Ultimate Guide to Cultivating Bell Peppers in Your Backyard Garden (2024)

FAQs

Ultimate Guide to Cultivating Bell Peppers in Your Backyard Garden? ›

Quick Guide to Growing Peppers

Start Your Peppers Indoors

Because peppers like the heat, growing outside during the spring can leave them to struggle with germination. Starting your plants indoors gives them the best start to a successful and thriving season. Start your seeds 8-10 weeks before the last frost is over.

Coffee grounds can contribute to a healthier soil environment for your pepper plants. Here's how: Enhanced Drainage: Coffee grounds have a slightly coarse texture, which can help improve soil drainage. This is particularly beneficial for pepper plants, which prefer well-draining soil to prevent root rot.

Peppers need full sun to grow properly — at least six hours of direct light each day. Soil should be well drained so that roots don't become waterlogged, but also moisture retentive to prevent draining out.

Brassicas: Brassicas such as broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage are not good companion plants for peppers as they require similar nutrients from the soil, which can lead to competition and reduced yield. They also attract pests such as flea beetles and cabbage worms that can damage pepper plants.

Peppers are very sensitive to cold; rush them outside in spring and you'll regret it. In all but the hottest climates, you'll need to start seeds indoors six to eight weeks before your area's last anticipated spring frost. You can also purchase small seedlings to transplant instead.

A study conducted by the National Gardening Association revealed that four out of six home gardeners noticed their Epsom salt-treated peppers were larger than those that were untreated. Many gardeners credit their healthy, vibrant peppers and tomatoes to Epsom salt.

Plants like tomatoes, peppers and eggplants in particular will benefit from shell fertilizer, Savio said. The extra calcium will help prevent blossom-end rot. Broccoli, cauliflower, Swiss chard, spinach and amaranth are also calcium-packed and could use extra from eggshells.

Inadequate Watering

Underwatering pepper plants - especially young seedlings or newly transplanted plants - definitely stunts their growth and dries them out completely.

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.

What makes peppers grow faster? ›

Get a head start, most peppers need along growing season. See below for some faster growing varieties, as well if you want to speed it up. Use bright indoor lights which will help them grow until the warm weather comes to stay. Don't plant peppers outside unless it's warmed up to over 60-70˚ F at night consistently.

Expect 5-10 large bell peppers per well-grown plant, and 20-50 hot peppers per plant. Storage: Peppers don't stay fresh and crunchy for more than a few days, even in the refrigerator, so use them while they are in season. Small chiles can be dried if laid on cookie sheets in an airy place.

Some plants that benefit from coffee grounds include: acid-loving plants like azaleas, blueberries, and rhododendrons. plants that need nitrogen, such as tomatoes, peppers, and leafy greens.

Tomatoes. Although it's usually recommended to not plant tomatoes and peppers right after each other in the same bed every year, they can be grown together in the same garden bed (and then rotated to another bed next season).

Fine-Tune Soil and Fertilization to Increase Yields

Pepper plants thrive in well-draining soil with a pH range of 6.0-7.0. Besides sufficient moisture, soil needs the proper amount of nutrients and aeration necessary for seeds to grow into seedlings.

Inadequate Watering

Watering your pepper plants can be a major focus area for them not growing adequately. Underwatering pepper plants - especially young seedlings or newly transplanted plants - definitely stunts their growth and dries them out completely.

Before planting, fill the holes with water and let it soak in. Into each planting hole, put two or three wooden matchsticks (for sulfur) and 1 teaspoon of low-nitrogen, high-phosphorus fertilizer (too much nitrogen will reduce fruit set).