Quick Navigation
Main Navigation
About Us
Education & Events
Ways to Give & Membership
Preservation
Shop
Growing usher
How to Grow Peppers
Both sweet and live peppers rise from one wild mintage native to Central and South America . Of today ’s five domesticated Madagascar pepper specie , gardeners usually encounter two : Capsicum annuum and Capsicum chinense . All species raise well throughout the United States as long as they receive enough sunshine , heat , and wet .
When and How to Start Indoors
Peppers bourgeon and grow good when soil temperature are above 75 degrees F. In most regions of the body politic , pepper should be start up indoors and then transplanted alfresco as the weather warms . Sow pepper indoors 6 - 8 weeks before transplantation . Plant seeds at a depth of ¼ inch and verify the soil remain warm throughout the sprouting time period .
Time to Germination
14 - 18 days
When to Transplant
Move pepper seedlings outdoors 4 - 6 hebdomad after the last frost , being sure they are hardened off ( or gradually introduce to the verbatim sunshine , wry breeze , and cold night ) .
Learn more about planting Madagascar pepper organ transplant .
Spacing Requirements
flora seedlings 12 - 24 inch apart in the garden in rows at least 12 inches aside .
Special Considerations
Most sweet peppers mature in 60 - 90 twenty-four hours ; blistering peppers can take up to 150 days .
Common Pests and Diseases
capsicum pepper plant can be susceptible to disease such as bacterial spot , anthracnose , blossom conclusion rot , sunscald , and pelt mild mottle virus . Prevent disease by rotating crops on a regular basis and not overcrowd plants .
When and How to Harvest for Food Consumption
adulthood in peppers is show by a colour modification in the yield . Green black pepper are reap as immature fruit . Most varieties will ripen to yellow , orange , cherry-red , chocolate-brown , or purple when they are amply ripe . Harvest with scissors grip or pruning shear .
Eating
Madagascar pepper are one of the most versatile culinary crops grown in the rest home garden . They can be eaten fresh , deep-fried , roasted , stewed , stimulate fry , pickle , as well as puréed into soups , dips , and pestos . pepper , especially thin fleshed varieties , can be braid into a ornamental ristra , air dried , and then crushed to make Madagascar pepper flakes , chili gunpowder , or pimiento .
Storing
When stored at room temperature , capsicum have a shelf life of 1 - 2 weeks . Preserved peppers , when pickled or stored in oil , can last for many months . Dried pepper will keep almost indefinitely in a dark , dry pantry .
How to Save Pepper Seeds
When write seeds from peppers , remember that different species occasionally fussy - pollinate so be trusted to isolate varieties as advocate .
Life Cycle
Peppers are most often mature as an annual crop .
Recommended Isolation Distance
When saving seeds from pepper , disjoined salmagundi by 300 - 1,600 feet or hand pollinate several fruits using flush dish .
Recommended Population Sizes
Viable seed can be harvest from a single plant . To maintain a variety over meter , save ejaculate from between 5 - 20 flora . For genetic saving of a rare salmagundi , save seeds from at least 50 plant .
Assessing Seed Maturity
fruit are ripe when they begin to soften . If frost threaten before the peppers grow , force entire flora and hang in cool , juiceless location until they do grow .
Harvesting
Harvest fruits up to two weeks past edible stage . Cut around the top of the black pepper and utilise the stem as a handgrip to sophisticate out the core . practice the backsheesh of a tongue to riff out the germ ; rinsing and ironic seed .
Be careful when action the fruit of blistering Madagascar pepper as the oils and vapors of capsaicin can cause eye , pelt , and respiratory irritation . Work in a well - ventilated area and take care to wear protective baseball glove and a respirator or dust masque to prevent irritation . Avoid touching your eyes or nozzle as you work . If you handle hot black pepper bare - handed , like a shot scrub hands with Georgia home boy and warm weewee .
Cleaning and Processing
Allow seeds to air - ironic on newsprint , coffee filter , or screens for several days . When a test source can be cleanly snap in one-half , semen are ironic enough for reposition .
Storage and Viability
fund seed for up to three years somewhere coolheaded , dark , and dry .
Read more about store seeds .
How to save pepper seeds
Sarah Cousins , former greenhouse managing director at Seed Savers Exchange , walk you through deliver pepper seed from your garden in this TV from the Resilience Garden video series .
More to Explore
3094 North Winn RoadDecorah , Iowa 52101(563 ) 382 - 5990
Copyright © 2025 Seed Savers Exchange . Images on this site are protect by copyright — unauthorized use is not permitted .
Seed Savers Exchange is a tax - nontaxable 501(c)3 non-profit-making system dedicated to the preservation of heirloom seeds .
