Capsicum annuum.

The golden version of the most widely grown pepper in North America. The original California Wonder was launched in 1928 and took hold so completely that it ended up defining the very shape of the words “bell pepper” in the North American imagination: large, square, four-lobed, thick-walled. Golden Calwonder is its yellow-maturing selection, obtained by keeping the plants whose fruits, instead of turning red, went to a deep golden yellow. Nearly a hundred years later it remains one of the rare open-pollinated blocky peppers still widely grown, in a market where the hybrid dominates completely.

An upright, stocky plant of about 90 cm, robust, carrying its fruits well clear of the ground. Square fruits 10 to 13 cm, with three or four lobes, green at first then brilliant golden yellow at full maturity, with thick crunchy walls. The flavour at the golden stage is noticeably sweeter and milder than at the green stage, with an almost fruity note. Excellent raw in strips on a crudité platter, where its colour does all the work; stuffed and baked au gratin; roasted until the skin blisters then peeled for an antipasto; diced into a salsa or a Spanish omelette; or simply grilled on the BBQ in quarters with a drizzle of olive oil.

Grower's tip: the whole point of this variety is the yellow, and the yellow has to be earned. Count on two to three extra weeks on the plant after the commercial green stage, which is a long time in our climate. Two levers: start early indoors (8 to 10 weeks before last frost, at 25-28 °C on a heat mat for uniform emergence) and give it the warmest spot in the garden, ideally against a south-facing wall that gives back heat at night. Never transplant before nights have stabilized above 12 °C: a pepper that takes a cold snap in June stalls for weeks and never catches up.

• Open-pollinated. Largely self-pollinating, but crosses possible with other nearby Capsicum annuum (sweet and hot peppers); isolate or bag the flowers for seed saving.
• Height: up to about 90 cm.
• Maturity: about 75 days after transplant, plus 2 to 3 weeks for the turn to golden yellow. Fruits 10 to 13 cm.
• Exposure: full sun, sheltered from wind, the warmest spot available.
• Rich, well-drained, warm soil. Space plants 40 to 50 cm apart.
• Start indoors 8 to 10 weeks before last frost. Transplant once nights have stabilized above 12 °C (early to mid-June in Québec).