I think I may have found my new favorite sweet pepper. Too bad it's a hybrid!
I bought a packet of Lunchbox peppers from Johnny's this spring on a whim. We've been pretty happy growing pimento-type peppers since the smaller fruits ripen up before frost even if I don't start the plants inside ultra-early. But my heirloom variety started to decline in vigor after a few years, perhaps because I didn't grow enough plants to keep the gene bank deep.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I chose two new varieties this spring, selecting from among peppers with the fastest days-to-maturity. The pimento-type pepper (Round of Hungary) that I tried this time around did ripen its first fruit just as quickly as the Lunchbox peppers, but the former has been providing approximately one red pepper per week from three plants while the latter is overflowing with goodness from a similar size planting. Even after adding peppers to our salad all week, I still ended up with a bowlful in need of preservation.

Lunchbox isn't really a variety but a mix of three different types of pepper. Luckily for me, most of my plants turned out to be the red type, since that one is much more vigorous than the yellow and orange. The plants and fruits look like hot peppers, but the peppers are sweet and delicious (although with slightly thinner flesh than you'd expect in larger peppers). -waldeneffect

All three colors in one mix.

Equal amounts of our red, yellow, and orange Lunchbox snack peppers have been combined in this mix. These beautiful, mini-sized peppers are remarkably sweet and flavorful. They are delicious sautéed, as an addition to salads and, of course, perfect for a healthy snack. All three varieties have tall, strong plants that yield well for snack-type peppers. Sell the mixed colors loose or in clamshells. NOTE: Lunchbox Red is slightly smaller than the rest of the series.
LATIN NAME Capsicum annuum
TYPE Bell
DAYS TO MATURITY About Quick Fact Days To Maturity 55-63 green; 75-83 color
HYBRID STATUS About Quick Fact Hybrid Status Open Pollinated johnnyseeds

Steve Bellavia is a researcher with Johnny’s Selected Seeds company in Maine. He says these pint-sized peppers have a sweeter, fruitier taste than regular bell peppers.

Because the seeds are so small and they have a long growing season, Bellavia says it’s best to put them in the ground as transplants after the danger of frost has passed.

"They’ll do fairly well as long as there’s decent soil. It doesn’t have to be super fertile like a brassica, but they do like it to have decent fertility. And they like to have adequate water," says Bellavia. "They like warmth a lot too, so if you are in a cool climate, it’s helpful to put plastic down and also to cover them with hoops and a row cover so that you’ll have a little warmer microclimate."

Bellavia says he thinks they’re easier to grow than a regular bell pepper. And if the weather turns cool, the lunch box peppers will still set fruit.

There are three different varieties – a yellow, an orange, and a red.

"All of them start green, but of course the yellow one will end yellow, the red red, and the orange orange, so they’re three separate varieties. We sell them as separate varieties in the catalog and we also have a mix where you can get one packet that would have some of each in it," says Bellavia. "So if you’re a home gardener doing small-scale, it probably makes more sense just to get the mix so you don’t have to spend as much money on seeds."

These pepper plants tend to give high yields, so consider staking them with a tomato cage if they’re in a windy area to keep the stems from breaking. The peppers are ready for harvesting when they’ve completely turned their red, orange, or yellow color.

Bellavia says the best way to eat them is raw, or lightly sautéed. -livingthecountrylife

Pepper Lunchbox Mix Soil temperature: 75 - 80 degrees fahrenheit Seeding depth: 0.25 - 0.5 inches Germination days: 10 - 20 days Grow on temperature day: 60 - 65 degrees fahrenheit Weeks indoor: 6 - 8 weeks Maturation days: 60 days -harrisseeds

When it comes to growing sweet peppers in any setting, the Lunchbox is an outstanding choice. It’s smaller, compact nature is perfect for planting in a container, on the patio in pots, or right in the garden.
Lunchbox pepper plants grow 18 to 24″ high, and provide plenty of juicy 1 to 1.5″ long red, yellow, and orange sweet peppers. They have a small seed core, and a big crunch, making them perfect for snacking. They are also delicious in everything from salads to omelets.
The lunchbox variety is a heavy producer, and performs best when a little support is given in the form of a small stake or trellis -thisismygarden

Pepper Mini Mix
Nice small peppers, very sweet and tasty. Compact plants, about 40 cm high. Mix of yellow, orange and red. About 80-90 days. solanaseeds