![]() Ken provides horticulture programming with an emphasis on fruit and vegetable production, pest management, and beneficial insects. Ken Johnson is a Horticulture Educator with University of Illinois Extension, serving Calhoun, Cass, Greene, Morgan, and Scott counties since 2013. Signup for our emails! Want to get notified when new Good Growing posts are available? SIGN ME UP Bell peppers are a 0 on the scale, jalapenos are 2,500 – 8,000, and Carolina Reaper can reach 2.2 million! Good Growing fact of the week: The Scoville scale was developed to measure the heat, or spiciness, of peppers. Additionally, if you’re cooking Carolina Reapers for hot sauce, do it outside and make sure you and your family are not standing downwind (it’s a long story). Regardless of when you pick hot peppers wearing gloves may be helpful to prevent irritation to your skin, nose, and eyes. ![]() The mature color of the fruit will vary on the variety, so do your homework and find out what they’re supposed to look like. ![]() Hot peppers can also be picked at any stage but are typically picked when fully ripe (they are also at their hottest). One way to tell if the fruit is mature is that they will easily break off of plants when picked. If you are growing colored types of bell peppers, wait until the fruits change color (red, yellow, orange, etc.). Green bell peppers are typically picked when they are mature (3-4 inches long, firm, and green). If you do have problems with diseases, or this is your first foray into growing peppers, try looking for varieties that have disease resistance. If you’ve grown tomatoes, or peppers, in an area previously and have had issues with insects and disease, try placing your peppers somewhere else in your garden. Since they share many of the same problems, try to practice crop rotation. Peppers are afflicted with many of the same problems tomatoes are. ![]() Dry conditions can prevent fruit from setting (developing), or small, immature fruit may be aborted. Providing adequate, uniform moisture is also important when growing peppers, especially as the plants are producing fruit. After your plants set their first peppers, you can side-dress with fertilizer (often ¼ lb. Typically, these fertilizers are diluted at a rate of 1 tablespoon per gallon of water, and one cup of the solution is applied to each plant. Starter fertilizers are fertilizers that are high in phosphorous (10-50-10, 10-52-17, etc.). When transplanting peppers provide them with a starter fertilizer. Plants are generally placed 18 to 24 inches apart. Like most other vegetable crops, peppers like well-drained, fertile soil. If you get your plants out too soon, you can cover them with floating row covers to protect them from cooler temperatures. Some people will lay black plastic mulch around their plants to warm the soil in the spring to avoid some of these issues. Therefore, wait to plant your peppers until low are consistently in the 50s. Plants will grow poorly (yellow leaves, drop flowers) and slowly if temperatures are below 50-55ᵒF. Peppers don’t like cool, wet soils and will not tolerate frosts. Like tomatoes, peppers are best started from seed or purchased as transplants. Compared to their tomato cousins, they like somewhat higher temperatures, grow more slowly and are smaller than most tomato plants. Peppers are another of the Solanaceous crops (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants). While most of the peppers grown in the home garden are different types of Capsicum annuum, there are actually five species of domesticated peppers.Īnaheim, Banana, Bell, Cayenne, Hungarian Wax, Jalapeno, Medusa, Poblano, and SerranoĬarolina Reaper, Datil, Ghost Pepper, Habanero, Scotch Bonnet, and Trinidad Scorpion Contrary to popular belief, capsaicin is in the membrane (the white part) of the fruit, not in the seeds. Hot peppers get their heat, or spiciness, from capsaicin. However, hot peppers, sometimes referred to as chilies, have become increasingly popular. Bell peppers are the most popular types of peppers grown in the U.S. Peppers ( Capsicum spp.) are very-tender, warm-season perennial plants that we treat as annuals. In addition to their culinary uses, peppers can also make great additions to ornamental beds due to their bright colors. From the bright colors of sweet bell peppers to the face-melting heat of the Carolina Reaper, there is a pepper for any taste. They come in a variety of different shapes, sizes, and heat. Peppers are a popular plant in the home garden.
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