: long, reliable chillies that dry into flakes or powder for the year ahead.

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