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A cinch to grow in home gardens in most regions of the U.S., bell peppers are much more than the classic green bell these days. Survey the supermarket and you’ll see a rainbow for the picking. It is a little more challenging to grow purple, red, and some orange peppers at home as they require an exceptionally long growing season. Green fruits are actually immature peppers. If you leave them on the plant, they eventually will develop one of the other colors, most commonly red, and become sweeter.
Bell Pepper Overview
Genus Name | Capsicum annuum |
Common Name | Bell Pepper |
Plant Type | Vegetable |
Light | Sun |
Height | 6 to 12 inches |
Width | 18 to 24 inches |
Propagation | Seed |
Where to Plant Bell Peppers
Like all peppers, bell peppers need a location where they get plenty of sun most of the day. The soil should be well-draining and slightly acidic.
Make sure that you don’t plant peppers in the same location where you grew peppers and other members of the nightshade family (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant) during the past two growing seasons, ideally even longer. Crop rotation helps to break disease cycles and ensures that the soil is not depleted unilaterally by growing the same crop over and over again.
How and When to Plant Bell Peppers
Peppers are a warm-season crop. In many areas, they are one of the last vegetables to be planted in the garden in spring. Wait until nighttime temperatures remain consistently above 50 to 55 degrees range planting transplants in the garden. Dig a hole that is about twice as big as the nursery pot and just as deep. Place the plant in the hole and backfill with original soil. Tamp down the soil and water the plant deeply.
Bell Peppers Care Tips
Bell peppers don’t require more than routine maintenance such as watering, weeding, and fertilizing.
Light
Peppers require at least 8 hours of direct sunlight a day to produce fruit.
Soil and Water
Peppers need rich, well-drained soil with a pH of around 6.5. Prior to planting, incorporate a 2-inch layer of compost into the planting bed.
Water pepper plants deeply and at the base (not overhead). The goal is to maintain even soil moisture; although peppers tolerate temporarily dry conditions, they produce better in moist soil. Mulching around the plant will help conserve moisture.
Temperature and Humidity
This warm-weather crop grows best in temperatures between 65 and 80 degrees F. In the spring, the young plants can get damaged by late frosts. in the fall, their lifecycle ends with the first frost.
Fertilizer
Fertilizing pepper plants about once a month with an all-purpose vegetable fertilizer is usually sufficient. Applying too much fertilizer, especially excess nitrogen, leads to excessive foliage growth and poor or delayed fruit set and maturity.
Pruning
If the seedlings you buy from a nursery or garden center have blooms on them, those off; at that stage, the plant’s energy should go entirely into the roots so it gets established.
About 4 to 6 weeks before the first average fall frost—the more northern your location, the earlier—top the plants and cut off all the growing points and blooms that won’t make it into mature fruit. That way, the plant puts its energy into developing the fruit that is already there.
Pollination
Peppers have both male and female flowers and self-pollinate without the aid of pollinating insects.
Potting and Repotting Bell Peppers
Peppers are easy to grow in containers. Select a container that is at least 18 inches in diameter and fill it with high-quality potting soil. Container plants need more frequent watering and fertilization (about every other week) than peppers grown in a garden.
Because the life cycle of bell peppers ends with the onset of cold weather, they won’t need repotting.
Pests and Problems
Common pests on bells peppers include aphids, flea beetles, climbing cutworms, and tarnished plant bugs. Diseases of bell peppers include bacterial spot and phytophthora, also called water mold, often occurring in wet soil and with overhead watering.
Calcium deficiency and lack of water can lead to blossom end rot.
How to Propagate Bell Peppers
If growing peppers from seed, it is important to start early. Start seeds indoors about 8 weeks
before night temperatures are reliably in the 50 to 55°F range. Sow seeds ¼ inch deep and 1 inch apart in a container of seed-starting potting mix. Keep the mix moist but not soggy, and very warm. Set the plant container on a heating mat for extra warmth. When seedlings reach 2 inches tall, transplant them into individual pots. Feed seedlings with half-strength vegetable fertilizer every two weeks until the weather is warm enough to gradually acclimate them to outdoor conditions.
Harvesting
Bell peppers are ready to harvest in late summer. They start out green and ripen to rich red, orange, yellow, or purple depending on the variety. Peppers are edible at any stage, but glossy, fully colored fruits deliver the best flavor.
Use a sharp knife or pruning shears to cut off fruits when they are full size or later when they are fully colored. Not all immature fruits are green. Some varieties develop creamy yellow, lilac,
or purple fruits in their immature stages. Mature fruits are sweeter than immature ones, but allowing fruits to mature sends a signal to the plant to stop producing new fruits, so overall yields will be less the more fruits you allow to mature.
Types of Bell Pepper
‘Ace’
Marty Baldwin
An early-maturing hybrid variety that grows well in cool climates. It turns red at maturity.
‘Admiral’
This hybrid variety bears blocky fruits that turn from green to yellow at maturity. It matures in 80 days from planting.
‘California Wonder’
Better Homes and Gardens
The fruits of this heirloom variety have thick walls, which makes them a good choice for stuffing. The leafy plant protects fruits from sunburn. The original variety turns red at maturity, but a yellow form is also available. It matures in 75 days.
‘Golden Bell’
Peter Krumhardt
The 4-inch-diameter fruits on this hybrid variety turn deep gold at maturity. It matures in 75 days.
‘G*psy’
Jay Wilde
An early-maturing sweet pepper hybrid that produces well in both cool and hot regions. The elongated fruits begin creamy yellow and turn red at full maturity. It matures in 65 days.
‘Orange Blaze’
This early-maturing vibrant orange bell pepper hybrid is valued for its disease resistance. It matures in 65 to 70 days.
Garden Plans for Bell Pepper
Summer Vegetable Garden Plan
Illustration by Gary Palmer
To maximize your garden space. this garden plan is not limited to summer vegetables. You can either start it in the spring with some cool-season vegetables and transition into warm-weather crops like bell peppers, or start it in the summer and add fall crops later.