Pepper Pleased

[digitS']

The 1st picking! (gardener's equivalent of a string of fish):

I am pleased with my new choice in bell pepper varieties!

For years, I ordered from Park and got their Whooper and found the Peto Wonder seed at Totally Tomatoes. I forgot to order the PW's this year .

A gardening friend in distant western Colorado once said that Whopper was a good choice for a "jumbo" bell! I said, "What jumbo!?! I'm just trying to have one that is normal size!"

I think peppers like the soil here. Maybe they like the low humidity . What they don't like, are the cool nights and cool spring days!

Last year, I grew the Snapper variety for the 1st time. It did just fine but it was a good year for peppers. All bets were on the Snapper this time around because I decided not to make that annual Whopper order and forgot the other standard choice. It was a difficult, cold June for peppers and most everything else. I'm so pleased they came thru, anyway!

Steve

A stockbroker urged me to buy a stock that would triple its value every year. I told him, ''At my age, I don't even buy green bananas." ~ Claude Pepper

 

[watsonlane]

My Gosh!!! Those are so pretty!!!! What kind are they? Im in the panhandle of florida so would they grow here for a winter garden?

 

[hoodat]

Those look great. How's the wall thickness? That's where I run into trouble sometimes. They look great till I halve them and see how thin the walls are.

 

[journey11]

Those look great...perfect for stuffing!

 

[digitS']

I think that they are just about right !

I weighed 2 that had sunscald and so were used first. One, just over 8 ounces and the other, just under. The USDA has large as 164 grams so, those 2 might rate a "jumbo." Tender and tasty!

Johnny's says, "Snapper has performed well in trials from New England to Florida and the Midwest." They've done well 2 years in a row for me!

Honestly, with bells I'm trying for some size . . . The Italian Sweets are a 1st choice for sweetness and I certainly can and have used them for stuffing. But, it was a little disappointing the year I grew "mini bells" and then . . . wondered why :/.

The 62 days to maturity, green - is a very important consideration for me.

Steve

 

[Raiquee]

Digs you make me crazy mad!! I can't get a pepper to grow bigger than my thumb, let alone get "normal" size!! You have so much gardeners luck! (or skill, call it what it is. )

I can grow pretty much anything else. Except SWEET peppers (hot peppers I always get WAY more than I could ever use!)

 

[digitS']

Raiquee, what would you think about other-than-bells? Also, it isn't necessarily the case that smaller fruit is quicker to mature but, smaller fruit often is. And, the less time out there, the less things that can go wrong . .

Staying below the 70-day line, let's start off with one that was the most prolific sweet pepper I've ever grown: Corno di Toro, Italian Sweet. It isn't a 1st choice in the group for tenderness and flavor but this is one bull-headed pepper - once it is headed out, there's no turning it back!

A close 2nd in the productivity category might be the Sweet Banana. Don't bother to allow them to reach "banana yellow," they might get a little spicy at full maturity.

Gypsy sweet peppers were probably one that I shoulda allowed to ripen more the 1 time I grew them. I think I permanently impaired DW's ability to appreciate these cute little sweet peppers! I thought they were fine pale green and I was "playing it safe" as is so often my failing. She wasn't impressed but I've been told repeatedly by those who grow Gypsy that I shoulda picked them at the yellow or red stage for the sake of sweetness. They are especially quick to grow and very productive, anyway.

All 3 of these others seemed easier-than-bells to me.

Anyway, I've plodded along, especially with bells, and been disappointed more often than pleased. Even tho' . . . even tho'!! The best stuffed pepper casserole that I've had were with Italian Sweets cut horizontally . . .

Steve

 

[obsessed]

Awesome. I have some huge heirloom peppers in the garden right now and have been using them frequently as green peppers. But they are thin walled and I miss the thickness of a bell.