Ajvarski Macedonian is one of many traditional sweet pepper varieties of the Balkans that is used to make ajvar. Ajvar is a sauce that also has eggplant in it and consumed as a bread spread or side dish with meals. There are also spicy versions of ajvar. However, sweet pepper version is particularly delicious.
Stocky plants of Ajvarski Macedonian sweet pepper have thick foliage and produce large, glossy and crimson red peppers with thick flesh and excellent flavor. Fruits look similar to our Yaglik 28 sweet pepper but they are more wedge-shaped and narrow at the blossom end.
Seeds of this sweet pepper were shared by Rebecca Frances Ivanoff in 2022. Becca and I share cultural connections to our respective grandparents’ homeland of Bulgaria in the Balkans, of which seeds we love to grow.
Packet has min. 20 seeds
- Capsicum annuum
- Full sun
- Planting depth: 1/4″
- Sprouts in 10-14 days
- Ideal growing temperature: 75-95F
- Plant spacing: 18″
- Frost hardy: No
- Growth habit: Upright growth with short or long branches that grow away from the stem
- Growing tips: Start pepper seeds indoors in seedling trays or small seedling pots with seed starting soil that has essential nutrients in it, 6-8 weeks prior to last frost. Keep the soil moist for quick germination. Make sure to keep the young pepper seedlings under good light to have strong plants with sturdy, healthy stems and leaves. Transplant after last frost in well-drained, fertile soil enrichened with compost and other amendments. Feed your pepper plants with liquid fertilizer once every two weeks. Water regularly especially in flower stage. Mulch and always water at plant base to minimize disease. Some pepper varieties are taller than others and may need to be tied to a stake so that fruits don’t touch soil and rot.
Lance Henderson (verified owner) –