I have tried bell peppers here in the past and have had the same results. I think the heat (even at this early stage of the game) has a lot to do with the awful taste. The soft spot is most likely sunburn. I've had tremendous success with hot peppers (anaheim, not very hot, but still a hot pepper, did extremely well for me in central Phoenix) but my quest for a sweet is still on. This year I have a gypsy sweet pepper growing. It got nipped by a late frost (we seem to get frosts in my neighborhood when there's no warning) so it's off to a rather late start (I planted it in early Feb.) It's not a bell pepper but, even though it looks like a hot, it's sweet. Supposedly it can handle a lot of heat so we'll see...

My gold peppers are very small as well- I have been disappointed by the seeming lack of growth of this plant. I don't think its size has increased in 2 months.

I have not tasted one yet- they are very slowly changing color now. I'm playing the waiting game now-hoping that they eventually ripen to gold and taste OK. I'm going to go look at them for soft spots now. :-)

Jane, I think you will like "Gypsy". It doesn't mind the heat, and is productive. Nice sweet peppers. I think it does better here than any of the "Bells",

Perhaps they need a little shade? If you can get some type of shade cloth to cover your garden they might do better. The intense AZ sun can easily burn tender veggies and can they may wilt down or grow small leaves because they lose too much water through evaporation in their leaves. The fruits can be small and not ripen or sunburn, or they may drop fruit or flowers prematurely. Also when it is so hot the plants can't always take up water effectively. The fruits can't grow as good because the water is not getting into them as well and the fruits remain small and sorta hard and the taste is of unripe fruit. I think this is why our tomatoes and peppers always shut down production in the hot summer months. The tomatoes and peppers that I used to grow under the rose bushes always did much better than the ones without cover. A few jalapenos plants we had in Phx. lived for 3 yrs that way.
The native americans built ramadas (shade structures) to keep their vegggies shaded in the desert so it makes sense to try to replicate that if we can. Good mulch and watering at dusk or dawn helps too.
Hope this helps
~Lenette

I have about 8 or so varied varieties of Peppers in the garden now in various locations to experiment with time of shade. Mostly giving them afternoon shade, some with 45% shade cloth.

A few questions:
Like Tomatoes I understand Peppers will stop setting fruit in high temps. Does anyone know which types peppers can tollerate heat better in this regard?

Can pine needles be used as mulch? I understand they add quite a bit of acidity, but I guess that is good for the alkaline soil. (The peppers are in a compost/soil/rice hulls mix) They seem to be qrowing quite well now with no mulch, but I need to mulch before high heat kicks in.

Al

Pepper plant do not have very deep roots. So most need to be watered more often in our climate. Shade helps. I grow mine on the east side of the garden that is shaded by the fence in the early morning and then I have shade cloth on top so they still get the light that they need to grow but it is not as intense as being in the open. I picked Mariachi and Japs yesterday. My bells are Yolo Wonder,and California Bells. I have some mild Japs that are just begining to turn black. I plant early and get a small crop the when the flowers drop because of the heat, I water every other day. I fertilize at the rate of 1/2 recommended level once a week.

The California Wonders I started from seed last year were small and had a less than desirable taste. I've had much better success this year with the six pack of Wonders I bought from Home Depot. The peppers have been much larger and the taste has been really good. I believe my garden soil and the weather has been better this year for growing peppers.

Wade

Check water Ph and soil Ph. Collect as much rain water as possible, raine water have more oxygen. Analize nutrients on your garden. The shade problem can be fix by adding Nitrogen, leaves will get bigger and if you water them more often size should increase. Size also is related to lack of P. Taste can be fixed by adding more k, which will increase color and taste. Feed with liquid fertilizers if they recommend 4 tbsp use one per gallon but do it more often. Be selective and harvest often and your plant will be more productive. Remember sandy soils require more water, if you mulch watch for mold. Bell peppers are water hungry, but if your ph is off nutrients will not be absorbed by the plant, and too much water will create blosson end rot.

Variety type is the most likely culprit with the taste.

The "purple" bells come from a pretty thin genetic line and in my own experience with them they tend to be not as sweet and a little thin walled (same with the brown/chocolate bells). The astringent/bitter taste that sometimes appear in peppers (that "green" taste) I've noticed a bit more in the purples/chocolates, too.

There are a lot of robust tasting/thick-walled red/orange types and some great yellows, too, imo.

I'm not saying the purples/chocolates are not worth growing, but I have noticed the taste quality of the varieties I've tried over the years haven't held up to the red/orange bred varieties.