My guess is they were prematurely harvested

They're unripe. That's what unripe peppers taste like.

Josh

When I harvest my peppers green I usually wait until the first sign of color change before I harvest so I know they are as mature as they will get while keeping that bright, green pepper flavor.

Bitter green chile may be characteristic of what you are growing. I can think of many chiles that are not bitter when green

Hi all! Thank you for the imput. Problem is, they are 'golden greek' pepperoncini and they advertise them in the catalog that you're *supposed* to pick them before they change color.

And it's not a usual 'green pepper' bitter taste, it's super bitter like neem powder or some medicinal herb type bitterness. Bleech!

That's odd, I heard while doing research on hydroponics that too much of some nutrients can cause peppers to taste off. Unfortunately I don't remember what exactly it was that was mentioned but it might be something to look into if you're using ferts. That's about all the other advice I have unfortunately.

Probably should taste the soil to see if the acidity is too high. :)

I agree that it might be the result of harvesting the peppers while they are too mature.

Hi Brennan! You may have something on that, well maybe I shouldn't pee on them to keep the leaves green, maybe that's what causing them to turn bitter....

I know if you pee on cukes when they're making fruits (well not on them, but in the soil :) the cukes will be bitter too.

Too much nitrogen. Don't over fertilize. Use a 5 10 10 fertilizer. Also use fish emulsion and once a month apply Epsom salt. Epsom salt make your peppers taste way better ...and also your tomatoes.

Never experienced that. Peppers, like nearly every other plant, utilize NPK in a 3-1-2 ratio.

And only apply Magnesium sulfate is there's a deficiency, which there hardly ever is.