When to Pick Banana Peppers, Growing and Harvest Tips

You purchased a banana pepper plant from the hardware store garden center, it’s been growing beautifully, and now you see those gorgeous fruits just ripe for the picking. Or are they? How do you know when to pick banana peppers from your backyard garden?

How to Know When to Pick Banana Peppers

If you prefer milder, sweeter banana peppers, harvest them when they are still green or just beginning to turn pale yellow. At this stage, they have a mild flavor and are often used in salads or for pickling.

For the classic sweet banana pepper flavor and a bright yellow color, wait until the peppers have fully ripened. These mature peppers are typically sweeter and have a slightly tangy taste. They are ideal for fresh eating and using in recipes

What are Banana Peppers

Banana peppers are generally classified as elongated peppers, growing to about 6-8 inches in length. They are often called “banana peppers” due to their long, curved shape and yellow color, which can resemble a banana when ripe.

As with all varieties of peppers, they are warm climate vegetables, growing best during the hot part of the year. Banana pepper plants are a popular choice amongst home gardeners because they’re more prolific than larger bell peppers.

Different Types / Cultivars of Banana Peppers

If you’re interested in growing banana peppers in your home garden, there are several varieties to choose from, each with its own unique characteristics in terms of flavor, heat level, and appearance. Here are some popular types of banana peppers suitable for home gardening:

• The Sweet Banana Pepper is the most common and widely available variety. Sweet banana peppers are mild in heat and have a sweet, tangy flavor. 
• Hungarian Wax Pepper are similar in appearance to sweet banana peppers, but they can have a bit more heat. They start out yellow and eventually turn orange or red as they ripen.
• Hot Banana Peppers or Yellow Wax Peppers are spicier than the sweet varieties.
• Gypsy Peppers are sweet and mild with a slightly thicker flesh.
• Bulgarian Carrot Peppers are not truly banana-shaped but are often included in the banana pepper category. They are known for their spicy heat and bright orange color.
• Lipstick Pepper, while not a traditional banana pepper, are elongated and sweet, making them a suitable alternative for home gardeners. They start green and ripen to red.

Time to Maturity

Peppers can take up to two weeks to germinate if you’re starting seeds. Then they will take another four to six weeks to grow large enough to be transplanted into your garden space. Add this time in when factoring harvest time from seed.

You can typically expect your banana pepper plants to start producing peppers within 70 to 85 days after transplanting. This timeline can vary depending on the specific variety and your growing conditions. At this stage, you’ll likely start to see green peppers forming on the plant.

Keep in mind that local climate, soil quality, and care practices (such as proper watering, fertilization, and pest management) can all influence the time it takes for banana peppers to mature and be ready for harvest.

“Time to maturity” as labeled on seed packets is only one part of knowing when to pick banana peppers.

What Should You Look For to Know When to Pick Banana Peppers?

As you can see, there is no right or wrong time to harvest, but here are some physical signs of ripe banana peppers to help you out if this is your first time.

Size

​Most banana peppers will mature at 6-8 inches in length. But that’s not always the case. If they’re growing under unfavorable conditions, i.e. drought, they may not grow to the right length, but still fully ripen.

Color

Ripe peppers will turn from green to yellow. Some of the hot peppers will further ripen to an orange or even red. Research which specific variety you’ve planted to know what color your peppers will be at full maturity.

Texture

Immature peppers will be very firm. Go ahead and use your finger tips to give them a gentle squeeze. As they age on the plant, the walls will thin and become more pliable. You want to pick your banana peppers before they get to this stage for optimum texture.

 A Slight Tug

Most peppers will easily fall off of the plant when barely touched when they’re fully ripe. Don’t pull too hard. Unripened peppers will be difficult to pull off and you’ll end up damaging the plant. 

Regular Observation

Be sure to monitor your plants and pick the peppers as they reach the desired size and color for your culinary preferences.

It’s important to note that banana pepper plants are generally prolific and can produce peppers over an extended period, often well into the fall if the weather is favorable. Regular harvesting encourages the plant to continue producing more peppers.

Do Banana Peppers Turn Red?

Some banana pepper varieties, such as Hungarian wax peppers, turn red when fully ripe. These red peppers have a slightly different flavor and can be spicier than their yellow counterparts. If you prefer the flavor of red peppers or want to add a bit of heat to your dishes, wait until they turn red before harvesting.

Why Pick Banana Peppers Before They Are Ripe?

Perhaps you like the mild flavor that a less ripe pepper brings. Young peppers are firm and are good for fermenting or canning. Sometimes, I just like a variety of color in a dish, so I’ll pick some green peppers before they’ve gone through a color change.

How to Pick Banana Peppers, Harvesting Method

To pick banana peppers, simply use garden shears or a sharp knife to cut the peppers from the plant, leaving a short stem attached.

Avoid pulling the peppers from the plant, as you’re likely to pull off some of the stems and foliage too. Be gentle when harvesting to minimize the risk of damaging the plant or any adjacent peppers that are not yet ripe.

Be careful when picking a hot variety of banana pepper as the oils can burn your skin. Wear gloves and be sure not to rub your face or eyes while picking.

Will Banana Peppers Keep Producing?

Regularly harvesting banana peppers as they mature will encourage the plant to continue producing more fruit. 

Plants just want to create seeds for the next generation of growing. Pulling off the fruits signals the plant to put out more seed, and it has to fruit to do that.

How To Encourage More Fruiting?

Besides harvesting your peppers, you should be sure that you’re growing your plants with the best care to ensure new fruit. Make sure they get plenty of water, a balanced fertilizer, and full sun for the best growth, giving you a bountiful harvest.

Propagation and Growing Tips

If you’re starting pepper seeds indoors during the cool season, you’ll benefit from the use of this heat mat for good germination. Since they are warm season vegetables, peppers can be otherwise difficult to sprout with low temperatures.

Once they’re germinated, make sure they are getting enough light. An indoor grow light is a good idea if it’s still too cold to put them outside. They really don’t like nights colder than 50°F, and prefer 70s-80s.

The saying, “Peppers like to hold hands,” holds true so that the fruit doesn’t get sunscald in the hottest part of the growing season. Transplant your plants out after the danger of frost has passed, and space them roughly 8″ apart from one another so they’ll “hold hands” at full maturity.

​You may want to give your pepper plants some support. A full size plant can grow to be a couple of feet tall, and if loaded with peppers, it may want to bend/break. A great way to support peppers is to use those round tomato cages sold in your local garden center.

Managing Pests and Disease

Peppers are prone to grasshoppers, aphids, cut worms, white flies, and spider mites. Use our organic pesticide suggestions to stop them from ruining your plants. Generally, once plants get established in a healthy soil, we haven’t experienced too much pest damage.

Peppers, like other nightshades, can be consumed by blight or wilt. These are bacterial problems that can be easily managed with a simple home remedy spray:

• 1 Tbs neem oil
• 1 Tbs peroxide
• 5 drops of dish soap
• 1 quart of water

Spray in the evening, then give them a good rinse in the morning. Neem oil can burn plants under the sunlight. Extreme cases of bacterial wilt may need additional applications a few days in a row. Also, remove any dying or dead leaves.

What To Do With Banana Peppers After Picking

Just give them a good rinse, removing any dirt or insects, and then chill them. I usually just put them in a plastic bag or container in the fridge for later use, for up to two weeks. If you’d prefer to enjoy them at room temperature, they won’t last as long.

How to use banana peppers

We use all types of peppers, including banana peppers in a variety of dishes. Whole sweet peppers are great for snacking on raw. We like to chop them and use them in stir fry dishes, or pickle and use them on sandwiches and salads too.

How To Store Banana Peppers / Preserving

If not using our peppers within a couple of weeks, we have different methods for storing our bounty. We prefer to chop, vacuum seal and then freeze peppers to use through the next year. You could simply use freezer bags too.

Pickling and canning are other good options too, but we just don’t prefer using our peppers that way. We do like to add a few hot banana peppers to some canned tomatoes so that we have a ready to use ingredient on the shelf with the heat already added.

Banana Pepper FAQs

Other frequently asked questions about when to pick banana peppers:

1. How do you know when banana peppers are ripe?

Go through those physical characteristics previously stated to know the right time. Firmness, size, color, and how loose they’re holding onto their stems will tell you if they’re ripe.

2. What happens if you pick banana peppers too early?

Then you get to enjoy the crunch that early green banana peppers bring. These are especially great for salads.

3. Can you ripen banana peppers after picking?

You can ripen banana peppers after picking if you keep them in a dry place at room temperature. They should ripen to a sweeter flavor (or hotter depending on the type of banana peppers) and their colors should deepen.

4.What do raw banana peppers look like?

Here’s a great picture of raw banana peppers. Their skin should be shiny and smooth at the yellow stage of a sweet banana pepper.

5. When is the best time of day to pick banana peppers?

You should harvest your peppers in the heat of the afternoon for maximum flavor. If you’re expecting a lot of rain, go ahead and pick any peppers that are near ripe to keep them from becoming watered down.

Conclusion

In the world of peppers, banana peppers are the unsung heroes, adding a sweet or hot twist to your dishes. Now that you’re armed with knowing when to pick banana peppers, I hope that we’ve encouraged you to grow them in your home garden next season.

Happy Growing!