🫑 Pepper
How to grow
Start indoors 8–10 weeks before last frost — peppers are even slower than eggplant and need 80–85°F soil to germinate (heat mat essential). Transplant only when nights stay above 60°F and soil is warm; cold-stunted peppers sit there doing nothing for a month out of spite.
Florida is pepper heaven — bells, jalapeños, habaneros all thrive in the long hot season, and plants often overwinter and produce a second year. Everywhere else: black mulch, full sun, and the hottest microclimate you've got. Pinch the first flowers on small transplants so the plant builds roots before fruiting — delayed gratification, pepper-style.
Water & feeding
Consistent moisture — about 1–1.5 inches per week. Drought stress drops flowers and makes hot peppers hotter (stress increases capsaicin, which is either a feature or a bug). Mulch heavily. Feed at planting with worm castings in the hole and side-dress at flowering; peppers are moderate feeders that reward rich soil.
Common problems
- Blossom-end rot: calcium uptake issue from uneven watering — mulch and water consistently, don't just add calcium.
- Pepper weevils (Florida/South): buds drop with tiny grubs inside. Destroy fallen buds; spinosad helps. A genuinely tough pest — stay vigilant.
- Sunscald: white patches on fruit facing brutal afternoon sun. Enough leaf cover (don't over-prune) and afternoon shade cloth in extreme heat.
Harvest
Sweet peppers: pick green anytime, or wait for full color (red/yellow/orange) for sweeter, more nutritious fruit — the plant decides when they're ripe, not you. Hot peppers: wait for full color and firm texture. Use gloves for hot varieties; capsaicin in the eyes is a lesson learned once. Cut stems rather than pulling.