Akatade Water Pepper is a Japanese specialty herb that delivers a bold, peppery punch in remarkably quick time. This open-pollinated annual grows to just 12-30 inches tall, making it ideal for containers, raised beds, or garden edges, and you can harvest tender microgreens in as little as 10-20 days or wait 60 days for mature spikes with ornamental appeal. The crimson-red seedlings bring a fiery finish to sashimi, salads, and stir-fries, combining culinary impact with visual drama.
Full Sun
High
5-10
30in H x ?in W
—
Moderate
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Akatade produces spicy, crimson-red microgreens that transform simple dishes with their bold peppery kick. The dual-harvest potential means you can snip seedlings for immediate kitchen use or let plants mature into decorative spikes that extend the season. Its preference for moist conditions and compact size makes it equally comfortable in containers or along field edges, and deer leave it untouched.
Harvest as tender microgreens to scatter over sashimi, fresh salads, or finished stir-fries for a sharp peppery bite. The mature spikes add ornamental interest to the garden while remaining edible. Both the seedling stage and mature plant stages offer culinary potential.
No timeline data available yet for this variety.
Direct sow seeds 0.125 inch deep in spring after frost danger passes. Seeds can go directly into garden plots, raised beds, containers, or moist field edges.
Begin harvesting tender microgreens at 10-20 days for the freshest peppery bite, cutting just above soil level. Alternatively, allow plants to mature fully at 60 days for ornamental spikes that retain culinary value. The crimson-red color of seedlings signals peak microgreen readiness.
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“Akatade represents a distinctive Japanese horticultural tradition centered on water peppers as culinary ingredients. This heirloom variety has been preserved through open-pollination, maintaining its characteristic spice level and crimson color across generations of Japanese gardeners who valued it for both kitchen and table.”