Stephen Albert
Hot peppers are most easily grown from transplants. Grow hot chili peppers in the warmest, frost-free time of the year.
Start hot pepper seed indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the date you intend to set peppers into the garden.
Peppers can be seeded in the garden or transplanted out 2 to 3 weeks after the last frost in spring after the soil temperature has risen to at least 65°F.
Hot peppers grow best where the air temperature ranges from 70° to 95°F. Hot peppers mature in 60 to 95 days.
Description. Peppers are tender perennials that are grown as annuals. Peppers grow on compact erect bushes 1½ to 2 feet tall. The fruit follows a single flower growing in the angle between the leaf and the stem. Hot peppers can range in length from 1 to 7 inches long and in color from green to red to gold and yellow.
Yield. Hot peppers vary greatly in spiciness. Choose peppers and the number to plant according to how you plan to use them.
Planting Hot Peppers
Site. Grow peppers in full sun in soil that is rich in organic matter, moisture retentive but well draining. Peppers prefer a soil pH of 5.5 to 6.8. Work aged garden compost into beds prior to planting. The optimal soil temperature for peppers is 65°F or warmer.
Planting time. Hot peppers grow best in air temperatures 70° to 95°F. Peppers are most easily grown from transplants. Start seed indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the date you intend to set peppers into the garden. Peppers can be seeded in the garden or transplanted out 2 to 3 weeks after the last frost in spring after the soil temperature has risen to at least 65°F. In temperatures greater than 85°F, peppers may drop their blossoms although set fruit will ripen. Hot peppers tolerate hot weather better than sweet peppers.
Planting and spacing. Sow hot pepper seed ½ inch deep, 18 to 24 inches apart. Space rows 24 to 36 inches apart. Sow two seeds to each spot and thin to the most successful seedling. Peppers can be transplanted into the garden when they are 4 to 6 inches tall.
Container growing. Peppers can be grown in a large container. An 8-inch pot will accommodate a single plant. In larger containers, set plants on 12-inch centers. Peppers can be grown indoors. Peppers started indoors before the last frost in spring will get a head start on the season. Extend the season in the fall by moving plants indoors if frost threatens or if temperatures warm to greater than 90°F. Bring outdoor started peppers inside for a few hours a day at first until they get used to the lower light available indoors.
Caring for Hot Peppers
Water and feeding. Keep peppers evenly moist but not wet particularly when blossoms appear and fruit begins to form. Soil that goes too dry can result in flower drop. Add aged compost to planting beds before planting and again at midseason. Water more frequently after the fruit forms. Water heavily 4 to 8 hours before harvest to turn hot peppers milder; withhold watering before harvest to make hot peppers hotter.
Companion plants. Beets, garlic, onions, parsnips, radishes.
Care. Keep planting beds well weeded to avoid competition. Peppers are shallow-rooted, so cultivate around peppers with care. Mulch to keep soil temperature and moisture even.
Avoid high nitrogen fertilizers which will create large leafy plants with few or no fruits. High temperatures and wind can cause flowers to drop and plants not to set fruit.
Plastic mulch can improve pepper yields. Organic compost mulches will reduce weeding and watering, but not fruit yields.
Use shade cloth to protect peppers from sunburn if the temperature exceeds 105°F.
Pests. Peppers can be attacked by aphids, cutworms, flea beetles, and hornworms. Discourage cutworms by placing a collar around each transplant at the time of planting; hand pick hornworms off of plants. Flea beetles and aphids can be partially controlled by hosing them off the plants and pinching out infested foliage.
Diseases. Peppers are susceptible to rot, blossom end rot, anthracnose, tobacco mosaic virus, bacterial spot, and mildew. Plant disease-resistant varieties. Keep the garden clean and free of weeds where pests and diseases can shelter. Remove infected plants before the disease can spread. If you smoke, wash your hands before working with the plants to avoid spreading the tobacco mosaic virus.
Harvesting Hot Peppers
Harvest. Hot peppers are ready for harvest in 60 to 95 days after sowing. Pick hot peppers when they have reached full size and their mature color. Cut the peppers off the vine. Pulling a pepper away from the plant may cause the plant to come out of the soil.
Storing and preserving. Hot peppers will keep in the refrigerator for 1 week or in a cool, dry spot for up to 2 weeks. Roasted and peeled hot peppers will keep in the freezer for up to 6 months. Pickle whole, cooked, and canned hot peppers will keep for up to 2 years.
Hot Pepper Varieties to Grow
• Long, tapering hot pepper: Anaheim Chili (80 days); Cayenne Long Red Slim (70 days); Crimson Hot (60 days); Diablo Grande (65 days); Espanola Ristra (65 days); Golden Prolific (65 days); Hot Portugal (64 days); Hungarian Yellow Wax (60 days); Inferno (65 days); Mirasol (75 days); Mulato Isleno (85 days); Surefire (65 days).
• Cylindrical hot peppers: Ancho (65-100 days); Czechoslovakian Black (65 days); Hot Stuff (60 days); Jalapa (65 days); Jalapeno (72 days); Louisiana Hots (69 days); Pretty Hot Purple (80 days); Serrano (70 days); Tam Jalapeno (65 days).
• Medium to small tapering hot peppers: Tabasco (80-120 days); Thai Hot (75 days).
• Yellow hot peppers: Casabella (75 days); Santa Fe Grande (75 days); Szentesi Semi-Hot (60 days).
Common name. Pepper, hot pepper, chili pepper
Botanical name. Capsicum frutescens (hot pepper); Capsicum annuum (sweet and hot peppers)
Origin. New World Tropics
Grow 80 vegetables: THE KITCHEN GARDEN GROWERS’ GUIDE
Hi Steve—After a 2-day cold snap (below 60º F) all my hot peppers showed a change. The Bird’s Beak pepper’s flowers all yellowed and died, the new leaves were smaller and puckered. I cut the plant back, and 3 weeks later the new leaves are tiny, gray-green, and strangely rigid. They’re also pointy. The Portugese hot pepper grew small, coarse leaves, but still dark green. Now, the new leaves are long, narrow, and tightly curled down. Same with the Lady Hermit pepper and the Haskorea. All the plants are in containers. Is it safe to eat the fruit that grew before the plants exhibited these problems? Several plants in my container garden are now growing these tightly curled leaves.
The plants are likely suffering from cold shock. Assuming the plants are suffering from cold, the fruit (peppers) can be eaten. Peppers can be harvested and eaten at any stage of development. If temps are less than 65F at night, place a clear plastic bag over each plant to create a mini-greenhouse. Remove the bag on warm days.
How many hot pepper seed can we get from one hectare of pepper farm?
To find an average–count the number of seeds in each of 10 pepper fruits then divide by 10; this will give you the average seeds per plants; to determine the numbers of seeds a hectare will produce, multiply the average number of seeds per fruit by the number of plants you plant.
how many kg of yield per hill? Thank you
A chili pepper plant producing thick-walled fruit may produce 5 or 6 fruits, while a small-fruited variety may produce 30, 50, or even 70 peppers. The weight will therefore vary.
I am from Malawi. I want to join Hot Chilli farming but i want your advice, how many kgs of hot dry pepper can I get from one Ecre and where can i sell it? How many pepper can i pick from one plant
A healthy chili plant will produce 20 to 50 peppers per plant. Check at a nearby farmers’ market or produce wholesaler for where you can sell peppers in your regions.
Thx alot Mr Steve. I need your Advise and Guidelines about Crop cutting experiment in Chilli pepper production. And about loss assessment.
This topic is more important
For research in this area, get in touch with agronomists at an agriculture university in your region. You may also find reports online.
I learn a lot. I know chilli farming is the best plant to plant in the garden…for a 1/4 hectare , can i ask how many kilograms of chili seeds to sow or plant in the garden? Thank you..
Here is a link to a paper posted on the South African government site that may be of help:
Hot pepper (chilli), sweet pepper and paprika.