Higgs Boson wrote:

...about when to pick...

at first we only grew the green
California Wonder bell peppers. no
heat. very easy to grow for us. always
a good crop and little problems with
pests or diseases. then we moved on to
complicate matters by growing red, jalapeno
and yellow peppers. we skipped jalapenos
this season.

this is what i do.

i go by size, color and heft:

once the size and color are right then
i check them every few days for weight.

take the pepper and gently bounce it
in your hand. if it is heavy enough you
know it's ready. if it never seems to
get any heavier then pick it (if you've
kept them watered regularly). you want
a nice firm pepper. also if it starts
getting soft then it's gone beyond top
form. still edible, but not as crisp.

around here picking too late means
they run the risk of damage by critters,
bugs or disease. none of these make a
pepper wholely inedible as you can always
cut away what isn't in good form, but
some folks won't touch it once it's been
damaged.

of course, above only applies to the
sweet peppers we've grown. for other
types of peppers when to pick varies.

we're due to make a few hundred stuffed
peppers this week along with picking tomatoes
again and canning. no rain for too long, so
watering has been needed. everything is
coming along well.

cheers,


songbird