Garden Log: Buran Heirloom Sweet Pepper

I grew Buran sweet peppers, a Polish heirloom, for the first time. Here are my notes on the results

Buran sweet peppers on the plant in mid-August

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Peppers, both sweet and hot, are a favorite here at the Acre. Not just for fresh eating, but for drying, fermenting, roasting, and preserves, both alone and with other veggies (giardiniera anyone?). As a result, a fair amount of garden space is reserved for them.

When it comes to sweet peppers I usually grow a corno type for roasting, and a blocky bell type for everything else.

My go-to bell pepper is usually the reliable (but boring) California Wonder. But this year, I had several that overwintered in the keyhole garden, so I decided not to plant any more in the main vegetable garden. Instead, I chose a Polish heirloom sweet pepper called Buran which I’ve read a number of good things about.

A slow start

I planted the seeds in the greenhouse in early March, and it took around two weeks for the seeds to finally sprout. After another four weeks in the greenhouse, I transplanted the seedlings into the north end of the garden in late April.

By then the daytime temperatures were reliably in the low-to-mid 70s F (low 20s C), and the overnight temperatures in the low 50s, with a couple nights at the end of the month that dropped to the high 40s. All-in-all pretty mild weather.

This particular bed was shaded in the early morning but received full sun from mid-morning on to late afternoon/early evening (about 7 hours a day). Still, I the Buran seedlings were slow to grow for the first several weeks – growing at a bout half the rate of the Italian Corno di Toro sweet peppers that were in a bed at the opposite end of the garden, but in a bed that received a similar amount of sun.

Summer growth

By the time June rolled around, the Buran pepper plants were about 6-8 inches tall while the cornos were closer to 12-inches. Moreover, the Buran plants were kind of flimsy and required extra support to get them to grow upright. By now, they were in full sun for close to 10 hours a day, so light wasn’t the issue. Nor was soil nutrition as the broccoli and tomatoes in the adjacent beds were growing by leaps and bounds.

Buran pepper plants require support to keep them upright

They continued to grow slowly until early July, when they just sort of kicked into overdrive and really started leafing out. They still required plenty of support, so I used bamboo frames and twine to keep them upright as they grew.

By the last half of July, the plants were 18 – 24 inches tall and were flowering quite well, so I figure they’re just slow starters.

Late summer harvest

By the first week in August all 8 plants had a number of peppers growing on them, averaging around 4 fruits apiece – a couple with 6 each – and new flowers atop the plants.

The seed packet said 90 days to harvest, but my experience with them was closer to 120 between transplant and first harvest. The fruit are 3-lobed and once they reach 3-1/2 to 4 inches long they start to turn red. Surprisingly, even when they’re still green, they are quite sweet compared to California Wonder peppers.

One thing I have noticed is that the fruit is really susceptible to sunburn. I started shading them with a tent of burlap landscape fabric, which has all but eliminated the problem.

Preventing sunburn by shading the plants with landscape fabric

We’re in the second half of August as I write this, and all the pepper plants have plenty of fruit hanging off of them. Based on the number of new flowers, we’ll probably be harvesting these until mid-September, maybe longer.

The size and sweetness make the Buran peppers equally useful for fresh eating as well as pickling and preserving, so I have no doubt we’ll have jars of these to use in soups, chili and other hot dishes once winter rolls around.

Buran Sweet Pepper Summary

All-in-all, I have to say that the Buran is a very good sweet pepper.

A little slow to grow, the plants need extra support, and the fruit needs shade to prevent sunburn. But otherwise, it’s a highly productive, tasty and versatile pepper. I give it 4 stars out of 5 and will definitely be growing these again.

Buran peppers freshly harvested and ready for pickling

Sage’s Garden Notes