How To Grow Bell Peppers (Plant, Grow, And Harvest) (2024)

FAQs

How do you grow bell peppers step by step? ›

Start Bell Pepper Seeds Indoors for Spring

Plant pepper seeds eight to 10 weeks before your region's average last frost date. Make sure the potting soil is moist before planting. Scatter the seeds over the soil surface, then lightly cover with more potting mix. Use a seedling heat mat to speed up germination.

Harvest all peppers when the fruit is firm. Peppers that stay on the plant past maturity can still be used as long as the fruit is firm. The more often you cut fruit, the more the plant will blossom and produce.

Peppers have a long growing season (60 to 90 days), so most home gardeners buy starter pepper plants at the garden nursery rather than grow them from seed. However, you can start pepper seeds indoors if you want to grow your own.

Bell pepper is harvested two times each year – summer (June 9 – July 30) and fall (September 18 November 8). The horticultural, harvest and packing processes are virtually the same regardless of the season. The first step of the pepper process is proper land preparation.

The general rule of thumb for maturity of sweet peppers is 60-90 days, and hot peppers can mature around 90 days and up to 150 days. You'll also want to be informed of what color the pepper you are growing will be ripe, so you are prepared to remove the pepper from the plant.

Under ideal conditions, most pepper varieties can begin producing ripe & ready peppers after 90-150+ days. If you are growing any of the superhot varieties, like the ghost pepper or any habaneros, they will take longer. Bell peppers and jalapenos are typically ready for harvesting on the lower end of that scale.

As a general rule, pepper plants should be watered about once per week and allowed to thoroughly drain. However, this frequency can vary significantly based on the temperature, wind, and the size of the plant and its growing container. During a heat wave, you may need to water your potted peppers every day!

While in starter cups, and soon after transplanting, gently pinch off flower buds to help the plant generate more growth before flowering. Pick peppers soon after they ripen. Regularly harvesting the plant's peppers encourages it to produce more. If fertilizing, reduce nitrogen level once plant begins to flower.

How many times will a bell pepper plant produce fruit? ›

A bell pepper plant can produce 6 to 8 fruits in a growing season. Hot pepper plants produce smaller fruit in larger numbers (I have seen dozens of hot peppers on a single plant). With excellent care (enough space between plants, good nutrition, proper watering, etc.), a pepper plant will produce even more fruit.

The three key nutrients you need for your pepper plants are nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium. Nitrogen is the most important element as it supports the regulation of photosynthesis, which then encourages foliage production and leafy growth.

Sweet bell peppers have a long growing season, about 60 to 90 days. 'Bell pepper plants take about 75 days from planting to reach maturity, and produce peppers for several weeks. You can extend the harvest by picking peppers when they are still green and allowing them to ripen indoors,' explains Lindsey Hyland.

Your peppers need full sun and hours of sunlight along with adequate spacing in between plants to grow their best. Pepper plants need good drainage too and do well in a raised bed. If your summer months see a lot of rain, this is a setup worth looking into.

It may seem intimidating for the beginner gardener but, as long as you know a few key pieces of information before getting started, bell peppers are fairly easy to grow – as long as the weather plays along, that is.

Growing bell peppers isn't difficult, but temperature is an important factor. While they're fairly easy to grow, pepper plant care in these early stages is critical. Always start pepper plant seedlings indoors. The seeds need the warmth of your house to germinate.

Getting Bell Peppers Started Right

These tropical natives like hot temperatures and fertile soil. Plant in a location with well-drained soil that gets full, direct sun at least six to eight hours each day. You'll be rewarded with healthy plants and abundant fruit.

Quick Guide to Growing Peppers

Plant them 18 to 24 inches apart in a sunny, well-drained spot. Pepper plants need at least 6-8 hours of sunlight per day. Mix compost or other organic matter into the soil when planting. Water immediately after planting, then regularly throughout the season.

Keeping pepper seeds warm at 80-90˚ F is best for fast and successful germination. Most pepper seeds germinate within 7-21 days, but some can take longer than that so be patient and keep them consistently warm. Seedling heat mats can help greatly!

Yes, picking peppers off your pepper plants will keep them producing more pods. We also like to pinch off the first blossoms on pepper seedlings to ensure that they put more energy into growing so they produce more pods later.

How many peppers can you harvest from one plant? ›

Expect 5-10 large bell peppers per well-grown plant, and 20-50 hot peppers per plant.

Peppers need at least six to eight hours of full sun during the growing season. Ideally, soil should be well drained and contain high organic matter. However, peppers can thrive in moderately fertile soil.

Production usually drops off after 5 or 6 years or so, but they can live a couple decades and beyond.

From seedling to full-grown plants, peppers need strong light to grow best. If you don't provide grow lights indoors, plants can become tall and leggy instead of low and strong. The same is true for outdoor plants. In short, peppers should be planted in a location that receives 6-12 hours of direct sunlight daily.

Store them immediately in the produce bin in your refrigerator, between 40-45°F. How long will they last after you pick them? If you store at the proper temperature peppers can last up to 2-3 weeks.

Much like tomato plants, pepper plants are heavy feeders from the soil. To develop strong roots and healthy foliage, they need a constant supply of energy. And they need even more when it comes time to start producing blooms and fruit. Pepper plants require a lot of nutrients from the soil to develop their fruit.

We recommend watering after the soil has dried somewhat. During the longest hottest days of summer, that may be every day. During cooler weather and during spring and fall you may only need to water them every 2-3 days. The best bet is to feel the top layer of soil to see if it's moist, if it is, wait before watering.

The soil should be deep, rich, and loamy. If yours isn't, amend it with about 1 inch of compost. Avoid adding too much nitrogen to the soil, however. Excessive nitrogen can cause the pepper plants to grow too fast, making them more susceptible to disease and less productive.

Why are my pepper plants blooming but not setting fruit? Peppers (especially bell peppers) are sensitive to high and low temperatures during bloom. Pollination and fruit set typically don't occur when daytime temperatures rise above 85 F or when nighttime temperatures drop below 60 F.

To put it simply, pepper plants require lots of nitrogen during early growth to produce healthy leaves. During the fruiting stage, plants need less nitrogen but plenty of phosphorus and potassium for the best yields.

Should you trim the lower leaves on pepper plants? ›

Prune off the lowest leaves to keep them away from ground-dwelling pests. Slugs and snails and other pests find pepper foliage delicious. When pepper leaves touch the soil, or they're very close to the ground, these pepper pests have an easier time gaining access to a favorite food source.

Organic Pepper Fertilizer

Fish emulsion is one of the best natural sources for high nitrogen content. Well-rotted compost is a popular go-to for organic phosphorus and potassium and can naturally be found in kelp meal and hardwood ashes, as well.

Perlite, vermiculite, or sand all work great for aiding in drainage. They also give the roots more channels to easily grow through. 1/4 water and nutrient retention. Peat moss and coco coir increase the soil's ability to retain nutrients.

Miracle-Gro® Performance Organic® Edibles Plant Nutrition Granules will feed your pepper plants for up to 6 weeks, providing loads of extra nutrients to the beneficial microbes in the soil as well as to the plants. A month after planting, mix this into the soil around your pepper plants, following label directions.

In short, bell peppers can be harvested while they are still green, as long as they are fully grown in size. Fully ripened bell peppers change color and tend to have a sweeter flavor and a slightly softer texture.

How long does it take for a pepper to grow after it flowers? It takes about two months to get a pepper from a flower bud. A lot depends on the weather. Expect this time frame to be more like 2.5 to 3 months for superhot peppers.

Timing: Peppers need warm temperatures and a long growing season. Start indoors 5-8 weeks before last frost, or in early March on the coast. Transplant when weather is really warm in early June or later. Transplanting early does not make the weather heat up!

A: Seeds to produce bell pepper transplants should be planted in January or by mid-February at the latest. Transplants take about 6 weeks to produce from seeds. Bell pepper transplants are best planted in mid-March to early April at the latest.

Start your seeds indoors six to eight weeks before the last frost, so they'll be ready to transplant as soon as it passes. You can also plant bell peppers in summer for a fall harvest. Plant them three to four months before the first frost of fall.

Quick Guide to Growing Peppers

They grow well in raised beds, containers, and in-ground gardens. Plant them 18 to 24 inches apart in a sunny, well-drained spot. Pepper plants need at least 6-8 hours of sunlight per day.

How much water do bell peppers need? ›

Bell peppers need a deep watering, about one to two inches per week. Although bell peppers like warm weather, they will not flourish in intense heat, so gardeners in climates that are prone to higher temperatures should water twice a day if necessary.

Most sweet peppers mature in 60-90 days; hot peppers can take up to 150 days. Keep in mind, however, that the number of days to maturity stated on the seed packet refers to the days after transplanting until the plant produces a full-sized fruit.

These include Bell Peppers, sweet/Italian Peppers, Serrano, Cayenne, Paprika, Hatch Chile Peppers, ornamental peppers like the gorgeous NuMex Twilight pepper, and all of the fast growing Jalapeños. These pepper plants can live between 1.5-3 years.

We think most peppers are easy to grow, but growing faster growing peppers can help improve your success, especially in shorter growing seasons. The fastest germinating peppers are typically in the Capsicum Annuum family, so we'd say they are easiest to grow.

We recommend watering after the soil has dried somewhat. During the longest hottest days of summer, that may be every day. During cooler weather and during spring and fall you may only need to water them every 2-3 days. The best bet is to feel the top layer of soil to see if it's moist, if it is, wait before watering.

Most fertilizers are administered weekly or bi-weekly. Do not over-fertilize and expect good things to happen – pepper plants require a steady intake of nutrients, not an abundance of nutrients all at one time. Some fertilizers are meant to be worked into the soil before transplanting.

They could be stunted by cool weather, especially cool nights. Keep peppers warm and wait to plant outside until the weather has warmed up to 60-70˚ F at night consistently. You'll find once the hot weather arrives and the soil warms up, the peppers should start taking off.

Optimum temperatures fall between 70 degrees and 80 degrees F. for bell-type peppers and between 70 degrees and 85 degrees F. for hot varieties. 2.