Bell Peppers – Changing Colors

Q: A friend planted three different varieties of bell pepper this year but so far they are all green. I told him they’d eventually turn but his peppers are just getting bigger with no change in color.

A: You are exactly correct. Bell peppers gradually change from green to their eventual mature color. Notice that when you slice open a green pepper the seeds are small and white. Ripened colored peppers contain bigger seed, demonstrating that chlorophyl break down and seed maturity coincide.