Hi @nogreenfingers
Hi there, and what a great problem to have, since a perfectly healthy plant producing fruit at all this year, given how erratic the weather's been, is nothing to sniff at.
Is This Actually a Problem?
The good news first: red bell peppers turning black before they finish ripening is, in the vast majority of cases, completely normal rather than a sign of anything wrong. Peppers pass through a colour change as they mature, and many varieties, jalapeƱos being the classic example, go almost black before finishing their journey to red. It's caused by a build up of anthocyanin pigment in the skin combining with the red carotenoids underneath, and since you say the plant itself looks healthy, this is my first suspicion here.
What Would Point to a Genuine Problem Instead
The main thing worth ruling out is blossom end rot, but the tell there is quite different from what you're describing. That shows up as a soft, sunken, leathery black patch specifically at the base of the fruit where the flower used to be, rather than the whole pepper darkening evenly, and it's usually down to inconsistent watering during fruit development rather than anything wrong with the plant's overall health. Given you've mentioned weather extremes this summer, that inconsistency in soil moisture is worth thinking about even if this particular symptom turns out to be normal ripening.
Your South Facing Spot
A south facing position with the kind of heat spikes we've had this year can also cause sunscald on exposed fruit, which tends to show as bleached or leathery patches on the side facing the sun rather than an overall black colour change, so it's a slightly different look again. If your peppers are getting the full brunt of afternoon sun with little leaf cover to shade them, keeping the plant well watered at the roots during hot spells makes a real difference to how it copes, and I've gone into the reasoning behind that in more depth in my guide to watering effectively in a heatwave.
What I'd Do Next
Since the plant itself is healthy, I'd let one or two of the blackening peppers stay on a little longer and see whether they carry on through to a proper red, which would confirm this is simply the ripening process doing its thing. If instead you start seeing soft, sunken patches specifically at the blossom end, or the fruit turns mushy rather than staying firm, that's your cue it's blossom end rot rather than normal colouring, at which point keeping watering consistent through any future dry spells is the main fix.
Do let us know how they turn out, I'd love to see a photo once they've properly ripened.
Happy Gardening!
Lee Garden Ninja
Hi @nogreenfingers
Hi there, and what a great problem to have, since a perfectly healthy plant producing fruit at all this year, given how erratic the weather's been, is nothing to sniff at.
Is This Actually a Problem?
The good news first: red bell peppers turning black before they finish ripening is, in the vast majority of cases, completely normal rather than a sign of anything wrong. Peppers pass through a colour change as they mature, and many varieties, jalapeƱos being the classic example, go almost black before finishing their journey to red. It's caused by a build up of anthocyanin pigment in the skin combining with the red carotenoids underneath, and since you say the plant itself looks healthy, this is my first suspicion here.
What Would Point to a Genuine Problem Instead
The main thing worth ruling out is blossom end rot, but the tell there is quite different from what you're describing. That shows up as a soft, sunken, leathery black patch specifically at the base of the fruit where the flower used to be, rather than the whole pepper darkening evenly, and it's usually down to inconsistent watering during fruit development rather than anything wrong with the plant's overall health. Given you've mentioned weather extremes this summer, that inconsistency in soil moisture is worth thinking about even if this particular symptom turns out to be normal ripening.
Your South Facing Spot
A south facing position with the kind of heat spikes we've had this year can also cause sunscald on exposed fruit, which tends to show as bleached or leathery patches on the side facing the sun rather than an overall black colour change, so it's a slightly different look again. If your peppers are getting the full brunt of afternoon sun with little leaf cover to shade them, keeping the plant well watered at the roots during hot spells makes a real difference to how it copes, and I've gone into the reasoning behind that in more depth in my guide to watering effectively in a heatwave.
What I'd Do Next
Since the plant itself is healthy, I'd let one or two of the blackening peppers stay on a little longer and see whether they carry on through to a proper red, which would confirm this is simply the ripening process doing its thing. If instead you start seeing soft, sunken patches specifically at the blossom end, or the fruit turns mushy rather than staying firm, that's your cue it's blossom end rot rather than normal colouring, at which point keeping watering consistent through any future dry spells is the main fix.
Do let us know how they turn out, I'd love to see a photo once they've properly ripened.
Happy Gardening!
Lee Garden Ninja
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