Sweet peppers and hot peppers are most easily grown within the garden from transplants started indoors. Start seed indoors 7 to 10 weeks before the date you plan to line peppers into the garden. Don’t rush peppers into the garden. Transplant pepper seedling into the garden 2 to three weeks after the last frost in spring, after the soil temperature has warmed to a minimum of 65°F (18°C). Peppers mature in 60 to 95 days counting on the variability .Pepper seedlings

Pepper seedlings

PLANTING PEPPERS

STARTING PEPPER SEED INDOORS:

• Start pepper seed indoors 7 to 10 weeks before the date you plan to line seedlings into the garden.
• Sow 3 to 4 seeds to a pot or across flats.
• Sow seed ¼ to ½ inch (7-13 mm) deep.
• Germination soil temperature is 75-95°F (24-35°C); the optimum soil temperature for germinating seed is 85°F (29°C).
• Germination takes 7 to 10 days at 85°F (29°C) or warmer.
• Keep the seed starting mix just moist until seedlings emerge.
• Clip away the weaker seedlings once the strongest seedling is about 2 inches (5 cm) tall.
• Seedlings started indoors should be kept under grow light or during a sunny window after germination. Keep the indoor nighttime temperature above 62°F (17°C).
• Water to stay the seed starting mix from drying.
• Transfer seedlings to a bigger container once they’re 2 to 4 inches (5-10 cm) tall; make certain that seedlings have enough space for root growth. This process is named “potting up.” still pot up seedlings as they outgrow containers—until they’re transplanted into the garden or a really large container.

Sweet and hot peppers grow best in air temperatures 65° to 80°F.

PLANTING PEPPERS OUTDOORS:

• Transplant peppers into the garden 2 to threeweeks after the last frost in spring when the soil temperature has risen to a minimum of 65°F (18°C).
• Young peppers transplanted should be 4 to six inches (10-15cm) tall.
• Plants started indoors should be acclimatized to outdoor temperatures before transplants. Set plants outdoors for a couple of hours every day before transplanting them to the garden.
• Sweet and hot peppers grow best in air temperatures 65° to 80°F (18-26°C).
• . the perfect temperature for sweet peppers may be a daytime temperature around 75°F (24°C).
• and a nighttime temperature around 62°F (172°C).
• Grow peppers fully sun. Peppers should get 8 hours of sun every day.
• Plant peppers in soil rich in organic matter. Work aged garden compost or commercial organic planting mix into beds before planting.
• The soil should be moisture-retentive but well-draining. Slightly sandy or loamy soil is best.
• Pre-warm the soil before transplanting by placing black plastic over the planting bed for 2 weeks before transplanting peppers. The plastic will transfer solar heat to the soil.
• Set transplants within the garden at an equivalent depth they were growing within the container. don’t plant deeper; buried stem may rot.
• Peppers prefer a soil pH of 5.5 to 6.8.
• Avoid planting peppers where another nightshade (Solanaceae) family crop has grown recently—tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplants. These crops are often attacked by equivalent pests and diseases.

SPACING PEPPER PLANTS:

• Space pepper plants 18 to 24 inches (45-61cm) apart. Space rows 24 to 36 inches (61-91cm) apart.

CONTAINER GROWING PEPPERS:

• Peppers are often grown in pots or containers that are a minimum of 12 inches (30cm) wide and deep.
• Plant peppers during a commercial potting mix.
• Choose a container with holes within the bottom for straightforward drainage.
• Keep the soil evenly moist.
• Side-dress plants with compost tea or dilute fish emulsion every fortnight through the season.
• In larger containers, set plants on 12-inch (30cm) centers.

CARING FOR PEPPERS

WATERING AND FEEDING PEPPERS:

1. Keep peppers evenly moist but not wet particularly when blossoms appear and fruit begins to make .
2. Soil that goes too dry may result in flower drop
3. Add aged compost to planting beds before planting and again at midseason. Aged compost will feed the soil and act as a mulch to stem soil moisture evaporation.

Plastic mulch can improve pepper growth by reducing weeding and watering.

MAINTAINING PEPPERS:

• Keep planting beds well weeded to avoid competition.
• Peppers are shallow-rooted, so cultivate around peppers with care.
• Mulch around peppers with aged compost or straw to stay soil temperature and moisture even.
• Plastic mulch can improve pepper yields. Organic compost mulches will reduce weeding and watering, but not fruit yields.
• Avoid high nitrogen fertilizers which can create large leafy plants with few or no fruits.
• Feed plants compost tea or water with a dilute fish emulsion solution every 10 days.
• Support pepper plants with a stake or cage; plants heavy with fruit can break or topple. Pepper branches are brittle and may easily break.
• High temperatures and wind can cause flowers to drop and plants to not set fruit.

PEPPER PESTS:

• Peppers are often attacked by aphids, cutworms, flea beetles, and hornworms.
• Discourage cutworms by placing a collar around each transplant at the time of planting.
• Handpick hornworms off of plants. Drop them into a can of soapy water.
• Flea beetles and aphids are often partially controlled by hosing them off the plants and pinching out infested foliage.

PEPPER DISEASES:

• Peppers are vulnerable to rot, blossom end rot, anthracnose, mosaic virus, bacterial spot, and mildew.
• Plant disease-resistant varieties. Seed packets and plant labels will note disease resistance.
• Keep the garden clean and freed from weeds where pests and diseases can shelter.
• Remove infected plants before a disease can spread.
• If you smoke, wash your hands before working with the plants to avoid spreading the mosaic virus.

Pulling a pepper faraway from the plant can cause a branch to interrupt or can pull the plant out of the soil. Use a garden clipper to reap peppers.

HARVESTING AND STORING PEPPERS

HARVESTING PEPPERS:

• Peppers are ready for harvest in 60 to 95 days after sowing
• Peppers mature from green to red because the seeds inside mature.
• Fruit color changes are often slow when the weather isn’t consistently warm.
• Sweet peppers become sweeter as they ripen and switch colors.
• Cut peppers off the vine with a garden shear or scissors; don’t pull them.
• Leave a brief amount of stem attached to the pepper at harvest.
• Peppers will still change color and ripen after harvest if place during a warm spot out of direct sunlight.

STORING AND PRESERVING PEPPERS:

• Peppers are often stored during a cool, moist place for two to three weeks.
• Peppers are often refrigerated for up to 10 days; place them during a bag to avoid cold burn.
• Blanched peppers are often stored within the freezer for 4 to six months.
• Peppers are often dried or pickled whole or in pieces.
• Be careful when handling hot peppers. They contain a compound call capsaicin which is concentrated within the veins, ribs, and seeds. Capsaicin can burn your eyes, nose, or mouth. Washed your hands thoroughly after handling hot.

SWEET PEPPER VARIETIES TO GROW

Sweet peppers vary in shape and color and include the slender banana pepper; the short, round cherry pepper; the tiny bright-red, heart-shaped pimiento; the multi-colored Italian frying pepper; and therefore the blocky green to yellow to orange to red bell pepper. Sweet peppers are often eaten raw, cooked, or pickled. Not all sweet pepper varieties are mildly flavored; some are often spicy and hot.

• Blocky Sweet Peppers: ‘Ace’ (55 days); ‘Bell Boy’ (75 days); ‘Bell Captain’ (72 days); ‘Big Bertha’ (72 days); ‘Bull Nose’ (55-70 days); ‘California Wonder’ (73 days); ‘Camelot’ (74 days); ‘Elisa’ (72 days); ‘Emerald Giant’ (74 days); ‘Jupiter Elite’ (66 days); ‘King Arthur’ (72 days);’ Little Dipper’ (66 days); ‘Midway’ (70 days); ‘North Star’ (66 days); ‘Secret’ (60 days); ‘Yankee Bell’ (60 days); ‘Yolo Wonder’ (73 days).
• Red Sweet Bells: ‘Cardinal’ (70 days); ‘Rampage’ (66 days); ‘Redwing’ (72 days); ‘Summer Sweet’ (76 days).
• Long Sweet Peppers: ‘Banana Supreme’ (65 days); ‘Hungarian Yellow Wax’ (65 days).
• Space Savers: ‘Baby Bell’ (55 days); ‘Jingle Bells’ (55 days); ‘Park’s Pot’ (45 days).
• Yellow-Orange Sweet Bells: ‘Canary’ (72 days); ‘Gold Finch’ (72 days); ‘Klondike Bell’ (72 days); Orobelle (70 days); ‘Peppourri Orange’ (75 days); ‘Summer Sweet’ (86 days).
• Heart-Shaped Sweet Peppers: ‘Pimento’ (65-80 days).
• Other Sweet Peppers: ‘Blue Jay’ (73 days); ‘Chocolate Beauty’ (58-86 days); ‘Cubanelle’ (62 days); ‘Purple Beauty’ (70 days).

Jalapeno pepper plant supported by a wire cage

HOT PEPPER VARIETIES TO GROW

Hot peppers–also called chili peppers–vary in shape and color and include the bell-shaped pepper, the heart-shaped pimiento, the short and long podded yellow wax, the conical-shaped jalapeño, and therefore the cayenne. Peppers easily cross-pollinate there are thousands of various hot peppers.

Hot peppers are rated by their heat–called Scoville heat units (SHU). The greater the amount of units on the Scoville scale the warmer the pepper. Here are several hot pepper varieties starting with the most well liked (all of those will cause most of the people discomfort when eaten):

• ‘Bhut Jolokia’ (also called ‘Ghost Pepper’): 1,001,304 SHU (100days)
• ‘Scotch Bonnet’: 100,000-580,000 SHU (120 days)
• ‘Habanero’: 100,000-500,000 SHU (90-100 days)
• ‘Jamaican Hot’: 100,000-200,000 SHU (95 days)
• ‘Chiltepin’: 100,000 SHU (95 days)
• ‘Thai’: 50,000-100,000 SHU (90 days)
• ‘Cayenne’: 30,000-50,000 SHU (72 days)
• ‘Aji’: 30,000-50,000 SHU (85-90 days)
• ‘Tabasco’: 30,000-50,000 SHU (80 days)
• ‘Serrano’: 8,000-23,000 SHU (75-80 days)
• ‘Mirasol’: 5,000 SHU (100 days)
• ‘Jalapeño’: 2,500-9,000 SHU (75 days)

ABOUT PEPPERS

1. Peppers are tender perennials that are grown as annuals.
2. Peppers grow on compact erect bushes 1½ to 2 feet tall.
3. The fruit follows one flower growing within the angle between a leaf and a stem.
4. Botanical name: Capsicum annuum (sweet and hot peppers).
5. Origin: New World Tropics.