Have been gardening, mostly flowers until recently, since early childhood - now 88 years old. Now I am at the point where, due to physical limitations, most of my gardening is done in containers - and my emphasis now is on growing a few vegetables for use in salads (not canning or freezing) - namely tomatoes, sweet bell peppers, green onions, chives and parsley. In regard to bell peppers I have grown only green ones, but would like to try some ones with color, as well. My daughter gave me a couple of purple pepper plants last year (don't know name), but they weren't overly tasty, so will go for the red, yellow or orange in addition to green ones this year Up to now my experience with growing vegetables in containers is with tomatoes and bell peppers - fairly good results except last summer both the tomatoes and peppers developed some kind of black blight for some unknown reason. And I keep seeing postings about heirloom seeds and their advantages. So this year I'm going to try some of them. From various postings I see that Baker Creek offers quite a large selection and is recommended by quite a few gardeners - AND I see that shipping is free, at least for now - have sent for their catalog, For me that is a definite plus as for many seed companies I find that the shipping fees exceed my modest quantity of seed packets. I check out the local gardening outlets' seed offerings (Home Depot and WalMart) but selections are very limited and the packets don't provide much useful information. Would appreciate any comments from fellow gardeners - especially related to growing veggies in containers and heirloom seeds.Thanks in advance.

FWIW most 'green' peppers mature into reds.

When chiles mature to red, they have the most flavor.
I found that if you can wait till they are over ripe but not rotten , they have great flavour then.
Order some catalogs, where they sell plants, shipping is in a relative manner cheaper that way.
Then you can just plant them and have weeks advantage over seeds.

My container garden is growing. I like trying new peppers too but I grow mostly warm to hot peppers. This year I'm trying the very popular Shishito Pepper, a Japanese heirloom variety.

Just about everything grown in my garden, I save seeds.

I'm new to heirloom myself but I would be interested in hearing of the results that you get.

wildflowers said:My container garden is growing. I like trying new peppers too but I grow mostly warm to hot peppers. This year I'm trying the very popular Shishito Pepper, a Japanese heirloom variety.

Just about everything grown in my garden, I save seeds.

@wildflowers , this is an old thread but how did you like the Shishito peppers? Get any heat with them?

Hi Ed. Well the Shishito Peppers grew very well and made beautiful plants that were extremely prolific. But they just didn't have much flavor for us. I don't know if I'm the one to ask because many people love them. Even roasted and grilled, they were bland. I wonder if they just don't have much sugars in them to caramelize for flavor. I did try marinading some which helped but still found the skins to become papery (with or without extra seasoning) which isn't pleasant. Like I said, I don't know if you want to take my word for it; you should probably try them for yourself since so many people seem to love them. At the end of the season, when my husband had turned his nose to them, they did stay on the plant and turn red and some of those had some heat but not much.

This year I'm trying a couple of new to me sweet peppers; Jolene's Red Italian sweet peppers and another sweet Hungarian pepper called Paradicsom Alaku Sarga Szentes.

Your results and opinions of Shishitos parallels mine. That makes me wonder if it is our heat/humidity/soil? Interesting.

Hmm, Pod, that is interesting. Thank you for your input.

Thanks for the feedback! I've got three plants growing in the garden started from Baker Creek seeds. I'm curious about whether indeed it is your soil and climate that produced a so-so taste. I know of several folks that really praise the taste, but they're in other parts of the country. In 2018 I grew tons of hot peppers...so many I didn't know what to do with them. I did try putting cheese and meats on some and baking them....was good, but hot. I skipped having a garden in 2019 but this year I'm planting sweet peppers in anticipation of cooking some of them...without the heat! I'm over in south Alabama so I'll see how they taste...not that I'm a good judge of taste, but I do know what I like. I also have some Aji Delights, King Arthur Bells, and some Craigs Grande Jalapenos (gonna stuff'em!). We'll see....

Ed, please give us a report on what you think of the Shishitos. It will be interesting to know how they grow for you. We do have extreme heat in the summer that may have something to do with it? I grew the Shishitos in a large container so it was a mix of things, including bagged potting soil.

Mine were grown in a raised bed with improved soil. I had three other types of peppers growing in the same 3x6 bed.

I mentioned that I was not enamoured of these peppers on the Pepper thread but was the loner. They just might not be my preferred taste.

Pod, it could just be a matter of taste. I love growing and eating all kinds of peppers, sweet and hot. There are some sweet peppers I find delicious roasted but they probably aren't near as prolific as the Shishitos. It was disappointing that such a productive pepper had no flavor.

I mentioned it last year on one of the pepper threads. I think someone else might have said they had the same experience but mostly those saying they love them.

I will let ya'll know what I think about the taste. And I agree, that the majority of folks that I've spoken with enjoy the flavor of the Shishitos. I think @Newyorkrita probably grows as more peppers than anyone I know of and is very knowledgeable about peppers. She really likes the Shishitos but she is also in the northeast. I'm wondering if soil types are truly affecting the taste of these. That makes sense to me. I guess if soil is affecting the taste then it has to affect the taste of other vegetables, too, eh? And, it could be a regional "taste" that all of us have...what we're somewhat accustomed to eating. I like pepper taste but not necessarily really hot peppers. Stuffed jalapenos and pickled sliced peppers are about it for me...occasionally a green cayenne to nibble on when I'm feeling adventurous (and I've got peas and cornbread to go with it). And, of course, I like tabasco sauce on my cooked greens. But, the really hot peppers that people seem to go crazy over I care nothing about. Yeah, people have different tastes in food. We'll see what mine thinks of the Shishitos. I'm thinking positive!!!

Intheswamp said:I will let ya'll know what I think about the taste. And I agree, that the majority of folks that I've spoken with enjoy the flavor of the Shishitos. I think Newyorkrita probably grows as more peppers than anyone I know of and is very knowledgeable about peppers. She really likes the Shishitos but she is also in the northeast. I'm wondering if soil types are truly affecting the taste of these. That makes sense to me. I guess if soil is affecting the taste then it has to affect the taste of other vegetables, too, eh? And, it could be a regional "taste" that all of us have...what we're somewhat accustomed to eating. I like pepper taste but not necessarily really hot peppers. Stuffed jalapenos and pickled sliced peppers are about it for me...occasionally a green cayenne to nibble on when I'm feeling adventurous (and I've got peas and cornbread to go with it). And, of course, I like tabasco sauce on my cooked greens. But, the really hot peppers that people seem to go crazy over I care nothing about. Yeah, people have different tastes in food. We'll see what mine thinks of the Shishitos. I'm thinking positive!!!

I don't know about the taste but I do know that local weather affects the heat level. Hot peppers get hotter in dry hot climates and milder in wet cooler ones.

As for the folks not liking the Shishitos. Well, everyone has different tastes and we can't all love the same things. Most people I have recommended them to do love them but maybe they are not for everyone. No problem if one doesn't like them. There are so many great peppers to try out.

Thanks for the feedback, Rita! Remind me again, is it the Aji Delights or the Shishitos that has the wildcard hot one every once in a while? I'm hoping the Shishitos work out for me, I've got them about as far away from my other peppers as I can get them (50' or so) and hope to save some seeds.

May I suggest backing off in nitrogen-heavy fertlizers? Nitrogen grows large plants but mostly foliage, but P and K grow fruits. Give corn and the lawn the N, and the rest like 2-6-6.

Intheswamp said:Thanks for the feedback, Rita! Remind me again, is it the Aji Delights or the Shishitos that has the wildcard hot one every once in a while? I'm hoping the Shishitos work out for me, I've got them about as far away from my other peppers as I can get them (50' or so) and hope to save some seeds.

Shishitos. You can have an entire plant of mild ones and just get a pepper that really gets your attention!!

Dang, for some reason I was thinking it was the Aji Delights that had the wildcard in it? Glad I got this straightened out!!! That could've been bad. Now I know what I can feed to my granddaughters and which ones to caution my wife about. That could've been a deadly mistake...for me.