Karl's Garden Blog

Capsicum annuum

Bell peppers, like Jalapenos, are a cultivar of C. annuum. As such, it’s important to note that they can cross-pollinate with other cultivars. Plants with different flavors or heat levels should be spread well apart from one another to reduce this risk. I’m not a huge fan of really spicy peppers, so I don’t think I’d really enjoy tasting a 10,000 scoville pepper when I’m expecting a sweet bell…

This variety is a green/red variety. They start out bright green, and as they ripen and sweeten they get darker until finally turning red.

Care

Bell Peppers seem to do well in a deep, well-drained garden, unlike some of their hardier and spicier cousins. I got a pretty bad case of blossom end rot early in the season, and I think that was because I had dug down into clay soil — and the water that I lavished on the plants just sat in the “bathtub” instead of feeding the plant, and the plant had a hard time penetrating deeper into the soil. Waiting until the plant’s leaves wilted and then giving it a good dousing seemed to yield the best results.

My Notes

One important thing I learned with bell peppers in 2008 is that the the plant will blossom, but not produce fruit when nighttime temperatures stay above 80 degrees. It’s only when temperatures started drifting down into the lower 70’s in the fall that I started getting fruit. Since it takes relatively long for them to germinate and grow, it’s essential to start them indoors (and early indoors, at that!) or to buy started plants from a nursery. Harvest season will be plant maturity to about June/July, and then you’ll have a period without fruit until you hit September. My fall harvest was copious.

Go easy on the nitrogen in your soil. If you over-do the nitrogen (especially easy with generic fertilizers like Miracle-Gro), you’ll have a huge, green plant with absolutely no fruit. If you do use a fertilizer, use one that’s made for tomatoes or peppers. These will be a more balanced fertilizer that’s higher in potassium.

• Planted 23Jan09, potted 26Feb09, in ground 6Mar09. Broke my organic promises and fertilized with a commercial tomato/pepper fertilizer because the stalks and leaves were looking red/purple, which could be a nutrient deficiency that I didn’t have the time (or spare seedlings) to troubleshoot.

Pictures

Taken 26March, 3 weeks after it went in the ground. It hasn't grown much on the surface, but it seems to be well rooted.