Peppers are the crop that separates patient Montana gardeners from frustrated ones. They want more heat than our climate naturally gives, and the big, blocky bell peppers in seed catalogs often need a longer, warmer season than we have. The fix is the same as with tomatoes: choose varieties bred to mature quickly and produce in cooler conditions. Pick the right peppers and you can absolutely grow a good crop in Missoula.
For the full details on getting peppers going, see our guide on growing peppers in Montana’s short season. This post focuses on which varieties to actually plant.
Smaller Peppers Often Ripen Faster
A useful rule of thumb for peppers in our climate is that smaller-fruited varieties often ripen faster than large ones. A big bell pepper takes a long time to size up and then ripen from green to red, often more time than our season allows. Many smaller peppers mature quicker, which can make them more reliable here, but check the listed days, since some small peppers take as long as a bell.
It also helps to know that most peppers start green and sweeten as they ripen to red, yellow, or orange, though depending on the variety, immature fruit can also be ivory, yellow, or purple. In a short season you may harvest some peppers before they reach their ripe color simply because they run out of time to color up. That is fine, they are still good to eat, but if you want fully ripe colored peppers, the early varieties give you the best chance.
Best Sweet Peppers
For sweet bell peppers, look for early varieties. Days to maturity for peppers count from transplanting, and many catalogs give one figure for green fruit and a later one for fully colored fruit. The numbers vary by seed company, so use them to compare varieties. King of the North is a bell that seed companies describe as ripening to red even in short, cool seasons, at about 65 to 75 days from transplant. Ace is an early hybrid bell listed by Johnny’s at about 50 days to green and 70 days to red, and the catalog says it performs particularly well in cool climates.
Beyond bells, smaller sweet peppers are worth a look. Lunchbox snacking peppers are sweet and productive, and Johnny’s lists the mix at about 55 to 63 days to green and 75 to 83 days to full color. Carmen is an early, sweet Italian frying pepper, an All-America Selections winner listed at about 60 days to green and 80 days to red, and Jimmy Nardello is a thin, sweet heirloom frying pepper that is productive and ripens red in about 75 to 85 days. Compare those numbers on the packet, since smaller fruit does not always mean a faster pepper.
Best Hot Peppers
Many hot peppers need 75 to 90 days from transplant to ripen fully, so choose early types and give them your warmest spot. The good news is that many are also good to eat before they ripen. Jalapenos are often picked green, and varieties labeled early mature sooner than standard jalapenos, though they yield somewhat less. Hungarian Hot Wax is a popular short-season hot pepper that is usually picked at the yellow stage, well before it ripens red, and catalogs describe it as productive and able to set fruit in cool weather. Serranos and other smaller hot peppers are worth trying too, especially varieties with shorter listed maturity times.
If you like a little heat, hot peppers are a satisfying crop to grow here because they reward you even in a cooler year. Many of them keep producing right up to frost, and being able to pick them before they fully ripen works in your favor against the clock.
Where to find the seed: Botanical Interests is the seed company we use ourselves, and it carries Jimmy Nardello and Early Jalapeño, one of the early jalapeño types mentioned above. Carmen is available from True Leaf Market. These are affiliate links, so if you buy through them, Garden City Plant Care may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Give Them Every Advantage
Whatever varieties you choose, peppers need help to thrive in our climate. Start them indoors about 6 to 8 weeks before transplanting, MSU Extension’s range for pepper transplants, and do not rush them into cold soil, since peppers sulk badly when the ground is cold. Wait until the danger of frost has passed and the soil has warmed. Missoula’s median last spring frost is mid May (about May 16 at the airport, per NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 normals), but in about 1 year in 10 it comes after June 1. University of Minnesota Extension suggests transplanting peppers once night lows stay above 50°F, which in Missoula usually means late May or early June. Check the 10-day forecast first.
Give peppers your warmest, sunniest, most sheltered spot. A south-facing bed against a wall or fence that traps heat is ideal. Some gardeners grow peppers in containers so they can move them to the warmest microclimate or even bring them under cover on cold nights. The more warmth you can give them, the better they produce.
Choose early, smaller-fruited varieties, give them heat and a head start, and peppers can reward you with a real harvest before frost. For timing alongside the rest of your warm-season crops, see the Missoula Vegetable Growing Guide.
Sources
- Montana State University Extension, Can I Grow That Here? Vegetable Seed and Transplant Schedules
- University of Minnesota Extension, Growing Peppers
- New Mexico State University Extension, Southwest Yard and Garden: Pepper Colors
- NOAA NCEI, U.S. Climate Normals 1991 to 2020 (Missoula International Airport)