Diamond Pepper is a heirloom sweet bell pepper that delivers thick-fleshed fruit with absolutely zero heat and a distinctly sweet flavor. This open-pollinated Capsicum annuum cultivar matures in 70 to 79 days from transplant and reaches a compact 18 to 30 inches tall, making it equally at home in a garden bed, raised bed, or container. The real show begins at harvest: fruit emerges creamy white, transitions through pale yellow, and finally ripens to a brilliant scarlet red that signals peak sweetness and thick walls perfect for stuffing, roasting, or eating fresh.
Full Sun
Moderate
4-13
30in H x ?in W
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Moderate
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The journey from white to red is what gardeners remember most about Diamond Pepper. You'll watch the fruit transform through three distinct color stages, each one edible but progressively sweeter as it darkens. The thick flesh and complete absence of heat make it exceptionally forgiving for cooks of any skill level, while the compact plant size means even small spaces yield generous harvests. At 75 days from transplant, you're eating homegrown peppers well before the growing season ends.
Diamond Peppers excel in raw applications where their sweetness and thick walls shine, especially sliced into salads or eaten out of hand. The substantial flesh makes them outstanding candidates for roasting whole or stuffed with grains, cheese, or vegetables. Their lack of heat opens them to cooks of all tolerances, while their sweetness means they need no other seasoning to taste exceptional. Home gardeners prize them specifically for fresh eating and culinary preparation where the fruit's appearance and tender texture matter as much as flavor.
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Start Diamond Pepper seeds indoors 6 to 8 weeks before your last spring frost. Maintain soil temperature between 70 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit for reliable germination. Keep soil consistently moist but not waterlogged until seedlings emerge. Once sprouted, provide bright light and maintain warmth to prevent leggy growth.
Transplant seedlings outdoors only after all frost danger has passed and soil has warmed to at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Harden off seedlings by gradually exposing them to outdoor conditions over 7 to 10 days before planting. Space plants 15 inches apart with rows 36 inches apart. Diamond Pepper thrives in raised beds, garden plots, and greenhouses, so choose the setting that suits your space.
Diamond Peppers are harvestable at any color stage, though flavor develops as fruit darkens. For maximum sweetness and thick walls, wait until peppers turn scarlet red; this typically occurs around 75 to 79 days from transplant. Clip peppers from the plant with a clean knife or pruner rather than pulling, which can damage branches. The thick flesh signals full maturity and readiness for harvest. Early picking of immature white or yellow fruit does not reduce overall yield, so choose based on your preference for flavor intensity.
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“Diamond Pepper is a preserved heirloom variety, open-pollinated and non-GMO, that has been maintained by gardeners and seed companies dedicated to keeping traditional vegetable genetics alive. This lineage represents the broader movement to save heirloom crops from genetic erosion, ensuring that gardeners today can grow the same peppers their predecessors valued for reliability and flavor.”