How to Grow Peppers

General

Peppers are tropical plants that need lots of heat and attention to detail when starting them. Well grown in a warm summer, they are the gardener's triumph. Interestingly, the hot peppers often do better in a cool summer than the large bell peppers. If the hot peppers have not coloured up fully on your plants, pull up the whole plant and hang in a warm dry area.

Latin

Capsicum annuum
Solanaceae family.

Difficulty

Easy.

Season & Zone

Season: Warm season.
Exposure: Full-sun
Zone: Unknown.

Planting Seeds

These tropical plants require warmth. Start indoors 5-8 weeks before the last frost. We start early March on the Coast for transplanting in early June. Set the seeds 1/2" deep in individual cells or small pots. Use the seedling warmer to keep the soil as warm as possible. 27 C (80 F) is best until the seeds sprout. It will take 8-18 days, depending on soil temperature and variety. Once the seed has sprouted, they do not need to stay on the heat mat. It is important to keep the seedlings at 18-24 C (64-75 F) in the day and 16-18ºC (61-64ºF) at night. Avoid night temperatures below 12ºC (55ºF). Feed seedlings with Thrive Alive and Kelpman weekly. Before they get root-bound, transplant them into 7cm (3") pots. For greatest possible flower set try to keep them 4 weeks in a cool room at night, about 12ºC (55ºF). Then transplant them into 15cm (6") pots, bringing them into a warm room at night, about 21ºC (70ºF).

Transplant into the garden, putting them into the same level of soil as they were in the starting mix (in other words, don't bury the stem) but give them the warmest, most sheltered area of the garden.

Preparing Soil

Soil should have abundant phosphorous and calcium, so add lime and compost to the soil. Mix 1/4-/2 cup of complete organic fertilizer under each transplant. Though peppers will tolerate dry soil, they'll only make good growth if the soil is kept moist.

Planting

Peppers need warm temperatures. Start indoors 5-8 weeks before the last frost (we start early March on the Coast). Transplant when weather warms in early June.

Diseases & Pests

To prevent rot and wilt, plant in well-drained soils and follow a 4-year rotation.

If cutworms are a problem, use paper collars at the plant base. Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV): young growth is malformed and leaves are mottled with yellow. To prevent it: wash hands after handling tobacco, before touching peppers. Control aphids, which spread the disease.

Harvest

When fruit is firm it is ready to pick. But if you wait the fruit will ripen further turning red, yellow, brown or purple. The sweetness and vitamin C content go up dramatically when the fruit changes colour. If you pick green the total numbers of peppers harvested will increase. Fruit that sets after late August will not usually develop or ripen. Pull out the entire bush just before the first frost and hang it upside down in a warm, dry place to ripen hot peppers. Expect 5-10 large bell peppers per well-grown plant, 20-50 hot peppers per plant.

Sunscald sometimes affects large sweet peppers. A grey soft area develops on the side. It can be removed from the pepper in the kitchen without affecting the flavour.