Growing Bell Peppers

Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Bell Peppers

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Peppers are a tender, warm-season crop. Here’s how to grow them in your garden!

Peppers resist most garden 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 growing sweet bell peppers.

Planting

When to Plant Peppers

Start seeds indoors 8-10 weeks before your last spring frost date.
Bell peppers require a fairly long growing season (60 to 90 days), so it’s best to get them started indoors.

Choosing and Preparing a Planting Site

Pepper plants require full sun to produce the largest and healthiest fruit, so pick a site that won’t get shaded out by trees or other garden plants.
Soil should be well-draining and rich in organic matter.
A soil consistency somewhere between sandy and loamy will ensure that the soil drains well and warms quickly.
Soil pH should be on the acidic side—5.5 to 6.5, ideally.
A week before transplanting peppers into the garden, introduce fertilizer or aged compost into your garden soil.
Avoid planting peppers in places where you’ve recently grown other members of the nightshade family—such as tomatoes, potatoes, or eggplants—as this can expose peppers to disease.

Green bell peppers

How to Plant Peppers

We recommend starting seeds indoors rather than in the garden.
The soil temperature must be at least 70°F for seed germination, so keep them in a warm area for the best and fastest results. Use a heat pad under the seed tray, if necessary.
Plant seeds about ¼-inch deep.

Transplanting Young Plants into the Garden

Begin to harden off plants about 10 days before transplanting outdoors.
Once nighttime temperatures reach at least 60°F (16°C), transplant seedlings outdoors, spacing them 18 to 24 inches apart.
Plant the transplants no deeper than they were already; otherwise, the stems may become susceptible to rot.
Soil temperature should be at least 65°F, as peppers will not survive transplanting at temps any colder. Northern gardeners can warm up the soil by covering it with black plastic.

Care

How to Grow Peppers

Soil should be well drained, but be sure to maintain adequate moisture either with mulch or plastic covering.
Water one to two inches per week, but remember that 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 to avoid disturbing roots.
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. Or, build your own garden supports.

Pests/Diseases

Aphids
Flea Beetles
Cucumber Mosaic Virus
Blossom-End Rot appears as a soft, sunken area which turns darker in color.
Pollination can be reduced in temperatures below 60°F (16°C) and above 90°F (32°C).
Too much nitrogen will reduce fruit from setting.

Harvest/Storage

How to Harvest Peppers

Harvest as soon as peppers reach desired size or color.
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.

How to Store Peppers

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°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’

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.

Recipes

Cooking Notes

To learn how to make pickled bell peppers, watch this video!
Get more tips on cooking with peppers.

Reader Comments

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Sweet Peppers

How do you protect your sweet pepper plants from the extreme heat during the summer months in NW Kansas?

I used to live in NW Kansas

The 2 things I remember about living there is the lack of rain during July and August and the very hot winds. The hot winds in my opinion are the biggest problem. Growing in the country was a bigger challenge than in the city. There are many wind blocks in the city. Also you can find shade. These two items can be at a premium in the country. I would first mulch the soil well to help keep the soil moist and cool. Second I would look for a partially shaded site. What you want is a good SE facing spot for the peppers. Measure the sunlight to be sure you are getting 4-6 hrs of sunlight. The SE sun is much gentler on the plants than the SW sun. Hopefully you also have a good wind break out in the country so those plants can survive the dry, hot winds that as I remember were averaging 20-30 mi/hr. Our winds came mostly from the SW to W direction. So finding a way to break the wind on that side would be very helpful. Buildings and cedar fences are great for this.

Mixed up pepper plants

I planted one green, one red, and Longfellow bell pepper. Apparently the markers in the plants I purchased were wrong as I have one plant producing long sweet peppers of some sort, and now I'm unsure what the other two plants are. I don't k,ow if one is red and we are picking them too soon thinking they are green bells? I read in another comment here that they are the same plant and you just leave the green ones on longer to get red? Is that correct? So these peppers can be picked green if you want green peppers, and if you want red you just leave them on the vine longer? I guess I thought I needed one of each to get the different colors/flavors

Typo

This should read one red, one green, and one yellow....not Longfellow

planting calendar

Will I get this information for all vegetables or only peppers?

Thank you.

Skinny bell peppers

This is my first time growing bell peppers and all of mine are long and skinny. I started with plants and have each one in a 15 inch diameter pot. I also live in west central Indiana. I did not know about the match sticks. Can this be the problem?

skinny peppers

This is a tough one. Match sticks may not exactly be the problem but it may be a hint: we are thinking that something about the soil is inadequate, is not providing the nutrients the plant needs or allowing it to absorb them. Did you check the pH of the soil? Do you fertilize? Something with not too much nitrogen (the first number in the set of three, e.g. 5-10-5)? Is the plant getting enough water? Containers famously dry out before/quicker than the ground. Is the pot outdoors in the sun?

Still and all, it might be the soil. Don’t want to snow you with info but here’s a list of the “invisible” but so-important nutrients plants need and are often evaluated in soil tests: http://hortipm.tamu.edu/ipmguide/nutrient/diagnosi.html “Fruit” is not mentioned but once, but as the ultimate product, it could be affected.

Weird growth

My peppers are growing pointing up instead of down. It is strange and they are growing large and strong. Does anyone know the reason for this? Just have never seen it before.

Peppers

What kind of peppers are they? Thai chilie peppers grow upward and Serreno peppers look like Thai chilies but are round at the bottom and grow down. Usually bigger.

Why can't my peepers plants

Why can't my peepers plants grow,dang it
They flower and start but don't grow,
I'm just north of Toronto 73-86f average
This will be the second year they didn't do well, but three years ago did very well

bell peppers

after a couple weeks in the ground I trimmed my peppers back to four leaves .the stalks quadroupled in size and tons of new foliage.Plants are about 18 inch now ,,flowers forming at top.Should I be pinching them off for bigger crop later?

pinch the peppers?

That’s the theory, Chuck: that pinching off the early flowers (and small fruit) encourages more fruit production.

match sticks

instead of match sticks at the bottom of plants, I bought chemical grade flower of sulfur, which seems to float and not mix with water. will this work just the same? thanks

flower of sulphur

We have no experience with this product so can not comment but a little searching (of .edu’s) turn up this page that may or may not be helpful to you: https://web.extension.illinois.edu/cfiv/homeowners/080818.html

Huge leaves?

My pepper plants have very large leaves on them mainly the bottom leaves. Will these large leaves take away any energy from the fruit? Heard of trimming them, Just don't really know? Any suggestions? Thanks!

Large Leaves

No, large leaves won’t take away from the fruit. Provided the plant is adequately fed and watered, the large leaves should be beneficial (more surface area for photosynthesis = more energy).

Once the plant is established in the ground, it’s important not to use a fertilizer with too much nitrogen, which promotes foliage growth rather than flower and fruit production.

1st timer w/Bell Peppers

So i grew out some bell peppers which I transplanted in to 1 gallon pots.
Situation is this: I live in an apt, & I only had a couple gallons so I transplanted the best 16 plants into 4 pots of a gallon thinking I could transplant when they got bigger BUT the started to bloom flowers now.
I never thought they would get so tall & have such big leaves (sorry 1st timer on this). So the thing is they started blooming flowers but the flowers are drying up after 2 days or so.
They are getting at least 4hrs of direct sunlight, they are watered & well drained, also I helped with pollination process since they are kept inside, so I have no idea whats going on. could it that they are crowded? , Could you shed some light?

early blossoms

Early flowering in peppers sometimes happens. Some gardeners leave the flowers alone, but others prefer to pinch the early blossoms so that the plant can focus on developing a good root system before focusing on fruit production. Blossoms may drop if the plant is stressed, such as too hot (above 85F or 90F day) or cold (below 60F night), or not enough or too little water. Peppers are particularly sensitive to temperature, and like daytime temps of around 70 to 80F. Transplanting may also stress the plant for a little while, but they should recover. Petals of a successfully pollinated flower will drop after a few days–look just near the area of the petals to see if a little fruit is forming. Hope this helps!

Aliminum foil

Is using strips of aliminul foil as a ground cover under pepper plants really beneficial to the plant? Does it really help in any way?

Leaves on pepper plant shrivel and die

What to do?

pepper problems

There are so many reasons why a pepper plant’s leaves shrivel up. Is it getting enough water? The topsoil should be moist a few inches deep (use your finger to reach down). Are you overwatering? Soil should never be soggy. Is it too hot? Peppers like heat but if it’s consistently super hot, you may need to give them shade cloth at the peak of the day. Finally, there are pests and diseases. Aphids and thrips are especially bothersome. You need to spray soapy water in the morning or Neem oil or speak to your local garden center about another solution.

Aluminum Foil

I have seen peppers totally covering potted plant tops. I really also want to know about its success profile. Do you set more peppers. Do you get stronger plant Do they grow more peppers per plant the go on to maturity?

Re: Peppers light

Peppers need lots of water and strong sunlight for 14-18 hours a day. I have my peppers growing indoors and they are great. I use miracle grow for soil with added bone meal and perlite. I am now using a general fertilizer for vegetables for it and it’s producing great peppers. During the seedling stage, I cut the main stem off above 4 leafs. The plant will then double strengthen its stock and double its quantity of peppers and will have thicker branches. This is growing under a 1000 watt equivalent multi spectrum led grow light. Paid 130$ bucks on amazon for it. Most of my plants are amazing and fast growing. I just started this a couple months ago and I’m addicted to growing anything and everything. It’s all about your light and time of light and not overwatering. Always touch soil to feel it and you will know if it needs water or not. I hope this advice can help you in your overall success. Cheers from Canada!

Pepper Degree Days

Hello, I have a small farm in the Fresno area. I have been looking for information on growing growing degree days for Bell Peppers and how they coincide with phenological growth stages. Does anybody know the answer to this?

Nutrient requirment for coloured bell pepper

Dear Sir/Ma'am,

I'm a small grower of coloured bell pepper. I'm very keen to learn about different growing stages of bell pepper. I want to know that, Which nutrients elements required for different different stages of bell pepper?
Thanks,
Dilip Gehlot

Peppers with thin walls

I grew Peppers last summer and they did very well. They produced pretty well but they don't have as thick of a wall as the ones I get at the store. I live in Wyoming - high elevation (over 5,ooo ft). Is there anything I can do to get thicker walled peppers?

How to Grow Thick-Walled Peppers

Hi Megan,

The two most important factors that can affect growing peppers with thick walls are the days to maturity and the amount of water given. If peppers are not given adequate time to reach full maturity, they will have thin walls: this is especially noticeable in hot regions. Try not to be impatient when waiting to harvest your peppers and it will pay off. As for water, the growth of peppers can be drastically influenced by an inconsistent watering schedule. Peppers like well-draining moist (not wet) soil, so be sure to water pepper plants evenly and consistently, and to water more or less only when temperatures or humidity change drastically, as they will affect the amount of water evaporating into the air. Good luck with your crop of peppers this coming growing season!

BLOSSOMS FALLING OFF

I have a lovely Purple King pepper plant that I brought inside to keep growing... trimmed back, it is producing flowers, but a few have fallen off without forming any peppers--- they were growing in a large container, so I did not transplant-- the indoor garden is heated, and also growing lights are in use...watering well, and not drowning the roots... what am I doing wrong, please?

blossom drop

Peppers can drop their flowers for a few reasons, including temperatures that are too cool or hot, inadequate pollination, or some other cultural stress, such as too little or too much water, humidity too high or low (which can affect the pollen), soil too rich or nutrient-poor. Sudden changes in temperature, such as what might happen when moving them indoors, can also stress the plants. Some insect pests and diseases can also cause flowers to fall off. Best guess, since your plants seem otherwise healthy, would be that your plants are either just adjusting to their new environment and should eventually recover, or the flowers aren’t receiving enough pollen (peppers are self-pollinating, but wind or insects help the transfer of pollen). Since your plants are indoors, away from wind and insects, you might try gently shaking the plant a tiny bit, to mimic wind, to encourage pollen to fall onto the flower stigmas. Or, you can gently gather pollen onto a cotton swab or small paint brush (just brush the pollen-coated anthers of the flower) and then transfer the pollen to the flower stigma, in the center of each flower. Hope this helps!

New peppers in Sept.

I planted a red bell plant late May.._I live in Northern Indiana , and we´ve had a strange Summer this year.._3 weeks ago we had an outburst of humid weather in the 90s for just over a week, and now i have floers i thought were nearly dead and reblooming ._.The strangest thing is the pepper plant,it produced 5 peppers all Summer,2 of which didnt make it.._half of the plant died mid Aug. ,so i cut it away hoping for the best. 2 weeks ago the plant started growing new leaves and I counted 24 new peppers growing on half of a plant!._.Everyone I know says their garden is shriveled up.._is there an explanation for this?