Growing Peppers - Learn How To Grow Chili Peppers

While many pepper plants are perennial (flower and fruit year after year) in their native environment, most garden peppers are grown as annuals (replaced every year). Peppers are part of the nightshade family, which also includes tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes and datura.

Pepper Planting

Peppers, especially hot pepper plants with their colorful fruits, are ideal for spot planting around a garden, providing contrast in flowerbeds, or brightening a container garden. When growing peppers in beds, avoid planting the peppers where other members of the nightshade family have been previously planted as they are subject to similar diseases. To prevent cross-pollination, hot pepper plants should not be planted near sweet or bell pepper plants.

Some pepper planting pointers are:

• When buying pepper plants choose those that are sturdy with deep green leaves and without fruit or blossoms.
• Choose a location in your garden, patio or home that receives morning sun.
• While full sun and heat are good for peppers, too much can damage the fruit. Protect from the intense afternoon sun with taller plants (or beans on a trellis), by planting them in a block no more than 1½ feet apart, or situating house or patio pepper plants so that they will receive filtered light in the afternoons.
• Transplant pepper plants to garden beds two to three weeks after the last frost and when the soil temperature is at least 65 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celsius).
• When transferring pepper plants to a garden bed or container, do so in the evening or on a cloudy day to reduce the chance of sunscald.
• Keep the soil moist — not soggy — to encourage root development and prevent blossom wilting and bitter-tasting peppers. Use a mulch, such as straw, grass clippings or plastic mulch, to keep moisture in and protect roots.
• Ensure that the soil drains well, whether in a garden or container, so that the roots aren''t sitting in water. Raised beds are helpful in poor-draining garden soil.
• Chili peppers like an acidic soil: 5.0-6.0 pH.

Chili Pepper Planters

Nearly anything can be converted into a pepper-planting box, as long as it drains well. Try a wooden half-barrel or box, a galvanized pail, or even an old baby buggy.

Bell Pepper Plants

Bell peppers are at their sweetest and are highest in Vitamins A and C when fully mature. When choosing bell peppers for eating, select those that are firm, heavy for their size with shiny, richly colored skin. A few of the best sweet and bell pepper plants for garden use are:

• ''Bell Boy'' — high yielding bell pepper plant producing green fruit that is red when mature.
• ''Jingle Bell'' — productive plant producing miniature bell peppers that mature to red or yellow.
• ''Orobelle'' — sturdy plant producing large blocky peppers that are golden when mature.
• ''Purple Beauty'' — compact plant producing green peppers that mature to a dark purple and keep their color when cooked.

Hot Pepper Plants

Over half of the 200 varieties of hot pepper plants are indigenous to Mexico. They range in size from just 1/4 inch to 12 inches long. When choosing chili peppers for cooking, select only those that are firm with deep, vividly colored skin. A few of the best hot pepper plants for home growing are:

• ''Anaheim TMR23'' — high yielding hot pepper plants producing medium heat peppers good for stuffing
• Cayenne — prolific hot pepper plant producing wrinkly-skinned peppers that mature from green to brilliant red, sometimes even yellow
• Jalapeno — green thick-walled hot pepper, typically used for salsas and salads
• ''Thai Hot'' — very hot pepper, whose green and red fruits maintain their heat even when cooked.

Pepper Growing Tips

Whether you''re growing peppers in a planter or garden bed, some simple tips will help keep your pepper plants healthy:

• Always use the proper garden tools.
• Banana peels (chopped up) add potassium.
• Coffee grounds and tealeaves add nitrogen.
• Egg shells add calcium to the soil, and snails and slugs don''t like crawling over them.
• Fish scraps add nitrogen and phosphorous.

Pick a Peck of Peppers

When picking peppers from the plant, choose those that have shiny skin and are firm to the touch. If you need to pull on the plant to remove the pepper, it''s not ready to be picked. The stems of peppers ready for picking will detach easily from the plant. To avoid damaging pepper plants, however, it''s best to cut the peppers off with a knife or shears.

Resources

Peters, P. (n.d.) Some like it hot: Growing hot peppers. Retrieved September 2, 2009, from The Master Gardener''s Web site: http://www.emmitsburg.net/gardens/articles/adams/2004/hot_peppers.htm.

Pleasant, B. (2006) Growing colorful bell peppers. Retrieved September 2, 2009, from the Mother Earth News Web site: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/2006-04-01/Growing-Colorful-Bell-Peppers.aspx.

The Gardener''s Network Staff. (n.d.) How to grow pepper plants. Retrieved September 2, 2009, from the Gardener''s Network Web site: http://www.gardenersnet.com/vegetable/pepper.htm.