Pepper Variety and Yield Tracker
A printable multi-season log for tracking which pepper varieties you grew, sow / transplant and first / last harvest dates, total yield (lb + kg), heat level for hot varieties, quality 1-5 score, replant decisions, and problems / pests. Garden snapshot at top; annual variety log; problems and pests log; multi-year top performers summary; quick reference card with reliable short-season varieties (Early Jalapeno, King of the North, Czech Black, Carmen), long-season varieties (Big Bertha, Habanero Red, Carolina Reaper), and US + Canadian seed suppliers including pepper specialists.
Pair with the Pepper Yield Calculator for harvest math, the How to Grow Peppers guide for the practice, the Tomato Variety and Yield Tracker for the nightshade sibling, and the Garden Planner Sheet for the whole-bed layout.
Pepper Variety and Yield Tracker
Track which pepper varieties actually ripen in YOUR frost-free window, in YOUR garden. Annual variety log + problems log + multi-year top performers + quick reference card. Print one per season; archive at fall close-down for year-over-year comparison.
Annual variety log
| Variety name | Type | Source | Sow / transplant date | Days-to-maturity claim | First harvest | Last harvest | Yield (lb / kg) | Quality 1-5 | Notes (heat / sweetness / problems) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Type abbreviations: SB = Sweet bell, SN = Sweet non-bell (banana, sweet Italian, paprika), J = Jalapeno, H = Habanero / hot, SH = Super-hot, SP = Shishito / padron. Quality 1-5 combines flavor + production reliability + ripening-in-your-season into one replant-or-not decision number. For hot varieties, add a heat note (1 = milder than expected, 3 = as expected, 5 = much hotter).
Problems and pests log
| Date | Variety | Problem | Treatment | Outcome | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Common problems: blossom-end rot (calcium / watering), blossom drop (cold nights, heat above 90 F / 32 C, or excess nitrogen), sunscald (over-pruned canopy), leaf-roll (heat or aphids), aphids, hornworms, pepper maggot, mosaic virus (pull the plant; no cure).
Multi-year top performers (3-year rolling)
| Year | Variety | Type | Yield (lb) | Quality 1-5 | Heat-or-sweet rating | Replant Y/N | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A variety that scores 4 or 5 quality across 3 consecutive years is a keeper for your garden in your climate. A variety that fails to ripen before frost in 2 of 3 years needs either a season extender or a shorter-season replacement. Note unusual weather years (cold June, hot August) so a one-bad-year variety is not punished.
Quick reference: reliable short-season varieties (band 2 + 3, 60-85 days)
| Variety | Type | Days to harvest | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early Jalapeno | Jalapeno | 60 to 70 | THE short-season hot pepper; reliable even in prairie seasons |
| King of the North | Sweet bell | 70 to 80 | Canadian-bred; the classic short-season bell |
| Czech Black | Hot (mild) | 65 to 75 | Cold-hardy heirloom; jalapeno-shaped, mild heat, near-black fruit |
| Tequila Sunrise | Sweet bell type | 70 to 75 | Golden-orange carrot-shaped fruit; compact plant |
| Anaheim TMR-23 | Chile type | 75 to 80 | Mild roasting chile; tobacco-mosaic resistant |
| Hungarian Hot Wax | Banana hot | 70 | Early, prolific, container-tolerant; pickles well |
| Carmen | Sweet Italian | 60 to red | AAS winner; earliest reliable red sweet pepper |
Quick reference: reliable long-season varieties (band 1 + warm band 2, 90+ days)
| Variety | Type | Days to harvest | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Bertha | Sweet bell | 72 green, 90+ red | Huge fruit; needs staking under load |
| Sweet Chocolate | Sweet bell | 85 | Ripens chocolate brown; cold-tolerant for a bell |
| California Wonder | Sweet bell | 75 green, 95 red | The classic blocky bell; open-pollinated |
| Mucho Nacho | Jalapeno | 75 | Extra-large jalapeno; heavy producer |
| Tabasco | Hot (cayenne relative) | 100+ | The sauce pepper; wants heat and a long season |
| Habanero Red | Habanero | 100 to 110 | Fruity heat; full color = full heat |
| Trinidad Scorpion | Super-hot | 110 to 120 | Serious heat; serious season commitment |
| Carolina Reaper | Super-hot | 110 to 130 | The record holder; band 1 or greenhouse only |
Quick reference: Canadian seed suppliers
| Supplier | Location | Strength | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vesey's Seeds | York, PE | Short-season selection | Atlantic Canada catalog; excellent for cool maritime climates |
| Stokes Seeds | Thorold, ON | Broad commercial + home garden line | Largest Canadian commercial seed supplier; carries home garden quantities |
| West Coast Seeds | Delta, BC | Pacific NW focus | Strong short-season pepper line; certified organic |
| Annapolis Seeds | Middleton, NS | Atlantic-Canada heirlooms | Small farm seed company; rare Atlantic-region varieties |
| Tatiana's Tomatobase | BC | Heirloom specialist | Despite the name, carries a deep pepper variety list |
Quick reference: US seed suppliers + pepper specialists
| Supplier | Location | Strength | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Johnny's Selected Seeds | Winslow, ME | Professional-grade | Maine-bred for short-season Northeast; trusted by market gardeners |
| Burpee | Warminster, PA | Mass-market | Widely available at retail; broad sweet and hot line |
| Tomato Growers Supply | Fort Myers, FL | Tomato + pepper specialist | Hundreds of pepper cultivars; mail-order only |
| Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds | Mansfield, MO | Rare and heirloom | Open-pollinated only; large rare-variety catalog |
| Territorial Seed | Cottage Grove, OR | Pacific NW focus | Bred for cool-climate Pacific NW gardens |
| Pepper Joe's | Myrtle Beach, SC | Super-hot specialist | Super-hots and hot specialty seed; Reaper / Ghost / Scorpion depth |
| Cross Country Nurseries | Rosemont, NJ | Live-plant specialist | Dozens of obscure pepper varieties shipped as transplants |
| Bonnie Plants | Nationwide (US) | Transplants at big-box | Skip seed-starting entirely; common varieties at Lowe's / Home Depot / Walmart |
Quick reference: when NOT to grow peppers
| Condition | Why | Alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 6 hours direct sun | Pepper flowers drop without setting fruit below 6 hours | Lettuce, kale, chard, herbs (basil, parsley, cilantro), shade-tolerant greens |
| Soil pH below 6.0 without amendment | Calcium locks up; blossom-end rot is near-certain | Apply lime first; see Lime Application Calculator |
| Soil pH above 7.5 without amendment | Iron and manganese lock out; chlorosis and stunting | Apply sulfur first; see Soil pH Testing Guide |
| Less than 80 frost-free days | Even green-stage harvest of the shortest-season varieties is unreliable | Row cover + black mulch + Early Jalapeno, or grow greens instead |
| Less than 100 frost-free days (full-color goal) | Bells to red and habaneros will not finish | Harvest green-stage, or add a season extender / greenhouse |
| Starting seed under 8 weeks before transplant date | Pepper seedlings grow slower than tomatoes; an undersized transplant wastes the season | Buy transplants (Bonnie Plants at big-box, local nursery) this year; start earlier next year |
Notes & observations
Frequently Asked Questions
Why track pepper varieties year-over-year?
Because days-to-maturity claims on seed packets are measured in ideal trial conditions, and peppers are the most timing-sensitive common garden crop. A bell rated 75 days in a California trial may take 95 in Halifax, and a habanero that ripens reliably in Band 1 may never reach full color in a Band 3 prairie season. Three years of logging tells you which varieties actually ripen in YOUR frost-free window, what your real per-plant yield is, how heat levels came out, and which problems recur. The year-4 seed order gets built from data instead of catalog photos.
How should I record heat level for hot varieties?
A simple 1 to 5 scale against your own expectation works better than Scoville guesses: 1 = much milder than expected, 3 = as expected, 5 = much hotter than expected. Note the conditions next to the score, because heat tracks stress: a dry, hot August produces hotter fruit than a wet, mild one, and late-season peppers run hotter than early ones from the same plant. Two seasons of these notes tell you whether a variety is reliably in your preferred heat range or swings wildly with the weather.
How many pepper varieties should I grow in one season?
For a typical household: 3 to 5 varieties across 5 to 8 plants. The rough mix: 1 bell or sweet Italian (Carmen) for cooking, 2 to 4 jalapenos for salsa and pickling, 1 fun plant (shishito for grilling, or a habanero if you use real heat). Hot-sauce makers and pickling households run 8 to 12 plants across more varieties; super-hot collectors treat each variety as a multi-year project. Log them all; the tracker's multi-year summary is what turns the experiments into a refined keeper list.
Which short-season pepper varieties actually work in Canada?
Early Jalapeno (60 to 70 days, the short-season hot pepper standard), King of the North (the Canadian-bred classic short-season bell), Czech Black (cold-hardy mild-hot heirloom), Tequila Sunrise (sweet bell type, 70 to 75 days), Anaheim TMR-23 (chile type, 75 to 80 days), Hungarian Hot Wax (banana hot, 70 days), and Carmen (sweet Italian, AAS winner, 60 days to red). All are realistic in Band 2 (Southern Canadian metros, NRCan 5b to 6b) and workable in Band 3 prairie seasons with row cover for the first 3 weeks and black mulch to bank soil heat. Vesey's, Stokes, and West Coast Seeds all carry short-season pepper lines selected for Canadian conditions.