The best Italian variety for sauces and seasonings is purple Marconi pepper: reviews and descriptions

Fans of thick-walled sweet peppers will surely enjoy the old Italian Marconi variety. It stands out due to its early ripening period, large fruits of an original shape, and ease of care. You can also collect your own seeds. Marconi pepper is a whole variety group with different colored fruits, but certainly an excellent taste.

Description and characteristics of the variety

The original variety of the series is Marconi Red pepper.
It has not been tested in Russia, is not in the State Register, but is popular among amateurs. Descriptions of the variety from different manufacturers, reviews from gardeners characterize Marconi Red as a pepper of both early and medium ripening. In fact, it is early ripening, the confusion could have occurred for two reasons:

1. Tomatoes in Russian gardens are grown more often and in larger volumes than peppers. Closely related cultures. Marconi ripens 100-115 days after germination, which exactly coincides with the start of fruiting of mid-ripening tomatoes.
2. Early pepper takes 90-110 days to color, average pepper needs 110-130. Marconi occupies an intermediate position, but still closer to precocity. And the variety is imported, and is positioned by foreign sources as early.

Marconi pepper forms a medium-sized bush, the height of which reaches:

• in open ground – 50-60 cm;
• when grown in greenhouses 70 cm, with intensive fertilizing and abuse of nitrogen - up to 1 m.

The leaves are medium sized, not too dense. The shoots cannot withstand the load of fruit, they break, and require pinching and tying to a strong support.

Peppers are large, up to 20 cm in size with a diameter of 5-7 cm, a wall thickness of 4-6 mm, weight - 150-200 g, individual fruits reach a weight of 300 g. They should ideally be long and narrow, with a sharp nose, similar for bitter varieties, only big ones. In practice, the pods often grow flattened, sometimes curved, making them appear wider. But, as you can see in the photo, they don’t look ugly, but exotic.

At technical ripeness, Marconi fruits are green. They can already be eaten, which is rare for thick-walled peppers, which are usually inedible before coloring. When fully ripe, the skin is deep red and shiny, the taste becomes very sweet, and the flesh is juicy.

From one square meter per season, 7-8 kg of fruits are collected in open beds and under film, in greenhouses - about 10 kg of fruits.

The harvest can be harvested as soon as the first strokes of the main color appear on the pods. But gourmets claim that when the peppers are fully ripe on the bush, they become especially tasty - a smoky aroma appears and the sugar content increases. The pods are eaten fresh, stuffed, grilled and baked in the oven. They can be stewed, fried, boiled, used for winter preparations, or frozen.

As Marconi pods mature, they become tastier but become increasingly flattened. For stuffing, it is recommended to use peppers at the stage of technical maturity (green).

Description of Alexander pepper, reviews, photos

An early-ripening, low-growing, productive variety of sweet pepper for open ground and film shelters. The bush is compact, up to 45 cm high.

This variety is very similar to the Kolobok variety, but it is an earlier pepper.

Fruit characteristics

The fruits are flat-round, thick-walled, ribbed, green in technical ripeness, red in biological ripeness, juicy, fleshy, excellent taste without bitterness. The average fruit weight is 130-150 grams (up to 180 g). Wall thickness - 7-9 mm. This pepper is ideal for fresh consumption; it is also suitable for canning.

Productivity of Alexander pepper: up to 4.8 kg/sq.m (subject to agricultural practices).

The variety is relatively resistant to blossom end rot and mosaic, is moderately affected by anthracnose, and is susceptible to fusarium wilt.

Advantages of the variety : a combination of early ripening with excellent fruit quality and high yield.

Features of growing Alexander pepper, planting and care

Sowing seeds for seedlings is carried out 60-70 days before the intended planting of plants in a permanent place. The optimal temperature for seed germination is 26-28°C. When two true leaves appear on the plants, the seedlings are transplanted into separate cups with a capacity of 0.3-0.5 liters. Pepper does not like transplanting, so do not be surprised if after you have transplanted the seedlings into separate containers, they stop growing for a while. You can “smooth out” the stressful state a little by spraying the plants with Epin.

When to plant pepper seedlings in the ground

After the threat of return frosts has passed, the seedlings can be planted in a permanent location. Some people plant in open ground in May, while others only plant under covering material or under film; it all depends on the climatic conditions of your region.

When planting pepper seedlings in the ground for 1 sq. m area it is recommended to place up to 6 plants.

Peppers are planted in the ground without being buried, but in exactly the same way as they grew in cups. Pepper plants, unlike tomatoes, very rarely produce lateral roots, so there is no point in deepening the bush.

Sweet pepper Alexander responds well to watering and fertilizing with complex mineral fertilizers.

Varieties of Marconi pepper

Among the several varieties of Marconi pepper, red rightfully takes first place in popularity. But there are other varieties, also good, with high yields and excellent taste:

• purple – with the most intense aroma;
• red is the sweetest;
• yellow – with a soft, refined taste.

Marconi Rosso and Red varieties

The trade in Marconi pepper seeds is carried out by small seed companies or individuals. Sometimes planting material comes from abroad and is packaged locally or sold individually. This is probably why the names of Marconi peppers are not always easy to understand.

Seeds of the red-fruited variety are purchased in different countries and go on sale under the names Rosso and Red, which is actually the same thing and is translated as “red.” It’s just that the first word is Italian, and the second is English.

So all the characteristics of Marconi Red and Rosso are the same. This is just one type of pepper, already described above.

Giant Marconi

From Italian the name translates as giant. In 2001, it received the Awarded All-America Selections as the best variety of vegetables for early ripeness, large fruit, yield and excellent taste.

This is a red Marconi pepper with especially large fruits, more than 20 cm long, weighing 200-300 g. Their shape is elongated-cylindrical, with clearly defined longitudinal convexities on the sides according to the number of chambers, and a slightly depressed nose. The bush in open ground reaches 90 cm, in greenhouses it exceeds 1 m.

Marconi Purple

The name of the variety translates as “purple”, but it is often sold under the name Marconi Violet pepper. But that's not all. launched the cultivar on the market as Black Marconi sweet pepper. Meanwhile, this is the same variety.

During the period of technical ripeness, the color of the fruit changes from green to dark red, then gradually becomes purple-black, like an eggplant. The bush grows to a height of 40-50 cm, weight does not exceed 120-160 g, fruit size is about 15 cm. The pods are very similar to hot peppers, narrow and long, with a sharp tip.

Marconi Giallo (Golden)

Marconi Gold and Giallo peppers with yellow fruits are also the same variety. The English word Golden and the Italian Giallo are translated as “golden”.

The pods are elongated-conical, with a pointed tip, up to 25 cm long, with a small number of seeds, a wall of 3-4 mm, weighing 150-300 g. The bush reaches 60 cm in open beds, in a greenhouse it grows higher.

The taste is mild, not as rich as black Marconi, less sweet compared to red. But yellow fruits contain more phosphorus, potassium and rutin.

Planting dates and care features

Peppers sprout for a long time and unevenly. Seeds can hatch in 2 weeks or a month. And another 60 days must pass before transplantation to a permanent place. So sowing for open ground is done:

• in the middle zone - from late February to early March;
• in the south - early or mid-February.

Unlike tomatoes, pepper seeds swell poorly and are not sown dry. They are pre-treated against pests and diseases, soaked, and planted to a depth of about 3 cm.

Sprouting peppers usually doesn't end well. The roots that appear before the sprouts are very fragile and break off easily. And then gardeners complain about poor seed germination.

The Marconi variety, like other peppers, does not form roots on its shoots. Burying seedlings when picking or transplanting into the ground will lead to stem rotting and other problems. This must be remembered at all stages of growing crops.

In the phase of 2 true leaves, the seedlings are dived to the same depth as before. You can plant 2 seedlings in one container. But since the seeds of the Marconi variety are expensive and are often sold individually, this is rarely done.

The seedlings are watered moderately, fed, and, if necessary, provided with additional lighting for up to 6-8 hours a day. When the soil warms up to 10°C, it is moved to a greenhouse; at a temperature of 15°C after hardening, it is moved to open beds.

By this time, the seedlings should have 8-10 leaves. But sometimes pepper goes into the ground already with flowers or ovaries. If the earthen lump is not destroyed, there is nothing particularly terrible about it. The crop just needs to be given additional feeding. Under no circumstances should you cut off the top.

When transplanting, try to disturb the root as little as possible. The size of the holes should be such that a ball of earth can comfortably fit there, but no more. It is contraindicated to bury seedlings.

Marconi Giant is placed according to the 50x50 pattern. For other varieties, planting should be more compact:

• Red and Gold – 35x35;
• for Marconi Purple, the distance between the bushes is left the same, or reduced by 5 cm.

The landing site is of particular importance. If tomatoes need intense lighting all day, then peppers need no more than 8 hours, ideally 6. So this point needs to be thought through and the bed should be placed so that part of the day the planting is shaded by larger plants.

Further care:

1. Feeding. In the first half of the growing season, nitrogen should predominate in fertilizers, and calcium in the second half. Phosphorus is definitely needed, but in small quantities.
2. Watering. The crop cannot be over-watered, but the soil under the bushes should not dry out even for a short time. It is recommended to organize drip irrigation, at least from plastic bottles.
3. Formation of pepper. The bush is tied up, stepsoned, and 12-17 pods are left on each plant.
4. Harvesting. Marconi peppers are harvested as they ripen. If the fruits are needed for stuffing - at the stage of technical ripeness, for fresh consumption, grilling, processing - after coloring the pods.
5. Topping. When the required number of ovaries has formed on the Marconi bush, the crown is cut off to limit further growth. This will allow the remaining fruits to ripen better and become larger.

Sweet Pepper Marconi Golden Golden Marconi Growing and Care

Planting seeds

It is better not to plant the seeds immediately in a permanent place, but to first grow seedlings from them, otherwise this process will take much longer. It is best to do this in February, especially if the plant will live in open ground - by spring the sprouts will be strong enough to be replanted. To speed up germination, the seeds should be placed between two damp cloths or paper towels, placed in a container and left for several days. It is important that the seeds are in the same plane - this will ensure even distribution of moisture. The “readiness” of seeds for planting can be determined by their swelling (some may develop small sprouts).

Sweet Marconi Golden Golden Marconi pepper seeds are planted in shallow holes (0.5 cm), located at a distance of at least 5 cm from each other, otherwise the plants will be crowded. They need to be sprinkled with a small layer of soil on top, sprinkled with water and covered with glass or polyethylene.

The first shoots above the soil surface appear after about 5-7 days - after which the container should be moved to a sunny place. Plants should be replanted into separate pots after the first true leaves appear on them, and for subsequent cultivation in open ground it is better to choose peat pots. They allow you to replant without disturbing the roots, thanks to which young peppers will take root better.

Advantages and disadvantages

Marconi is not without reason called a family heirloom. Although the variety is old, it has many advantages:

• productivity;
• excellent, very sweet “smoky” taste;
• large pods;
• original form;
• universal use;
• early ripeness;
• long fruiting - almost the entire season;
• resistance to adverse factors and diseases;
• high marketability;
• ease of care;
• the bush does not grow too large;
• Possibility of growing in protected and open ground.

There are few disadvantages, and they are all relative:

• pods are usually curved, often flattened;
• the bush needs to be formed;
• shoots often break under the weight of the crop.

Sweet peppers of the Italian Marconi type, despite the abundance of new cultivars, have remained among the best in the group for many decades.

The popularity and demand of the variety series is due to its high yield, large sweet pods with an original smoky taste and bizarre shape, and versatility of use.