& GROWING TIPS

Now tell me, what is more impressive than someone growing their own peas, corn, and lettuce, and serving it up all fresh and fancy, and all nutritious and stuff?  Give up?  Someone who grows their own peppers!  

A PEPPER FIASCO 

I have fond fond memories of my husband trying some crazy stupid hot peppers while on vacation in Mexico, many many moons ago, and frantically washing it down with a margarita.  I also have blazing hot memories of wiping my eyes with my fingers after planting hot pepper seeds. Yes, exactly like you are not supposed to do.  If you’ve never done it – well just don’t.  But also know that there is nothing in this world that compares to it.  Hot peppers in your eyes hurts. Like a lot.

HOW MANY PEPPER SEEDS / PLANTS TO START

Start by determining the space you want to use to grow tomatoes.  You should allow 12 -18″ for every healthy plant.  If you’ve got a 4′ x 4′ space, you’ll have room for 9  plants.  So give yourself 50% more seeds, so in this case you’ll want to have 13 plants.  You will end up thinning out the smallest and sickliest looking seedlings. Therefore you’ll need to start with 39 seeds.  You can usually buy them in packages of 20, 50 and 100.  

VEGETABLE PLANTING SCHEDULE FOR PEPPERS

• Start seeds indoors 6 to 8 weeks before last spring frost date.    
• Harden off plants over the course of a week.
• Till aged manure or compost into your garden soil
• Put them in a part of your garden where they will have full sun and well-drained soil. 
• Water the transplants very well.
• Make sure the pepper plants have really good drainage
• Stake the plants to support the weight of the peppers 

GARDEN GROWING TIPS FOR PEPPERS

• Mulch thickly to retain moisture and regulate soil temperature. They like a lot of water, but need to be in well drained soil.
• Don’t plant peppers near the beans or kholorabi 
• Peppers can be grown near Basil, Coriander, Onions, Spinach and Tomatoes
• Inspect for insect pests regularly.

HARVESTING TIPS FOR PEPPERS

• Leave your peppers on the vine as long as possible for maximum taste.
• If your pepper plant still has fruit when the first hard frost threatens, pull up the entire plant and hang it upside down in the basement or garage. Pick peppers as they ripen.
• To freeze, slice and place in freezer bags or containers. 
• Wear gloves when handling hot peppers.  For real, I’m not kidding.  See the part about the fiasco above
• If you end up with an over abundance, make homemade pepper sauce, or salsa! I recommend our Market Garden Salsa, and our Tomato and Pepper Salsa 

FIND THIS USEFUL?

Get your printable Vegetable Planting Schedule – for reference and to help keep you on track, and check out these other gardening posts to help you get the most out of your garden. Also, check out our article on the Easiest Veggies to Grow – it’s perfect for anybody just starting out, or who doesn’t necessarily have the time to devout to a garden. 

Starting Seedlings , Laying out your Plot, Maintenance Planners, Journals, Planting Schedules for Direct Seeding, and Planting Schedules for Starting Seeds Indoors and don’t forget our growing tips for cabbage, broccoli lettuce tomatoes and cauliflower.