Seed Savers Organic Ausilio Think Skin Italian Peppers

This gorgeous, versatile, and delicious blocky pepper originates from Italy and is ideal for stuffing, frying, and canning, with a heat level that ranges from mild to hot. Pendant fruits measure 4 to 5 inches long by 2 to 2.5 inches wide. Its medium-thick flesh matures from green to red, and plants measure 18 to 24 inches tall. This Italian family heirloom pepper was donated to Seed Savers Exchange in 2015 by Chad and Michele Ogle-Riccelli of Des Moines, Iowa. Chad's great-grandparents, Giovanni "John" Ausilio and Rachel P. Scarcello, immigrated from Italy in the early 1900s. Their daughter Theresa continues to grow the pepper, which today is at the center of the family's culinary traditions. It is used for drying, frying, stuffing, canning and making sardas (savory rolls flavored with dried peppers and sardines). When asked why the family chose to preserve this pepper and save seeds form year to year, Chad says, "As Grandma (Theresa Ausilio Riccelli) would tell you, they are her family seeds. Something that special, you love and pass on for generations to come...These peppers are part of our heritage."

• ±4,200 seeds/oz
• Organic
• Staff Favorite
• Italian-style thin skin frying pepper
• Red fruits grow to 5 inches long
• Moderate to high heat
• 25 seeds

Instructions - Sow seeds indoors ¼” deep. Peppers germinate best in warm soil, so gentle bottom heat may be helpful until seedlings emerge. Wait to transplant outdoors until soil is warm.

• Start Indoors: 8 weeks before last frost
• Germination: 14 Days
• Plant Outdoors: 12-24” Apart
• Light: Full Sun