Growing Peppers

peppers Growing Peppers Dozens of varieties are available within the two major types of peppers: sweet (or bell) and hot. If a pepper is even mildly pungent, it is classed as hot. Fruits of most pepper varieties are green when young and red at maturity but are delicious at all stages. Some varieties are yellowish green to bright yellow when ripe. Sweet peppers grow on stiff, rather compact, largeleafed bushes about 16 inches high. True hot pepper plants are taller, more spreading, and have smaller, narrower leaves. Sweet peppers mature in 65 to 80 days and can be grown anywhere in the country except in high elevations or extreme northern areas. Hot peppers ripen later and are better suited to areas with long, warm seasons, but they can be grown in northern states.

How to plant

Peppers are slow to start from seeds; about eight weeks are required to grow your own to transplant stage. If you start from seeds, plant them ¹/8 inch deep and sprout at a steady temperature of 70 to 80^° day and night. Transplant in early summer after frost danger has passed. Set plants 2 feet apart and no deeper than they grew in the flat.

Care

Peppers should be fed every 30 to 45 days with a complete fertilizer. Too much nitrogen can cause rank growth and a poor set of blossoms. For maximum continued yields, water once or twice weekly; dry soil can inhibit fruit formation.

Harvesting

Clip off peppers as soon as they are of a usable size or when they turn to their mature color. Leaving overripe peppers on the vines can reduce yields by draining food reserves. When growing hot peppers for dry storage, let them turn red before picking. Don’t rub your eyes if you have been picking hot peppers; the juice is irritating. You might wear gloves if you have quite a few to pick.