Bell peppers can be easy to grow if you know the right steps to follow. In this post, we will teach you how to grow bell peppers step by step, including choosing the best variety for your garden and the basics of planting, harvesting, and preserving. Make this the year you succeed at growing bell peppers!

Which Peppers Will You Choose?

One of the most diverse group of plants are peppers. When perusing through a seed catalog, there seems to be an almost limitless amount of varieties of peppers to choose from… everything from mild sweet peppers to the hottest of the spicy peppers. 

Today we are going to focus on how to grow BELL PEPPERS. Bell peppers are often grouped with sweet peppers, so we are going to include sweet peppers in this discussion! 

Choosing the Best Pepper Variety for Your Garden

Bell peppers are super versatile both in the garden and in their many uses after you harvest them. They are great eaten raw and there are so many recipes that they can be used in. 

In the garden, you can choose from a wide variety of plant sizes, from small and compact (which is great for container gardens) to larger varieties. You can also choose your plant based on fruit size and color. We tend to think of bell peppers of coming in the supermarket standard colors of green, red, and yellow, but there are many other colors to choose from including orange, purple, brown, and white. 

There are options for small snacking sweet peppers and options for larger peppers and pretty much everything in between. What do I grow in my garden? I grow an heirloom California Wonder variety. Sadly, I get a tummy ache when I eat bell peppers, but my husband assures me that they are quite yummy.

How to Grow (aka How Not to Kill) Peppers

Bell peppers require a little bit more care than some of the other plants in your garden, but don’t let that stop you from growing a pepper bush or two and before you know it, you will have a prolific supply of peppers on your hands.

The first thing to remember is that peppers LOVE the heat. They will not survive well in the cold, so plan accordingly. 

How much do they love heat? For starters, they will not even germinate if the soil is not warm enough. You need to start peppers inside 6-8 weeks before the last frost. To make sure that my soil is warm enough, I place my peppers on a heat mat. Grow lights or a particularly warm spot will heat the soil up as well. 

Sometimes, it takes peppers a long time before peppers germinate- we are talking 21 days or more, so don’t be discouraged if it is taking a while before you see any growth. Adding a heat mat will really speed things up though.

Once the last frost date has passed, you will still want to check to make sure that temperatures are consistently above 65 degrees before you transplant the peppers outside. Any colder and you risk the peppers getting too cold and dying. 

Once the peppers are in the ground, make sure you water evenly and consistently, but don’t let the roots get water logged. 

Fertilize regularly, but avoid any high nitrogen fertilizer. Instead, choose a fertilizer that is high in phosphorus and calcium. High calcium fertilizer will help prevent blossom end rot!

If it is particularly hot outside, you may notice that your pepper is not setting (growing) fruit. Peppers are a bit picky and only like to grow fruit when the temperature is between 70-90 degrees.

When (and How) to Harvest Peppers

The fruit of all peppers start green and will mature to their final color. Are you ready for a couple of pretty cool pepper facts?

Did you know that the variety of colors you purchase at the supermarket are actually all the same type of pepper? The red and orange ones were just allowed to mature for longer!

Did you know that after a pepper changes to its mature color, it is higher in Vitamin C and often is sweeter than when it is green? 

Be sure to remove the fruit from the plant with a sharp knife or scissors to avoid damaging the plant.

Pepper Preservation and Storage

Peppers can be frozen and dried. Oven drying works the best… be sure to remove the stem and seeds and slice thinly before freezing or drying. My dad and stepmom cut their peppers into chunks before freezing. That means less prep at meal time! Curious about oven drying and freezing? Read about how to do both in the Black Thumb Garden Club Workbook!

Pepper Fast Facts

Crop Rotation Group: Fruiting Plant

Planting Method: Start Seeds Indoors and Transplant outside only after temperatures are over 65 degrees.

Structural Support: Yes- tomato cages work great!

Days to Harvest: 60-80 days

Number per Square Foot: 1

Join us next week as we discuss how to grow strawberries. Leave a comment if there is a plant you want us to cover next!