I don't have much luck WS peppers, so I start them in beer cups indoors the end of February. The secret to getting the yellow/orange/purple colors is that you must let them ripen completely on the vine. If you pick them early, you will just have sweet green peppers.

BTW, the reason the colors are so expensive at the grocery store is that when you pick peppers at the green stage, the plant continues to produce. (It didn't yet get its chance to create seed.) When you let them completely ripen, the plant has then completed its cycle and stops producing.

I don't find that deer or rodents bother them at all.

We grow them. Hubby starts them inside, usually in early April. We had over 70 plants last year. Grew them one per container in 5 gallon buckets like we grow all of our veg. Here's part of one day's harvest:

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(Yes, that's asparagus in September. It was a strange growing year.)

My favorites are the big red cowhorn shaped ones. There's a photo in the attached link - show next to Floodthelast's foot for scale.

I usually have fresh peppers with every meal, every day in the summer when they are producing. There's no way I could go back to grocery story quality or price. We are too used to eating or putting up our veg within 24 hours of harvesting.

Lynda

Here is a link that might be useful: My favorite big red cowhorn type peppers

I don't think the deer would eat the peppers, but might go for the foliage early in the season. I've experienced that here, anyway. Just keep an eye on 'em.

Lynda, are those cowhorn type peppers hot?

Deer eat the foliage on my pepper plants also.

In my zone I have to start them inside as growing season is too short to ws them.

Love my fresh garden peppers. Will sometimes pick some different colored ones up at our farmer's market but they are almost as expensive as at the store.

mnwsgal - the cow horn type pepper is sweet. The parent seed was "Carmen" - a AAS winner hybrid bred by Johnny's.

Here is a link that might be useful: Carmen pepper

If you order Carmen peppers from Johnny's, be sure to also pick up packs of Diva cucumber and Costata Romanesco squash. Those three varieties are so superior to just about anything else you will ever find.

Then to get full mileage out of your shipping, you can your order Hairy Balls plant seeds there. Top it off with a browse through their calendula section too. Oh - and look at their narrow collinear hoes and the wire weeder.

Lots of good stuff there. But Carmen, Diva and Costata Romanesco are must haves. They are SO good!

Lynda

Here is a link that might be useful: Hairy Balls plant

Our deer will repeatedly mow the pepper plants down to the stalks, so the plants never get to set fruit. Same for 'maters. I sowed several yellow bell peppers in gallon pots last year and had a decent crop inside our small, fenced-in area. I sometimes put bird netting over plants in the deer-accessible area, and the deer only eat the parts that grow through.

kt

I wondered why my foot got so much attention all of the sudden. Knew I was destined to be a foot model. Also I received a few of those pepper seeds from lgslgs to try and can't wait to see how they do.

Thanks, Lynda, for the veggie info. I may order them and like to try new varieties so will give the cucks a go also. We like 'Amira' cucks.

Not squash eaters though so will look for something else. How about a favorite pole bean variety? I have been plantng Trioffo Violette. The purple color makes them easy to pick for me and the neighborhood kids and they are delicious.

I have seeds for the hairy balls. Sowed some last year and just never got them planted out.

What a great thread. I'm trying peppers this year for the first time.

I was wondering, what Lgslgs said, about the Diva cucumber I've decided to try this but Johnny's website has 2 types - one is treated and one is not. Does anyone know what this means?

Does anyone know of a string bean that is the "best"?

hope you don't mind me asking here, it's just that you've gotten such good info.