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Red Peppers growing on a plant

Fruit | Indoors

Peppers (Chilli and Bell)

Peppers produce a fine crop and can be grown well in containers and pots. Both chilli and bell peppers are part of the capsicum family. When it comes to peppers there is a huge variety in taste and looks, for example chilli peppers are small and have a hot flavour while bell peppers are larger and milder in flavour.

BUY SEEDS

SOWING

  • Peppers like a fertile soil that ideally has had compost and a general fertiliser added a week or two before sowing/planting.
  • Peppers need a tunnel or glasshouse to grow well.
  • Chilli peppers are smaller plants and can also be grown in a pot on a sunny windowsill. They need a long growing season, so the earlier you get started the better your chance of producing good, ripe fruit.
  • Sow in modules or small pots in March (you can do this from February if you have a heated propagation area), as seeds require 20°C for germination.
  • The plants will be ready for transplanting when they are around 15cm high (this will be in late April/early May if you have sown in March).
  • Transplant into a bed in your polytunnel/greenhouse 50cm apart or into a large container, ideally at least 50cm diameter for sweet peppers and 30cm for chillies.

GROWING

  • As peppers grow, they often need support to prevent them falling over – you can use stakes or string as support.
  • If plants are grown in the soil then watering well once a week will be adequate.
  • If plants are grown in containers then more frequent watering is required.

HARVESTING

  • Peppers can be harvested green or fully ripe (red or yellow) – generally, green fruits are easier to produce.
  • In an unheated tunnel ripening can be slow and ripe fruit is more prone to rotting.
  • Harvest by picking peppers as they mature (you will get a smaller yield if you harvest red peppers).
  • Chilli plants can be pulled up at the end of the growing season and put somewhere dry to let any immature fruits ripen.

TIPS

  • Peppers store well – they can be frozen, dried or stuffed into jars and filled with oil.
  • Greenfly can be an issue for peppers. To deter, spray a liquid made from crushed garlic, oil and washing-up liquid onto leaves.

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