Peppers love the warm weather. These high-temperature fruits will grow slowly and are smaller than their sister fruit, the tomato. If you are planning to cultivate pepper plants, choose your location wisely. Pick a spot outdoors that receives six to eight hours of sunlight away from any trees or shrubs. Also, be sure to take into consideration that different pepper types have different harvest times.

Varieties

Pepper cultivation depends largely upon the type of fruit you are trying to plant. Hybrid bell peppers such as Bell Boy, Purple Belle and Lady Bell all take 70 days to harvest, whereas Chocolate Bell peppers take 75. Gypsy peppers take 65 days to harvest, while Sweet Banana peppers take 70 days. Spicier peppers such as Red Chili peppers take 84 days and Jalapenos take 70 days. Cayenne peppers, depending upon length and thickness, can take up to 73 days to harvest. Pay special attention to the directions on the packet of seeds you purchase. It should give you an approximation of the length of time your peppers will take to harvest.

Before Planting

According to Ron Wolford, an Urban Horticulture and Environment unit educator for the University of Illinois, you should start off growing your seeds indoors in the late winter and then bring them outdoors after things have warmed up a bit in the spring. Remember that pepper plants do not tolerate frost. When the season arrives for planting, work your soil up to 10 inches deep with a rake a few weeks before you plant. This will break up any clods in your soil. Work in organic matter such as peat moss or compost if your soil contains heavy clay. Spread a store-bought starter fertilizer or manure over your garden soil. Springtime still offers cool weather that your pepper plants may not take to. You can use plastic mulch and floating row covers to keep your peppers warm. These will also drain the soil when it gets wet during this time of the year.

Transplanting

When you are ready to bring your plants from inside to outside, plant them 18 to 24 inches apart. Springtime may provide rain but be sure to water them during any dry periods. Hot, dry winds could prevent your peppers from blooming.

Harvesting

You can basically pick your plants when the fruit reaches any size you desire. Green bell peppers are typically picked when they are fully grown, which is three to four inches in length. Bell pepper fruits may be picked when they fully ripen to yellow, red, brown or orange. In some cases, picking a pepper at a white, lilac, light yellow or purple stage before ripening is OK; it depends on your pepper type, and your seed packet will indicate this. Hot peppers are harvested when they are red but the green fruits are sometimes harvested for special dishes. You should cut the fruit from the plant rather than breaking it off, as this will cause less damage.

Problems

When growing pepper plants you may note the appearance of aphids, which may accumulate on the underside of the pepper leaves near the branch tips. They look like sticky honeydew on the lower leaves and fruit. Apply an insecticide to your peppers to prevent their appearance. Be sure to wash your fruit thoroughly during harvest time, though, if you spray your plants with insecticide. Blossom-end rot is another potential problem. It looks like dry, sunken black areas near the ends of your peppers. Throw away any peppers that exhibit blossom-end rot. The rot is the result of a lack of calcium caused by drought, uneven water availability or pruning roots through improper cultivation. Adding calcium to your soil will not help with blossom-end rot, as this condition is due to a lack of mobility and not a lack of calcium in your soil.

Source:

University of Illinois: Peppers

Texas A&M System: Easy Gardening for Peppers