Attractive in the garden and tasty to boot, bell peppers are a popular addition to veggie beds and containers. The deliciously crisp, colorful produce dresses up the garden with wonderful yellow, orange, red or purple fruit, and then adds flavor to our favorite dishes (as well as makes a tasty snack).
Bell peppers are warm-season vegetables that are easy to grow if you can provide them with the right conditions: full sun; warmth; fertile, perfectly drained soil; and regular feeding.
Photo Credit: Felder Rushing
Peppers have firm, fleshy, hollow fruits that may be harvested green or allowed to mature to various bright colors, depending on the selection you’ve planted.
Photo Credit: Felder Rushing
Your produce can be harvested and enjoyed when the peppers are a few inches long and green, or you can let them ripen until they’ve turned their bright, spectacular colors.
Photo Credit: Mary Moore
Ripening typically requires an additional 2-3 weeks after the veggies are mature and green.
Photo Credit: Felder Rushing
Bell peppers are available in red, yellow, white, green, purple and orange.
Photo Credit: Gerald L. Klingaman
You can grow bell peppers as seedlings (started plants) that you buy at your local garden center or start them from seed. Seeds should be planted indoors about 6 weeks before the last frost in your area. Place them in a light potting soil mixture (not soil from your yard) in small individual pots. Put them under a grow light or in front of a window that gets strong light from the south. Keep the soil moist, but not soggy, and cover the pots with a plastic bag until they sprout.
If you purchase bell peppers as started plants, choose strong, short plants instead of thin, leggy ones. Avoid any with aphids, spider mites or other insects, and skip over plants that seem to show signs of disease (such as brown leaves). You should also avoid picking scrawny-looking plants.
When you move your bell peppers into your garden, make sure they’ve got healthy, well-drained soil. If your garden is heavy clay, consider building raised beds to grow your peppers in. By just adding 6 inches of compost and good soil to your garden, you can give your peppers a better opportunity to develop a good root structure.
Another option is to grow your veggies in containers with good potting soil. I’ve grown peppers, tomatoes, herbs, strawberries, salad greens and a number of other vegetables in large containers. Just be sure to choose a planter that’s at least 12 inches in diameter and 12 inches deep. It’ll need to have good drainage, so if the pot doesn’t have drainage holes, drill 1-3 into the bottom or sides. (These containers don’t have to be fancy or expensive. Large wooden boxes or cheap plastic containers grow vegetables just as well as expensive planters can. Just note: Never plant edibles in containers or raised beds made from pressure-treated wood! Pressure-treated lumber can leach chemicals – including arsenic – into the soil.)
Put compost or amendments in your soil to add nutrients and help your plants along their growing way. To plant, dig a hole about twice the width of the root ball. Place the plant in the hole, then gently fill the hole in with compost. Make sure the top of the root ball is at soil level. Add more soil to the hole if necessary to keep from planting the plant too deeply. Water thoroughly, then mulch to keep moisture in the soil. Plant your pepper plants 18 inches apart to give them room to spread their roots and to have plenty of air circulation.
Several insects can affect the production of your peppers. Aphids are small, soft-shelled insects that suck the fluids out of plants. They can be controlled by spraying the plants with a steady stream of water from the garden hose to knock them off and damage their mouths so they can’t feed. Ladybugs can be added to your garden to eat aphids. Organic soap sprays can also be purchased to control the pests. Cabbage loopers and other worms can be controlled by dusting the plants with Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis). As with using any garden product, always carefully read and follow all label instructions.
No matter what color they are, bell peppers are a healthy, tasty and beautiful addition to your veggie beds and containers. Enjoy all they have to offer – in and out of the garden!
