How to grow Sweet Peppers

How to grow Sweet Peppers

Home-grown sweet peppers and sweet chilli peppers are exceptionally delicious and will save you a fair few bob on shop-bought fruits. They’re easier to grow than tomatoes and suffer less from pests and diseases, too. But perhaps the biggest draw of growing your own peppers is the opportunity to explore the many varieties out there. The fruits range from the elongated, almost horn-like ‘Corno Rosso’ to more traditionally shaped types such as ‘Bell Boy’ or ‘California Wonder’.

Growing sweet peppers in containers

A sweet pepper plant can be a stunning addition to a kitchen garden – they can be grown in containers on the patio where their glossy foliage, white-hooded flowers and colourful fruits will brighten up your plot.

The colours of shop-bought peppers are usually restricted to the traffic light-tones of red, amber and green but home-growers will have plenty more to choose from – expect to find bright yellow, cream, purple, orange and lime-green varieties too. The plants need minimal support and there are even dwarf types that are perfect for growing in window boxes or other containers.

Growing sweet peppers in the UK

Peppers hail from warmer, tropical climes, so you’ll need to ensure a sunny, sheltered position for your plants, but it is still perfectly possible to grow them - and get decent harvests - in the UK. In colder parts of the country they are best grown in a greenhouse or polytunnel. Given these basic requirements there’s no reason you shouldn’t expect to harvest at least three and up to eight peppers per plant.

Starting your crop from seed will give you the biggest possible choice of varieties and greatest control over what you’re growing, although there are also an increasing number of peppers that can be bought from garden centres or mail-order companies as young plants.

Preparation of their final growing position begins about a month before planting. If you want to grow your crop outside, pick a vigorous F1 hybrid variety and a spot that is in full sun. A south- or west-facing brick wall or fence is ideal.

Dig the soil over, incorporating a bucket-load of well-rotted manure or compost to enrich the ground. About two weeks before planting out, which will normally be at the end of May, place cold frames over the planting positions to warm the soil.

Growing sweet peppers in a greenhouse

Greenhouse or polytunnel growing is the only reliable way to guarantee a crop of peppers in colder or exposed parts of Britain. Even in the south of England protection like this will mean more peppers to each plant. If you don’t have a greenhouse, you could try growing dwarf varieties in a cold frame of at least 50cm height. If you are planting into your greenhouse borders, fork a general purpose fertiliser, such as chicken manure pellets, into the soil a couple of weeks beforehand.

Sow your seeds in March to give them at least two months to grow on before they are planted into their final positions. To get your seeds going, fill a 7cm pot with fresh seed compost and tap it to encourage the compost to settle. Make sure the surface is level before sowing the seeds individually, leaving a few centimetres between each one and including a maximum of about five per pot. Cover your seeds with a 0.5–1cm layer of compost or vermiculite.

Keep your pots well-irrigated by placing them in a tray of water – the moisture will soak up from the base until the compost or vermiculite appears damp on the surface. Don’t forget to label the containers carefully if you’re growing a few varieties, it would be a shame to confuse them at this early stage!

Move your pots to a propagator or alternatively place a clear, plastic bag over the top of each one, securing it around the rim using an elastic band. It is best to start seeds off indoors, where no additional heat will be needed – a warm window sill should do the trick.

If growing in a greenhouse you will need to ensure a minimum germination temperature of about 18°C, so a heated propagator will be necessary. Once your seedlings appear, usually within two to three weeks, uncover the pots and move them to a bright window sill to grow on. If you’re using a greenhouse maintain a minimum temperature of 15°C.

Keep seedlings moist and warm and they’ll begin to put on substantial growth. The young plants will need to be potted on into their own 7cm pots once they reach about 2cm high. Fill pots with multipurpose compost and tap them to settle the growing medium.

Carefully ease out the contents of the nursery pot. Handle seedlings by their leaves to avoid damaging their delicate stems and place them into the dibbled hole. Firm back compost around the roots so that the seedlings are buried to the same level as they were in their previous pots, before placing the pots in a bright, sunny spot.

You will need to keep the compost moist when growing sweet peppers so that there is no check in the seedlings’ growth. When roots appear at the base of the pots, transfer them to a container that is 12cm in diameter, again using multipurpose compost.

The time for planting out your sweet pepper plants can vary according to where you want to grow your peppers. Those intended for the greenhouse or polytunnel can be planted into position as soon as early May, giving the longest possible season of growth. Outdoor-grown types are best moved to their final placings after the date of the last frost – usually late May.

They can be planted out sooner than this, so long as a cloche or horticultural fleece is on hand to protect them in the event of a surprise cold snap. Begin hardening plants off a few weeks beforehand by placing them outside for increasingly longer spells, or by positioning them inside a cold frame that is kept open during the day and shut at night.

This will ensure they adjust to weather conditions outdoors before being moved to their permanent growing position. When planting out, leave 45cm between each pepper to give them enough room to spread.

The plants can also be transferred into grow bags, at three per bag, or kept in good-sized containers. Plant one pepper per 30cm container, or opt for a compost volume of at least five litres. Use John Innes No. 3 compost for container crops, as this will provide a steady growing environment that isn’t prone to drying out.