Peppers are a tender, warm-weather crop. Start peppers indoors 8 to 6 weeks before the average night time temperature is expected to stay above 55°F (13°C) if you plan to transplant seedlings directly into the garden. Start seed indoors up to 14 weeks before the last spring frost if you plan to harden off seedlings…
Hot Peppers
How to Harvest and Store Peppers
Pepper can be harvested as soon as they are large enough to eat. Most mild and hot peppers take at least 70 days from transplanting to reach edible size and another 3 to 4 weeks to reach maturity. Some hot peppers take longer. If you know the variety of pepper you are growing (check the…
Pepper Growing Success Tips
1. Peppers prefer deep, aged-compost–rich soil. If your soil is heavy with clay, grow peppers in a raised bed, adding loam and sand. 2. Growing peppers in your native soil: add at least 2 inches of aged compost across the planting bed and sprinkle with 5-10-10 organic fertilizer, then turn the soil to at least…
Pepper Growing Quick Tips
Sowing and Transplanting: Transplant pepper seedlings to the garden 2-3 weeks after the last frost. Sow seed indoors 8-10 weeks before transplanting to the garden. Sow seed directly in the garden only in long-summer regions Start seed indoors in a warm, well-lighted location—in a bright window or under grow lights. Sow 1-2 seeds ¼” (6…
Peppers, Melons, Eggplants—Hate the Cold
Cool days and nights can be a problem for tender warm-season crops such peppers, melons, and eggplants. Temperatures in the 40sF won’t kill these plants but their growth will be stunted. Wait to plant out very tender crops until the lowest temperatures do not fall below 50°F/10°C—55 or 60 degrees is even better. If you…
Fertilizer for Tomatoes, Peppers, and Eggplants
Summer fruiting crops such as tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants will benefit from a side-dressing of organic fertilizer when they first set fruit and every 4 to 6 weeks thereafter. An alternative is to water in a dilute solution of fish emulsion, seaweed extract, or kelp meal every 10 days. Feed fruiting crops that have flowered…
How to Choose a Chili Pepper for Heat, or Not
The potent spicy heat you experience eating chili peppers is caused by capsaicin, a colorless, odorless, waxy compound found in the white pith of the pepper’s inner wall where the seeds are attached. Capsaicin is an irritant to most mammals—including humans; the sensation it leaves when it comes in contact with mucus membranes of most…
Peppers Planting: Easy Steps to a Bumper Crops
To get a bumper crop from your pepper plants, you must dedicate yourself to helping the plants thrive. Pepper plants are more temperamental than tomatoes—they demand warm temperatures, even soil moisture, feeding, and support—literally. Here are 10 steps that will all but guarantee sweet and hot pepper growing success. (But don’t turn your back peppers…
Epsom Salt, Tomato, and Pepper Growing
Epsom salt used as a foliar spray or soil additive will help tomato and pepper plants grow and produce larger, tastier yields. Late in the season use an Epsom salt spray to increase tomato and pepper yield and keep plants green and bushy; early in the season add Epsom salt to the soil to aid…
Mid-Season Pepper Problem Cures
Peppers are tropical plants and can be temperamental–especially the further they grow away from the tropics. They demand warm temperatures—not too cool and not too hot, organically rich soil, and even soil moisture—not too little and not too much. Give peppers these optimal conditions and they will produce until the first frost in autumn. …
