Pepper (Lunchbox Orange)

Lunchbox Orange is a miniature F1 hybrid snack pepper in Decatur's Zone 8a, bred for a sweet, fruit-like flavor and crisp texture on a compact, high-yielding plant, going in after the last frost in late March/early April and producing small orange fruit meant to be eaten whole 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 closer together than a full-size 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 in clusters along the branches; pollinated flowers swell quickly into small, blocky-round mini peppers.

   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

   55-63 days from transplant to full-size green fruit, then another 2-3 weeks (75-83 days total) to fully color orange

   You'll see Fruit is small, only about 1.5-3 inches, blocky-round rather than long, starting green and then coloring to a bright orange.

   Do Harvest at full orange color for the sweetest, most fruit-like flavor this variety is bred for; the fruit is thin-walled and meant to be eaten whole, snack-style.

   Details
6. 6

   Seed saving

   From fully colored, overripe orange fruit at the end of the season

   You'll see Seeds are cream to tan colored, flat, and firm inside a fully orange fruit; seeds from underripe green fruit are pale and won't germinate reliably.

   Do Saving seed is mainly useful for continued eating stock, not for reproducing this exact plant, since it's an F1 hybrid.

   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