How To Grow Peppers

Learning how to grow pepper is easy. They come in all shapes and sizes and variations in heat and are well-suited to container gardening. My personal favorites are Hungarian hot wax, hot chili, jalapeño and habañero. I can the wax peppers for flavor and long-term storage, while I dry the chili peppers, using the jalapeño and habañero fresh for summer salsa and winter tomato sauce. Yes, I said fresh in winter. Remember: I’m in Central Florida where I can grow until the air freezes. Even then I can prolong my garden peppers if I cover them adequately.

Sweet bell peppers are nice, too. If I don’t consume my green ones fresh, I chop and freeze. Wonderful for my Cuban-style black beans, the perfect complement for yellow rice.

As previously mentioned, this plant likes it warm. And it likes to eat. These heavy feeders also like their water–until the fruit show up on the stem. You can ease back on the hose as they mature. You can start these indoors as they transplant well, important for my Arctic Amigos who live in the cold land. One thing to keep in mind as you begin your pepper seeds: peppers do not mature at the same rate. Nor do they mature at the same size.

I learned this the hard way–or should I say “stressful” way–when I began growing Carolina Reapers. I started them on the patio at the same time as my tomatoes, jalapeno and Wax peppers, and basil, assuming they would all germinate in about 7-10 days. Well, my tomatoes popped up first, basil second, followed a week or say later by my jalapeno and Wax peppers. My reapers?

Nowhere to be seen. Not one to give up so easily, I continued to care for them, giving them extra time to develop. Nearly a month later…. Nothing. Hmph. This wasn’t good. But lo and behold, leaving them in place, the little fellas sprouted within another week! Relieved, I gave them time to grow a few more inches, then transplanted them into the outdoor garden where they exhibited sluggish growth. After a bit of research–discussing the situation with my friend who shared his peppers with me–I learned that reapers are notoriously slow. And he was right. My Carolina Reapers eventually caught up with the other peppers in my garden and produced a bounty of hot delicious peppers!

So don’t despair when it appears your peppers are not faring well. Give them time and patience and they will treat you well.

Perfect Potting Mix for Seeds

1/3 peat moss

1/3 compost

1/3 worm poop or composted cow manure

The lightweight peat moss encourages tiny root growth while the compost helps retain the moisture. The poop/manure provide the nutrients. The seeds are fairly small and flat, so only plant them 1/4″ deep. You can also plant these seeds direct in the garden where they’ll thrive.

Once you have fine, sturdy sprouts, take them out to the garden and plant fairly close together, about 10-12″. They like to snuggle. They also appreciate it if you plant them deep, beyond the two cotyledons, or “first leaves.” Peppers, like tomatoes, are part of the night-shade family and like an added nip of calcium to their soil. My favorite mix is to combine crumbled eggshells and Epsom salts and mix into the soil around the base when you transplant.

To harvest, simply snip from the vine when ready!

For saving seeds, you’ll need to allow the peppers to remain on the plant until thoroughly ripe. This means your jalapeno peppers will turn red, your green peppers too, Hungarian Wax will turn deep orange-red, etc. If you don’t allow for full maturity, your seeds will not be viable and will not germinate. A sad day in the gardening world, to be sure.

Next, slice your pepper in half and remove the seeds. Place them on a plate (I use a paper towel as well) and set in a cool, dry place. Too much heat or moisture will damage them and inhibit germination.  Once dry, store in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator where they’ll last for years–although you’ll use them WAY before then.

Problems

Bugs love peppers–sweet peppers. Not too many bugs are fond of hot peppers, except squash bugs, which is why cayenne and the like make for great insect repellent spray on all your garden plants.

Good Companions for sweet peppers: Carrots, tomatoes.

Good Companions for hot peppers: Okra, tomatoes.

Bad Companions for sweet peppers: Fennel, kohlrabi.

Bad Companions for hot peppers: Beans, brassica family (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels), fennel.

Health Benefits for sweet peppers: Old eyes? Sweet peppers might be your answer to staving off those dreaded cataracts. Heavy on the vitamin C and beta-carotene, the combination is bad news for eye problems. One study showed those eating diets rich in beta-carotene, including sweet peppers, had a lower occurrence of cataracts. And, the redder the better. Why? Seems the beta-cryptoxanthin, an orange-red beta-carotene in red bell peppers, has been found to significantly cut the risk for lung cancer. Definitely worth the grow.

Health Benefits for hot peppers: Hot peppers can help clear the sinuses, that’s for sure, but they can also stop ulcers. Huh? Yep. You read right! The capsaicin is said to shield the stomach lining from ulcer-causing bacteria by stimulating digestive juices. Capsaicin can also prevent dangerous heart rhythms due to a natural calcium channel blocker similar to some heart prescription drugs. And get this–you might be able to shed pounds by eating hot peppers. You actually burn calories consuming the fiery peppers AND they might reduce your appetite.