Many of our customers have struggled in the past in growing peppers successfully. We always recommend growing hot peppers over sweet peppers, as they are more reliable and can tolerate shorter and cooler growing seasons compared to larger sweet peppers. If you want to grow a nice bounty of successful peppers, Here are a few more tips we can suggest.

  1. Wait 2 weeks until after the last frost before planting your peppers. The warmer soil and air temperatures will minimize cold shock as peppers love heat and warmth and do not tolerate cold very well.
  2. Some growers wait an additional 2 weeks after their tomatoes are planted before planting peppers. We typically plant at the same time, and put some extra protection over the plants like floating row covers if nighttime temperatures look a bit cool
  3. Once peppers reach full size, many still need an additional 2-3 weeks to ripen fully and change colour.
  4. Pick the sunniest and warmest spot in your garden to plant peppers. We’ve found growing peppers in containers on a brick or cement patio really speeds up their growth and production.
  5. Choose varieties more suited to shorter and cooler growing climates for better results, especially with sweet peppers. We like using Ace and Gypsy which are popular for small spaces and first time growers.

[Got a Tip?] If you have a tip to share with your fellow urban farmers, let us know at tips@youngurbanfarmers.com. Want More Tips? Browse our Tips Archive for more.