# Why are my bell peppers bitter? (Gardening question) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 5, 2006, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-my-bell-peppers-bitter-gardening-question/359477 "2006-06-05T13:49:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2006, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-my-bell-peppers-bitter-gardening-question/359477/1 "2006-06-05T13:49:34Z")
Sorry I keep asking lame-brained gardening questions, but this is the first time I’ve really had the room to grow a nice vegetable garden, and things keep going wrong! I’ve got a bell pepper plant that’s really working overtime on production. I harvested one the size of a freaking softball for a salad last week, and I noticed it had thinner walls than the supermarket kind and tasted a little bitter. Well, I tried another (baseball sized) one yesterday, and it was _very_ bitter. You know how peppers often have a little bit of a bitter under or aftertaste, and that’s normal? Well, this one was like all bitter and no pepper taste. I’m very concerned - are all my peppers on that plant a waste? What could be wrong with it? Unfortunately, I don’t know what cultivar this one is - it was an impulse purchase at a big box store and just said “bell pepper” or “sweet pepper”, I forget which. At the other end of the garden I have a japaleno plant and another bell (California Wonder, I think? Anyway, a named variety, at least). Neither of them are at the big-enough-to-eat stage - nowhere near it, actually. So, two questions - what’s wrong with them, and is it too late to fix? And should I do anything to the other two plants to prevent it on them? I’m so disappointed! ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2006, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-my-bell-peppers-bitter-gardening-question/359477/2 "2006-06-05T13:59:52Z")
If you’re eating them green, they may not be ripe yet – try leaving them on the plant a little longer and see if they turn red (or yellow, or orange, or purple…) ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2006, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-my-bell-peppers-bitter-gardening-question/359477/3 "2006-06-05T14:03:30Z")
Disclaimer: I suck at big peppers. Something _always_ seems to go wrong with them and I get _tiny_ crops. I blame heavy soil. The usual reason for thin walled peppers is a water deficit. That’ll make them bitter too. How are your [tomatoes](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=371884&highlight=nitrogen)? ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2006, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-my-bell-peppers-bitter-gardening-question/359477/4 "2006-06-05T15:37:00Z")
The worst-hit tomatoes haven’t really grown (one plant in particular) but the others are doing fantastic - I’ve got green tomatoes the size of a toddler’s fist. Unfortunately they’ve gotten away from me and are about to take over my yard - if I stop posting, indeterminate tomatoes got me. My garden in general is full of sex - everything’s blooming or fruiting. Love is in the air! They’re getting plenty of water - in fact, for a while there along with those deficient tomatoes they were getting too _much_ water. I’ve fixed that problem, though. Maybe the tomatoes were sucking up all the water? This particular plant is near them.