Pepperoncini (Stavros Sweet Pepper) Yield Per Plant

11 years ago

I am getting ready to start my peppers for the 2013 season here in Zone 6 and was wondering if anyone could help me decide how many Stavros Sweet Pepper plants I should plant. For those of you who have grown these peppers, how much of a yield should I expect from each plant? The only figure that I have seen is 1-3 pounds per plant, but I don't know what the harvest interval is. I do understand that they are very heavy-yielding plants.

My husband and I simply loved pickled Pepperoncini's and I would like to pickle enough for us for the next year. We typically consume 1-2 pints per month (I'd say 18 pints per year).

Thank you for your help!

Featured Answer

digdirt2

11 years ago

The growing conditions provided (soil, nutrients, sun exposure, pests, disease, etc) is going to be the primary factor in production. A plant that produces 1-3 lbs of peppers over a 3 month period for me may produce 2x as much or only 1/2 as much for you in your garden.

But on average for me, it produces over the course of the season 2-3 lbs. of peppers.

But once picked they don't store well for long. So to have enough ready at one time to make a batch of pickles (7-8 pints at a time)you need 7-8 lbs of peppers. To get that I plant 10-12 plants. Can you get by with less? Yes. But then you will be pickling them 1-2 jars at a time and that's a lot of extra work and wasted ingredients.

JMO

Dave

Comments (6)

digdirt2
11 years ago
Forgot - for pickling them be sure to pick up some Pickle Crisp. Otherwise they are more mushy than store bought. You can find more info on the pickling process over on the Harvest forum here.

Dave
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sharonP68
Original Author
11 years ago
Thank you so much, Dave!

I had thought that 6-8 plants might work, but with your feedback, I feel much more comfortable with your number. Also, I do not like wasting time/ingredients. I have two raised beds (4' x 12') and use the square-foot gardening method as much as possible. I planted six peppers (Sweet Snacking and California Wonder) in adjacent square feet and had very low production. I didn't overwater, soil pH was 6.5, and I used a balanced fertilizer. This year I'm planting them in every other square foot and planting lettuce/radish/bunching onions in between. We shall see what happens. I'll post an update at the end of the season.

I also used Ball Pickle Crisp last year and am VERY happy with the results. There is nothing like a mushy pepper!

This post was edited by sharonP68 on Wed, Mar 6, 13 at 17:09
sharonP68
Original Author
11 years ago
Thank you so much, Dave!

I had thought that 6-8 plants might work, but with your feedback, I feel much more comfortable with your number. Also, I do not like wasting time/ingredients. I have two raised beds (4' x 12') and use the square-foot gardening method as much as possible. I planted six peppers (Sweet Snacking and California Wonder) in adjacent square feet and had very low production. I didn't overwater, soild pH was 6.5, and I used a balanced fertilizer. This year I'm planting them in every other square foot and planting lettuce/radish/bunching onions in between. We shall see what happens. I'll post an update at the end of the season.

I also used Ball Pickle Crisp last year and am VERY happy with the results. There is nothing like a mushy pepper!
nancybeetoo
10 years ago
#SharonP68
I wonder where you got seed for the Stavros?

I too would love to pickle a lot of pepperoncini.

On this website http://www.paleotechnics.com/Articles/Pepperoncini.html she recommended Stavros or Sigaretta di Bergamo as the best for pepperoncini.

My usual seed sources don't seem to carry it.

Thanks,

Nancy
sharonP68
Original Author
10 years ago
Nancy,

I bought my seeds from Ohio Heirloom Seeds:

http://www.shop.ohioheirloomseeds.com/main.sc

It took almost 2 1/2 weeks for them to germinate, but every seed germinated. So far, I have harvested 4 pounds of peppers from 8 plants!

Best of luck!
Sharon