[QUOTE=WVTomatoMan;223060].......Ring of Fire (F1 hybrid cayenne type pepper with good flavor and decent heat).
[/QUOTE]

The Ring of Fire that I know is open-pollinated, and yes, very early!

~Dig

[QUOTE=nctomatoman;222476]Try growing your peppers in black pots - since peppers like hot roots, you may find that your maturity date (and yield!) work greatly in your favor by trying this. I know that here in hot, hot NC peppers in the ground are pretty slow and sleepy and moderate yielding at best, while those in black pots or grow bags are supercharged....5 gallon is just fine for typical bell or fryer shape sweet peppers.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=DiggingDogFarm;222504]I grow as many as I can in black containers, it sure does make a big difference!!
[/QUOTE]

Revisiting the subject of peppers in black containers.

I visited a local herb nursery to purchase some rosemary and bay laurel plants around the first of June, wonderful people.

They gave me a couple extremely lanky Jalapeno plants, not that I needed them....but I couldn't refuse.

Now, when I say lanky, I mean really lanky....14-16 inch lanky
.
Well..I stripped of all leaves except for the growing tip and planted them in 4 gallon black containers with the root ball in the bottom and the tip just peaking above the surface.

Wowza Holy-Cowza...I've grown a lot of Jalapenos, more than any other pepper (for many years) and I've never seen the number of blossoms and the fruit -set like what's on these 2 plants....It's really amazing.

They're an un-named Jalapeno by the way...but look to me like they're likely the somewhat ubiquitous Early Jalapeno.

~Dig ;)

One I see for sale alot around here is Wisconsin Lakes Bell. I have not tried it but its popularity makes me guess it does well here.

I always had problems growing peppers in the garden. I was lucky if I had a few edible peppers by mid-August. Red peppers were out of the question. Then I tried an Earthbox (an Earthtainer works just as well). The difference is startling. This Spring was cold and damp for me. Everything is two weeks late this year. My Fourth of July tomatoes didn't come in until July 19th. My peppers on the other hand, have been producing since June 15. If you want earlier peppers, try not only changing the varieties you plant but also your planting method. Self watering containers are definitely the way to go with peppers.

Try 5 gallon black grow bags for a cheap alternative - I can't believe how many peppers I have on my plants...and how early it all happens.

[QUOTE=nctomatoman;225394]Try 5 gallon black grow bags for a cheap alternative - I can't believe how many peppers I have on my plants...and how early it all happens.[/QUOTE]

I second that except I been using the white ones. Black would have probably helped during the unusually cool and wet spring but the white has IMHO made a real difference lately with the extreme heat wave.

I can second the earlier recommendation for Chimayo, or any of the landrace chiles from northern New Mexico which are all adapted to extreme conditions. My Chimayo plants seemingly had no trouble growing, blooming and even setting fruit with night temperatures in the 40s during our cold and awful spring this year and handled the July heat wave the same way.

I have been harvesting multitudes of red ripe pods for the past three weeks. Pod shape, size and heat are variable (it is a landrace after all) but most are medium-sized pods with a very pleasant mild heat and an exquisite flavor. In general, they have much more flavor than any of the NuMex varieties.

I plan on making these my staple chiles from now on.

My first year growing Socrates bell pepper. Really nice producer of large, early sweet bells.

My earliest hot pepper is probably Aji Colorado, which we dry at the red stage and make into flakes and powder.

Another thing you could try to get an early start on the season is use floating row cover (Reemay is one brand). That will provide some early warmth, but probably not as much as a black pot or grow bag sitting in the sun.

Alma paparika always does well for me. I have grown them in the upside down tomato pots and my peppers usually do very well. Often pretty prolific. This year with the weather so so.

[QUOTE=kath;222559]I only eat ripe peppers and had luck with Lipstick and Gypsy a few years back- then not much from them since then. Tried Carmen, it's a hybrid, and have had sweet red peppers in June every year since then. They put out a lot of fruit and last until frost here. I keep trialing others in hopes of finding an open pollinated variety that performs as well.[/QUOTE]

Have you tried Quadrato Asti Giallo Kath. Don't recall if it's early, but it produces
peppers like a hybrid for me.

[QUOTE=roper2008;234347]Have you tried Quadrato Asti Giallo Kath. Don't recall if it's early, but it produces
peppers like a hybrid for me.[/QUOTE]

Yes, I tried that one and the red version (Rossa?) in the same year and can't remember why they weren't winners.:? I don't seem to favor the flavor of the yellows/oranges. This year Slonovo Uvo has been a real winner with huge straight sweet peppers that I love. They haven't been as productive as Carmen but they are definitely the best o.p. red sweet pepper I've grown yet.

By my limited experience, Habanero white bullet (also called Habanero peruvian white) has been the fastest. With proper pre-grow inside (germination January to February, enough light) one can get two yields per season even here in southern Finland without a greenhouse, at least in a good summer.

Another quick one seemed to be Peito de Moca. You'd probably find even quicker ones on the annuums but I've grown very few of those, got a few good hints from this topic though.

The best early pepper
 

ZKI 11 pepper

pepper yielding richly with fast growing, 25-30 cm tall determinate variety. A special feature of dark green leaves, very good resistance. Lack of light is not sensitive. The fruit is filled with white, sweet, shouldered, conical acuminate, pendulous, weighing 80-90 g. Xanthomonas-tolerant. Forcing, open-field cultivation, sowing location is recommended. The tobacco mosaic virus strains resistant to normal. Suitable for fresh consumption.