A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Food Garden Forum Vegetable Gardening Peppers: When to pick--or do they just drop-off the plant?

From the question, you can tell I am new to gardening. Several months ago, I purchased 2 very large containers to try "patio gardening." --In one pot there are cheery tomatoes--they're doing fine --and I certainly can tell when to pick then. However, in the other pot, I have this very nice green, bell pepper plant---the peeper plant is just now getting several peppers on it (I started the planting late in the season). One of the peppers is getting quite large (very near the size that one sees in the grocery store). How do I know when to pick it? ----(1) When I think it is big enough? (2) When the stem of the pepper starts to dry-up (I don't know that that happens--that's why I ask)? or (3) Do I just wait until the pepper falls from the vine? ---I told you I was new to this--- so be gentle. ----thanks, for you help. ---Jaes.

Green peppers can be picked any time you want to pick them. Now would be good. Pick one of the "ripest" and taste it! I'll bet it's delicious. If you allow the peppers to hang on the vine, they will most likely begin to turn from green to redish (not all cultivars will, but most). The longer you let them hang, the sweeter they will become. So again, pick one and see how it tastes.

Keep in mind that there's a limit to how much plant mass a plant in a pot can support. If you left all of the peppers hang on, combined with the mass of the leaves and stems, there's only so much the root system (in a pot) can handle in terms of water transport, etc. Continual harvest lessens this load and allows the plant to continue growing, flowering, and setting fruit. Most peppers are "indeterminent" which means they'll continue to grow as long as conditions (light, temp) are within an optimal range. So picking smaller peppers doesn't mean your total harvest will be low. Four 1/4lb. peppers = one 1lb.

Happy harvesting & welcome!

(Also, if you wind up with too many to eat fresh, you can freeze the excess. Wash them, dry them, cut in halves or quarters, remove the seeds (most of 'em), lay out on a cookie sheet in a single layer and put the cookie sheet in the freezer for about an hour or two. Then just pile them in a freezer bag, squeeze out as much air as you can, and throw the bag in the freezer. The point of freezing on the sheet is so they don't stick together as they are freezing. So when you need some peppers for cooking, you just remove as many pepper halves as you need.)

Marica: WOW! ---Your reply to my question, covers all bases for me (or anyone else for that matter). Also, the freezing of peppers is news to me. Thank you so very much for the quick and informative reply. -----Jaes

Alot has to do with what kind (cultivar)of pepper it is. Some peppers can be picked green (ex California Wonder) Specialty peppers, like orange bells -Marconi's etc.-should be allowed to color to gain its full flavor. peppers tend to get sweeter when they color.