I admit, the above picture has very little to do with peppers, which is the subject of this missive, but I thought it is such a nice picture I included it anyways. I'll go over the different varieties of winter squash pictured on the wagon at another time. Peppers are starting to ripen and should become available starting next week-- I hope-- so here's a brief introduction into the wonderful and diverse world of peppers.
All peppers start out green (or white or purple) and ripen to red (or yellow or orange). All peppers can be eaten either ripe or unripe although the flavor changes and the sweetness develops along with ripeness.
Bell peppers 
like this one presumably need no introduction. They are the most commonly eaten pepper in this country, although, in my opinion, not the best flavored. However, the thick walls and juicy flesh make them ideal for salads. Nor do they particularly look like bells.
Bullshorn peppers 
have, at lest to me, an added element of flavor (like ripe cherries) and are just as sweet as bell peppers when ripe. Not quite as juicy as bells, and therefore better for cooking (at least the way I cook), but I guess it depends what you are making.
An orange version of bullshorn peppers is the oranos pepper, some of which are pictured here.
They taste a bit different but are very sweet. Sometimes called Italian frying peppers, I find them equally enjoyable raw and cooked.
Shishito peppers like these
are best fried whole until slightly charred and soft (like in the picture). Very delicious and they have become quite trendy lately. I seem to have underplanted these and am having difficulty supplying them to everybody who wants them. If you want to try them and find them sold out week after week, please let me know via email toward the end of September and I will make sure you get some.
Yummy peppers--also known as snacking peppers--
are small, sweet, and contain very few seeds. Easy to pack in a school or work lunch since they require no cutting or other preparation other than washing.
We also grow small amounts of poblano, jalapeno and cherry bomb peppers for those who like it hot. We don't grow any super hot peppers.
