Pepper 1231: 'Martin's Carrot'

Plant Profile: ‘Martin’s Carrot’ Pepper

A bunch of red 'Martin's Carrot' peppers in a pile — Shop ‘Martin’s Carrot’ pepper seeds here

Martin’s Carrot pepper was donated in 1996 by Dr. William Woys Weaver, a listed member from Pennsylvania. Dr. Weaver includes ‘Martin’s Carrot’ pepper in his book Heirloom Vegetable Gardening (1997, Henry Holt and Company, New York) and writes,

“This rare and very old heirloom is believed to have been introduced or developed in the nineteenth century by Mennonite horticulturist Jacob B. Garber (1800– 1886) of Lancaster County. It was preserved for many years by the Martin family of Ephrata, Pennsylvania.”

In a communication with SSE, Dr. Weaver told the story of how he acquired seed of ‘Martin’s Carrot’ pepper directly from the Martin family in 1971:

“Mrs. Martin was an Old Order Mennonite (horse and buggy Mennonite) who lived near Ephrata, PA in a house along Route 322. She had a wonderful vegetable and fruit stand along the road where she sold all sorts of things for local women as well as from her own garden. It was my high altar for finding the rare and unusual…

One fall, I went up there to buy things and the stand was gone, the house looked empty. Puzzled, I went up to the porch and knocked on the door, something I don’t do too often, but I was really taken back by the ‘emptiness’ of it all.

Well, a woman in plain dress answered the door and it turned out to be her daughter. I inquired about Mrs. Martin (who always worked in her bare feet—she was a personality), and I was informed that she had died and that the house would be sold. I was shocked.

But her daughter said to me, ‘You must be the Weaver who comes by so often. She wanted me to give you her seeds.’ So totally by accident, serendipity, whatever, I was there at the right time. I accepted the seeds and that is how I got the pepper.”

In Heirloom Vegetable Gardening, Dr. Weaver suggests an interesting way to consume this pepper:

“I have often been tempted to call this the Pennsylvania Dutch jalapeño, since it can be used like a jalapeño in cookery. The Pennsylvania Dutch who pickle it whole often serve it stuffed with peanut butter; which makes an interesting hors d’oeuvre, especially when eaten with salt pretzels and beer.”

A pepper plant growing on landscape fabric with several green and red 'Martin's Carrot' peppers — ‘Martin’s Carrot’ pepper growing at Heritage Farm

Evaluating ‘Martin’s Carrot’ Pepper at Heritage Farm

We grew ‘Martin’s Carrot’ pepper at Heritage Farm in 2010 and developed the following description: “Open plants approximately 2′ tall. Small carrot–shaped fruit ripening from green to bright orange to deep red–orange and averaging 5.3 cm in length and 1.8 cm in width at the stem end. Moderate fruit set. Smokey hot flavor and thin flesh.”

A green 'Martin's Carrot' pepper and a red pepper growing on a plant next to each other — ‘Martin’s Carrot’ ripens from green to red

The traits included in plant and fruit descriptions are those that are most relevant to gardeners, but we also collect data on traits that may not be of much interest to most growers, but help us determine the genetic purity and uniqueness of a variety.

Each time we grow a variety, we create an opportunity for genetic change between one generation and the next. Though we take many actions to minimize the potential for genetic change, it is important for us to monitor our success, to confirm that plants grown from the seed we collect and store have the same traits as the plants that produced that seed.

The more information we have about the traits of a specific variety, the better we are able to identify if genetic changes are taking place. Furthermore, detailed evaluation data helps us to determine the uniqueness of varieties within our collection.

A scan of many red 'Martin's Carrot' peppers, including two cross sections and a pepper sliced vertically in half — The preservation department creates scans to help document the visual traits of the varieties they evaluate – Click to enlarge

Here’s an example of some of the data collected for ‘Martin’s Carrot’ pepper:

Average length of fruit stem: 3.4 cm
Fruit shape at pedicel attachment: obtuse
Fruit shape at blossom end: sunken
Number of locules: 2-3
Placenta length: >1/2 fruit length
Seedling hypocotyl color: purple
Seedling hypocotyl pubescence: indeterminate
Corolla color: white
Corolla shape: rotate
Average diameter of corolla: 1.8 cm
Color of stem: green and purple
Stem pubescence on mature plants: absent

Written by Jenna Sicuranza, former assistant curator. Originally published in the Heritage Farm Companion Vol. 1 Issue 1, Spring 2011.

Get ‘Martin’s Carrot’ Pepper Seeds Here!

Seed Savers Exchange introduced ‘Martin’s Carrot’ pepper to the catalog in 2013.

Pepper 1231: ‘Martin’s Carrot’

Plant Profile: ‘Martin’s Carrot’ Pepper

Evaluating ‘Martin’s Carrot’ Pepper at Heritage Farm

Get ‘Martin’s Carrot’ Pepper Seeds Here!