Capsicum Horizon
Capsicum Horizon is an orange bell pepper that is a popular heirloom overseas. Compact plants (to 1m tall) produce 10 cm, blocky, thick-walled peppers that ripen from green to a glowing orange when ripe. Excellent gourmet peppers for salads and stuffing.
Hothouse 2022/23 growing: Planted mid October, fruits turned orange early February and plants nearly finished by mid March. Very sturdy plants that with some staking are easy maintenance. Rated at 75 days to maturity in warmer climates, 100 – 110 in a Tasmanian hothouse during 2022/23 season.
Sow – Start on a heat mat or indoors in August, plant out after risk of frost and soils warmed (early to mid November in a cool climate). Can start earlier if planting in a hot house. Lay black plastic on ground and plant into an X cut-out if planting outside. They need consistent soil warmth in Tasmania.
Spacing – 50-70cm.
The name pepper was given by Europeans when Christopher Columbus brought the plant back to Europe. At that time, black pepper (peppercorns), from the unrelated plant Piper nigrum originating from India, was a highly prized condiment.
The name pepper was applied in Europe to all known spices with a hot and pungent taste and was therefore extended to genus Capsicum when it was introduced from the Americas.
Germination: Optimal Soil temperature is 24 to 30 C (around 10 to 20 days to germination, longer at lower temps)
