Pepper (Banana)

The Banana pepper is a mild, tapering, banana-shaped sweet pepper in Decatur's Zone 8a, typically an open-pollinated heirloom type, that goes in after the last frost in late March/early April and ripens through a distinctive pale-yellow-to-orange-to-red color sequence from June into fall.

1. 1

   Seedling

   Weeks 1-8 after sowing, started indoors 8-10 weeks before last frost (mid-to-late January for a late-March/early-April transplant)

   You'll see Two smooth oval cotyledons first, then pointed, slightly glossy true leaves; growth is noticeably slower than tomatoes, and a healthy seedling is compact and deep green rather than tall and pale.

   Do Keep soil consistently warm (75-85F, a heat mat helps a lot) and give strong light as soon as leaves appear so the stem stays sturdy instead of stretching.

   Details
2. 2

   Transplant

   Late March through mid-April, after nighttime lows are reliably above 55F

   You'll see A hardened-off transplant should have 4-6 true leaves, a thick stem, and no flower buds yet. Wilting or purpling of leaves after planting signals the soil or air is still too cold.

   Do Harden off over 5-7 days, then transplant into warmed bed or grow bag soil slightly deeper than it sat in its pot; this compact plant can go a bit closer together than a full bell.

   Details
3. 3

   Establishing / early branching

   First 2-3 weeks after transplant

   You'll see New leaf growth resumes, the plant starts putting out side branches, and the first flower buds appear at the growing tip or first fork.

   Do Top or pinch the plant once, remove the very first flower bud(s), and keep watering even and consistent while roots establish.

   Details
4. 4

   Flowering and fruit set

   Late May through September, peaking in the heat of summer

   You'll see Small white, star-shaped flowers (5-6 petals) open along the branches; pollinated flowers swell into slender, tapering, pale green-yellow fruit within days.

   Do Keep water consistent (drought stress can cause blossom drop) and avoid heavy nitrogen fertilizer once flowering starts, since it pushes leaves over fruit.

   Details
5. 5

   Ripening and harvest

   60-70 days from transplant to full-size pale yellow fruit, then another 2-3 weeks on the plant to shift orange and finally red

   You'll see Fruit is slender and tapering, starting a pale, waxy yellow-green (its 'banana' color and shape), then gradually shifting to orange and finally red as it fully ripens.

   Do Harvest most fruit at the classic pale yellow stage for the mildest flavor and best pickling texture, or let some ride to orange or red for a sweeter, milder-hot finish.

   Details
6. 6

   Seed saving

   From fruit left to fully ripen red at the end of the season

   You'll see Seeds are cream to tan colored, flat, and firm inside a fully red, fully ripe fruit; seed from the more commonly harvested pale yellow stage is underdeveloped and won't germinate reliably.

   Do Isolate from other pepper varieties before flowering if you want true seed, then let a few fruit ride all the way to red, scoop seed, dry it fully, and label by variety and date.

   Details
7. 7

   Overwintering indoors (optional)

   Before first frost (~Nov 12) through late winter

   You'll see A healthy candidate for overwintering is a productive plant without disease or pest issues; after cutting back it will look bare with just a few short stems.

   Do Dig up (or move the grow bag), cut the plant back by about a third to a half, pot it if needed, and move it to a sunny window or under grow lights for winter.

   Details

Techniques — transplant, prune, propagate, divide, seed