Plant Library

Group/Class:  Sweet Shishito

Description:

An easy to grow vigorous variety that produces large yields of delicious sweet peppers; usually picked while still green, these small, wrinkled fruit mature to bright red; delicious when grilled, pan fried, fresh or dried; performs well in containers

Edible Qualities

Shishito Pepper is an annual vegetable plant that is typically grown for its edible qualities. It produces light green long peppers (which are technically 'berries') which can be harvested at any point. The fruit will often fade to red over time. The peppers have a sweet taste and a crisp texture.

The peppers are most often used in the following ways:

• Fresh Eating
• Eating When Cooked/Prepared
• Cooking
• Baking
• Canning
• Freezing

Planting & Growing

Shishito Pepper will grow to be about 24 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 18 inches. When planted in rows, individual plants should be spaced approximately 24 inches apart. This vegetable plant is an annual, which means that it will grow for one season in your garden and then die after producing a crop.

This plant is typically grown in a designated vegetable garden. It should only be grown in full sunlight. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone over the growing season to conserve soil moisture. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America, and it is considered by many to be an heirloom variety.

Shishito Pepper is a good choice for the vegetable garden, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.