Do you have luck growing bell peppers? Or do you struggle growing them?
Do they only produce a couple peppers for the season?
Growing Bell peppers can be challenging for some growing regions. Bell peppers are tropical natives that enjoy warm temperatures between 65-85˚F, and they generally prefer high humidity with fertile soil. In some regions, like the arid West with it's intense high altitude sun, bell peppers can be more challenging to grow.
Bell peppers are especially prone to sunburn, also known as sunscald, which causes white, pale, or tan patches to form on the fruit's surface that is facing the sun. Having bushy plants with lots of foliage helps prevent this. You could also grow Bell Peppers with other plants such as bush beans so that they have more greenery around the peppers. If you grow in high-altitude and/or in a hot, arid region that has temps over 90˚F, you may consider growing Bell pepper plants under shade cloth which can help protect plants from extreme heat and intense sun and prevent sunscald while increasing yields.
We have several varieties of Bell Pepper Seeds, but if you struggle with growing bell peppers, you may enjoy trying some great alternative sweet peppers that can grow better in your region. Plus, Bell Peppers are common, and it's so fun to grow something a little more unusual that you can't just buy at the grocery store. There are plenty of sweet pepper alternatives to bell peppers (that many think are much more tasty than bell peppers!) and can be grown more easily in gardens, especially in short season areas or in hot and arid climates. Here are a few of our picks of bell-pepper alternatives from around the world: 
Cubanelles are generally considered easy to grow, and some say they are way easier to grow than bell peppers! Cubanelles are a great short season pepper plant, growing quickly and becoming ready for harvest in about 75 days after transplanting. These heirloom Italian frying peppers are prized by chefs and home cooks for their thin-walls that offer superior flavor and low moisture content that makes them ideal for quick frying and cooking. Think fajitas!
Gypsy Pepper
Gypsy peppers are generally considered easier to grow than bell peppers, especially in short season climates with cool springs and autumn temperatures. They are also more prolific, and more resistant to diseases like Tobacco Mosaic Virus. Gypsy peppers are easy to grow hybrid peppers offer sweetness, versatility, and abundant harvests – so if you can't grow bell peppers well, try these out! They are smaller than bell peppers, but very abundant, and are a perfect alternative to bells! They are great for eating fresh, sautéing or frying or even stuffing for delicious sweet pepper poppers.
Corno Di Toro Giallo - Italian Bull Horn Peppers
Experience authentic Italian flavors with the brilliant yellow Corno Di Toro Giallo Sweet Pepper. This heirloom variety, nicknamed "bull's horn" for its distinctive shape, delivers a full-bodied sweet flavor that Italian chefs and home gardeners adore. Perfect for frying or enjoying fresh in salads, these crunchy golden yellow peppers are a culinary delight.
Marconi Peppers
These giant, crisp peppers have bold, smoky-sweet flavor and are prized for their exceptional taste and high yields. These Italian heirloom-inspired peppers grow into massive 8" long fruits, perfect for grilling, roasting, or enjoying fresh in salads.
Stocky Red Roaster Peppers
This robust open-pollinated (OP) heirloom pepper delivers the same exceptional qualities as hybrid Italian fryer peppers with the added benefit of seed-saving for future seasons. The large peppers are 4-6" long, glossy red, and have a crisp, juicy bite. Perfect for roasting, frying, or fresh eating!
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More Bell Pepper Alternatives:
Other productive sweet peppers that grow great in every garden include:
Shishito Peppers
Sweet Shishito peppers have amazing flavor, they taste savory and delicious eaten right off the plant, and then get even better when sautéed with a bit of oil and salt for a delicious appetizer. Every once in awhile they have a bit of heat, but they are mostly sweet. And boy do the plants produce, they are one of the first peppers to harvest and then they keep putting out tons of peppers all season long until frost. Great for any gardener! You can pick these green for the most crispiness, but they also ripen to red if left to mature on the plant.
Sweet Banana Peppers
A classic, Banana Peppers are highly productive and easy to grow in any garden. These plants just produce continual, bountiful harvests of sweet, crunchy fruits that can grow up to 6" long. Pickle them, chop them over a salad, stuff them or stir fry them – you'll have plenty to use in the kitchen!
Habanada No-Heat Habanero
If you want sweet, but crave the fruity flavors of habaneros, then the Habanada sweet pepper is for you! Experience the exotic, floral taste of habaneros without the heat. These are delicious in sauces, salsas, or chopped into salads or stir fries. We also like to add these to hot sauces and salsas that have other hot peppers in them to add more flavor without heat. These do take about 100 days to harvest, so make sure to start them early, about 8-10 weeks before the last frost if you live in a short season climate.
Jimmy Nardello Pepper
The irresistible Jimmy Nardello Pepper is easy to grow and very productive. This beloved Italian heirloom variety is cherished for its uncanny sweetness and fruity flavor. Eat them right off the plant, dice for salads, or fry them up – you'll love enjoying these abundant peppers all summer long.
Fushimi Pepper
This Japanese heirloom variety prized for its delicate crunch and mild, sweet flavor. Their crisp texture makes them ideal for quick sautés with sesame oil or for pickling. These sweet peppers are perfect for containers or garden beds.
If you like Bell Peppers but haven't tried New Mexican Green Chile peppers, you don't know what you're missing! Experience the legendary taste of the Southwest with our Hatch Green Mild NM 6-4 Chiles!
Hatch Green Mild NM 6-4 Chile
One of our top-selling pepper seeds is the Mild Hatch NM 6-4 Green Chile. With just 1,000 Scovilles, these have a bit of heat and a TON of flavor. Once you experience the rich, authentic flavor of New Mexico with Hatch Green NM 6-4 Chile, you'll never want to go without these growing in your garden! This open-pollinated heirloom variety has long been celebrated as the benchmark for mild green chile, offering a perfect balance of flavor and gentle heat. Whether you're a home gardener or a culinary enthusiast, these seeds will bring the iconic taste of Hatch right to your backyard or kitchen. They are also fast growing, being ready for harvest in just about 70 days from transplanting into the garden, so they are great for short growing seasons such as in New Mexico, Colorado and other areas of the American West. They don't mind arid conditions, so they are perfect alternative to growing bell peppers if you live in the West (although they grow great in pretty much any vegetable growing region!)
So if you have trouble growing bell peppers, you can try growing them under shade cloth and use some of our other pepper growing tips.
And, to increase your sweet pepper growing success and harvests, don't give up on growing all sweet peppers! There is a whole world of sweet peppers that can provide you with bountiful harvests.
Find more of our top tips for growing peppers from seeds to help with your pepper-growing success!
Happy pepper growing!
