Peppers thrive in a well-drained, fertile soil that is well supplied with moisture. Use a starter fertilizer when transplanting. Apply supplemental fertilizer (side-dressing) after the first flush of peppers is set. Because a uniform moisture supply is essential with peppers, especially during the harvest season, irrigate during dry periods. Hot, dry winds and dry soil may prevent fruit set or cause abortion of small immature fruits.
Peppers are best started from seeds indoors in late winter and then transplanted into the garden after the soil and air have warmed in the spring. The plants cannot tolerate frost and do not grow well in cold, wet soil. When night temperatures are below 50° to 55°F, the plants grow slowly, the leaves may turn yellow and the flowers drop off. Raised beds, black plastic mulch and floating row covers may be used to advantage with peppers to warm and drain the soil and enhance the microenvironment of the young pepper plants in spring, when cool weather may persist.
Fruit may be harvested at any size desired. Green bell varieties, however, are usually picked when they are fully grown and mature -- 3 to 4 inches long, firm and green. When the fruits are mature, they break easily from the plant. Less damage is done to the plants, however, if the fruits are cut rather than pulled off. The new, colored bell pepper fruits may be left on the plant to develop full flavor and ripen fully to red, yellow, orange or brown; or they may be harvested green and immature.
Set transplants 18 to 24 inches apart in the row, or 14 to 18 inches apart in all directions in beds. A dozen plants, including one or two salad and hot types, may provide enough peppers for most families; but with so many colors, flavors and types available, more may be necessary for truly devoted pepper lovers or for devotees of ethnic cuisines.
Bacterial Disease
Environmental Damage
Fungal Disease
Herbicide Injury
Insect Damage
Additional pests and problems that may affect this plant:
Insects:
- Cutworm
- Grasshoppers
- Wireworm
- Leaf miner
- Seed corn maggot
- Pepper weevil
- Corn earworm
- Corn borer
- Cabbage looper
- Beet armyworm
Diseases
- Cercospora leaf spot (Cercospora capsici)
- Soutern blight (Sclerotium rolfsii)
- Blossom end rot (noninfectious)
- Sunscald (noninfectious)
- Virus diseases: Cucumber mosaic, Tobacco mosaic, Potato virus X, Potato virus Y, Tobacco Etch, and Alfalfa mosaic
Pepper is a tender, warm-season vegetable. Pepper plants require somewhat higher temperatures, grow more slowly and are smaller than most tomato plants. Brightly colored, sweet bell pepper varieties have recently burst onto the scene. A vast range of other garden peppers (pimiento, tabasco, cayenne, chili and paprika) may be grown for food, spices or as ornamentals. The sweet varieties of peppers, especially the bells, traditionally have been by far the most popular in the United States. They are eaten green or ripe and are used for salads, stuffing, soup, stews, relishes and pickling. New developments in color and form have done nothing to dull the popularity of sweet peppers. Hot pepper varieties have also enjoyed a rebirth of popularity recently, mainly due to various ethnic cuisines that use their unique flavors.
