Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Bell Peppers
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Grow peppers in a space with full sun and well-draining, moist (but not wet) soil. A balance between sandy and loamy soil will ensure the soil drains well and warms quickly. Mix large amounts of organic matter (such as compost) into the soil, especially when working with heavy clay.
Avoid planting peppers in places where you’ve recently grown other nightshade family members—such as tomatoes, potatoes, or eggplants—as this can expose peppers to disease.
When to Plant Peppers
- To start peppers indoors in pots, sow seeds 8 to 10 weeks before your last spring frost date.
- Plant pepper starts or transplants outdoors about 2 to 3 weeks after the threat of frost has passed and the soil has reached 65°F (18°C).
How to Start Peppers Indoors
- To start indoors: Start pepper seeds 1/4 of an inch deep, three to a pot filled with potting mix. For faster germination, maintain soil at 70°F (21°C) or above. To achieve these sorts of temperatures, you’ll probably need a heated propagator or heat mat and some grow lights.
- Ideal conditions should see seedlings appear within about two weeks, but some varieties take as long as five weeks, so don’t give up on them too soon! Thin out the weakest seedling; let the remaining two pepper plants in each pot grow as one. The leaves of two plants help to protect the peppers.
- If seedlings become leggy or too tall before it’s time to plant outside, replant them in a bigger pot up to their lowest leaves, just like tomatoes, to help support them. Keep seedlings warm with plenty of light until you’re ready to plant. If the plants have around five to eight leaves and you can see roots at the drainage holes, it’s time to move them up a pot size.
- Be sure to harden off the seedlings about 10 days before transplanting outdoors, as peppers are very sensitive to cool temperatures.
How to Plant Peppers Outdoors
- If you’re buying pepper starts, choose ones with straight, sturdy stems, 4 to 6 leaves, and no blooms or fruit. To harden off pepper plants, set plants outdoors a week or more after the frost-free date or when the average daily temperature reaches 65°F (18°C).
- Before transplanting in the garden, mix aged manure and/or compost into the soil about 8 to 10 inches deep and rake it several times to break up the large clods.
- Put transplants into the ground once the soil temperature has reached 65°F (18°C). Speed up the warming of the soil by covering it with black plastic or a dark mulch about a week before you intend to plant.
- It is best to transplant peppers in the evening or on a cloudy day. This will keep the plants from drying too much and wilting.
- Make the transplant holes 3 to 4 inches deep and 12 to 18 inches apart in the row. Space the rows 2 to 3 feet apart. Before planting, fill the holes with water and let it soak in. Into each planting hole, put two or three wooden matchsticks (for sulfur) and 1 teaspoon of low-nitrogen, high-phosphorus fertilizer (too much nitrogen will reduce fruit set).
- When pulling the transplant out of its tray or pot, be gentle and leave as much soil as possible around the roots. Set the transplants about one inch deeper than they were in their original container. Fill the hole with soil and pack it loosely around the plant. Leave a slightly sunken area around each plant to hold water.
- Water the plants after planting.
- Using liquid fertilizer material (manure tea or starter fertilizer) is usually beneficial at this time.
- Stake now to avoid disturbing the roots later. If necessary, support plants with cages or stakes to prevent bending. Try commercially available cone-shaped wire tomato cages. They may not be ideal for tomatoes, but they are just the thing for peppers. Or, build your own garden supports.
Check out this video to learn how to plant bell peppers:
Look for varieties that ripen to their full color quickly; fully mature peppers are the most nutritious—and tastier, too!
- Green peppers that turn Red: ‘Lady Bell’, ‘Gypsy’, ‘Bell Boy’, ‘Lipstick’
- …Orange: ‘Milena’, ‘Orange Sun’
- …Yellow: ‘Golden California Wonder’
- Once the plants begin producing fruits, pick them promptly, the moment they have reached their full size and color. Regular picking encourages plants to produce more flowers and, of course, more fruits.
- That said, the longer bell peppers stay on the plant, the sweeter they become and the greater their vitamin C content.
- Use a sharp knife or scissors to cut peppers clean off the plant.
How to Store Peppers
- Peppers can be refrigerated in plastic bags for up to 10 days after harvesting.
- Bell peppers can be frozen for later use. See how to freeze peppers.
- Peppers can also be dried: Preheat oven to 140°F. Wash, core, and seed. Cut into 1/2-inch strips. Steam for about 10 minutes, then spread on a baking sheet. Dry in oven for 4 to 6 hours; turn occasionally and switch tray positions. Cool, then store in bags or containers in a refrigerator.
Gardening Products
Peppers are excellent with almost anything: sandwiches, scrambled eggs, pizza, salads, and dips.
We also enjoy cooking peppers, whether beef stir-fry, smoky roasted peppers, or meat and rice stuffed peppers.
Plus, peppers can be pickled! See how to make pickled peppers!
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I soaked some pepper seeds, from the red, Yellow and orange peppers I bought from the grocery store. I let them soak a couple of days, and planted them in little TP pots. To my amazement, they all sprouted. But Now, after 2 months in those pots, they will not grow a second set of leaves. I have them in a light filled window and gets full sun at the end of the day for a couple of hours, and my home is kept at 78 degrees. I am letting them dry out between watering. There are probably about 10 or 20 plants in each pot. Why won't the sprout more leaves?
Hi Kitty,
It sounds like there might be a couple issues keeping your pepper plants from thriving. First is that peppers need a minimum of 6 to 8 hours of direct sun per day, so you should put them in a spot that gets more direct sun, either inside or outdoors now that the weather has warmed. Another thing is the amount of plants per container. Peppers need plenty of room to grow and enough space around them for adequate airflow. That many plants per pot, no matter the size, is too many. Most recommend only one plant per pot to ensure proper growing conditions, so your plants would likely do much better being moved to their own pots or just a couple plants in larger containers.
I'm trying indoor seeds for the first time. I understand pepper seeds and seedlings love it hot. My house stays at 62. I use a heating mat, but it says it only heats to 10 degrees higher than the room. Should I double up on the heating mat? I have two.
Hi, Nicole, Doubling heating mats, thereby putting a lot of heat on the bottom, is not necessarily a solution. Instead, use the one heating mat and tent your seedlings to that they have a bit of greenhouse effect. Don’t seal them off entirely but, for ex., cover them loosely in a plastic bag. We hope this helps!
I would appreciate further information on how to prune and keep peppers as a perennial plant.
My Grandpa used to water his tomatoes and his peppers with a 5 gallon bucket of water with a couple TBS of epsom salts. Only on transplant....and he had the most magnificent crops ever. I have a friend who does this w/her container gardening every year...and holy wha..the tomatoes are AMAZING.
He'd also grow clover instead every couple of years..he'd move crops around and the areas that didn't get "plants"...got clover. His gardens were magnificent.
Epsom salt adds magnesium to the soil, and magnesium is essential for making chlorophyll, which is essential for photosynthesis. Magnesium is a secondary plant mineral, meaning only very small amounts are needed, hense only watering on transplant Clover is a legume, which means it's roots have nodules of bacteria that put Nitrogen into the soil. Nitrogen is a primary plant nutrient that is fairly quickly removed from soil.
In one section you advise that if seedlings get too leggy, you should repot them up to the first set of leaves.
Later you advise, when planting in the garden, not to do this as it may cause stem rot. Which is correct?
Can I ask when was this published? For research purposes only. Thank you
Now that my pepper plants are harvested, will they eventually bloom more flowers and peppers? If so, how should I care for my pepper plants now?
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