Siling Labuyo
Siling labuyo, chileng bundok, siling palay, pasitis, pasite (Tagalog), katumbal, kitikot, siling kolikot (Visaya), silit-diablo (Ilocano), lada, rimorimo (Bicolano) and paktin (Ifugao)
Capsicum frutescens
Seeds per Packet: 25
Iconic chili pepper of the Philippines. Medium to large plants bear upright 1-1 1/2 " slender, smooth peppers picked at any stage for making sitaw or chili vinegar.
Siling Labuyo, meaning wild chilli, are tiny hot peppers born upright on tall, sturdy plants. Like all peppers, they thrive in the heat. This variety comes from my aunty on O'ahu where it is a perennial. The green and red fruits are used to flavor vinegars like sitaw and to add some heat to bagoong, a fish sauce based condiment. Apparently true siling labuyo in the Phillipines is becoming harder to find, with other chillies being substituted for them, which makes preserving these seeds even more special.
Days to Maturity: 110-120 days green fruit, 150 red
Growing Tips: Peppers appreciate fertile, well drained, neutral soil. This variety has always been stewarded to thrive without much supplemental fertility (given reasonable organic matter in the soil).
When to Plant: Warm season annual. Start indoors 8 weeks before transplanting and put in field only after temperatures have adequately warmed, well past frost danger. Cool soils will negatively impact vigor.
Planting Depth: Seed 1/4”deep in shallow flats. Move into bigger pots when they have their true leaf.
Spacing: 12-18”between plants
Sun: Full.
Water: Intermittent, moderate watering. Avoid prolonged drought
Grower: Feral Heart Farm, Sunol, CA