Yolo, Keystone Giants or Big Rsd Peppers??

[Jetstar]

Okay for me living in Wisconsin I've been very happy with the North Star Bell Pepper, but I want to add a second variety of bell pepper so I've narrowed it down to Yolo, Keystone Giant or Big Red. So here's my concerns of the 3 varieties, will they do well in northern climate and reach maturity? Of the 3 I'm considering will they do well in a 5 gal. size grow bag or containers? Of the 3 which will give offer the largest yield? Of the 3 do I need to know anything special about special needs for growing? Thanks for steering me in the right direction so I can order seeds soon.

[rhines81]

Out of those 3 choices, I would lean towards Antebellum or Galileo.

[Jetstar]

Rhines81 the 2 you mentioned are Antebellum or Galileo, are these a different type variety or just different names that are use for the Yolo, Keystone Giant or Big Red? Because I'm not familiar with Antebellum or Galileo varieties.

[pmcgrady]

I haven't grown the 3 you listed but have had good luck with these bell peppers grown in the ground in central Illinois.

Yellow Monster ( a large productive green bell with yellow stripes)
Macoupin Monster ( seeds saved from the largest store bought red bell I have ever seen)
Chinese Giant ( huge red bell)
Douce D' Espange ( large bell that turns from green to a brownish red)
Big Bertha ( productive, large green hybrid)
Giant Marconi ( not a bell, but they are huge, taste great and produce well)

[Jetstar]

Pmcgrady, Just wondering if you grew them in grow bags or containers? I was asking because the info I have said the 3 peppers I was asking about were compact plants and I've foung that usually means they do well in bags or containers. But I'll give them a look see, now when seeds are being packaged for the 2019 growing seasons is the time to ask about new varieties.

[clkeiper]

I have grown a few peppers in containers but even a 10 gallon container didnt yield nearly as well as in the ground. but I can say I don't think I would consider keystone giant a viable candidate for container growing. it is a rather vigorous plant about 30" tall or so.

and this was copied from smartgardener.com site on the keystone variety. I pasted it here.
Containers?
Yes, but will need a large one, like a half wine barrel
Choose a container at least 16" in diameter. A container with drainage holes is a necessity in order to successfully grow peppers. Cover the holes with weed cloth, newspaper or any other similar material and then fill with potting soil. Peppers love warm weather and will not thrive if temperatures are either too cold or too hot. Place peppers in full sun in warm climates, but be sure they have access to shade in hot temperatures. Keep well-watered. Stake to keep fruit off the ground, mulch for disease and weed control.

[Jetstar]

Clkeiper, Thank's for the info on the Keystone Giant, I can take that off the list of possibles. My Walmart bags will hold up to 7 gal. and I use tomato cages for all my pepper plants like many here do. And my grow bag area gets full sun, I always wait til the last week of May before I put my pepper plants out. I feed them every 2 weeks after the first month in the bags, this has worked very well for me I just wanted to add another variety so now its down to the Yolo or Big Red... Your info was very helpful... Thanks

[clkeiper]

just an observation on fruit size too, the larger the fruit the fewer in a container too. all the other fruits will drop off from the competition of nutrients and moisture. smaller pepper fruit seems to do better in a container and once again... they will produce better in the ground than in a container. I did ghost peppers in the high tunnel this year and they were monsters compared to the one container I had. the fruit was also nicer.

here is a list in my commercial catalog of container choice varieties
carmen= not a bell
cute stuff red- very small bell
orange blaze excellent orange pendant or elongated bell. not a true bell.
patio snackers
patio tasty blush,green,orange and red
pompeii- small plant even in my garden
yolo wonder never grew it myself.
none of these are very large fruit peppers. the orange blaze is an excellent flavored pepper, pompeii... meh, I gre it once. I wasn't as impressed with it as I thought I would be. went back to orange blaze.