Name This Sweet, Sweet Pepper

Here in Florida we have "Publix Supermarkets" and this is where I bought these 2-3in. multi colored peppers. They were packed in plastic pint containers, but they did not have a name. They were as sweet as "candy". I just started to grow peppers(one plant)and I am hooked on them along with my tomatos. Can you tell me the name and where to buy them from seed? I already ordered a heat mat.

You mean each pepper is multi-colored? Or in the pack were peppers of different colors?

Those sound pretty interesting to me! Can you post a pic (or did you eat them all!?).

i saw the same thing in sams club last week. i think the label said they were sweet mini peppers. there were about a dozen in each bag and they were different colors. some were red, some yellow, some orange and some green. first time i saw anything like it.

Goodness....ya'll should save some seed from them. There might be a good chance they're hybrids but who knows. Sure would be fun to try, eh?

The seeds are immature and they really can be classified as seedless. Their website(masterstouch)doesn't tell much and that is why I figured I'd contact the "Pepper Pros" although they may be their own exclusive, but I tell you they are "DELICIOUS". Gotta have them. They cost $2.99 for a pint container that contain only twelve tiny peppers. If you break it down to cost per pound it would be approxiametly $15.00 or more per lb.

Well kids just goes to show you lots of places have things for sale though not priced or marketed the same way.

I just bought from Costco a 1.5 lb package of Master touch colored mini peppers for $3.50 it would seem there are at least 30 plus peppers in the cello folding tray.

On the back it says Distrubted by Bionova Produce Inc 520 281 2612

RB packing of CA 619 661 2560

And www.mastertouch.com along with produce of Mexico.

Shoe I am going to pickle these this weekend I will see how the seeds look in these. No reason for them to be immature since these are full grown but maybe so if they are the result of a mutant cross. I have seen seeds for this kind of pepper in one of my seed catalogs. I will look by this weekend. Ernie

http://www.masterstouch.com/Fruits&Vegs_PeppVineSweet.html

i want to go find some now, sound yummy.

Eweed -- 30 peppers= 1.5lbs? The peppers I am referring to are much smaller 3or 4in. at the most.

Hmm...I'd try to germ them seeds. If the peppers have changed colors there's a chance they are mature.

Ernie, give em a try. It couldn't hurt! (Peppers do cross easily tho, so be prepared for that, too.) I would imagine they are hybrids tho, and not mutants. Hmmm...wonder which would be more stable tho? Either, or neither?

Tplant thats what I said I bought 1.5 pounds of a sweet pepper that came in a package and now I counted them 38 orange and red peppers.

Some of them measure 3 ,3&7/8,and two were 4 inches these were on top easy to view. The peppers underneath were as small as an inch.

Since yours were more uniform and in a smaller container I suspect they were graded by the packer while mine were bulk packed to get rid of the less desireable sizes. I suspect they are the same breed. Probably came from the same part of mexico.

Shoe couldn't stand it I cut three open and took the seeds and they look mature to me I can dry them for you if you want them Im going to plant lots of other types so I wont mess with them not enough time. They are very sweet though and will pickle nicely. Ernie

Totally tomatoes sells a minibelle mix, open pollinated, tiny belles, green but ripening to yellows and reds. While there are hundreds of pepper varieties, I can't identify specific cultivars that match your description.

Ernie, that'd be great! I'll grow some out and see what we get from them. I'll send an SASE to ya, hopefully today or tomorrow.

tplant - i'm looking through the thompson and morgan catalogue and on page 174 i see these sweet peppers which are 3 to 4 inches long. are these the ones you saw in the store?

Herbie -- I was coincidentely looking at the same page and it sure looks like them.

Eweed -- Please taste them and tell me if they are sweet as sugar and also the seeds are tiny white and immature. Actually, you can eat the pepper without taking out the seeds!The package confirms the distributor as Bionova and product of Mexico.I just confirmed it with my $2.99 package of 10 not 12 as originally stated. I am eating one as I am typing.
Please let us know if we can grow from seed as I am not too familiar with the process? I CAN'T BELIEVE THE DIFFERENCE OF PRICES!

Shoe hold the sase I can do this I have your address remember.

Yes they are sweet and I surely intend to eat them seeds and all that is all except those I send shoe.

Hah...yum yum eat-em-up!

Thanks, ernie. I preshate it! Will be looking forward to them!

Hey Shoe -- Better cultivate enough for all of us! WE'll be
a watchin and a waitin ya and a droolin!

HAH....Will do, T!

Shoe-Sounds like what we've grown for years. Jingle Bell is what they were called originally-beautiful,red,little peppers. Now they call them mini-bells & baby bells. You can get them in yellow & chocolate,also. We have good luck with them-the first,sweet peppers in the garden to turn red. There are lots of peppers on each plant. The walls are a little thin compared to regular bell peppers but they are great to stuff. We get our seeds at Seed Savers Exchange.
At what Farmers'Market do you sell?

lockman, so it you can get them from Seed Savers then that's a pretty good chance they are OP and non-hybrid. Thanks for the info!

I used to sell in Carrboro but for the past 11 or 12 yrs have sold only at our 'little' market in town here. (I haven't decided yet, completely, whether I will return this year tho.)

SHOE; Sound like to much work an not enough money.I know if you don't sell a lot of pepole will be upset.How many sells at your market.We sell at the KING FARMER Market an I know about how much work it is for the small amount of money.People don't unstand how much work goes into growing for the market.I have enjoyed your INFO ON THIS SITE. thanks Lockman

Great! You're a market gardener!

Hope you check out the Market Growers Forum! See you over there, okay? (Meanwhile, I'll check my map and see how far King is from here...for some reason I believe it's up 52, around Tobaccoville.)

Lockman I grew jingle Bells two years ago and the ones I grew were green and red and shaped differently than these. Ernie

Ernie The ones we grow look like baby bell peppers. What does the ones you have look like. LOCKMAN

Tapered not like a bell at all ernie

Ernie Hope you can fine out what they are. Sounds like they would be fun to grow. THANKS LOCKMAN

Finally found this thread again, thanks to Ernie.

Just wanted to say nearly ALL the seeds Ernie sent germinated. The plants are still small but I hope to set them out this week now that we are definitely warming up here!

(Lockman, next time I'm over your way I'll check out your market.)

Shoe -- That's great news . Thanks for the update.

I bought those same mini - peppers at Costco. They are terrific. Try throwing them on the grill with whatever meat you're doing. Leave them whole, maybe brush with a tiny bit of olive oil. If you thought they were sweet raw, wait til grilled!! Have also skewered (whole) with other veggies and shrimp and threw on the barbie. PLEASE, if someone finds the seed source, let us all know.

shoe how big are the peppers now.

outside yet. Ernie

Hi Shoe --- Dying to know how the sweet little gems turned out!

Yep...I set them outside (30 of them) May 14th. Nearly every single seed you sent germinated and you must've sent 50 or so!

The plants are still small and just getting settled in good. Our days are now increasingly warmer (95* yesterday!) so I expect good fast growth now!

Will post a pic when they get a little more size on them!

I put some sweet banna wax in the ground about three weeks ago but they are on strike due to the cold 46 last night and 54 right now it may get to 60 but no more. Send me 10 degrees lol.

How will you know if they are hybrid any way to tell besides guessing.

Glad they had such a good germ rate for you. Dont even hybrids sometimes throw true to form seeds first time out?

Did you get my message about window box roma?. Ernie

If they are hybrid they were most likely F1 hybrids. First generation hybrids hold their characteristics and vigor but seed from those are not stable. We'd have to stabilize them, or hope so, and that may take 4-7 or more generations.

If these plants don't produce the peppers that have the same taste/characteristics of the ones you purchased then we'll know they are hybrids and not stabile.

Often-times hybrid seed will be either sterile OR just not produce the desired plant/fruit. I was excited to see such a great germination rate on these! At this point in time it's a wait and see game. If some of the plants produce the peppers that we're looking for then those will be the ones to save seeds from. If some plants produce a pepper that is much different it would be that it is reverting back to one of the parent stock or an oddball mix of the parent stock or something all-together different, i.e. something further back in the ancestry or a mutant of some kind.)

By the way, don't remember getting a message about the window box roma. Was it thru email?

shoe yes but I am not very good with comp maybe it didnt get sent. Question was did I send you window box roma and if so since you planted way before me how big is the plant. I am trying to figure out if it will go in a deck container. Ernie

Yes, you sent me some of those seeds. Plants are still small but from what I understand they only get about 18 inches tall. I'd go ahead and put yours in a pot on the deck.

Tplant did you find a pepper to grow to fill the bill?

Window box Roma is a pretty little plant that belongs on a deck in a container. I am surprised though at the size and number fruit it had for such a little plant.

Maybe Shoe will come along and post a pic of the peppers he grew from the costco seed. Ernie

I found a news release from 2001 that quoted a rep from Master's Touch / Bionova stating “Traditional plant breeding is enabling us to create proprietary products that add value and variety to our product line,” so they must be their own little hybrids. It will be interesting to see what segregates out in the seedlings.

ahah! Good you bumped this thread up, ernie.

Here's a few pics of the peppers. I ended up getting reds, orange, and reds (and of course green, the color they all started out as). The plants were nearly the same in height and leaf structure was the same.

They were sweet! Some were sweeter than others (the reds were definitely the sweetest but I've found that to be true with standard bell peppers also).

Do these look anything like the original peppers you took the seeds from, ernie?

Green:

And orange: