I have found that green bell peppers have a very bitter taste to them until they are "ripe". When the peppers are smaller, they have a very glossy, shiny appearance and kind of a bright green and the skin is kind of textured. When they get bigger, they will lose that glossy appearance and get a duller, waxy look. The color also tends to darken somewhat and the skin smooths out and looks more solid. This is when I start picking. If the peppers are colored, I will pick them anytime after they show color. If you don't pick the peppers, the plants will stop producing once they get what they consider to be a full load. I really don't worry about that and pick peppers as I need them once they have matured enough to be thick and sweet. Then, when frost threatens, I will pick the lot of what is still out there, then get it cleaned and in the freezer as fast as I can.

@phildeez... haha yeah you are correct. I got them at a hardware store nursery and the label seems ambiguous now that they are grown. For sure I was going to get something relatively hot for some homemade sauce! Seems as though vinegar, onions, garlic, and of course peppers are the common ingredient. Would it be a good idea to puree with seeds and just filter the sauce before I bottle it?

I found the same thing with my Jalapenos last season. I waited a Long, long time for them to finally get red and they never did and they never grew beyond a certain point. I would say I had some jalapenos at mature size for 5 or 6 weeks that never turned red. I finally harvested them all at the end of the year. This year my plan is to harvest a lot of my peppers when they get mature size and not wait for them to turn red/orange. Such as the banana peppers and Hot hungarian wax. Of course, I will wait on the super hots and probably cayennes as well to fully ripen. I think it will allow more production to pick them in their pre-ripened stages. It might just be that Jalapenos simply take forever to fully ripen. Bruce

Ripen the naga, if you can't wait for that give em the CR. CR might not be as hot as naga but even with my high tolerance it's incredibly hot. Get video or pics at least. I love the guys that claim "Oh, I can eat that, no problem". They bite into and say "this is nothing" then about 30-45 seconds later they start to sweat, turn red, and hiccuping. Asking for milk or bread (or water if they are a true poser). Nice plants trfanatic. That pic makes my mouth (and eyes) water. =P -HabBob