If you missed one of our free gardening classes, this page is a great place to catch-up on some of the tips and tricks from our experts! We periodically feature a topic from a class, or some other helpful gardening tip. Be sure to check our “How-To” archives for past topics.
| HOW-TO FOR SPRING: |
How to Grow Peppers in Your GardenFlavorful, nutritious, and colorful. Peppers are all that, and more. It’s easy to grow all sorts of peppers right in your garden, as long as you have the right conditions and follow a few simple guidelines. Since different varieties have very similar growing needs, why not spice things up and plant more than one type?Follow these four steps and soon your pepper plants should be flourishing. If you have questions, please come into Navlet’s. Any of our gardening professionals will be happy to help you.
Pick a Pepper
Navlet’s has all kinds of peppers, from mild Bells to one of the world’s hottest: the Ghost Pepper. Varieties ripen at different rates, so grow an assortment to extend your harvest. Canning peppers is easy with Ball Canning supplies, available at Navlet’s. You can also grow peppers in containers, including an EarthBox®.
Location, Location
Choose a warm, sunny area that receives at least six hours of direct sun daily. Peppers like soils that drain quickly so add soil amendments generously. See our vegetable garden soil amendment recipe here. Space plants 12”-18” apart. It’s best to stake them, as they can get top heavy.
Care & Protection
Pull weeds as soon as they appear. A one-inch layer of mulch will reduce weeds as well as retain moisture. Cultivate lightly around pepper plants, being careful not to disturb their shallow roots. We recommend Sluggo Plus for snails, slugs, earwigs, sowbugs and other pests.
Harvest Time
Once mature, peppers should be harvested often to keep them producing. Use scissors to cut peppers off; don’t pull them as you’ll damage the plants. For the hottest peppers possible, allow them to mature completely and withhold water for two days prior to harvest. With hot peppers, it’s advisable to wear gloves when harvesting.
What Makes Hot Peppers Hot? A pepper's heat is determined by genetics and environment. The closer your garden is to the equator, the hotter your peppers will be. In Los Angeles, they will be hotter than Contra Costa County; in Brazil, they will be hotter than Mexico.
If you want to know how hot a particular variety is, check out the Scoville chart. This handy chart lists the “heat unit” of a given pepper as measured by its level of capsaicin (the compound that puts the “hot” in hot pepper).
