Peppers
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How to Plant, Grow, and Harvest Hot Peppers
Hot peppers are distinguished from sweet peppers simply by their pungency or hotness of flavor. There are thousands of hot pepper varieties in the world. (This is the case because peppers easily cross-pollinate to produce new kinds.) The hotness of a pepper is determined by a number of blister-like sacs of capsaicinoids on the interior […] More
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How to Grow Hot Chili Peppers
Hot peppers are most easily grown from transplants. Grow hot chili peppers in the warmest, frost-free time of the year. Start hot pepper seed indoors 8 to 10 weeks before the date you intend to set peppers into the garden. Peppers can be seeded in the garden or transplanted out 2 to 3 weeks after […] More
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How to Grow Salsa
Salsa is a delicious and versatile condiment, dip that can be enjoyed with a wide variety of foods. Although it’s most commonly paired with chips, salsa can also be used as a topping for tacos, eggs, grilled meats, or salads. If you’re a fan of this tasty dip, why not try growing your salsa ingredients? […] More
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Six Tips to Grow Peppers for Flavor
Temperature, watering, feeding, and, in the end, patience are the keys to growing flavorful peppers. If you lack one of these, your peppers will be less tasty than they could be. From the beginning of the season through harvest, you can grow more flavorful peppers if you give peppers what they need. Here are six […] More
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Pepper Seed Starting Tips
Peppers are a tender, warm-weather crop. Start peppers indoors 8 to 10 weeks before the average last frost. Plant to set young pepper plants outdoors after nighttime temperatures are expected to stay above 60°F (16°C). Start pepper seeds indoors up to 14 weeks before the last spring frost if you plan to harden off seedlings […] More
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Epsom Salt, Milk, and Organic Fertilizers for Tomatoes and Peppers
Epsom salt used as a foliar spray or soil additive will help tomato and pepper plants grow and produce larger, tastier yields. Milk contains calcium (Ca), another important plant macronutrient, which will also feed tomatoes and peppers and double as a fungicide. Compost tea, comfrey tea, and other liquid organic fertilizers will help tomatoes, peppers, […] More
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How to Harvest and Store Peppers
Pepper can be harvested as soon as they are large enough to eat. Most mild and hot peppers take at least 70 days from transplanting to reach edible size and another 3 to 4 weeks to reach maturity. Some hot peppers take longer. If you know the variety of pepper you are growing (check the […] More
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in Preserve
Beginner’s Guide to Canning Peppers
Can sweet bell peppers and chile peppers—which can be sweet or hot–to preserve your summer harvest? Can peppers after deciding if you want to preserve sweet or heat or a combination of the two? Sweet green, yellow, orange, or red bell peppers are large and thick fleshed. They have a sweet, crisp flavor. Chile peppers—such […] More
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in Plant
10 Steps to Grow a Bumper Pepper Crop
To get a bumper crop from your pepper plants, you must dedicate yourself to helping the plants thrive. Pepper plants are more temperamental than tomatoes—they demand warm temperatures, even soil moisture, feeding, and support—literally. Here are 10 steps that will all but guarantee sweet and hot pepper growing success. (But don’t turn your back on […] More
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Mid-Season Pepper Problem Cures
Peppers are tropical plants and can be temperamental–especially the further they grow away from the tropics. They demand warm temperatures—not too cool and not too hot, organically rich soil, and even soil moisture—not too little and not too much. Give peppers these optimal conditions and they will produce until the first frost in autumn. Common […] More
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Pepper Harvest Tips
Sweet peppers can be picked when immature or full size, green or red–as soon as they are big enough to use. Hot peppers can be picked at any time–any size or color–for fresh use; hot peppers for drying or pickling should be picked when fully ripe. Pick all peppers before the first light frost. Most […] More
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Pepper Growing Problems: Troubleshooting
Peppers–sweet peppers and hot peppers–share nearly all of the cultural and growing requirements of tomatoes. If you can grow tomatoes, you can grow peppers. Choose a site with full sun where the soil is moisture retentive but well-draining. If you are planting sweet peppers and hot peppers in the garden, give them some distance they […] More
Stephen Albert
