Padrón
Capsicum annuum
Also known as: Pimientos de Padrón, Padrón pepper, Pemento de Padrón (Galician)
Quick facts
- Category
- fruiting
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Days to harvest
- 60 to 80 days
- Harvest type
- continuous production over weeks or months
- Spacing
- 45 cm between plants
Environment
- Temperature
- 18–30°C
- pH
- 6 to 6.8
- EC (hydroponic)
- 1.8 to 2.6 mS/cm
- Daily light
- 20 to 28 mol/m²/day (strict, will fail outside this range)
Climate and zones
- USDA zones
- 4 to 12 (winter low around -34°C or warmer)
- Frost tolerance
- frost sensitive (dies at first frost)
- Season
- warm (summer crops, frost-sensitive)
Viable growing environments:
- outdoor in growing season (annual)
- unheated greenhouse / hoop house
- heated greenhouse
- indoor (heated home)
- indoor hydroponics under grow lights
USDA zone bounds reflect outdoor year-round survival. Anywhere outside the bounded zone range, this crop still grows as an annual in the warm months (outdoor_seasonal), under cover (greenhouse), or indoors under lights.
Growing systems
Padrón works in:
- drip / Dutch buckets
- media bed (ebb and flow)
- soil bed
Growing media
The substrate the roots sit in. Choice depends on the system (clay pebbles don't fit NFT channels; rockwool isn't used in media beds) and the crop (padrón works in the media listed below).
| Medium | pH effect | Water retention | Bacterial surface |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expanded clay pebbles (LECA) | neutral / inert | low | high |
| Coco coir (Coconut coir) | slightly acidic | high | moderate |
| Perlite (Expanded volcanic glass) | neutral / inert | very low | low |
| Rockwool (Mineral wool) | alkaline until pre-soaked | very high | low |
| Soil-based mix (Potting soil) | varies by source | high | high |
Bacterial surface area matters for aquaponics: clay pebbles, lava rock, and pumice double as biofilter substrate. Low-surface media (rockwool, perlite, pea gravel) work in hydroponics but need a separate biofilter in aquaponics.
Nutrient demand by stage
NPK ratios are relative weights at each growth stage; the nutrient mix calculator scales them to absolute grams or ml. EC targets shift through the plant's life: seedlings need a much lighter solution than fruiting adults.
| Stage | N | P | K | EC target (mS/cm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| seedling | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1.2 |
| vegetative | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1.8 |
| flowering | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2.2 |
| fruiting | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2.4 |
Companion-growing notes
- Heavy uptake of potassium, calcium. Co-grown crops with the same demand will end up deficient even at "correct" EC. Plan around this in shared reservoirs.
Aquaponics suitability
Compatible with typical aquaponics nutrient profiles. Fish waste provides enough nitrogen for healthy growth; supplemental potassium, calcium, and iron may still be needed depending on fish stocking density.
Care notes
A compact, prolific pepper for hydroponic tapas enthusiasts. EC 2.0-2.8 mS/cm. pH 5.8-6.5. Temperature: 18–28°C. Moderate to high light (DLI 16-22 mol/m2/day). Plants are compact (30–50 cm) and bushy, well-suited to small hydroponic systems. From transplant to first harvest: 55-65 days. Harvest peppers small (4–6 cm) for the classic blistered-pepper preparation; larger, more mature peppers are more likely to be hot. Each plant produces 30-50+ peppers over a season. The blistered-pepper preparation: heat a heavy pan or cast iron skillet until smoking, add olive oil, add whole peppers in a single layer, cook without moving until one side blisters and chars (2-3 minutes), flip once, remove when blistered on both sides, sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Eat whole, stem and all (the stem is tender and edible when young). Serve immediately. This is one of the fastest paths from harvest to plate of any crop. A fun, conversation-starting crop for home growers who cook Spanish food or enjoy bar-style tapas.
Verified against: rhs-uk, u-of-santiago-de-compostela, ec-protected-designations. Last reviewed 2026-05-15.