Chocolate bell peppers look like chocolate, but do they taste anything like it? Unfortunately the answer to that is no. You can still grow chocolate bell peppers in your garden for they have a unique taste, different from the other normal varieties.

They do start out green, but they turn chocolate brown when they become ripe. Their flesh inside tends to be a dark red color, crispy and sweeter than your classic bell peppers. They are a perfect addition to any of your salads.

Here’s What You’ll Need:

• Chocolate Bell Pepper Seeds
• Fertilizer
• Heating Mats (optional)
• Seedling Trays (optional)

It is better to start your seeds in the late winter indoors, or otherwise in early spring in the garden. Seeds will take between a week and a week and half to germinate. The seedlings will be ready for planting outside when they are at least 4 inches tall and the night temperatures go above 55 degrees F. Space them 18 to 24 inches apart.

Plant in well drained loamy soil in an area with at least six hours of sunlight a day. Apply fertilizer twice at planting and when the first fruit appears. Keep the soil moist throughout the growing season which lasts 75 to 100 days. Aphids and mosaic disease can affect your plants. Harvest when the peppers start to turn chocolate brown.

You can follow step by step instructions on SFGate Homeguides, here…

Growing Chocolate Bell Peppers

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