Capsicum annuum
Very Long Sweet Pepper of the Landes, Landes sweet pepper: an old variety from southwestern France, it has long been part of Basque and Landes cuisine. Its very thin skin—so thin that it often does not need to be peeled—and its sweet flesh make it one of the ingredients in piperade, alongside Espelette pepper.
Characteristics:
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Very long, very slender fruits: 20 to 25 cm long and barely 3 cm wide, slender and slightly wavy, hanging straight down under their own weight. Nothing like a stocky bull's horn pepper: this is a thin, elongated fruit, green and then bright red when ripe.
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Very thin skin: its main distinctive feature, making it pleasant to eat raw and often eliminating the need to peel it after cooking.
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Sweet, fragrant flavor: completely mild.
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Highly productive: an old variety selected for yield.
Sowing advice:
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Exposure: full sun, in a spot sheltered from the wind.
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Soil: deep, rich, and well drained. In a pot, mix planting compost and coarse sand in a deep container.
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Method: sow from February to April under cover, at 20-25 °C: below 18 °C, the seeds will not germinate. Cover with 5 mm of soil. Germination takes 2 to 3 weeks. See how to sow your seeds.
Planting advice:
- Transplant when nighttime temperatures exceed 12 °C, spacing plants 50 cm apart. Unlike tomatoes, do not bury the stem: peppers do not form adventitious roots, and a buried crown will rot.
- Stake the plants: the long fruits weigh down the branches, which may break in the wind.
Care advice:
- Water regularly at the base and avoid fluctuations: irregular watering causes blossom-end rot, the black spot at the tip of the fruit. Apply a thick mulch.
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The market gardener's trick: pinch out the first flower, known as the royal flower, which appears at the stem fork. The plant will then branch more and produce many more fruits afterward.
- Rotate crops every three to four years: do not grow it after tomatoes, eggplants, or potatoes.
Harvesting advice:
- Cut with pruning shears, leaving a piece of stem attached.
- When green, it is still firm and herbaceous; if left to turn red, it becomes distinctly sweet—this is when it is best for piperade.
Beneficial companion plants:
Benefits for biodiversity:
- Its white flowers are visited by bees and bumblebees throughout the summer.
- An old regional, open-pollinated variety: growing it helps keep the vegetable-growing heritage of southwestern France alive. See our heirloom seeds.
Uses:
- In piperade with tomatoes, onions, and Espelette pepper; pan-grilled; preserved in oil; or eaten raw in salads. Its thin skin generally eliminates the need for peeling.
Harvesting your own seeds:
Leave a fine fruit to turn completely red on the plant, open it, remove the seeds, and dry them flat for a few days. Be aware that peppers cross readily with hot peppers grown nearby: isolate your seed plant if you also grow hot varieties. See how to save your seeds.
Commitment to Quality: at SemiSauvage - Permaculture, we grow and select our seeds with respect for all living things as our guiding principle. Based near the Auvergne Volcanoes, we choose open-pollinated, non-hybrid varieties, test them for germination rates, and carefully sort and package them without any chemical treatment. Our belief: to give gardeners back the ability to resow, year after year, seeds that truly belong to them.
The piperade pepper, with skin so thin it does not need to be peeled.
