Habanada Sweet Snacking Pepper

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80 days to green fruit harvest 100 days to orange fruit harvest Capsicum chinense

Habanada is our favorite pepper, without question. We’ve tasted nothing else like their luscious, tropical divinity.

My first bite I’ll never forget: I couldn’t help but bite gingerly, expecting the fire of Habanero. But then the revelation of impossibly floral, tropical sweetness, without even a hint of heat: Heaven. Michael Mazourek, who’d been selecting this variety for over a decade, laughed and encouraged us to eat the whole thing, seeds and all. Indeed, that is the way. Savoring that first Habanada Sweet Snacking Pepper was one of my favorite experiences of exploding expectation and imagination, especially in food.

An open-pollinated variety from Cornell, we’re confident organic Habanada sweet pepper will be beloved for many generations to come. This is how ‘heirlooms’ are born, Friends! We’re grateful for the countless generations of indigenous seedkeepers who have saved pepper seed for millennia and we are thrilled to share this fresh selection of a heatless habanero, both delicious and abundant, with you ~

Would you love to receive these seeds? Rather than selling and shipping, we share seeds as an embodied gift practice.

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Organic Habanda Sweet Snacking Pepper

Planting Method: Transplant Only

When to sow: 8-10 weeks before last frost

Seed Depth: 1/4 inch Days to Germination: 7-10 at 85°F

Sowing and seedling care: Sow indoors 2 seeds per soil block & thin to strongest 1. 80F heat mats will germinate seeds best; after germ, set to 70F days & 60F nights. Habanada is difficult to germinate, preferring your heat mat nice and toasty, ideally 85 F. (But don’t be daunted. Their unmistakable, unforgettable flavor is so extraordinarily worth it.) Good light is essential: Younger, less stressed seedlings are healthier and more abundant than older, more stressed seedlings.

Move to 3-4” pots with first true leaves. Harden off (reduce water & temp 3-7 days) & transplant when night temps are above 50F. Pluck off any flowers at planting. Habanadas will benefit from restricted root growth, no additional nitrogen or compost, good drainage, and additional heat such as row cover or in a green house/hoop-house(especially in the Northeast).
If you are going to fertilize, do so minimally as it will encourage foliage growth rather than fruit development. The do well in a 2-3 gallon pot where you can extend the harvest by bringing them inside or into a greenhouse as the fall temperatures drop.

When to transplant: After last frost

Transplant Spacing: 12-18 inches Sun Needs: Full

Days to Harvest: 80 days to green, 100 days to orange fruit