Jimmy Nardello pepper plants are easy to grow and care for, and can be started from seed. The sweet pods are delicious and these are relatively fast-growing peppers so you can enjoy them for a long harvest. It is best to start your Jimmy Nardello seeds indoors in temperatures between 80-90˚ F for best germination, we like to use a heat mat to keep them warm until germination. The seeds should be sown indoors 6 to 8 weeks prior to planting outdoors.
Use well-draining seed starting mix, and use organic fertilizers only after they've started their second set of leaves. Put a fan on your Jimmy Nardello pepper seedlings or brush them daily with your hands to provide movement and air circulation that will help them grow stockier and healthier and prepare them for outdoor winds.
After starting them indoors, it's important to harden off your seedlings before transplanting into the garden or containers. This is just a matter of gradually introducing them to the outdoor winds and sun, first in dappled shade, and working up to a full day of sun over a period of several days. This will help prevent your Jimmy Nardello peppers from getting transplant shock. Transplant them in the early morning, or evening, or on an overcast day once the temperatures have warmed up consistently to about 55-60˚F at night and all chance of frost has past.
Jimmy Nardello plants do well with 6-8 hours of sun daily in 5 gallon+ pots as well as planted in the garden.These pepper plants like well-draining, rich soil, amended with compost. Later in the season, make sure not to over-fertilize with nitrogen, which will result in bushy plants with few or no flowers or peppers.
Your Jimmy Nardello peppers will start producing in about 80 days of hot weather, make sure to harvest the long sweet pods – you can pick them green or let them ripen to a sweeter red to use in salads, stir fries, pickled, or as a stand-alone side dish fried in a cast iron pan with minced garlic and sesame or olive oil. When you harvest Jimmy Nardello peppers, it will encourage the plant to keep producing more.
