GWR Bell Peppers

[NarnianGarden]

For years, I have read on bell peppers / sweet peppers and how there are no 'green' varieties, but the green ones are shipped before their full maturity. I even saw an article telling in detail how it is much more cost effective to sell them at their green stage than let them become yellow / red, as it takes much more energy to allow them to ripen in a commercial setting.

So, what should one think of all the green when ripe varieties advertised at some gardening sites - is it just marketing speech, or are there new hybrid bell peppers that stay green?
Sorry if this appears very elementary.. I am trying to reconcile old wisdom with new info

[Worth1]

I dont know of one pepper of any kind that will stay green when left on the plant.
But I am no expert.

Worth

[NarnianGarden]

This for example
http://parkseed.com/candy-bell-hybri...p/05669-PK-P1/
although it does get a slight blush..

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by NarnianGarden

This for example
http://parkseed.com/candy-bell-hybri...p/05669-PK-P1/
although it does get a slight blush..

That is a new one on me.
I stopped growing bells a long time ago because all of mine were scraggly things.

[Mojave]

Semillas.de offers a green when ripe Habanero. It's a stable cross of Harold St. Barths Habanero and a brown Habanero.

http://www.semillas.de/thumbs/green_habanero.jpg

[BigVanVader]

I started a bunch of bell peppers this year to sell but turns out most people around here aren't very fond of them, and neither am I--dont eat them at all. Now I have about 50 Bell pepper plants sitting in pots that I have to figure out what to do with. I will prob donate to a community garden if they even want them.

Sorry that was just me rambling on but to answer your question I know of none that stay green.

[Blueaussi]

I would have to grow it out before I would buy the GWR pitch. I used to grow out the occasional bell that someone would insist was ripe at green to prove they were wrong, and I haven't come across one GWR yet. Very thick-walled peppers like pimentos can take foreeeeeever to show color, and I'm wondering if that's the deal with this pepper. Almapaprika drives me crazy every year because they........take........their.......sweet-arsed.......time, and I wanna put 'em on the grill!

[BigVanVader]

Almapaprika drives me crazy every year because they........take........their.......sweet-arsed.......time, and I wanna put 'em on the grill!

I grow these often so I feel your pain.

[Bipetual]

Never heard of a GWR pepper. I tend to be skeptical.

There is a great little red sweet pepper for grilling that's ripe in about 72 days. It's a hybrid and it's from Burpee, called Sweet Cherry stuffer. The seed is pricey but I love them so much!

[greyghost]

I'm growing Candy Bell from Park's this year--will compare to Lady Bell,
Revolution, Orange Bell, Purple Star (new from Territorial). Will let you
know what I think about color, taste. The plant certainly is healthy and
sturdy. Bell peppers generally do very well here in the mid-Atlantic.

[Tormato]

Permagreen.

[Deborah]

The first time I tasted a fully red ripe bell pepper I was stunned at the wonderful mellow flavor. I haven't bought a green one since. I sauteed the red one in butter and poured it all over a chicken breast-talk about delicious !

[Cole_Robbie]

Originally Posted by Worth1

I stopped growing bells a long time ago because all of mine were scraggly things.

Mine are, too, unless I fork over the money to buy expensive hybrid seed. Early Sunsation is a great green to yellow bell variety.

Some green to red bell varieties are bred to quickly and uniformly change color. I could see breeders doing the opposite, and delaying it for as long as possible. It would still turn red eventually, but probably be well past its prime when that happens.

[Darren Abbey]

The genetics are around to breed a GWR bell pepper. A brown pepper is formed by the retention of green chlorophyll while red pigment is being synthesized. If you add this trait to a pepper that would ripen to yellow, you will have a pepper that ripens to a yelowish-green. (This is exactly the combination of traits that led to the Green-Habanero that Mojave mentioned in comment #5.)

That said, I have yet to see one.

Also, such a ripe pepper wouldn't have the wonderful shipping characteristics of the now-sold green peppers. It would taste better, but would cost more to bring to market and I doubt many people would quickly go for more costly green peppers when the unripe ones are still around. Educating the general consumer of the value of such a pepper might take some work.