Growing Sweet Peppers in the Vegetable Garden

Peppers are a short-lived tropical perennial that prefers moderately warm days and nights and does not really start producing until 2 months into the growing season.

Pepper plants all look pretty much alike, some taller and bushier than others. There the resemblance ends. Sweet peppers can be boxy, stocky, long and thin or round, in shades of green, red, yellow, orange and purple.

Leaves: Alternate, lance-shaped leaves.

Flowers:White or yellow star-shaped flowers.

Fruits: Fruits begin forming 2–6 days after the flowers drop. The shape and size will depend on the variety being grown; stocky bell, elongated banana...

Common Name: Peppers

Cutting is the best method of harvesting peppers. You can snap the stem off the plant, but very often you'll take the whole branch with you.

Video: How to Pick Peppers

• Ace F1 - Early, prolific and hardy bell peppers.

• ‛Bull's Horn' aka ‛Corno di Toro' - Long and tapered to a point. Spicy without heat. Red and yellow varieties. OP/Heirloom

• ‛Giant Marconi' - 2001 AAS winner. Long, boxy bell pepper. Very sweet. OP
• ‛Jimmy Nardello' - Prolific, long, narrow and extremely sweet. OP/Heirloom

• ‛Sweet Banana' - Thin walled and great for frying. OP

• ‛Yummy Bell' - Elongated, golden bell pepper. Very sweet.

Exposure

Soil: Peppers are not terribly fussy about soil. They like a good amount of organic matter, good drainage and a neutral soil pH of about 6.0 to 6.8.

Planting: Gardeners with long, warm growing seasons can direct seed peppers once the ground is warm and not too wet. The rest of us will need to start seed indoors, about 8–12 weeks before transplanting, or purchase seedlings.

Peppers are slow starters. Start seed 8–12 weeks before your last frost date. Seed can take awhile to germinate, although sweet peppers are usually faster than hot peppers. Using some type of bottom heat, either with a heating pad or simply placing the flats on top of the refrigerator, will speed germination. It will also dry out the soil faster, so remember to water.

When the seedlings are about 6 weeks old, they should have their first true leaves. Transplant them into larger pots (about 3") and continue growing indoors.

Harden off the seedlings before transplanting in the garden. Sweet peppers are long season plants, but don't rush them. They are very susceptible to cold. Transplant after all danger of frost and once temperature remain reliably above 50 degrees F.

Transplant about 1 inch deeper than they were growing in their pots. The base of the stems will send out small roots, making stronger plants. Space 14–18 inches apart.

Pepper plants grow slowly when temperatures are below 55̊F and they may lose flowers and/or leaves. Warming the soil with black plastic or covering the plants with a floating row cover will allow you to plant a bit earlier.

Maintenance:

Water: The most important thing you can do for your peppers is to make sure they get regular water. Drought stress will cause their flowers to drop. (They will also drop their flowers in prolonged cool weather, extreme heat and low humidity.

Feeding: Start with a rich, organic soil. You can feed your pepper plants when you plant them and again when the first flowers appear. Use a well-balanced fertilizer labeled for edible plants. Many gardeners add a small handful of Epsom salts to the soil at planting, as a magnesium boost.

Staking: Some pepper plants are sturdy enough to stand on their own, without staking, but when you have a heavy set of fruit, the plants can break from the weight. Staking when planting will also keep the fruit from touching the ground. Pests & Problems:

• Cut worms can slice off young plants at ground level. You can prevent this by collaring the base of the plant with a tube of some sort (toilet paper tube, bottomless yogurt cup...) or simply placing toothpicks on either side of the stem.

• Aphids and thrips can invest older plants and carry viruses such as tobacco etch virus (TEV), cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) and potato virus Y (PVY). Destroy infected plants.Symptoms include crinkled leaves or especially narrow leaves. Control the insects to prevent spreading the virus and choose resistant varieties.

• Bacterial diseases sometimes come on transplants. Symptoms include stem cankers and leaf spots. Destroy affected plants.

• Blossom end rot can affect pepper fruits. Regular watering will help prevent it.

• Sun Scald can cause thin, papery spots on the fruits. Good leaf cover will protect them.