Hot-Pepper_LD-Reel-Hot-Pepper_Appalachian-Growers-Seed-Collective.png
Pepper Seeds, LD Reel Hot Pepper, handful of peppers
Pepper Seeds, LD Reel Hot Pepper, pepper and pepper plant
Pepper Seeds, LD Reel Hot Pepper, bowl of peppers
Hot-Pepper_LD-Reel-Hot-Pepper_Appalachian-Growers-Seed-Collective.png
Pepper Seeds, LD Reel Hot Pepper, handful of peppers
Pepper Seeds, LD Reel Hot Pepper, pepper and pepper plant
Pepper Seeds, LD Reel Hot Pepper, bowl of peppers

Pepper Seeds, LD Reel Hot Pepper

$4.50

LD Reel Hot Pepper (Capsicum annuum): A Marion, NC, heirloom cayenne type hot pepper, passed down through many generations for its use as a dried hot pepper. These plants produce heavy yields of 3-5" long, slender fiery red peppers. The tall, sturdy plants keep producing a solid crop all the way up until first frost. Staking is recommended. The peppers are excellent for making hot sauce, fire cider, drying and more.

Weight (avg. seeds): .5 g (50 avg. seeds per packet)

Seed Grower: Matt Wallace, Rabbit Den Farm, Marshall, NC

USA Shipping Only | $5 Flat Rate or FREE Shipping on Orders over $45 | Our collective members pack and ship the seeds together. First Ship Date, Feb 15, 2026.

LD Reel Hot Pepper (Capsicum annuum): A Marion, NC, heirloom cayenne type hot pepper, passed down through many generations for its use as a dried hot pepper. These plants produce heavy yields of 3-5" long, slender fiery red peppers. The tall, sturdy plants keep producing a solid crop all the way up until first frost. Staking is recommended. The peppers are excellent for making hot sauce, fire cider, drying and more.

Weight (avg. seeds): .5 g (50 avg. seeds per packet)

Seed Grower: Matt Wallace, Rabbit Den Farm, Marshall, NC

USA Shipping Only | $5 Flat Rate or FREE Shipping on Orders over $45 | Our collective members pack and ship the seeds together. First Ship Date, Feb 15, 2026.

This is a description we have of the pepper from longtime stewards of the seed, Harold and Sandra Lawing, of the Sugarhill Community in Marion, NC:

"LD Reel grew it and said his dad grew it before him. He gave us seeds and Harold and Craig have been growing it for a long time (over 30 years). LD told us that when they stopped growing it that it would be gone because no one else had the seed. He also said it was the best pepper to dry. Harold grows it, dries it then grinds it into flakes. Everyone he gives it to loves it. I messaged his daughter and asked her when LD was born to give us an idea of when he might have married and started growing it. Below is what she sent me and is going to see if she can find out anything else. That gives us an idea of when he might have started growing it. So, if he married in 1915 and started gardening, which I assume he did...he was a big gardener...this pepper has been around for more than 100 years. Of course, we have no idea of when his dad started growing it or where he got it. I just know LD was serious about keeping it growing. 

This is what his daughter sent me: Lester Jason born January 28th, 1894. Father was Elisha Reel born 1907. Mother was Roxanna. Married Maude Mae September 5, 1915.

Photographs shared of LD Reel (original steward) in his garden:

Matt Wallace, Rabbit Den Farm, Marshall, NC

Matt has been seed saving and organizing seed swaps in WNC for 15+ years. He is involved with a group that stewards 3 seed libraries in Madison County and is working towards creating a countywide (or perhaps WNC-wide) seed savers network to coordinate seed saving and sharing efforts for community use. He also grows seeds commercially and runs a plant nursery. Located in Marshall, North Carolina, Rabbit Den Farm is an ecologically driven plant nursery and mixed vegetable farm with a focus on fall storage crops and heirloom corn.