how are your bells this year?

[username5]

This is the first in about 5 years that I have gotten good sized bell peppers in my garden.

How about you?

In the past I recall seeing many folks post at various places about bell peppers not getting 'grocery store' big. The search for a consistently large bell ensues.

Well, I have been trying various varieties from named ones to variety packets of various color mixes and whatnot and pretty consistently I end up with small bells.

This year I am getting plants so dense with large bells that in some cases I am breaking limbs off the plants to harvest bells in the interior that are pressed against other bells. I mean they are jamming themselves together.

I have done nothing differently this year than I have done in the past. In fact I have done less this year.

I haven't staked and most plants have blown over in the wind. I water, but not often. I weed, but last night when I weeded I was literally uncovering pepper plants that were covered over with weeds (took a week vacation and came home to a week long heat wave that kept me out of the garden).

All I can say is I can't explain the great bell results this year by anything I have done.

And it isn't just some of the varieties doing well, all the bells are producing larger fruit than I am used to seeing.

Perhaps it is just the weather this year?

How have your bells done and if you are in the midwest US I am particularly interested in how yours have done since the weather is fairly comparable.

[spyfferoni]

I am also having a great year for my bells. They must love the heat!

Tyffanie

[chilhuacle]

I have the best bells ever this year. I usually end up with baseball size or smaller tough little things. While they're not the grocery store gargantuan things now, they are a pretty good size.

This year they’re in a new spot with about the same sun exposure. The main thing I did differently was keep their soil wet. I just hope they taste as good as they look!

[nctomatoman]

By far the best I've ever had -

Islander - the prettiest of all -




Orange Bell (my favorite)



Tawny Port - not as sweet as I like, but very attractive



Even better are the fryers - Cubanelle, Super Shepherd, Lipstick, Marconi, etc...

[montanamato]

Mine are doing pretty fair...I have an Earlired that is actually turning red on the plant...Not many years I get anything but a few green bells. I accidentally gave away all the Yellow mini bell seedlings, but friends and neighbors say they have been prolific .
I cetainly never get anything like Craig shows...Those Orange Bells are gorgeous.
Stangely, Lipstick is the latest of all this year, and just starting to set fruit...I thought it was an early for the north? Red Belgian is also just setting.

Jeanne

[spyfferoni]

Craig your peppers are beautiful! I haven't had good luck with the red bell varieties I have tried, but am growing a yellow bell this year that I picked up at Wal-mart. It is doing fantastic along with my green bell peppers and Sweet Banana peppers which always do good. I have cubanelle seeds for next year. That Orange Bell looks great. I remember you saying that it is an heirloom. Is there a specific place that carries the seeds, or do most places have them?

Thanks,
Tyffanie

[sirtanon]

Wow Craig!

Those are some of the coolest looking bells I've ever seen. Where did you find the seed for those? My wife is a bell pepper nut and I would love to be able to surprise her.

That Islander color is totally wild. I don't think I've ever seen a pepper like it before, although it does remind me quite a bit of some of the purple-ish eggplant like Fairy Tale.

..and that Tawny Port one.. Incredibly rich looking.

- Eric

[Tomstrees]

Of course, after going through an
intense spring growing everything
the misses could/would want -
She asks me if I grew a sweet bell ....
Uhmmmmmmm ..... ???? No !!!
Oh boy, so we bought a hybrid towards trhe end of the season as everything was "going" on sale -
This is an orange sweet bell with green peppers on it ...
Its amazingly productive, and we've picked fruits from all stages, and taste great ~ Tom

[giardiniere]

Mine are doing real well this year too. I've never had a real problem growing them however. I think I've just been fortunate and/or they like the growing conditions here.

[westocast73]

Mine are doing very well this year but that being said they still aren't terrific and I find the taste is not discernable from store bought so next year I am replacing Bells with different Sweet Peppers. I really wish my Bells would be abundant and large and extra tasty but they sadly just aren't and I think it's time for me to experiment with something a little more unqiue that my corner veggie store doesn't have.

[cmpman1974]

Wow, all your pics put my bell peppers to shame! I dream of plants with bell peppers like that! Good job.

Chris

[paxpuella]

Wow, everyone's plants look so nice. Mine don't look quite as nice, but the one plant I have that is producing more and more is my giant red marconi. It just keeps putting out more and more flowers. So far I have picked about 10 off of my 3 plants and that is not counting the ones that I had to throw out b/c the bugs and other animals.

I just cut 3 of them up and put them in baggies to save for later use and am still waiting on these other 3 to ripen a bit more. Here is a pic of the ones I'm waiting on.

[username5]

Originally Posted by westocast73

I really wish my Bells would be abundant and large and extra tasty but they sadly just aren't and I think it's time for me to experiment with something a little more unqiue that my corner veggie store doesn't have.

Before giving up on the bells you might want to give Bianca a try. It's a hybrid and is ivory in color, maturing to red (supposedly, I don't wait that long).

I planted a mix packet and out of all the bells in the mix this is the one that really stands out.

It is very sweet whereas most bells I grow are not particularly sweet. The size has also been more consistent than the others and the yields are heavy.

Of course your mileage may vary, but this is the only bell that has impressed me enough that it will be back next year.

You can get seed from Jung

Bianca seed

[westocast73]

username5 - Thanks for the tip and I will keep my eye out for it locally or get it online when I have a few other items I need ( As shipping to Canada tends to never justify single order items ). I have not tried this variety before and I am not so sure how I feel about a White Bell but if it performs better then the varieties I have been trying and actually has more flavour then I am sold!

[Tomstrees]

a couple sweets for shish-kabobs
tonight :



~ Tom