These plants on my balcony were nothing but work for most of the year, but it's finally starting to pay off.
Bell pepper plants don't outright die on my balcony, but they sure produce a lot less than the banana peppers.
I plant them all in big pots, though, not directly into the soil. Mostly because I only have a balcony to work with, of course, but a secondary effect is that I can carry the plants inside when temperatures drop below 7C.