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EmailBotanical name: Capsicum annuum
Plant type: Vegetable
USDA Hardiness Zones: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
Sun exposure: Full Sun
Soil type: Loamy
Soil pH: Neutral
Peppers are a tender, warm-season crop. They resist most pests and offer something for everyone: spicy, sweet or hot, and a variety of colors, shapes and sizes. For this page, we will focus on sweet bell peppers.
Planting
- Start seeds indoors 8-10 weeks before last spring frost date.
- The temperature must be at least 70 degrees F for seed germination, so keep them in a warm area for the best and fastest results.
- Start pepper seeds three to a pot, and thin out the weakest seedling. Let the remaining two pepper plants spend their entire lives together as one plant. The leaves of two plants help protect peppers against sunscald, and the yield is often twice as good as two segregated plants.
- Begin to harden off plants about 10 days before transplanting.
- A week before transplanting, introduce fertilizer or aged compost in your garden soil.
- After the danger of frost has passed, transplant seedlings outdoors, 18 to 24 inches apart (but keep paired plants close to touching.)
- Soil should be at least 65 degrees F, peppers will not survive transplanting at temps any colder. Northern gardeners can warm up the soil by covering it with black plastic.
- Put two or three match sticks in the hole with each plant, along with about a teaspoon of fertilizer. They give the plants a bit of sulfur, which they like.
Care
- Soil should be well-drained, but maintain adequate moisture either with mulch or plastic covering.
- Water one to two inches per week, but remember peppers are extremely heat sensitive. If you live in a warm or desert climate, watering everyday may be necessary.
- Fertilize after the first fruit set.
- Weed carefully around plants.
- If necessary, support plants with cages or stakes to prevent bending. Try commercially available cone-shaped wire tomato cages. They may not be ideal for tomatoes, but they are just the thing for peppers.
- For larger fruit, spray the plants with a solution of one tablespoon of Epsom salts in a gallon of water, once when it begins to bloom, and once ten days later.
Pests
- Aphids
- Flea Beetles
- Cucumber Mosaic Virus
- Blossom End Rot
- Pollination can be reduced in temperatures below 60F and above 90F.
- Too much nitrogen will reduce fruit from setting.
Harvest/Storage
- Harvest as soon as peppers reach desired size.
- The longer bell peppers stay on the plant, the more sweet they become and the greater their Vitamin C content.
- Use a sharp knife or scissors to cut peppers clean off the plant for the least damage.
- Peppers can be refrigerated in plastic bags for up to 10 days after harvesting.
- Bell peppers can be dried, and we would recommend a conventional oven for the task. Wash, core, and seed the peppers. Cut into one-half-inch strips. Steam for about ten minutes, then spread on a baking sheet. Dry in the oven at 140 degrees F (or the lowest possible temperature) until brittle, stirring occasionally and switching tray positions. When the peppers are cool, put them in bags or storage containers.
Recommended Varieties
Look for varieties that ripen to their full color quickly; fully mature peppers are the most nutritious—and tastier, too!
- Green to Red: ‘Lady Bell’, 'Gypsy,' ‘Bell Boy,’ 'Lipstick'
- Yellow: 'Golden California Wonder'
Recipes
Wit & Wisdom
The popular green and red bell peppers that we see in supermarkets are actually the same thing; the red peppers have just been allowed to mature on the plant longer, changing color and also gaining a higher content of Vitamin C.
Comments
Not fully grown
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By Anonymous
I grow my bell and chilli peppers in my conservatory it's late November and they are all pritty small ?
Even indoors, peppers require
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By Catherine Boeckmann
Even indoors, peppers require not only warm but bright conditions. Thought there is sunlight, they need the intensity of light. I'm not sure where you live, but if it's in the north, you may need to investigate a grow light or two.
overwintering vs. starting from seed
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By Anonymous
My four peppers (some basic variety of large red peppers) gave good yield in pots in a SW-facing balcony. Now they're finished, and I'm wondering about going to the trouble to overwinter them indoors, vs. starting fresh in a few months with seed. What's the benefit of overwintering? I assume we'd get peppers faster from these plants than we would waiting for seed to become mature plants, but what about the quality of the peppers? Thanks!
Overwintering
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By Anonymous
I have space so I would go for the overwinter to get a jump on the spring fruits. Bell pepper plants can live 3 to 5 years and produce fruits given right conditions.
If you do not have the space and want to grow something else then I would just start over from seed.
David
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By Anonymous
Hi we live in the middle east, we have nice pepper plants in the window facing south, the plants groe well, we get the white flower but no fruit, please advice
Flowers
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By Anonymous
It could be no good bugs are visiting your plants to spread pollen. Take a cotton swab and use it to rub the inside of the flowers 1 by 1.
Usually, lack of fruit is due
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By Almanac Staff
Usually, lack of fruit is due to temperature. Optimum temperatures fall between 70 degrees and 80 degrees F. Peppers like it warm (though not too hot)!
i have a sweetpepper plant
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By anonymous
I have a sweet pepper plant and it seems healthy. You know how the flowers are supposed to fall off but the pepper stays on the plant? Well, when my flowers fall off, so does the pepper. What should I do? I need help bad. Do you know what may be the reason?
It may be a case of
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By Almanac Staff
It may be a case of inconsistent watering and/or temperature fluctuations. Peppers need nighttime temperatures to stay above 65 degrees.
Transplanting
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By Anonymous
I have 1 pepper plant that i planted late and since it's getting cold i brought it inside, because someone told me they don't do well in the cold. About a day after i brought it in, it started wilting. The soil is pretty moist, and i put some compost in it. Why is it wilting?
A couple thoughts: Did you
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By Catherine Boeckmann
A couple thoughts: Did you rinse the plants off really really well and inspect for pests? Peppers are magnets for mites. Is it too cold? Peppers are very sensitive to cold and do best between 60 and degrees and never colder than 55. They also like very bright light so you might need to supplement. Just water to keep soil from drying out.
Can I grow them in my window?
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By Anonymous
Can I grow them in my window?
Growing peppers indoors
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By Almanac Staff
Are you overwintering your peppers or are you starting from seed? Peppers aren't the best houseplants. They can be overwintered if they have bright light and warm enough temps.
replanting bell peppers
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By Anonymous
I have 8 bell pepper plants that produced very nice bells early in summer. Do I need to replant new plants for fall or can I keep these ones going
Give your pepper plants a
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By Almanac Staff
Give your pepper plants a little fertilizer and water and they should do fine. Peppers need warmth and sun. With the days getting shorter you may not get as many peppers as you did in early summer.
Over winter
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By Anonymous
I have two plants in containers on my deck (I'm in zone 4)
- I'm ready to harvest them. Should I discard the plants or can they be over wintered indoors for next season?
Over winter
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By Almanac Staff
Saving pepper plants over the winter months is tricky. Harvest the peppers and bring the containers indoors. Make sure that you don't bring in any outside insects. You may want to repot the plants in new soil. Place the plants in a cool shady spot (about 55 degrees). Water about once a week and let the plants go dormant. The leaves will fall off. Prune the plants by about 1/3. One month before your last frost date in the spring place the plants in a warm sunny spot indoors. Give the plants more water and you should see some new growth in about a week. Move outside when the temperatures have warmed up.
Hole in the pepper
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By Anonymous
I just picked some green peppers, and one of them had a hole in it. The pepper looks and feels perfect (very firm). Can I still eat it?
Hole in pepper
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By Almanac Staff
Cut the pepper in half and see if you have an insect or bug inside. If not discard some of the pepper around the hole, wash and use. We suspect that you had a slug chewing on the pepper from the outside.
full bloomed flowers dropping
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By Anonymous
Off late, all the full bloomed flowers on my pepper plant have been dropping, only the flowers and not the stems. After the flower drops, there are small little tiny peppers that can be seen on the stems but these don't seem to be growing.
What should I do?
Sometimes blooms drop because
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By Almanac Staff
Sometimes blooms drop because it's above 90 F degrees during the day and/or above 75 degrees at night. This is too hot for bell peppers. Optimum temps should fall between 70 degrees and 80 degrees.
Homegrown Red Bell vs. commercial product
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By Anonymous
I've been growing Red Bell Peppers for several years without problems; however, my peppers have thinner, less meaty 'walls' than those sold grocery store. They taste great - just wondering what might be missing.
It could be the cultivar(s)
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By Almanac Staff
It could be the cultivar(s) that you are growing; some have thicker walls than others. At market, varieties with thick, smooth walls are favored. Thin-walled varieties may have a less attractive shape. For the home garden, look for cultivars that are described as being thick-walled, such as ‘Big Bertha’, ‘Red Knight’, and ‘California Wonder’.
peppers turning red after picking
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By Anonymous
I know my peppers will turn red if I leave them on the plant, but, if I pick them when they are green, will they turn red after they have been picked?
Bell peppers change color as
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By Almanac Staff
Bell peppers change color as they mature; this happens best and most rapidly on the plant. But if you pick them just as they begin to change colors, they will continue to ripen indoors if stored in a warm place.
Tiny bell peppers
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By Anonymous
This was our first year for a garden and we planted 12 tomato plants, 4 bell pepper plants. Tomatoes did great and are still producing but the bell peppers are small and not producing very much. What did we do wrong? We have had very dry summer but we watered every day.
Tiny bell peppers
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By Almanac Staff
Pepper plants need constant and even moisture. Add mulch around the plants to keep the soil from drying out. Peppers are also heavy feeders. Soon after the plants set fruit feed with a timed-release fertilizer.
Peppers will grow bigger in late summer when nights are cooler. If you have many small peppers on one plant it may help to thin them leaving just a couple to grow big.
peppers
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By Anonymous
I planted different peppers when do they change to red and yellow
Peppers
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By Almanac Staff
After the green peppers ripen it may take 2 to 3 weeks depending on the variety before they start turning color.
how to keep bell peppers from burning
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By Anonymous
I have noticed my bell peppers plants are getting burn spots on them. I water every day. Any suggestions what to do to keep them from getting burn spots? They are in full sun from about 10am to 8pm in the spring and summer.
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