What's your favorite OP red bell pepper (for production and disease-resistance)?
- Shule
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- Joined: Thu Dec 12, 2019 3:29 pm
- Location: SW Idaho, USA
What's your favorite OP red bell pepper (for production and disease-resistance)?
What's your favorite open-pollinated red bell pepper (for production and disease-resistance)?
Location: SW Idaho, USA
Climate: BSk
USDA hardiness zone: 6
Elevation: 2,260 feet
Climate: BSk
USDA hardiness zone: 6
Elevation: 2,260 feet
- zeuspaul
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- Location: San Diego County
Re: What's your favorite OP red bell pepper (for production and disease-resistance)?
I have only grown one, California Wonder. If I want green bells I pick them when they're green. If I want red I leave them on the plant until they turn red.
- Tormahto
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Re: What's your favorite OP red bell pepper (for production and disease-resistance)?
None/zilch/nada. Bell peppers do extremely poor, here.
In 2024, I may try early indoor starts, with a chilling time frame added, before outdoor transplanting.
In all my years of gardening, I had exactly one bell pepper plant that was productive, King Of The North. As an afterthought, I had this one transplant sitting around with no space to plant it. I stuck it between two tomato plants. With basically perfect weather for peppers that year, warm but not too hot during the day, and warm but not too cool during the night, getting shaded out by the tomato plants, it grew to about 6 feet and had a few dozen peppers on it. I don't believe that I could ever repeat those growing conditions.
For a conical OP red, Frank's is tops, for me.
In 2024, I may try early indoor starts, with a chilling time frame added, before outdoor transplanting.
In all my years of gardening, I had exactly one bell pepper plant that was productive, King Of The North. As an afterthought, I had this one transplant sitting around with no space to plant it. I stuck it between two tomato plants. With basically perfect weather for peppers that year, warm but not too hot during the day, and warm but not too cool during the night, getting shaded out by the tomato plants, it grew to about 6 feet and had a few dozen peppers on it. I don't believe that I could ever repeat those growing conditions.

For a conical OP red, Frank's is tops, for me.
- AZGardener
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- Location: Arizona, USA
Re: What's your favorite OP red bell pepper (for production and disease-resistance)?
Emerald Giant, Keystone Resistant, and Big Red have grown well for me.
USDA Zone 9b, Sunset Zone 13
Average Rainfall 9.5 inches
Climate: Sonoran Desert
Average Rainfall 9.5 inches
Climate: Sonoran Desert
- Labradors
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- Location: Ontario, Canada
Re: What's your favorite OP red bell pepper (for production and disease-resistance)?
Good question! Although I enjoy Lipstick and Ajvarski, I have to wonder how prolific they really are. I tried King of the North and Big Red this year, but found that they grew thick and diseased
. The best for me seem to be Zupa as they are early and prolific.

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Re: What's your favorite OP red bell pepper (for production and disease-resistance)?
Only grew them inside but nothing special so far can’t grow them outside either tried for years
- Marturo
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- Location: Weatern NC
Re: What's your favorite OP red bell pepper (for production and disease-resistance)?
The Lesya from Baker Creek.
It is so sweet & made for stuffing.
https://www.rareseeds.com/pepper-sweet-lesya
It is so sweet & made for stuffing.
https://www.rareseeds.com/pepper-sweet-lesya
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- habitat-gardener
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- Location: central california, Sunset zone 14
Re: What's your favorite OP red bell pepper (for production and disease-resistance)?
Ajvarski and Lesya were very productive for me this year. Of course, I had three plants of each, and I picked buckets of green peppers just before all the plants got frosted a couple weeks ago...but many of those are turning red on the table! I will have to look at my garden journal to figure out how many peppers I picked earlier in the season, but my impression is that these two produced loads of big, healthy peppers.
I grew these two because they did very well in previous years.
I grew these two because they did very well in previous years.