Gorria Espelette chilli pepper, bright red and elongated, shown alongside a handful of its pale seeds

Ripe Gorria Espelette peppers, red and conical, hanging among the green foliage of the plant

Piment d'Espelette Gorria peppers harvest – traditional French AOP heirloom chili for aquaponic gardens

Espelette Gorria Pepper Seeds

Name: Espelette Gorria Pepper Seeds
Brand: Kokopelli
SKU: P5226
Price: 3.9 EUR
Availability: InStock

3,90 €

An old variety from the Basque Country, Gorria produces conical red peppers with thick flesh, a very fruity flavour and a strong heat, to be used fresh or dried and ground into powder.

The packet contains 25 organic, open-pollinated seeds. Sow under cover at 20 to 25 °C, and harvest from August to October.

Ref. P5226·Vegetable seeds

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The summary

What you receive: a packet of 25 organic, open-pollinated Gorria chilli seeds.
Sowing: under cover from February to April, at 20 to 25 °C, 8 to 10 weeks before planting out.
Germination: 10 to 20 days, even in the warm.
The fruit: conical, 8 to 10 cm, red, very fruity and fiercely hot.
After the harvest: drying on a string, then grinding to powder.
Space needed: one plant every 50 cm, for a plant of 60 cm.

Basque chilli pepper with thick flesh, for drying on a string or grinding into powder

The Espelette Gorria chilli seeds, an heirloom variety from the Basque Country, grow conical red chillies of 8 to 10 cm, with thick, very fruity flesh and a strong heat. The packet contains 25 organic, open-pollinated seeds, to be sown under cover at 20 to 25 °C, for a harvest from August to October.

Gorria is the old, vigorous variety of the Espelette pepper, grown in the Basque Country. A 60 cm plant bears many conical, elongated fruits, 8 to 10 cm long and weighing about 40 g, sometimes slightly curved, which turn from green to red at maturity. Their skin is thin and their flesh thick, and their very fruity flavour is noticeable even before the heat, which remains sharp since the variety is rated hot.

You use it fresh, chopped into a sauce or a marinade, or dried and then ground into a powder, the form in which it is best known. A powder is measured by the pinch and keeps for a year in an airtight jar, away from light, which lets you spice up your dishes from one harvest to the next. The Prima Belle pepper belongs to the same species, Capsicum annuum, and on the contrary produces mild fruits with no heat at all.

🔆 Sow in warm conditions

Chilli seeds are sown in pots or in a cell tray, in a bright, sheltered spot, in grow medium kept at 20 to 25 °C. Even at this temperature, germination takes 10 to 20 days, and below 20 °C it becomes very uneven. Sow 8 to 10 weeks before planting out, that is from February to April, and the guide on setting up an indoor seedling area details the heating and lighting for this corner of the nursery.

Lit mini greenhouses for February seedlings

In February, a windowsill receives too little light for seedlings that spend 8 to 10 weeks in the nursery stage. The LED seed-starting mini greenhouses bring together 72 cells under six domes, and the timer gives them up to 18 hours of light a day, anywhere in the house. Your chilli plants therefore stay sturdy until transplanting, instead of stretching towards the glass. Place the domes in a heated room, since the kit supplies the light, not the 20 to 25 °C that germination requires.

After the last frosts, plant the whole root ball out in its final position, burying the stem up to the first leaves, and allow 50 cm between plants. A stake put in place when the plant reaches 30 cm supports the fruit-laden branches. Pinch out the stem above the first fork to encourage branching, then let the plant branch freely, removing only the suckers at the bottom.

🐟 Chilli peppers in aquaponics

Chilli plants set fruit more readily than sweet peppers when conditions are difficult, which makes them a good first fruiting plant for an aquaponic system. They need a system whose nitrogen cycle is established, then potassium and phosphorus from flowering onwards, two elements that are often limiting in the water of a fish tank. Keep the pH of your water between 6.4 and 7.5, preferably in the lower part of that range, because above 7.2 iron and manganese become difficult for the plant to absorb. The guide to growing peppers in aquaponics applies to chillies too, whose cycle runs from a February seedling to the last pickings in October.

🧵 Harvesting and drying

You pick from August to October, when the fruits are bright red and still firm, cutting with secateurs to keep the stalk intact: it is the stalk that will carry the string during drying. The chillies are then threaded into a string, spaced so they do not touch, then dried for several weeks in an airy, dry room, out of direct sunlight. A chilli ready for grinding snaps cleanly between your fingers instead of bending.

Technical specifications

The sachet

Capacity: 25 seedsEnough to plant around ten specimens, including germination losses.
Seed origin: Kokopelli associationOrganic seeds, royalty-free.
Seed type: Open-pollinated, non-hybridReproducible: seed from your own harvest will give the same variety.
Seed storage: Around 3 yearsStore in a dry, cool, dark place.

The variety

Botanical name: Capsicum annuum, Gorria
Variety origin: Basque CountryAn heirloom variety of the Espelette pepper.
Fruit: Conical, 8 to 10 cm, 40 gThin skin, thick flesh, very fruity flavour.
Strength: Strong
Earliness: Mid-season
Adult height: 60 cmStake to be put in place when the plant reaches 30 cm.

Seedling and harvest

Seedlings under cover: February to AprilIn pots or in cell trays, under a bright shelter.
Germination temperature: 20 to 25 °CBelow 20 °C, germination becomes very uneven.
Germination time: 10 to 20 days
Time in the nursery: 8 to 10 weeks
Installation: After the last frostsStem buried up to the first leaves, 50 cm between plants.
Harvest period: August to October

To budget for separately

Warm spot for sowing: Grow medium kept between 20 and 25 °C
Drying: A sturdy wire and a well-ventilated space

10 further specifications are available in the detailed view.

In the box

1 packet of 25 organic Espelette Gorria chilli pepper seeds

Quantity, fruit, height and sowing: sheet from the seed company Kokopelli (ref. P5226), recorded on 11/10/2026. Germination time, harvest period and storage are guidelines for mainland France.

Manufacturer and product safety

Manufacturer: Association Kokopelli (SIREN 433481124, TVA FR80433481124)
Postal address: 7 route de Sabarat, Forêt de Castagnès, 09290 Le Mas-d'Azil, France
Contact: Formulaire de contact : https://kokopelli-semences.fr/fr/faq/ (aucune adresse e-mail publique) ; téléphone 05 61 67 69 87
Website: kokopelli-semences.fr

Information provided under Regulation (EU) 2023/988 on general product safety.

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A packet of seeds ships as a small parcel. It can be grouped at no extra cost with the rest of your order, and the exact amount is calculated at checkout.

Frequently asked questions

6 questions

6 key questions

Is this chilli very hot?

Why aren't my chilli seeds germinating?

How do you dry chillies on a string?

Pick the fruits when they are red and firm, with the stalk intact.
Thread them onto a strong string by passing the needle through the stalk.
Space them so they do not touch, otherwise they go mouldy where they make contact.
Hang the string for several weeks in an airy, dry room, out of direct sunlight.

A properly dry chilli snaps cleanly between your fingers instead of bending.

How many plants can be set up with one packet?

Why do the flowers drop without setting fruit?

Can you save your own seeds?

Growing calendar

Reference points for mainland France, to be shifted by approximately two weeks depending on your region.

Stage
Seedlings under cover3 months	Seedlings under cover: no	Seedlings under cover in February	Seedlings under cover in March	Seedlings under cover in April	Seedlings under cover: no	Seedlings under cover: no	Seedlings under cover: no	Seedlings under cover: no	Seedlings under cover: no	Seedlings under cover: no	Seedlings under cover: no	Seedlings under cover: no
Installation2 months	Installation: no	Installation: no	Installation: no	Installation: no	Installation in May	Installation in June	Installation: no	Installation: no	Installation: no	Installation: no	Installation: no	Installation: no
Harvest3 months	Harvest: no	Harvest: no	Harvest: no	Harvest: no	Harvest: no	Harvest: no	Harvest: no	Harvest in August	Harvest in September	Harvest in October	Harvest: no	Harvest: no
Drying3 months	Drying: no	Drying: no	Drying: no	Drying: no	Drying: no	Drying: no	Drying: no	Drying: no	Drying in September	Drying in October	Drying in November	Drying: no

KeySeedlings under coverInstallationHarvestDrying

This month October

Growing guidance

Germination temperature: 20 to 25 °CBelow 20 °C, germination becomes very uneven
Germination time: 10 to 20 days
Time in the nursery: 8 to 10 weeks
Spacing: 50 cmBetween two plants, in the row as well as in the grow bed
Adult height: 60 cm
Fruit size: 8 to 10 cmAbout 40 g, conical and elongated
Harvest period: August to October
Drying: Several weeksHung in a well-ventilated room, out of direct sunlight
pH in aquaponics: 6.8 to 7Above 7.2, iron becomes difficult to absorb
Seed storage: Around 3 yearsDry and away from light

What you need to know

Harvest keeping the stalk intact. It is the stalk that will hold the needle and thread when drying, and a fruit cut too short can no longer be threaded.
Space the chillies along the string so they do not touch. Two fruits in contact trap moisture between them and go mouldy while the rest of the string dries perfectly well.
The dryness test is done by hand: a properly dried chilli snaps cleanly between your fingers. If it bends, it still contains moisture and will go mouldy once ground into powder.
Dry away from direct sunlight. Sun speeds up drying but bleaches the fruits and drives off part of the aroma — which is precisely what you are trying to preserve here.
A chilli seedling written off as a failure is almost always one that was sown too cold. 10 to 20 days at 20 to 25 °C is the normal timescale: don't empty the pot after a week.
In aquaponics, the chilli pepper sets fruit more readily than the sweet pepper and copes better with a system that is still being fine-tuned. Allow for potassium at flowering, which is often limiting in the water of a fish tank.

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Espelette Gorria Pepper Seeds

The summary