Growing Peppers ( GYI)

 

Peppers produce a fine crop and can be grown well in containers and pots. Both chilli and bell peppers are part of the capsicum family. When it comes to peppers there is a huge variety in taste and looks, for example chilli peppers are small and have a hot flavour while bell peppers are larger and milder in flavour.

Sowing

• Peppers like a fertile soil that ideally has had compost and a general fertiliser added a week or two before sowing/planting.
• Peppers need a tunnel or glasshouse to grow well.
• Chilli peppers are smaller plants and can also be grown in a pot on a sunny windowsill. They need a long growing season, so the earlier you get started the better your chance of producing good, ripe fruit.
• Sow in modules or small pots in March (you can do this from February if you have a heated propagation area), as seeds require 20°C for germination.
• The plants will be ready for transplanting when they are around 15cm high (this will be in late April/early May if you have sown in March).
• Transplant into a bed in your polytunnel/greenhouse 50cm apart or into a large container, ideally at least 50cm diameter for sweet peppers and 30cm for chillies.

Growing

• As peppers grow, they often need support to prevent them falling over – you can use stakes or string as support.
• If plants are grown in the soil then watering well once a week will be adequate.
• If plants are grown in containers then more frequent watering is required.

Harvesting

• Peppers can be harvested green or fully ripe (red or yellow) – generally, green fruits are easier to produce.
• In an unheated tunnel ripening can be slow and ripe fruit is more prone to rotting.
• Harvest by picking peppers as they mature (you will get a smaller yield if you harvest red peppers).
• Chilli plants can be pulled up at the end of the growing season and put somewhere dry to let any