How to Grow and Harvest Peppers
- 1). Prepare the planting site. Loosen the soil in the vegetable garden bed by turning it over with a garden shovel or tilling with a rototiller. Spread 1 inch of peat moss and 1 inch of compost on the surface of the soil, then turn it again to incorporate the amendments. Rake it smooth with a shovel when you finish digging.
- 2). Dig a small hole, approximately the same size as the root ball of the pepper transplant, using a garden trowel or transplanter.
- 3). Insert the root ball into the hole. Firm the soil around it until it's firmly anchored in the ground, but do not overly compact the soil when transplanting.
- 4). Water the transplant thoroughly with a hand-watering can.
- 5). Fertilize peppers by scattering 10-10-10 granulated fertilizer in the growing bed. Give them one application when transplanting, and another application six weeks later. Follow the fertilizer manufacturer's recommended application rates.
- 6). Provide peppers with supplemental irrigation if rainfall is scarce. Ensure they receive about 1 inch of water per week. Water them with a soaker hose laid on the ground next to them. Watering peppers from above with a sprinkler encourage diseases.
- 7). Remove weeds promptly so the peppers don't compete for water and nourishment. An organic mulch about 2 inches thick retards the growth of weeds and keeps the soil evenly moist.
- 8). Harvest peppers at the green stage, either sweet or hot, when they reach a usable size. The green stage usually takes about 60 to 70 days for pepper plants to reach. Full maturity with their varietal mature color usually takes 75 to 90 days, depending on the variety.
Pick peppers by grasping the stems and twisting them off the plant. Try to leave a little stem on the pepper; it will keep longer and looks better if used for stuffed peppers.
