How to Grow Peppers
Home Grown Hot and Sweet Peppers
luv2garden.com - Abigal Gordon's Gardens ®
Planting and Transplanting | Spacing Pepper plants | Fertilizing |
Pruning and Thinning Pepper Plants | Harvest and Storage | Staking Pepper Plants
| Common Pepper Plant Pests | Pepper Plant Diseases
Peppers are best started indoors in late winter, from seeds in peat pots or cell packs and then transplanted into the garden in late May to early June, or when nighttime temperatures in your region are consistently above 50 degrees.
Peppers are generally grown for home gardens from using transplants rather than direct seeding. If you are buying transplants , select sturdy plants that have at least 4 sets of true leaves [See Figure 1]. Avoid plants that have already flowered, and Inspect plants at the time of purchase - be sure they have no spots or lesions on them .
Space plants 16-18 inches apart in rows 24 inches apart or more, depending on the type of cultivation used. Water plants thoroughly immediately after transplanting.
How to Grow Peppers - Fertilizer
Peppers require moderate amounts of fertilizer. A soil test is the best method of determining the needs of your crop, but is generally not feasible for home gardeners.Home gardeners should make a preplant application of 5-10-10 at the rate of 3 pounds per 100 square feet. Use a starter solution for transplants, and side dress cautiously after the first fruit reach about the size of a dime using three tablespoons of 33-0-0 per 10 feet of row).
Side dress cautiously until a large number of peppers are set. Too much nitrogen before fruit set causes all foliage and no fruit. After fruit set, fertilize regularly using a complete fertilizer. Soil pH should be 5.8 to 6.5 for best growth. After the plants have set and are well established, apply a thin covering of mulch to conserve soil moisture, and suppress weed growth.
Control weeds by hand-pulling or shallow cultivation to avoid injury to the plant roots. The incidence of disease can be reduced by proper spacing and by watering early in the day so leaves dry quickly or by using soaker hoses. Inexpensive Water timer systems
are available .
Also See: Understanding Fertilizer Labels
How to Grow Peppers
Pruning and Thinning
Peppers, as well as eggplants produce multiple small flowers. Removing some of these flowers will make your plant devote more energy to developing bigger vegetables rather than a lot of smaller ones.
Early season pepper plant pruning should be done when the plant is one foot tall and should cease once peppers have set. Generally, pepper plants have a Y shape and branches then create smaller and smaller Y shapes jutting off of the main stems. By the time the plant is a foot tall, you will be able to see the strongest branches on the plant. Cut back any smaller branches, including suckers. Be careful not to damage the main stem ,which will cause the plant to perform poorly.
How to Grow
Peppers
Harvesting
Fruits can be harvested at any time during the growing season and at any size desired. Green bell varieties, are generally picked when they are fully grown and mature—3 to 4 inches long, firm and green. Fruits will easily snap off the plant when they reach maturity.
Care should be taken when picking your peck of peppers from the plants, the branches are generally brittle. Hand clippers can be used to cut peppers from the plant to avoid stem breakage.
Sweet and Bell peppers are generally picked immature but full-sized and firm. However, if they are allowed to ripen on the plant they will be sweeter and higher in vitamin content. Hot pepper Varieties are usually harvested at full maturity.
Cutting the fruits rather than pulling off is always best. The new, colored bell pepper fruits may be left on the plant to develop full flavor and develop fully to red, yellow, orange or brown; or they may be harvested green and immature. Hot peppers are usually harvested at the red-ripe stage.
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