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Harvesting your Bell Peppers

Gardening Guide: Beautiful Bell Peppers

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Harvesting your Bell Peppers

By Norann Oleson

Gardener harvesting a red bell pepper

Gardener harvesting a red bell pepper

One of the fun things about peppers is that you can harvest them before they’re actually ripe; those are the green peppers that are so common at the supermarket. Almost every pepper starts off green and then ripens to red, yellow, orange, purple, brown, or even a creamy white!

When you look at seed packets for bell peppers, you’ll see two harvest dates: the “green” date and the “ripe” date. In general, you’ll need to wait an additional three weeks after the “green” date for your peppers to reach their full ripeness. Green bell peppers are tasty, but bell peppers have so much more flavor if you can wait those extra weeks before harvesting!

When you do go to pick your perfect pepper, don’t just yank it off the plant; that may damage the plant and could jeopardize future ripe fruit. Use a knife or garden scissors to make a clean cut, separating the stem of the fruit from the plant. If you harvest some of your peppers when they’re green, your plants will keep producing flowers to set more fruit, so pick away!

If you have frost in the forecast and your pepper plants are in the ground or in raised beds, pick any peppers that look remotely ripe, then protect the remaining plants with a row cover. Row covers can increase the heat around your plants and protect them until the temperature drops below 25 degrees F; then growing season is definitely over.

Peppers will stay fresh in the fridge for a couple weeks if you keep them unwashed in the crisper drawer. But it’s best to start using some of your harvest fresh and then plan to preserve the rest.

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Tags

garden scissors, pepper starts, peppers

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

  • Curator’s Corner
  • Introduction
  • Types of Bell Peppers
  • Growing Bell Peppers from Seeds or Seedlings
  • Sun and Soil Requirements for Growing Bell Peppers
  • Planting Bell Peppers in the Ground or in Raised Beds
  • Growing Bell Peppers in Containers
  • Watering, Weeding, and Fertilizing your Bell Pepper Plants
  • Harvesting your Bell Peppers
  • Storing and Preserving your Bell Peppers
  • Dealing with Bell Pepper Diseases
  • Dealing with Bell Pepper Pests
  • Essential Tools and Equipment for Growing and Enjoying Bell Peppers
  • Plant Profiles

  • Islander Bell Peppers
  • Chocolate Beauty Bell Peppers
  • Snowball Bell Peppers
  • Yankee Bell Peppers
  • Cupid & Eros Bell Peppers
  • Lunchbox Peppers
  • Classic Bell Peppers
  • Ace Bell Peppers
  • Recipes

  • Roasted Bell Pepper Salad
  • Chicken Salad with Bell Pepper Crunch
  • Classic Stuffed Bell Peppers
  • Rainbow Bell Pepper Hummus Boats
  • Quick Pickled Bell Peppers
  • Additional Articles

  • Nutrition Facts about Bell Peppers
  • Health Benefits and Home Remedies of Bell Peppers
  • Resources about Bell Peppers
  • Bell Peppers Glossary
  • Related Articles

  • When to Harvest Bell Peppers at Peak Flavor
  • When to Pick Bell Peppers

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