Permapotes

Bell pepper

Sweet peppers are mild peppers, usually belonging to Capsicum annuum in the Solanaceae family. Sweet describes the absence or low level of pungency sought in these selections, rather than a different species from hot chillies. Their fleshy fruits have an important place in Mediterranean cooking and many other cuisines, in both raw and cooked dishes.

The plant develops branching stems with simple leaves, generally oval to elongated. Flowers, often white, appear near the branches and develop into fruits. Height and habit vary between selections: some plants are compact, while others grow larger. Sweet peppers are sensitive to frost and their cropping depends on a sufficiently warm season. The botanical name alone cannot predict how long a plant will be grown in every climate.

Botanically, the fruit is a berry, although it is treated as a vegetable in cooking. Smooth, glossy skin surrounds a fleshy wall and an internal cavity divided by pale partitions. Seeds are attached to the inner tissues rather than distributed throughout the flesh. This structure explains the hollow spaces and lobes visible on some peppers, as well as the capacity of the fruits to hold a stuffing.

Fruits may be broad and rounded, blocky, elongated or pointed. Wall thickness and the number of lobes vary. Corno di toro and Doux des Landes illustrate long forms; Rosso occurs in names for red selections and does not by itself describe all their characteristics. A long pepper is not necessarily hot, and a blocky bell pepper is only one of the shapes found among sweet peppers.

Colour depends on both the selection and the stage of development. Many fruits are green before becoming red, yellow or orange, while some forms also show purple colouring. Purple is not always their final colour. Green fruits often have a more vegetal flavour, while sweetness changes with maturity. Colour alone does not guarantee the same flavour across varieties or make different types interchangeable in every dish.

In the kitchen, sweet peppers bring crunch and freshness to salads. Cooking makes their flesh more tender in ratatouille, stir-fries, sauces and stuffed dishes. They accompany tomatoes, grains and cheeses and can also be roasted. In the garden, the contrast between green foliage and coloured fruits gives lasting visual interest during the cropping period. Their varied shapes reflect the diversity of the selections rather than one uniform kind of pepper.

View the cultivation calendar
Bell pepper
Bell pepper
Characteristics
  • Lifecycle : Annual
  • Exposure : Full Sun
  • Frost Hardiness : Frost Sensitive
  • Cultivation Difficulty : Challenging
  • Mature height : 60 cm
Sowing & Planting
  • Greenhouse Growing : Recommended
  • Sowing Depth : 0.5 cm
  • Plant Spacing : 50 cm
  • Row Spacing : 60 cm
Maintenance
  • Maintenance : Moderate
  • Water Requirements : High
Other characteristics
  • Soil Type : Humus-rich
  • Soil pH Preference : Neutral
  • Pest Sensitivity : Moderate
  • Disease Sensitivity : Moderate
  • Weed Sensitivity : Moderate
  • Pollination : Insect-pollinated
  • Propagation : Sowing