Ideal varieties of bell pepper for the Leningrad region today

Sweet peppers are a vegetable that contains many different vitamins. They are great in a variety of dishes and taste great fresh, canned, pickled, or stewed. There are countless delicious recipes featuring sweet peppers. But each type of vegetable or fruit has its own key characteristics, such as growing conditions and climate. Which pepper varieties are best grown in the Leningrad Region?

Early

Be sure to decide in advance what you'll use the fruits for and what dishes you'll be preparing them for. Early-ripening vegetable varieties are highly prized, as they can be enjoyed in early July. To speed up the ripening process, it's best to grow them from seedlings.

Cardinal

One of the early-ripening sweet pepper varieties is Cardinal. It belongs to the hybrid pepper family. Full maturity occurs in 140 days. Plant height is approximately 100-105 cm.

The large, cube-shaped fruits are dark burgundy with a purple tint when fully ripe. Each fruit weighs approximately 250 g and has thick walls. Yields can reach up to 15 kg per square meter.

Martin

The Lastochka variety is undemanding in terms of growing conditions. It's well suited to any region, but is most commonly grown in the Leningrad Region. An early-ripening variety, it reaches technical maturity approximately 65 days after the first shoots emerge.

The bushes are low, up to 65 cm tall. The plant has a thin stem. The fruits are medium-sized, weighing up to 85 g. The shape of the vegetable is conical, and when ripe, it is red.

Agapovsky

An early-ripening crop. Full maturity takes up to 125 days. The bush grows up to 80 cm tall. The fruits are large, prismatic, slightly ribbed, weighing up to 120 g. The vegetables have thick walls, 5-8 mm thick.

Clusters are formed from 4-5 fruits. They have a distinct aroma. Agapovsky is valued for its transportability and shelf life. Yields are 11 kg per square meter.

Apricot Favorite

Apricot Favorite is an early-ripening sweet pepper variety, with a ripening period of up to 105 days. It is versatile and suitable for both greenhouse and open-air cultivation. The plant grows up to 60 cm tall.

It is very popular to use it in making preserves.

Cone-shaped peppercorns, average weight 160 g. The skin is shiny, smooth, and slightly ribbed. The name evokes the vegetable's bright apricot color. This variety is also used in baby food and by people with allergies.

Belladonna

Belladonna is an early-ripening sweet pepper variety. Suitable for outdoor cultivation, it matures in approximately 75 days. The vegetables are cube-shaped with rounded corners, approximately 10 cm long, and weigh 200 g, with thick walls.

The bushes are approximately 95 cm tall. The fruits ripen in clusters, forming a bouquet. The fruit is yellow. Due to its color, Belladonna is a perfect choice for allergy sufferers.

Mid-season

Mid-season varieties are valued primarily for their flavor. Because the fruit takes longer to ripen, they require more warmth and care to grow. However, they significantly outperform early-season varieties in terms of size and yield.

California Miracle

This type of sweet pepper is a mid-season variety. The plant is short, reaching a maximum height of 45 cm, but despite its short stature, the fruits produce a good size, weighing up to 125 g.

California Wonder is a cube-shaped plant with walls 7.5–8.5 mm thick. Its color is red-burgundy. This hybrid is versatile in growing conditions. A positive feature is its long shelf life.

California's Golden Miracle

Mid-season. Technical maturity occurs 155 days after the first shoots emerge. Although the plant is short, reaching a height of 40 cm, its fruits are quite large.

Atlas

The Atlas variety produces large fruits. Ripening occurs at 155 days. Fruits are up to 26 cm long, weighing up to 400 g. The wall thickness is up to 7 mm.

The vegetable is pyramid-shaped, with ribbed edges. The skin is glossy. When ripe, the skin turns bright red.

Bogatyr

Bogatyr is widely used in cooking. It is a mid-season variety with a growing season of up to 160 days. The fruits are large, prism-shaped, weighing up to 175 g and 13 cm long.

The plant's stem is thin and requires staking to a vertical support. The height of the bush is 55-85 cm. These peppers store well, making them widely used in the trade.

Star of the East

The growing season of the Star of the East is up to 118 days. A sweet pepper hybrid, Star of the East thrives in a variety of conditions, both indoors and outdoors. Bushes reach a height of up to 70 cm.

Cube-shaped vegetables, yellow when fully ripe, weigh up to 300 g. They have a rich flavor and are resistant to some diseases. They can be used in any type of cooking.

Isabel

Isabella is widely used in canning. The fruits are barrel-shaped, weighing up to 160 g. The bushes are compact, reaching a height of no more than 60 cm. The vegetables are green during growth and bright yellow when fully ripe.

Reviews

Alla: "Our whole family loves fresh salads. After winter, we crave vitamins. Where better to find so many healthy ingredients than in bell peppers? Over the years of gardening, we've identified our favorite early-ripening varieties: 'Swallow' and 'California Golden Miracle.'"

Yulia: "My husband and son are big pickle lovers. Who else would you go out of your way for if not your loved ones? I really love small peppers, so I can preserve and marinate them whole. For this type of preserving, I use the mid-season 'Isabella' and the early-ripening 'Apricot Favorite'."

Andrey: "I've been working in the fruit and vegetable trade for over 15 years. During this time, I've identified the product qualities that drive sales. Shelf life is key. Agapovsky and Californian Miracle stand out from the crowd precisely because of this quality."

“Due to their thick walls, they store well and do not spoil.”