All You Need To Know About Growing Peppers

You want to grow peppers at home? Great!

This article is exactly for you since I will answer various questions about growing peppers in the following chapters so that you can make your pepper growth project as efficient and joyful as possible.

Table of Contents

Time & Duration

Do peppers grow year-round?

While you can grow peppers year-round, you should note that the best time to grow peppers is from spring to late summer since your peppers just get the most sunlight during this period of the year.

However, if you urgently want to grow peppers in other months of the year due to your own reasons, you can also do so as well.

Yet, please note that your yields tend to be smaller and also the growth of your plants will be slower when you don’t grow peppers in the main season.

Do peppers grow fast?

Compared to other vegetables and fruits you could grow in your garden, peppers have an average duration when it comes to growing them from seed to harvest.

While you could grow other vegetables like radishes or lettuce faster, it would take you longer to grow melons or pumpkins.

How long does it take to grow peppers?

Peppers will take between 10 and 14 weeks to grow from seed to harvest.

If you want to grow them faster, you should rely on seedlings from your local garden center.

By doing so, you can reduce the growing time by 4 to 6 weeks and especially if you start late in the year, it can really make sense to grow peppers from seedlings instead of seeds so that they mature until frost eventually comes.

Do peppers grow back every year?

No, peppers are not grown as perennials but rather as annuals and this means that you will only harvest them for a single time and then your plants will decay after that pretty soon.

Peppers are also not resistant to the cold and will naturally decay once winter comes along.

How long do peppers live?

Pepper plants usually live until the first frost of the season comes along.

In moderate climatic zones, this is often the case between October and November.

However, depending on where you live, it might be different for you.

However, most pepper plants will live around half a year if you plant them in spring and harvest them in autumn.

Location & Climate

Will peppers grow in shade?

It is definitely possible to grow peppers in shade.

However, don’t expect as good results as if you grew them with many hours of sun per day.

Peppers just love growing in a sunny environment and this means that only growing them in shade will lead to slower growth and also to lower yields on average.

Will peppers grow in partial shade?

Peppers usually grow well in partial shade, at least if you give them the opportunity to get a few hours of sunlight a day.

In fact, you don’t need to provide sun for your pepper plants all day long and partial shade is a good environment where you can grow peppers in a decent manner.

Do peppers grow best in full sun?

While peppers love the sun, you don’t have to provide them with full sun all day long.

If you can, fine. Yet, if you don’t have the opportunity due to various possible reasons, you can also grow them well with only a few hours of sunlight a day.

Thus, either grow your peppers in full sun or in a half-shady environment so that you can expect the best results in terms of growth behavior and yields.

Will peppers tolerate frost?

No, peppers are quite sensitive to the cold and especially to frost and they will decay sooner or later if they are exposed to frost.

Hence, make sure that you grow pepper seedlings indoors and only transplant them once you no longer expect any spring frost.

Also make sure that you start your growing project early in the year so that your peppers have enough time to mature before winter frost arrives.

Do you have to protect peppers from the sun?

While pepper plants love the sun and cannot get enough of it, this is not true at all stages of your pepper growth project.

In fact, small pepper seedlings are still quite vulnerable to the heat and the radication that comes with excessive sun exposure and you should therefore raise small seedlings in half-shady environments and wait with full sun exposure until they get bigger and stronger.

How much space do you need to grow peppers?

If you want to grow peppers in your garden, you should calculate around one square foot per plant so that your peppers don’t take away the sunlight and nutrients from each other and can grow in a decent manner.

If you want to grow peppers in pots, you should not grow more than one pepper plant per pot since it would just get too crowded in there and your peppers would not be able to grow in a proper manner.

Of course, if you have a big garden, feel free to give your peppers even more space since more space often means more nutrients, more sunlight and higher yields on average.

Can you grow peppers without a garden or balcony?

Yes, it is definitely possible to grow peppers if you don’t have a garden or a balcony. However, things still get a little bit more complicated.

If you live in a flat without a balcony, you will have to grow peppers indoors and this means that your pepper plants will have different conditions than outdoors.

Consequently, they also tend to grow not that well indoors and also your yields tend to be lower.

Can you grow peppers in small flats?

While it is also possible to grow peppers in small flats, I would not recommend it.

Especially if you want to grow many pepper plants, they will take away plenty of your precious space and your flat will just get crowded and uncomfortable, especially if your plants get bigger and bigger every day.

Hence, in such a situation, I recommend you wait until you are able to afford something bigger.

However, it is still not impossible to grow peppers in small flats and if you really want to go for it, give it a try and see what happens ;).

Can you grow peppers in an aquarium?

Not really. While it might be possible to grow peppers in aquariums in theory, most people will fail since it is just complicated and your pepper plants will be exposed to water all day long.

In turn, chances are that their roots will rot sooner or later and they will likely also not get sufficient nutrients.

Hence, if you want to grow peppers in an aquarium with water in it, you can’t.

However, if you just want to fill your aquarium with soil, it is possible to grow peppers in it as long as you use good drainage so that your peppers will not suffer from waterlogging.

Can you grow peppers in a terrarium?

Similar to aquariums, terrariums are also not the best place to grow peppers, especially if you keep exotic pets in there which might escape sooner or later if you provide some breathing space for your peppers.

There are just much better places to grow peppers.

Thus, instead of using terrariums, you should rather use pots or other more suitable things.

Can you grow peppers in a bucket?

Yes, you can grow peppers in a bucket.

You just have to fill a bucket with potting soil and you will be good to go.

However, don’t forget to make some holes in the bottom of the bucket so that water can run off and the roots of your pepper plants will not rot.

Can you grow peppers in rainy climatic zones?

Yes, you can grow peppers in climatic zones with lots of rain.

However, since peppers like the sun, you should not expect the same yields as if you grew peppers in sunny environments.

It will just not work that way but if you are willing to accept lower yields, growing peppers in rainy climates is indeed possible.

Can you grow peppers in tropical climatic zones?

While a few pepper varieties grow well in tropical climatic zones, most of them are rather suitable for hot and dry climates and if you want to grow peppers in the tropics, you should definitely search for a variety that will grow well in those exotic climatic conditions.

Can you grow peppers in regions with permafrost?

In case you want to grow peppers in regions with permafrost, you definitely have to grow them indoors since peppers don’t like the cold at all and are also quite vulnerable to frost.

Hence, growing them outdoors will just not work and you will have to find a sunny spot inside your home to grow peppers in such extreme climatic zones.

Will peppers grow indoors?

Yes, it is definitely possible to grow peppers indoors.

However, your pepper plants will need different care and will also not have access to their natural growth conditions.

In turn, chances are that your peppers will grow much slower and will also not deliver the same yields compared to growing them outdoors.

Consequently, if you have a garden and live in a moderate climatic zone, I highly recommend growing peppers outdoor since they will just grow much better and it will also be easier for you to care for them.

Will peppers grow in winter?

While you could also grow peppers in winter, I still don’t recommend it since you would have to grow peppers indoors and your pepper plants would also not get sufficient natural sunlight to grow well.

Hence, while it is possible, I still recommend until spring to start your pepper growth project.

Will peppers grow in fall?

You could also grow peppers in fall. However, you will have the problem that you will have to grow your peppers indoors for most of the time since there will be winter freeze pretty soon and peppers don’t tolerate the frost.

Thus, I advise you to wait until next year so that you can start your pepper growth project in a proper manner and don’t have to worry about adverse outdoor growing conditions too much.

Do peppers grow on vines?

No, most pepper species don’t grow on vines but rather grow on normal plants you might have seen many times.

However, pepper fruits still hang on small vines from where you can harvest them.

Do peppers grow underground?

No, peppers don’t grow underground.

Contrary to potatoes, you can just harvest them on pepper plants above the ground.

Do peppers grow in the wild?

There are also some pepper species that grow in the wild.

Yet, you would probably not recognize those species as peppers since they often look quite different.

For growing purposes, you should just rely on seeds from your local garden center or from the internet and you will be good to go since those varieties have been produced for your local climatic conditions and don’t have much in common with other wild species you may find.

What is the best orientation for growing peppers?

Since peppers like the sun, they usually grow best with south or west orientation since they can get many hours of sunlight per day in those spots.

However, you could also grow them in east orientation since they will also get some morning sun there. Yet, avoid north orientation since your plants will get barely any sun at all.

Can pepper plants grow with indirect sunlight?

You can also grow peppers with indirect sunlight in a greenhouse or inside your home.

However, I still recommend you provide them with many hours of direct sunlight per day so that they can grow in an optimal manner.

Can peppers grow outside?

You can grow peppers outdoors as long as you don’t expect any freeze during the growing period and you will also need a balcony or a garden for this.

In fact, it is much better to grow peppers outdoors than indoors since you can provide a more natural growth environment for your plants.

When to grow peppers from seed?

If you want to grow peppers from seed, you should start in early spring and grow your pepper seedlings indoors or outdoors in a greenhouse.

After you don’t expect frost anymore, you can transplant them outdoors in late spring between April and May.

Where do peppers grow best?

Peppers grow best if you provide them many hours of sunlight a day and also lots of nutrients to feed on.

You should also make sure that you provide enough space for your pepper plants so that they don’t disturb the growth behavior of each other.

You can also fertilize them to make sure that you provide enough nutrients to give your plants a certain boost.

Where to grow peppers in pots?

If you really want to grow peppers in pots, I recommend putting them on your porch when it is warm enough outdoors.

Until then, you can just put your pots indoors and use a sunny spot inside your home to grow your pepper seedlings.

Where to grow peppers indoors?

If you want to grow peppers indoors from seed to harvest, you should definitely choose a pretty sunny spot.

Otherwise, your peppers will just not grow well at all and also your yields will be rather poor.

Can you grow peppers in water?

You could also try to grow peppers in water.

Yet, you would have to use plenty of fertilizer and this is also a rather advanced technique.

Hence, if you are a beginner in growing peppers, I recommend you just use potting soil from your garden center and you will just be much better off most of the time.

Can you grow peppers with led lights?

You could also try to raise peppers with led lights.

While this may work for growing seedlings, those led lights will often not be strong enough for later stages of your growth project and it will also cost you lots of energy which is bad for our environment and also for your pocket.

Therefore, I recommend you just use natural sunlight to grow peppers instead of using those artificial light sources.

Can you grow peppers in dark rooms?

While it may be possible to grow peppers in dark rooms, I would not recommend it since enough sunlight is crucial for healthy growth behavior of your pepper plants.

Hence, instead of growing them in dark rooms, make sure to choose a nice sunny spot at your home.

Can you grow peppers in bags?

Some people out there have also managed to successfully grow peppers in bags.

If you want to do so as well, you just have to fill those bags with potting soil and you will be good to go.

However, don’t forget to make some small holes in the bottom of the bag so that excess water can run off properly and the roots of your plants don’t rot.

Can you grow peppers in hanging baskets?

You can also grow peppers from hanging baskets.

While it is possible, I still recommend you plant your peppers in your garden since they will simply get more nutrients and sunlight and will therefore grow much better on average.

Soil Requirements

Can you reuse soil for growing peppers the next year?

Yes, it is possible to reuse soil for your next year’s pepper growing project.

However, since this soil is often not rich in nutrients anymore, you should add some potting soil from the store into the mix or also use fertilizer to improve soil conditions even more.

Do peppers grow well in waterlogged soil?

Similar to many other plants, peppers don’t grow well in waterlogged soil since their roots will rot sooner or later.

Hence, make sure that the water can run off properly to avoid any issues in this regard.

Do peppers grow in acidic, neutral or alkaline soil?

Peppers usually grow best in slightly acidic soil with a soil pH between 6.2 and 6.7.

However, many pepper varieties are also pretty tolerant to small swings in pH and you should therefore not worry about it that much.

As long as you use conventional potting soil or compost from the store, you will just be fine.

Will peppers grow in sandy soil?

You could also grow peppers in sandy soil.

However, I still recommend you use conventional potting soil instead since peppers will grow better in potting soil than in sandy soil on average.

Will peppers grow in clay soil?

Clay soil can also be used when it comes to growing peppers.

Yet, I would not recommend you do so since clay soil is often not loose enough and water cannot run off properly due to that.

In turn, waterlogging may become an issue and the roots of your pepper plants may rot.

Will peppers grow in compost?

Yes, growing peppers in compost is definitely possible.

You can just use your own compost and grow peppers and other plants in it.

Since compost is often rich in nutrients, there may also be no need to add additional fertilizer anymore.

Plant Care

Do peppers need a lot of water?

Yes, peppers need lots of water to grow well. However, too much of it will also do more harm than good.

Hence, it is crucial to learn how to water your peppers properly to avoid any mistakes in this regard.

When your peppers are still young and small, they don’t need plenty of water.

However, once they get bigger, you should water them quite often, especially if you see hanging leaves or other signs of a lack of water.

Do you have to water peppers on a regular basis?

Yes, you should water peppers on a regular basis.

However, this also depends on the climatic conditions you live in.

For example, if you live in rainy climatic zones and grow peppers outdoors, you will not have to water them much since they will get water from rain in a natural manner.

However, if you live in hot and dry climatic zones, the opposite is true and you will have to water your plants almost every day.

Hence, make sure that you have a watering schedule that is in line with your local climatic conditions.

What to tie pepper plants with?

To tie and stake your pepper plants, you can just use some cord and tie your plants to sticks.

By doing so, you can make your peppers more resistant to harsh conditions outdoors since they will become much stabler through staking.

When to stake pepper plants?

In my opinion, you should wait with staking your peppers until they reach 5 inches in height.

Before that, staking makes no sense since your plants will still be small and not that vulnerable to wind.

However, once your plants have reached this threshold, you can start staking your peppers and make a tie for every few inches of height.

What to do when pepper plants turn yellow?

If the leaves of your pepper plants turn yellow, this usually indicates either a lack of nutrients or a lack of water.

Hence, make sure to adjust one or the other and wait a few days to see the results.

If pepper leaves are still yellow, try to adjust the other factor and see what happens.

Gardening is often trial and error and you just have to figure out certain things on your own to really learn what works and what doesn’t in the individual case.

How to protect peppers against wind?

By staking your peppers, you will be able to protect them against wind properly.

There will not be any additional measures that you have to take in most cases.

If you grow peppers in pots, you may also want to move your pots to a location that is better protected against wind.

How to protect peppers against heavy rain?

If your plants are still small, you may also want to protect them against heavy rain.

If you grow peppers in pots, you can just move them to a protected space on your porch.

However, if you grow peppers in your garden, there will be barely anything you could do to protect them from rain.

The only thing you can do in such a case is to wait with transplanting them into your garden until your pepper plants will no longer be vulnerable to heavy rain.

How to protect peppers against hail?

To protect your peppers against hail, you may just want to move your pots to a protected space on your porch or inside your home.

If you grow peppers in your garden, you will be barely able to do anything to protect your plants from hail.

You could try to use an umbrella to protect your plants to a certain extent.

Yet, your umbrella may just get damaged and you should make sure that this is worth it to you.

Should you pinch out pepper plants?

In my opinion, you should not pinch peppers plants. Instead, just let it grow and you will get pretty decent results.

I have never seen good results from pinching out pepper plants and you should therefore just let nature do its work.

Where to pinch peppers?

If you really want to pitch out pepper plants against my advice, you should just do it in your garden to avoid any mess inside your home and you can also use the plant material for composting purposes to make your gardening project as efficient and eco-friendly as possible.

Can you grow peppers without fertilizer?

Whether you need to use fertilizer for growing peppers depends on the soil mix you use.

If the soil is already rich in nutrients and you also provide lots of space to your plants, there may not be any need to use fertilizer.

However, if you want to grow peppers in rather small pots, you will have to use some fertilizer to provide enough nutrients to your pepper plants.

Should you cover your peppers to protect them against frost?

In my opinion, it is not a good idea to cover your pepper plants to protect them against the cold since you would just confuse them since the lighting would change in an unnatural manner.

Instead of covering your plants with a blanket or other things, I recommend you wait until you don’t expect frost anymore and only then transplant your pepper seedlings outdoors.

Pests & Diseases

Can you grow peppers without using pesticides?

While it is possible to grow peppers without the use of pesticides, it will definitely be a challenge.

You will have to provide excellent growth conditions for your pepper plants so that they can get big and strong and resistant to any sorts of pests.

While this might be enough, you may still have to use pesticides in extreme cases of infestation.

Should you use natural or chemical pesticides for peppers?

You should definitely go for natural pesticides instead of chemical alternatives since natural pesticides are just much better for our environment and your peppers will also be more organic.

What are the most common pepper pests?

Pepper plants often suffer from aphids, flea beetles, cutworms, spider mites and many more. It is therefore crucial that you know how to deal with these pests in a proper manner.

How to protect peppers against pests?

If you want to get more information on how to get rid of pests, make sure to also check out my pest prevention guides and my pepper pests and diseases article.

Growing Difficulty

Are peppers good plants to grow for children?

Growing peppers is excellent for children since it is not that difficult and children will often really enjoy the progress your plants will make.

Growing peppers with your children is also great since you can strengthen the bonds between you and your children by spending some quality time in your garden together.

Are peppers good plants for a school project?

You can also grow peppers as a school project.

In fact, growing peppers at school is quite nice since school kids will learn how much work is involved in growing food and they will appreciate what they go much more due to that.

Those kids will also be more likely to do good for our planet once they get older and we as humanity urgently need those positive changes if we want to save our environment in the long run.

Is growing peppers difficult?

No, growing peppers is not difficult at all. Even beginners can grow peppers in a decent manner and you should therefore not worry about failing that much.

Even if you do, you will still learn a lot from it and can do better the next time.

Harvest

Can you dry pepper seeds?

Yes, you can try pepper seeds and reuse them for your next pepper growth projects in the following years.

What color do ripe peppers have?

Depending on the pepper variety you want to grow, ripe peppers can be red, yellow or green in most cases.

Some exotic varieties may also have more exotic colors.

Thus, make sure that you know what variety you are growing so that you can figure out the optimal harvesting time for your peppers.

Can peppers get overripe?

If you fail to harvest your peppers in time, they will get overripe and will just not taste that well anymore.

Moreover, you will also lose some precious vitamins and you should therefore make sure that you choose the right harvesting time for your pepper plants.

What parts of a pepper plant can you eat?

Depending on the pepper variety you grow, you may not only be able to eat pepper crops, but you may also be able to eat pepper leaves.

However, if you are still a beginner in gardening, I recommend you only use pepper crops and just dispose of the leaves and the remaining plant material to be on the safe side.

Toxicity

Are pepper leaves edible?

While the leaves of some pepper plants are edible, others can be harmful to your health and I therefore recommend you don’t eat pepper leaves at all to avoid any risk in this regard.

Are pepper plants toxic for pets?

Pepper leaves can also be toxic for pets. Hence, you should make sure that you keep away your pets from your pepper plants.

For instance, you could install a small fence to protect your pets but also your pepper plants from your pets or other animals in your garden.

Additional Questions

Is growing peppers expensive?

Growing peppers is relatively cheap.

In fact, if you have a garden, you just need some pepper seeds and you will be good to go.

You don’t even have to get those seeds from a store, but you can just extract them from a pepper you might have at home.

Hence, the costs for growing peppers are virtually zero in the best case.

However, if you want to grow peppers in pots, you will clearly have to get a pot and you may also need some potting soil and fertilizer.

Yet, most people will be able to afford growing peppers at home.

Is growing peppers fun?

In my opinion, growing peppers is quite a lot of fun and everyone should give it a try.

What do you have to lose? If you don’t like it, go for a different hobby instead of gardening.

For me, gardening is more than a hobby but it is rather a way of life.

I really love seeing my plants grow and the progress they make.

In fact, growing plants like peppers has become a really nice way to spend my time and I am sure many of you will enjoy it as well.

Do peppers grow on trees?

No, peppers just grow on plants as most other vegetables do.

There are no trees involved in growing peppers, even though some wild species might have originated from trees ;).

Do peppers grow from flowers?

Yes, peppers have to flower before they can produce crops.

Hence, if your peppers don’t flower, you should also not expect to have any yields later on in the year.

How many pepper plants should you grow per pot?

You should only grow one pepper plant per pot so that your peppers get enough sunlight and also don’t have to compete for nutrients with other pepper plants.

Which animals eat pepper plants?

If you grow peppers outdoors, you should expect snails, bugs and other insects to feed on your pepper plants.

Fortunately, there are some measures you can take to deter those undesirable friends which you can find in my pest prevention guide.

Will your pets eat your peppers?

You should not underestimate the risk of your pets eating your pepper plants, especially when your plants are still small.

This will not only be bad for your peppers, but also risky for your pets since they can get intoxicated.

Hence, make sure to use a fence or other means of protection to keep away your pets from your plants.

Why peppers grow small?

If your peppers grow small, you usually haven’t provided them with a good location.

Make sure that you give them a sunny spot to grow and that they also have enough space and nutrients next time so that they can grow better in the future.

What to grow with peppers?

There are many plants you can grow with peppers.

To get a full list of plants to grow with peppers, make sure to check out the best pepper companion plants.

Can you grow peppers from peppers?

If you are a lazy person, you can just grow peppers from peppers by putting an entire pepper crop from the store into the ground.

You just have to water it on a regular basis and you will soon see the first seedlings reaching the soil surface.

Can you grow peppers from pepper slices?

You can also just slice a pepper and put it into the ground.

However, make sure that some seeds are attached to the slice so that you can really grow peppers with it and don’t just put a useless part of the crop into the ground.

Can you grow peppers without seeds?

Instead of growing peppers from seeds, you could also grow them from cuttings.

However, this implies that you already need to have a pepper plant at home.

If you start out from the beginning, you will still get some seeds or seedlings from the garden center or online to grow peppers.

Do you have to pollinate peppers?

If you grow peppers outdoors, you don’t need to pollinate them by hand since insects will do the work for you.

However, if you grow peppers indoors, it can make sense to pollinate them by hand since there are just not enough insects around indoors.

For pollinating your peppers by hand, you can just use a small stick and put it from one flower to the other.

How to grow big peppers?

The more space and the more sunlight you provide to your pepper plants, the better they will grow.

Hence, if you want to grow really big peppers, it is crucial that you provide the best growing conditions and that you also choose a pepper variety that gets really big.

For instance, growing bell peppers is a good choice in this regard since their fruits get quite big.

Can you grow peppers commercially?

While it might be possible to grow peppers commercially in theory, it will just not be a business case in practice most often and I therefore recommend you just grow bell peppers for fun instead of making a business out of it.

Can you grow peppers from fresh seeds?

Yes, fresh seeds are perfect to grow peppers from.

They are even better than dried seeds most of the time since you will just get more seedlings from a certain amount of seeds on average and this makes your pepper growth project more efficient.

Can you grow peppers from dried seeds?

While growing peppers from fresh seeds would be my first choice, it is definitely possible to also grow peppers from dried seeds.

However, make sure to plant enough seeds since many seeds will just rot in the ground and will never make it to the seedling stage.

Can you grow peppers from rotten peppers?

While it might be possible to grow peppers from rotten peppers, I would still not recommend you do so since it is unhygienic and can also cause serious health issues in case there is already mold on those rotten peppers.

Can you grow peppers from cuttings?

You can also grow peppers from cuttings.

Yet, this is an advanced technique and in case you are still a beginner, I recommend you just grow peppers from seeds since it is just much easier.

Should you use a pepper growing kit to grow peppers?

While you could grow peppers from a growing kit, I am personally not a big fan of those kits since they are much more expensive than buying all the things you need separately.

However, it can still make sense for you in case you are a beginner in growing peppers to use those growing kits for your first year of growing peppers.

Should you talk to your peppers?

While some people really believe that talking to peppers is beneficial to your plants, I personally don’t believe in it at all and studies have also not found any clear correlation in this regard.

However, feel free to try it yourself. Maybe you will find some positive effects from it ;).

Should you plant peppers at half moon or full moon?

Many people also believe that the moon phase has an impact on the growth behavior of peppers.

I personally haven’t seen any effects in this regard and I just don’t care about growing my peppers at full moon or half moon.

Instead, I am doing what’s best for my schedule.

I hope you found answers to various questions you might have had.

If you want to learn more about growing peppers in general, also make sure to check out my pepper grower’s guide where I show you how to grow peppers from seed to harvest step-by-step.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_pepper

Own experience

About the Author

My name is Andreas and I’m really passionate about our environment and also about growing plants. In fact, I have grown several different plants over many years. I love to see my plants grow and also always try new things to improve my overall conditions at home.

In my blog posts, I want to share my experiences with you so that you can become successful in growing various different plants and improving your home as well, even though you might still be a beginner right now.

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