Jimmy Nardello is a long, thin-skinned Italian frying pepper with roots running deep into southern Italian soil and a family story spanning continents. Brought to Connecticut in 1887 by Giuseppe and Angella Nardello, this heirloom was cultivated in their new garden and named for their fourth son, Jimmy. It reaches harvest in 75 to 85 days, produces compact plants suited to 18-inch spacing, and thrives in full sun with temperatures between 70 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Its rich flavor and tendency to dry easily made it notable enough to earn a place in Slow Foods' Ark of Taste, a recognition reserved for foods in danger of disappearing.
Full Sun
Moderate
9-11
?in H x ?in W
—
High
Hover over chart points for details
This pepper carries the weight of genuine family history. Giuseppe and Angella Nardello sailed from Ruoti to Connecticut with nothing but seeds and memories, and they grew this pepper year after year in their new home, preserving a piece of southern Italy in New England soil. What you're growing is not just a vegetable but a living connection to that migration story. The thin skin dries beautifully, making it exceptional for preserving the harvest, and its rich taste speaks to generations of careful selection and cultivation.
This pepper excels as a frying pepper, its thin skin crisping beautifully when heated in hot oil or on a skillet. The same thin walls that make it a joy to cook also make it ideal for drying, a traditional preservation method that concentrates its flavor. Fresh, it can be roasted, stuffed, or sliced into salads. The ease with which it dries opens possibilities for making pepper powders or storing the harvest through winter.
No timeline data available yet for this variety.
Start seeds indoors 8 to 10 weeks before your last spring frost. Peppers germinate slowly and need warmth; maintain soil temperature around 75 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit for best results. Seeds typically sprout within 7 to 14 days at these temperatures. Keep seedlings under bright light once they emerge, and maintain consistent moisture without waterlogging.
Transplant seedlings outdoors only after the last frost has passed and nighttime temperatures consistently stay above 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Harden off plants by gradually introducing them to outdoor conditions over 7 to 10 days. Plant them 18 inches apart in warm, well-draining soil enriched with compost.
Pick peppers 75 to 85 days after transplanting when they reach full size and develop rich color, typically beginning as pale green and deepening as they mature. For fresh eating, harvest at any stage after they reach usable size. For drying, allow peppers to fully mature on the plant, as this concentrates sugars and flavors. The thin skin is your ally; peppers are ready when they feel slightly flexible but firm. Cut peppers from the plant with a knife rather than pulling to avoid damaging the stems.
Given the compact growth habit, minimal pruning is needed. You can pinch off the first flower cluster to encourage bushier growth and stronger plants, particularly if you want to maximize later yield. Remove any dead or diseased leaves as they appear.
Enter your ZIP code to see a personalized growing calendar for this plant.
“Jimmy Nardello begins in the village of Ruoti in southern Italy, where Giuseppe and Angella Nardello cultivated this pepper in their garden each season. In 1887, when their one-year-old daughter Anna was barely old enough to remember the journey, the family set sail for America seeking a new life. They settled in Naugatuck, Connecticut, and brought their seeds with them. In their garden in this small Connecticut town, they planted the same pepper year after year, and it became known by the name of their fourth son, Jimmy. The variety survived because families kept growing it, passing seeds forward through generations. That persistence earned it recognition from Slow Foods, the international organization dedicated to preserving culinary traditions and the foods that carry cultural memory. Today, Jimmy Nardello stands as proof that immigration is not just a human story but a horticultural one, where seeds travel across oceans and take root in new soil.”