How to Grow Peppers: From Seed to Harvest
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Peppers are among the most rewarding vegetables to grow, and one plant can keep producing until frost. They need two things above all: warmth and patience. Peppers sulk in cold soil and take longer than most crops to ripen. Give them heat, sun and steady water, and they are not difficult.
- Start seeds indoors 8 to 10 weeks before your last frost.
- Plant out 2 to 3 weeks after the last frost, once nights stay above 55°F.
- Give them full sun, 18 to 24 inches between plants, and 1 to 2 inches of water a week.
- Harvest green, or wait a few more weeks for full color and sweeter flavor.
Sweet or hot: choosing peppers
All peppers are grown the same way. The main differences are heat and how long they take.
- Sweet peppers: bell peppers, banana peppers and long Italian frying types. Bells are the slowest to ripen fully.
- Mild to medium: poblano, Anaheim and jalapeño.
- Hot: cayenne, serrano and Thai peppers.
- Very hot: habanero and its relatives, which need the longest, warmest season.
In a short or cool summer, choose smaller-fruited varieties. They ripen sooner and more reliably than large bells.
A mixed pack of sweet and hot types is the cheapest way to find what does well in your garden.
Starting peppers from seed
Peppers need a long head start, so they are almost always started indoors, or bought as young plants in spring.
- Sow 8 to 10 weeks before your last frost, a quarter inch deep in seed-starting mix.
- Keep them warm. Pepper seeds sprout best in soil at 75 to 85°F. A heat mat makes a real difference. Expect 7 to 21 days, and longer for very hot types.
- Give strong light for 14 to 16 hours a day once they sprout.
- Pot up into larger containers when seedlings have two sets of true leaves.
Full details are in how to start seeds indoors.
Peppers are the crop that benefits most from bottom heat. Without it, seeds can take weeks.
Planting peppers outdoors
Do not rush this step. Peppers set out into cold ground stop growing and can take weeks to recover.
- Wait for warmth. Plant 2 to 3 weeks after your last frost, when nights stay above 55°F and the soil is at least 65°F. See when to plant vegetables.
- Harden off seedlings over 7 to 10 days first.
- Choose the sunniest spot you have, with 6 to 8 hours of direct sun, and mix compost into the soil.
- Space plants 18 to 24 inches apart. Plant at the same depth they were growing in their pots.
- Water well, then mulch once the soil has warmed. See the best mulch for a vegetable garden.
- Add a stake or small cage. Branches loaded with fruit snap easily in wind.
Growing in pots? Peppers do very well in containers, because the soil warms up fast. Use a pot of 3 to 5 gallons per plant. See container gardening for beginners.
Caring for pepper plants
Water
Give 1 to 2 inches a week, keeping the soil evenly moist. Peppers tolerate a little dryness better than soggy roots, but swings between very dry and very wet cause blossom end rot. Water at the base of the plant.
Feeding
Mix compost or a balanced fertilizer into the soil at planting. When the first flowers appear, feed again with a fertilizer that is not high in nitrogen, such as a tomato food. Too much nitrogen gives a big, leafy plant with few peppers. Our guide to vegetable garden fertilizer explains the numbers on the bag.
Support
Tie the main stem loosely to a stake as the plant grows, or let it grow up through a small tomato cage.
A single stake per plant is enough to stop fruit-laden branches from breaking.
Why pepper flowers drop without making fruit
This is the most common pepper complaint. Flowers form, then fall off. The cause is nearly always temperature:
- Too hot: days above about 90°F.
- Too cool: nights below about 55 to 60°F.
- Other stress: drought, waterlogged soil, or too much nitrogen.
There is little to do except keep the plant watered and wait. Flowers set fruit again when the weather settles. In very hot climates, afternoon shade helps.
When and how to harvest
- Any pepper can be picked green once it reaches full size and feels firm.
- Left on the plant, most turn red, yellow or orange over another 2 to 4 weeks, becoming sweeter. Hot peppers usually get hotter as they color.
- Cut, do not pull. Use pruners or scissors and leave a short stem. Pulling can tear off a whole branch.
- Pick regularly. Harvesting encourages the plant to set more fruit.
- Before the first frost, pick everything. Full-sized green peppers will keep in the refrigerator, and those that have started to color will finish ripening on a counter.
Handling hot peppers: wear gloves when cutting them, and keep your hands away from your eyes. The compound that makes them hot stays on skin and is not easily washed off with water alone.
Common problems
| What you see | Cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Flowers fall off | Heat, cold nights or stress | Water steadily and wait for milder weather |
| Dark, sunken patch on the fruit’s end or side | Blossom end rot, from uneven watering | Water evenly and mulch |
| Pale, papery patches on fruit | Sunscald, from fruit exposed to strong sun | Keep the leaves healthy for shade; do not over-prune |
| Plant not growing | Planted too early in cold soil | Wait. Growth resumes when it warms up |
| Clusters of small insects on new growth | Aphids | See how to get rid of aphids |
| Big, leafy plant with few peppers | Too much nitrogen | Stop high-nitrogen feeding |
Frequently asked questions
Are green and red bell peppers different plants?
No. A green bell pepper is an unripe one. Left on the plant, it turns red, or yellow or orange depending on the variety.
How many peppers does one plant produce?
A healthy bell pepper plant typically gives 5 to 10 full-sized fruits. Smaller hot peppers can produce dozens.
Can I grow sweet and hot peppers next to each other?
Yes. Planting them together does not make this year’s sweet peppers hot. Cross-pollination only affects the seeds inside, which matters if you save seed to plant next year.
What grows well with peppers?
Basil, onions and carrots are good neighbors. See our companion planting chart.
