Planting Peppers

Benefits of Planting Peppers

Peppers are grown worldwide and are one of the most popular crops for backyard gardens. Planting peppers can be a bit tricky, but with the proper timing, they can be a fairly easy crop to grow in your vegetable garden.

Peppers are one of those foods that have it all. The variety of peppers available for home gardeners is almost endless. You have sweet peppers and hot peppers, they come in colors like green, red, orange, yellow, and brown. They can be as sweet as candy or be rated with so many Scoville heat units that your hair will curl when you eat them!

And peppers are good for you too! They are excellent sources of potassium, folic acid, and fiber. Peppers are also a great source of vitamins A and C.

Their high vitamin C content makes them a great pair with many greens, helping your body pull more iron out of plant-based sources! And of course, hot peppers can add flavor and interest to any dish!

Did you know that color in peppers adds to the nutrition? Red peppers have 11 times more beta-carotin and 1.5 times more vitamin C than green peppers!

Types of Peppers

There are 2 main “types” of peppers, Sweet Peppers and Hot Peppers.

Sweet Peppers

Sweet peppers are grown for their sweet crunchy flesh. They can be eaten raw or cooked. Most sweet peppers start green and mature to red, orange, or yellow (and there are even a few exotic colors). Most sweet peppers come in the Bell peppers family, but there are also sweet banana peppers and other shapes.

Favorite Sweet Pepper varieties are:

• Coral Bell – This pepper starts green and ripens to a beautiful orange color and is super sweet! It is thick fleshed and crunchy making them great for eating raw!
• Sweet Banana Peppers – These beauties start a pale yellow and ripen to red. They have a “banana shape” and are very prolific producers. They are their sweetest when fully red, but also taste great while still unripe, which is great when the growing season is short!
• Corno di Toro (Bull Horn) – These are a fairly new addition to our garden rotation. They produce a fairly large horn-shaped pepper that ripens to a deep red color, almost maroon. They are amazingly sweet when fully ripe, but also taste great green!
• Big Red – This traditional bell pepper produces large sweet peppers that ripen red, but also taste great green. They are large and perfect for our stuffed bell pepper recipe!

Hot Peppers (AKA Chili Peppers)

If you like a little spice in your life then hot peppers are the way to go! Most hot pepper varieties are easy to grow and require the same growing conditions as sweet peppers.

You need to be careful when handling hot peppers. The heat in hot peppers comes from a chemical called capsaicin.

Capsaicin is mainly concentrated in the seeds, veins, and ribs of the pepper, but is also in the skin. Wear gloves when handling or harvesting hot peppers and be careful to keep them away from your eyes.

A couple of years ago there must have been a mix-up in the seeds packet because when my wife picked what she thought was a sweet pepper and took a small bite boy was she surprised! It burnt her tongue. Somehow we ended up planting a hot pepper? Use caution when handling these peppers.

The amount of hotness in a pepper is measured using Scoville Heat Units (SHUs). The higher the number the hotter the pepper. Ratings for most garden-grown peppers range from 0 (bell peppers) to 350,000

Hot Pepper Varieties-Some of the more common chili pepper varieties include:

• Poblano – A mild pepper used often in Mexican dishes and has a SHU rating of 1000-1500.
• Jalapeno – A very popular pepper used in many spicy dishes and salsas. It has a SHU rating of 2500-8000 and the plants produce an abundance of 3-inch peppers.
• Hatch Chili’s – One of the most popular mild chili peppers out there. Famously grown in Hatch New Mexico these tasty long peppers have a SHU rating of 1000-8000.
• Anaheim Chili- mild pepper that grows 6-8 inches long
• Habanero – These peppers are VERY popular for hot sauces and salsa. With a SHU rating of 100,000 to 350,000, they can bring the heat!

Planting Peppers in your Garden

Soil Conditions and Preparation for Planting Peppers

Peppers grow best in warm, rich, well-drained soil. Peppers do not do well in heavy or wet soils. If your soil doesn’t drain well consider planting your peppers in raised beds.

Choose a sunny spot that gets at least 6 to 8 hours of sunlight. Prepare the soil by adding 1 to 2 inches of quality organic compost to the soil and mixing it into the top few inches of the soil. Well-cared-for soil with plenty of compost often doesn’t need additional fertilizer.

If you feel like your soil needs it you can work a high nitrogen fertilizer into the top 6 inches of the soil before planting. But keep in mind that too much nitrogen can reduce fruit set.

Your optimal soil’s PH should be around 6 to 6.5, but peppers do well in other PH ranges as well.

Starting By Seeds vs Seedlings

You can grow peppers by directly planting the pepper seeds in the garden on your last frost date. Peppers take a long time to grow to maturity so you will not get many peppers from direct seeded plants unless you live in a very warm, long growing season climate.

Instead, it is much better to plant your peppers using transplants. You can purchase transplants at your local garden centers. When looking for seedlings choose plants with at least 6 or 9 healthy leaves that are 6 to 8 inches tall. Avoid plants with yellowing leaves and carefully check the roots to be sure the plants are not root-bound in their pots.

An even better way of planting peppers is to grow your transplants. Pepper seeds sown indoors 8 to 10 weeks before your first frost should be ready for transplanting in your garden about the time your weather starts to warm up!

Seed Germination

Pepper seeds are slow to germinate, sometimes taking up to 21 days to germinate. Adding a heat mat to your seed starting operation will dramatically shorten germination time. Be sure to provide 14 to 16 hours of supplemental light to your growing seedlings.

You need to remember to harden your pepper seedlings (your own or store-bought) over the course of a week by slowly introducing them to outside conditions a little more each day. If you want to learn how to harden off your seedlings the correct way check out this article.

If you would like to learn more about growing your own seedlings indoors check out our Free eBook Here.

When to Plant Peppers?

Set pepper seedlings out in the garden once all chance of frost has passed. Pepper plants thrive on heat and will do best if you wait until soil temperatures reach at least 60 degrees (15 C). Adding black plastic mulches to cold soils in hopes of raising the soil temperatures to at least 75 degrees (24 C) will benefit your growing peppers greatly.

Additionally, pepper plants do not like air temperatures below 50 degrees (10 C). Cool temperatures will delay plant growth and flowering greatly affecting yields. So be sure to wait to set your plants out until the weather has warmed. For cool weather climates, this may mean waiting to plant until early June.

When planting peppers remove any flowers or fruit on pepper seedlings before setting them out in the garden. This will help the new pepper seedlings to focus on root and foliage growth instead of early fruit growth.

Space plants 12 to 18 inches apart in your garden beds. Crowding plants too close will cause them to not produce well and can encourage pests.

Plant pepper seeds in groups of 2-4 seeds in each spot. If planting by seed, you should plant 2-4 seeds in each spot, and then once the plants are established choose the strongest seedling and thin the rest.

Peppers also grow well in containers. Choose large containers (at least 10 gallons) and make sure the container has plenty of drainage holes to keep the soil from becoming too wet!

Companion Planting with Peppers

Peppers are part of the nightshade family which includes plants like tomatoes, eggplant, and potatoes. Keep this in mind when planning your crop rotation.

If you are interested in planting peppers with companion plants they will do well with most. Try planting peppers with carrots, basil, tomatoes, and parsley. Keep peppers away from kohlrabi and fennel.

Also planting flowers like marigolds and nasturtium near pepper plants can help keep pests away.

Care While Growing Peppers

Peppers don’t like competition, so be sure to remove any weeds. Mulch can be very beneficial in the heat of the summer by helping retain soil moisture. But be sure to wait to put mulch around your pepper plants until after the soil temperatures have risen to 75 degrees (24 C).

Many pepper plants can grow quite tall. Giving the stem of the plants some support with either a stake or by using cages. This will help protect your plants from breaking under the weight of heavy fruit, or in high winds.

If you feel your soil needs it you can side-dress your pepper plants with nitrogen fertilizer (21-0-0) at 4 weeks and 8 weeks after transplanting (1/4 TBS 6 inches from the side of the plant). Be careful not to over-fertilize as too much nitrogen will cause excess foliage growth at the expense of fruit development.

When planting peppers keep in mind that flowers set best at temperatures between 55 and 90 degrees (12 to 32 C). Temperatures below or above that range will cause the flowers to drop.

In areas like ours where summertime temperatures are often well above 90 degrees for the bulk of the summer months, your plants can benefit from some 30% shade cloth. Shade cloth will help with fruit set and will also help prevent sun-scald. You can learn more about using shade cloth from this article.

Water peppers deeply and infrequently. Aim for 1-2 inches of water per week and try to keep the soil moisture even. Over-watering or under-watering can cause blossom end rot.

When to Harvest Peppers?

Fruits should be plump, firm, and smooth-skinned for best quality. Fruits can over ripen on the plant so be sure to harvest often. Frequent harvesting during the warm part of the year can also encourage more flower production.

One nice aspect of peppers is that they can be eaten green! Once peppers reach their mature size they can be eaten at any time. Flavor and sweetness will improve by letting the peppers fully ripen to their final color before harvesting.

Most sweet peppers and hot peppers reach the mature green stage in 70 to 85 days from transplanting and will need an additional 2-3 weeks to reach their full mature coloring. A few hot peppers including habanero can take up to 120 days from transplant to fully ripen.

In areas with long warm summers, peppers can produce over an extended period of time and we often have an added “rush” of pepper production once the summertime temperatures drop down below 90 degrees and more of the flowers set fruit towards fall. This usually means we will have a bunch of green fruit to harvest just before our first fall frost.

How to Harvest Peppers?

Cut peppers from the plant when harvesting using garden shears or a sharp knife. Trying to pull or twist the fruit from the plant can damage the stem and limit future production.

Remember when harvesting and working with hot peppers you should wear gloves! The skins and other parts of hot peppers contain the chemical capsaicin which can be a strong skin irritant. Rubber gloves will protect you from this!

Storing Peppers after Harvest

Peppers stored at around 50 degrees (10 C) will last fresh for up to 2 weeks. Long-term storage in a fridge is not recommended as peppers are susceptible to chilling injury.

Peppers freeze very well and can last in a freezer for up to 12 months. You can learn more about freezing peppers here.

Peppers also dry well.

Pests and other problems when Planting Peppers

Peppers suffer from the following pests:

• Aphids – These small, sucking insects can damage plants and limit yields. Use an organic homemade insecticidal soap to control this bug.
• Flea Beetles – These are small black beetles that feed on pepper seedlings. Use a fabric row cover or insecticide dust to control this pest.
• Hornworms and Fruit Worms – These pests feed on the fruit and foliage of the plants and you can control them with hand removal.

Pepper Diseases

Peppers can suffer from leaf blights, wilt diseases, and viruses. These issues are best controlled by following good watering practices (limit overhead watering and over-watering), limiting pests like aphids, planting resistant varieties, and practicing good crop rotation.

Pepper Problems

Peppers can also suffer from blossom end rot where fruits become a dry brown or black on the flower end of the fruit. The root cause is a localized calcium deficiency. Your soil is not lacking calcium, instead, these localized problems are usually caused by poor watering or over-fertilizing. Keeping your soil uniformly moist during hot times will usually resolve this issue.

Sunscald is another common pepper problem. This develops when fruits are exposed to direct sunlight during the hot part of the year. Shade cloth can help this issue along with growing strong healthy plants with plenty of leaf cover.