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Peppers

Capsicum annum

INTRODUCTION

Peppers, commonly known as Sweet Peppers, Bell Peppers or Capsicums are native to Mexico and South America.

They come in a range of colours (green, red, orange, purple, brown, cream) and are naturally low in calories and high in antioxidants - a ripe red Pepper contains 150% of your daily recommended vitamin C. Green Peppers are generally just unripe and change colour to red or yellow as they mature. Although very closely related, Peppers should not be confused with Chilli Peppers.

Soil Preparation

Peppers are not suited to open ground growing in the Uk unless you can provide a hot and humid environment.

However, they are well suited to greenhouse, polytunnel or even cold frame culture.

Peppers require a long growing season with consistently warm and humid conditions.

A convenient method of production is to grow in pots or grow bags. If using pots, an ideal container size of at least 5-10 litres should be used filled with quality compost.

Sowing & Planting

Seeds should be sown early in the year, preferably, January or February. Always use a heated propagator and maintain a temperature of 22-28oc if you wish to achieve the best results.

Seeds will take about 10 days to germinate. When seedlings are large enough to handle, prick out into 9cm pots and try to keep growing on temperatures at 16-20oc.

During late spring, pot on into final growing position. Maintain temperatures at 16-20oc and high humidity.

Growing & General Cultivation

Keep well watered throughout the growing season and feed on a weekly basis with a high potash feed.

It is not necessary to remove or pinch out the growing tips of Peppers, as this can delay flowering and fruit formation.

To obtain the very best quality harvests from your plants, it may be advisable to limit the number of fruits per plant to no more than 4 or 5. Allowing all flowers to develop to maturity will result in a lot of smaller fruit.

Remove any old flowers from developing fruits to reduce the risk of disease.

Plants will require canes for support.

Maintain temperature and humidity.

Pests & Diseases

Peppers can be prone to all of the usual greenhouse pests and diseases, especially during warm weather:

Slugs and Snails can be a problem for seedlings and young plants - for remedies - see product directory.

Aphids will be inevitable at some stage of growth. These sap-sucking insects will secrete sticky honeydew, distort foliage and potentially spread viruses. Use an Organic Insecticide or consider Biological control. See Product Directory for details.

Red Spider Mite shows up as yellow mottling on the foliage. On the underside of leaves, webbing will become obvious in severe cases, with mites clearly visible. The pest is normally more of an issue on indoor crops, particularly during hot, dry weather. Biological control is available. See Product Directory for details.

Greenhouse White Fly can affect greenhouse crops but is not normally a problem with outdoor production. If the problem occurs, consider Biological control. See Product Directory for details.

Botrytis can cause fruits to rot. This fungal disease is worse during periods of high humidity. Remove old flowers and plant debris. Try to keep foliage and fruits dry while watering.

Harvesting

Harvest first fruits when they have reached their required size. These will probably be green in colour. The reds and yellows etc develop as the fruits mature and may take another week or two.

The green fruits will not be as sweet as the fully matured coloured fruits.

Pick regularly to encourage further fruits to fully develop.

Peppers will harvest until the first frosts.

Peppers, like most fruit and veg, will be at their best when freshly consumed but will keep in the fridge for up to 10 days.