These tips for growing peppers in your home garden this year are meant to be a general starting point to grow the best peppers this year. While different varieties of peppers may require additional steps to ensure a large harvest, these tips will lead you forward in starting the growing process for your peppers.
The Best Gardening Tips for Growing Peppers
Prep the Garden Site
Select the location you plan to grow peppers in your garden. Once you’ve designated space to grow peppers, prep the site. Select a sunny, well-drained spot in your garden where peppers haven’t grown before. It’s important you don’t reuse the spot from growing peppers in your garden last year.
Plant When Warm
Peppers like to have a consistent 60 degrees F so be sure to plant your peppers when the outdoor temperature remains around 60 degrees F or hotter. As with most veggies, peppers can be planted outdoors when the risk of frost has passed.
Don’t Crowd
Pepper plants should be spaced about 18-24 inches apart. While they need to have space, they also need to have about 6-8 hours of sunlight per day so be sure that the garden site you selected has the appropriate amount of daily sunlight for healthy pepper growth.
Water and Mulch
Much like growing tomatoes, peppers need to have warmth and water. Your pepper plants will need at least one inch of water per week, with more during dry weather spells. Place mulch around your pepper plants to help them retain moisture and heat for maximum growth.
Pinch of First Flowers
As weird as this sounds, many people have said that pinching off the first few flowers that your pepper plant sprouts will encourage more growth later on. Pinching off the starter flowers, just a few of the ones that sprout first will give energy to the rest of the plant for healthy pepper growth.
Use Stakes
Lastly, you’ll want to use a stake to support the pepper plants as they grow. Peppers can be rather heavy for the stalk of your pepper plant so a random stick from the woods or a garden stake can help keep your pepper plants upright to ensure every pepper grows to full term.
These are just some of the best gardening tips for growing peppers. I hope that you enjoyed reading my gardening tips and they inspire you to start growing your own veggies this year. It’s important to have ways to feed your family without relying on outside sources, especially during our current times.
For more gardening tips and tricks, check out these tips for growing watermelon, what insects to welcome to your garden, and how to attract pollinators.
