Peppers

Master Gardener Tom Mashour talks about peppers. There are hundreds of varieties of peppers available. Pepper heat is rated on the Scoville scale: bell peppers rate as a 0 and the hottest peppers rate at over 1,000,000. Peppers are a member of the nightshade family so they are wind pollinated – the flowers have both male and female parts. Because of this don’t plant hot peppers next to sweet peppers the pollen from the hot pepper can cause the sweet peppers to be hot. Starting peppers is easy but they need to be started inside about two months before they are ready to be planted in the garden. Tom plants his bell peppers in pairs so they can shade each other and prevent sun scald on the fruit.

Peppers need at least 6 hours of sunlight per day. Peppers need to be staked for support. They like a damp soil and a balanced fertilizer. If you limit the plant to three or four peppers at a time the peppers will be good size. As peppers turn red they get sweeter. There is a point where the pepper is red but with a little green where it is sweet but not mushy.

Related Videos:
When to Pick Bell Peppers
Planting Peppers
​New Pepper Varieties

Related Resources:
Pepper
Peppers
Home Gardening Series: Peppers