Variety field guide
What to expect from Yolo Wonder Pepper Seeds
Yolo Wonder pepper seeds produce red sweet pepper fruit medium-large blocky bell fruit, green ripening to red on bushy plants reaching 25–30 in; maturity is 70-79 Days.
Read the complete product descriptionTraits, flavor, garden use, variety notes, and the full catalog record
Yolo Wonder pepper seeds grow into bushy plants reaching 25–30 in, bearing red fruit medium-large blocky bell fruit, green ripening to red. Heat category: Sweet. It is especially suited to fresh eating, stuffing, roasting, cooking, and classic green-to-red bell harvests. Maturity is 70-79 Days.
About Yolo Wonder
Yolo Wonder is a sweet pepper grown as Capsicum annuum L. Plants have a bushy habit and reach 25–30 in; support is listed as stake. The principal mature or market color is Red, with fruit described as medium-large blocky bell fruit, green ripening to red. Reproductive classification: Open-Pollinated (OP). Maturity: 70-79 Days. Names associated with this variety include Yolo Wonder pepper, Pepper Seeds - Sweet - Yolo Wonder.
- Scientific name:Capsicum annuum L.
- Life cycle:Annual
- Planting season:Spring
- Growth habit:Bush
- Plant height:25–30 in
- Sunlight:Full sun
- Seed depth:1/4 in
- Germination:7–14 Days at 75–90 °F
- Spacing:18 in between plants; 24 in between rows
- Soil:Loamy; pH 6.0–6.5
- Water:Moderate
- Support:Stake
- Reproductive type:Open-Pollinated (OP)
- Fruit:Red; Medium-large blocky bell fruit, green ripening to red
- Heat:Sweet; 0 SHU
History and seedkeeping context
Yolo Wonder is documented in the North American pepper cultivar archive as a Campbell Soup Company cultivar from 1952, developed from California Wonder and Elephant Trunk. The record describes pendant fruit, compact plants, dense foliage, and resistance to the common strain of tobacco mosaic virus. That breeding history distinguishes Yolo Wonder from California Wonder even though the two are closely related in market type.
This listing is treated as open-pollinated according to the maintained catalog record. Seedkeepers should select representative plants for blocky fruit, foliage cover, green-to-red color, and uniform sweet-bell quality. The legacy Shopify handle still names California Wonder 300 TMR and requires a redirect-safe correction outside this import.
The available sources do not establish a named person’s tribal identity.
Fruit, flavor, and kitchen use
Yolo Wonder is best suited to fresh eating, stuffing, roasting, cooking, and classic green-to-red bell harvests. Its flavor is crisp green bell flavor becoming sweeter at red maturity. Harvest stage matters: immature fruit is usually firmer and greener in flavor, while fully colored fruit is generally softer, sweeter, or more aromatic. Use hot varieties carefully and measure them according to the needs of the recipe rather than assuming one pod equals another. Yolo Wonder is especially useful for fresh eating, stuffing, roasting, cooking, and classic green-to-red bell harvests. Flavor and eating quality are described as crisp green bell flavor becoming sweeter at red maturity. Heat classification: Sweet; listed range: 0 SHU. Pungency can shift with genetics, weather, water stress, and ripeness.
How to grow Yolo Wonder
Start Yolo Wonder indoors about 8 to 10 weeks before the last expected frost. Sow 1/4 in deep in a warm, evenly moist seed-starting mix; expect 7–14 Days near 75–90 °F. Provide strong light as soon as seedlings emerge, pot up before roots become crowded, and harden plants gradually before transplanting after nights are reliably warm.
Plant in full sun with loamy soil near pH 6.0–6.5. Space plants 18 in apart and rows 24 in apart. Maintain moderate moisture, mulch after the soil warms, and avoid excessive nitrogen. Install stake early where the bushy plant or fruit load warrants it. Mature height is 25–30 in.
Season care
• Warmth matters most during germination; keep Yolo Wonder seed warm without leaving the medium saturated. • Harden seedlings gradually and wait for warm nights before transplanting, because cold soil and wind can stall peppers for weeks. • Install stake before branches carry a heavy crop, and keep moisture even while fruit is setting. • Harvest at the color stage suited to the recipe, but leave fruit fully mature on selected plants when saving seed. • Use 70-79 Days as a planning range rather than a guaranteed calendar date; weather and transplant stress can shift first harvest.
Harvest and maturity
70-79 Days from transplant to first representative harvest; the same value is used in every description. Peppers can often be used at an immature green or transitional color, but fully ripe color is required for mature seed.
Saving seed
Peppers are largely self-pollinating but insect movement can produce crosses. To save Yolo Wonder true to type, grow several healthy representative plants, isolate them from compatible pepper varieties or use blossom bags or cages, and remove clear off-types before flowering. Allow selected fruit to reach full biological color, handle hot fruit with gloves, remove the seed, dry it in a thin labeled layer until fully hard and dry, then store it cool, dark, and dry. Keep the harvest year, source, isolation method, and selection notes with the lot.
Common questions
When is Yolo Wonder ready?
Plan around 70-79 Days. The listed range is a planning guide, and weather, transplant stress, and harvest stage can shift the actual date.
How long does germination take?
Expect 7–14 Days near 75–90 °F. Cooler media, excess water, old seed, or uneven moisture can delay emergence.
How large does it grow?
Expect about 25–30 in. Growth habit: Bush. Support: Stake.
How is it used?
Fresh eating, stuffing, roasting, cooking, and classic green-to-red bell harvests
Can I save seed?
Peppers are largely self-pollinating but insect movement can produce crosses.
