Sweet pepper, also called bell pepper and green pepper, and hot pepper (Capsicum frutescens). Both sweet peppers and hot peppers are warm-weather perennial shrubs from the tropics, but are treated as annuals in gardens. The plants usually grow about 2 feet tall with an equal spread.

The fruit of sweet peppers grow 3 to 4 inches long and 21/2 to 3 inches wide; they are often harvested while still green and crisp and are eaten either raw or cooked; if allowed to ripen, they turn red or yellow and may become slightly soft, but the flavor is unchanged. Excellent varieties are Ace Hybrid, Bell Boy Hybrid and Yolo Wonder, which turn red when ripe; and Golden Calwonder, which becomes a rich, golden yellow.

Hot peppers vary greatly in size and shape. Some are almost cherrylike, others are up to a foot long and tapering. They are green when they first appear, but quickly turn red or yellow. All have a pungent flavor and are eaten fresh, cooked or pickled. Some varieties, such as cayenne, can be dried and ground. Good hot peppers are Long Red Cayenne, Large Cherry and Tabasco, all red varieties; and Hungarian Yellow Wax, a yellow variety. A 10-foot row of peppers yields about 6 pounds over a period of six weeks.

Peppers grow best in soil with a pH of 5.5 to 7.0. In most of the U.S. and southern Canada, where winter frosts are expected, start seeds indoors in spring six to eight weeks before minimum night temperatures are expected to average above 55. Sow the seeds in a flat and transplant the seedlings to individual pots when they are about 1 inch tall. Or sow two or three seeds in individual pots, and when the seedlings become an inch tall, cut off all but the strongest one in each pot. The plants need indoor temperatures of 70 to 80.

Pods of green peas should be picked while they are firm but still succulent, before they become yellowish or shriveled. Edible-pod peas should be picked while the pods are still flat and the peas within are barely discernible.

Peas grow best in soil with a pH of 6.0 to 7.5. To prepare the soil for a double row with 8 inches of space down the middle, dig a flat-bottomed trench about 10 inches wide and 2 inches deep. If additional double rows are needed, space the trenches 3 feet apart. Dust the bottom of each trench with a low-nitrogen fertilizer such as 5-10-10 at the rate of 2 ounces for every 10 feet of row, and rake it into the bottom of the trench.