Welcome to our section on tips for growing Peppers.

Here we will give you advice, tips and guidance on sowing, growing and harvesting Peppers in the Uk and the rest of the world.

Peppers are expensive to buy from the shops so if you can lean how to grow your own peppers it would certainly save you some money. Learn how to grow peppers right here.

Sowing and Planting Peppers

Peppers can be grown here in the Uk, not only where it is warm in other countries. To grow peppers in the Uk you ideally need to do them in a greenhouse or polytunnel or even a conservatory. When peppers start growing they all start off as green then change colour to the variety that they are.

When to plant Peppers?

When growing peppers they need to be started off as early as possible so ideally at the end of winter to early spring.

Varieties of Peppers

There are many types of peppers that you can try and grow at home or on the allotment. Here are some of the varieties of peppers you can grow:-

• Bell Boy
• Mohawk
• Redskin
• Californian Wonder

Which variety of pepper will you try and grow?

Planting Peppers

When sowing pepper seeds you need to sow them at a warm temperature. To germinate the pepper seeds they need to be around 18 – 21 degrees. Sow the seeds either in seed trays or individual pots. When the pepper plants have two true leaves you can transplant them in to their own separate 7 – 9 cm plant pots. Keep them growing at 18 degrees Celsius.

Growing Peppers

Pepper plants are ready for new pots when the plants get too big for the pots they are in. You will know this when the pepper plant roots fill the pot. Transplant the pepper plants in to new pots that are around 25cm deep. Make sure the compost is good quality and the greenhouse or polytunnel is still warm.

When the pepper plants start to grow tall fasten them to a garden cane gently not to damage the stem. When the pepper plants get to around 20cm tall pinch the growing tips out this will make the plant more bushy and focus on the peppers growing.

The Pepper plants will need watering often and feeding with a good general fertiliser. When you see the first fruit set switch to a high potash feed. If you are growing the pepper plants indoors mist them often this will stop red spider mite and it will also encourage the peppers to set in the flowers.

Harvesting Peppers

The time it takes for peppers to grow between sowing and harvesting will be around 20 weeks. It is best to pick the peppers when they are green. If you leave them on the plant to ripen this will reduce the crop of peppers.

Good luck in growing peppers.