The only trick I know of is that they need lots of heat - they do great in the greenhouse here... but only in the greenhouse!

I have grown green bell peppers with moderate success in regular garden soil. Of course they were started for a couple of months indoors first. Never noticed a problem with aphids and I do have aphids in my yard, so I can't help you there. I have stopped growing green peppers though, because I don't really care for the taste. They taste exactly like peas when I grow them which is sort of odd. And I have tried a few different kinds. And they get blossom end rot in my garden.

What does do really really well for me, is Portuguese Hot Peppers. My old Portuguese neighbour saw them and was so excited, he didn't know the English word that they call them but I think he meant sheep's horn because they grow long and curled like a ram's horn. They produced an excellent yield for me and the flavour I am told was excellent but I hate spicy food so I didn't eat any. I pickled them and gave most of them to the neighbour :0) His wife hates me so I didn't get my jars back.

I think (but not sure) they have similar nutritional needs as tomatoes so I plant them with my tomatoes and feed them all Miracle Gro for Tomatoes. It's important to keep the soil evenly moist but never soggy. (yeah right)

Hope that helps.

I have grown my own peppers in the greenhouse for years except for this year ..they seem to need strong sunlight..water and fertilize well..the best varieties for me have been super heavy weights (from T+T seeds) and Big Bertha's (from mcfayden's)..savona

Al, I use garden blankets to cover my peppers, tomatoes, and cukes until about July 10th or 12th. I know that's kind of late, but I got really tired of getting everything frozen off the first week of July. I have the best luck with Giant Marconi peppers. They don't exactly get giant, but I do get some nice green peppers. I even got some last year, which was amazing. My son started some in late January for his greenhouse, but they got aphids. I stuck them out on the east side of the house, and watered them occasionally. When I put them in the ground, they had about 2 leaves each and were really ugly. Amazingly enough, they did produce some fruit. Good luck!
Connie

I grow all kinds of peppers with quite good sucess. I start them indoors but not very early, haven't started them yet but am running late this year. I fertilize with a blend of N, P and S, good amount of water and hope for some heat.

I recall something about too much nitrogen applied at the early stages of pepper growth and before blossoms that will prevent peppers from setting fruit. I did a google search and found this info from the University of Manitoba:

Peppers and Tomatoes

Peppers and tomatoes are self-pollinating crops. Poor fruit set is usually associated with adverse environmental conditions as opposed to poor pollination. Both of these crops are sensitive to temperature extremes, especially during flowering. Low temperatures during flowering (30ºC) have a negative effect on pollination, especially if accompanied by moisture stress. Moisture stress during any stage of growth can have a negative affect on the plant, but it is extremely perilous during flowering. Fruit production in pepper and tomato tends to be especially sensitive to nighttime temperatures. Blossom drop is a characteristic symptom of both temperature and moisture stress.

Soil fertility also plays a key role in fruit production. Excess soil nitrogen will delay or inhibit fruit production, as it causes the plant to produce a flush of green, vegetative growth at the expense of blossoms and fruits. In this situation, the plants, though healthy and vigorous, will have few or no flowers. Be especially careful when applying manure and nitrogen fertilizer early in the growing season. On the other side of the coin, excess phosphorus and inadequate nitrogen can result in fruit with good colouration but poor size. In this situation, the plant has essentially put more energy into producing the fruit but not enough energy into producing the vegetative tissue required to fill the fruit.

Finally, shade can be a major contributor to poor fruit production in peppers and tomatoes. If these plants don't receive at least six hours of direct sunlight per day, they cannot accumulate enough energy to produce and fill fruit.

Here is a link that might be useful: Here's the link - University of Manitoba