vague guidance

[cellio]

I planted sweet banana peppers for the first time this year (one plant). The wisdom of the Internet (TM) says to harvest them when they're yellow. Some say not until they're turning red, but that seems to be about hot banana peppers, not sweet.

"Harvest when they're yellow" -- that sounds so straightforward. Nobody seems to be more specific. Bright yellow? Yellow with no hint of green? Mostly yellow? So yellow you can see the orange coming in? Is there a second measure I can use to disambiguate, maybe something about how it feels?

The oldest of these (the large one in the center) is more yellow than green but isn't boldly yellow, so I assume I should wait.

(Meanwhile, the cherry tomatoes that have been on their plant for a couple weeks are still green. This feels late, but it's probably not the same variety as last year. Labeling was off last year so I don't really know what I had.)

Comments

[loosecanon]

all but one of those looks appropriately yellow to me. That one will be yellow within hours.
Don't overthink it. Pick them when they look like nice versions of the ones at the market.

[cellio]

Thanks! I haven't actually bought a lot of banana peppers at the market before, but these are a little lighter ("less yellow") than ones that came in my CSA box, but that's very little data. I appreciate the extra look, thanks.

[loosecanon]

I tend to be very casual with vegetables that have variable ripeness settings, and particularly for those which can ripen more after being picked.

[hlinspjalda]

I like them when they no longer have that fey, translucent, greenish look about them. When the cold greenish-yellow shifts to a warmer, more opaque yellow is when I think they're best.

But as loosecanon suggests, there's play in the concept of "ripe enough."

[cellio]

Pick one, taste, adjust -- this makes sense. :-)

[ellenmillion]

That is a beautiful pepper!! I am so excited - I have fourteen pea pods fattening up, and about as many teensy little tomato flowers coming in.

[cellio]

Yay! I hope you get to eat your pea pods this time! (Am I correctly remembering that a critter got to your last batch?)

I also have a bunch of teensy yellow flowers on the tomato plant -- here's hoping.

[ellenmillion]

A MOOSE ate my last pea pod. There was only one at that time, and that plant hasn't recovered from the chewing. It also took one moose-sized bite out of my lettuce. I got off pretty easy, all things considered.

[cellio]

A moose. Whoa. I'm glad you had a second plant! Who thinks to moose-proof a garden? (How would you even... yeah, you probably don't know yet either. Moose.)

[ellenmillion]

I have video evidence of them eating my Christmas tree last year.

People try to moose-proof with tall fences, streamers in trees. It's kind of a losing battle.

[goljerp]

That's really a hard one to top. So, in a way, you came out ahead.