Pepper Seeds - Long Red Marconi

Long Red Marconi Peppers are the gourmets choice. Heavy crops of slender pointed fruits, ripening from green to red, stand out on this Italian heirloom. The fruits are mild with a distinctly sweet flavour that can stand grilled, enjoyed raw in salads or used to complement a savoury stuffing. Surprisingly, red peppers have more vitamin C than oranges and high levels of vitamin A and B and antioxidants.

• Pack size: 20 seeds
• Type: Sweet
• Time to germination: 14-21 days
• When to sow inside: January - March
• When to sow outside: March - May
• Spacing: 30cm +
• Soil preference: Fertile, well-drained
• Light preference: Full sun
• When to harvest: August - October

How to grow Long Red Marconi Peppers from seed

Peppers belong to the same family as aubergines and tomatoes and should be grown in much the same manner. However, they do need a long growing season and are cold-sensitive, which will halt the plant's growth, reducing its vigour, resistance to pests and disease, and its yields. As such, for a successful experience, we recommend growing peppers under glass only.

Sow your Long Red Marconi Pepper seeds shallowly and aim to keep the temperature high. 21-24 is ideal. However, once germinated, pepper seeds can tolerate somewhat lower temperatures. After germination, place on a sunny windowsill. Alternatively, we recommend growing under LED lights to grow on and develop in 8cm thin wall pots before planting out in late spring, pot and all.

We start our Long Red Marconi Seeds under lights in February before interplanting them in the greenhouse borders with our aubergines. Pepper plants enjoy a stake or cage's extra support, especially when fruiting; however, this isn’t completely necessary. Whilst fairly drought tolerant, peppers will thrive with even, consistent watering. They are generally very low maintenance and easy plants to grow.

Harvest green or leave to ripen to a deep red when at their sweetest. Should autumn catch you out, cut the plant at the stem and hang somewhere warm and sunny to finish ripening.

What to feed your Marconi Pepper plants

Pepper plants enjoy free-draining soil loaded with plenty of organic matter. As they are heavy feeders, add a few handfuls of fish, blood and bone meal with some volcanic rock dust and some kelp powder to give them a rich, balanced and diverse diet for strong organic growth and cropping over the season. This diet will also help the plants to form strong, well-developed immunity.

By preparing the hole/soil with the above organics before planting and applying a side dressing of phosphorus-rich bone meal or wood ash just prior to fruiting, you feed the whole soil ecosystem, which feeds your pepper plants a much broader diet. Off the shelf, bought chemical fertilisers are limited in their scope and kill life in the soil web, trapping the gardener into spending time and money, to fertilise repeatedly.

Keeping pests away

Long Red Marconi is an open-pollinated pepper type, so we encourage you to save your own seeds. By doing so from your best plants, your peppers acclimatise to your particular microclimates and disease vectors year on year. They are, however, fairly pest and disease resistant anyway.

When ordering Long Red Marconi Pepper seeds from Grow Sow Greener, you will receive free marigold seeds. A beautiful plant that adds interest and beauty in its own right while also a great companion for peppers. Plant marigolds close by to deter nematode attack and attract beneficial insects which prey on pests while boosting pollination.