Chilli How-Tos: Your Spicy FAQ for Hot Pepper Horticulture!

This article’s first version was composed five years before this one. Since then, not only have we enriched our knowledge about cultivating chilli peppers, but you’ve also started posing more questions about it. So, here you can read answers to the most common queries related to growing hot peppers!

What’s the best time to sow pepper seeds?

For sowing hot peppers, we recommend the latter half of February. Ensure a germination temperature of 25 to 30°C (77 to 86°F) for your peppers. You can find more on growing chilli peppers from seeds here.

My peppers haven’t sprouted after 6 days, what now?

Germination can take anywhere from 5 to 30 days. If you see no progress after a week, don’t fret. Germination time varies from variety to variety. If there’s still no sprouting after 30 days, several reasons could be at play, like too low soil and room temperature, overwatering, or poor quality seeds (meaning seeds with just the husk, not having developed a germ, hence won’t sprout).

Only 7 out of 10 seeds sprouted, why is that?

The average germination rate in ideal conditions is 70%, which means if you planted 10 seeds, likely only 7 will sprout.

My peppers stayed in the dark too long after sprouting and now they’re elongated and weak. What should I do?

If you now keep the peppers in a well-lit area, they should start producing more chlorophyll, gaining a stronger green color and growing faster – signs of minimal recovery. If they have 3-4 leaves, you can start light fertilization with starter fertilizers (look for foliar fertilizers for pepper in the initial growth phase at your local garden center).

How big should the pot be for growing a pepper plant?

The size and yield of the pepper plant depend on several factors, one of which is the size of the pot. Ideally, plant your pepper in a garden, but if that’s not possible, then in the largest pot you can.

Hot peppers can grow over 1.5 meters tall in soil, and slightly less in a large pot. Of course, the size also depends on the type and variety of pepper and many other factors, so there’s no universal formula. Give your pepper the largest pot that fits in your space. The minimum I would recommend is 5 liters, with an optimum of 20-25 liters.

Should I transplant peppers from the pot they come in after ordering from our webshop?

Yes. The pepper can grow in the pot it comes in for a while, but for a healthy and large plant, transplant it into the largest pot you can fit in your growing space.

How and how much should I water the peppers?

In short, if you find the soil dry, water it. They actually handle a period of drought better than frequent and excessive watering. Overwatering can lead to root rot. Make sure the pots have drainage holes at the bottom to allow excess water to drain during watering. There’s also a special article on this topic, so you can read more about it here.

Is it necessary to fertilize/feed the pepper plant?

For better rooting and initial growth, it’s possible to fertilize peppers with starter fertilizers. When the pepper blooms and bears fruit, it’s good to occasionally feed it with a liquid fertilizer containing calcium, as peppers require a lot of calcium for fruit formation. Without enough calcium, blossom end rot in fruits may occur. Generally, you can start fertilizing when the seedlings have developed 3-4 true leaves.

Can I keep my pepper plant in the sun?

Absolutely, pepper plants need plenty of sunshine to grow and bear fruit properly. The exception might be during extremely high temperatures in mid-summer. In such cases, consider some form of shading to protect the plant from leaf and fruit scorch. However, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution here. Observe your plant’s behavior, and if it seems to be suffering from the heat, provide appropriate protection.

How will I know if my pepper plant is getting enough light?

The most obvious sign of insufficient light, especially in seedlings, is a pale green color in all above-ground parts of the plant (cotyledons, leaves, stems) and elongated, thin stems. The leaves of these plants will turn towards the light source. Such plants will develop weaker and slower.

When will my pepper plant bear fruit?

The fruiting time depends on many factors, and it’s hard to give a concrete answer. Factors include planting time, weather conditions, pepper variety, amount of light, watering, fertilization, soil type, pot size, etc. Generally, if you don’t have fruits by early September in our climate, something might be off. There’s an unwritten rule: the hotter the pepper, the longer it takes to develop. So, milder varieties will fruit first. In intensive cultivation in a protected environment (like a greenhouse), the hottest varieties like Carolina Reaper and Trinidad Scorpion Moruga may only start fruiting by mid-August.

Will my pepper plants cross-pollinate if they grow next to each other, resulting in mutants?

Hot pepper plants are self-pollinating and don’t need insect pollinators for fertilization, but cross-pollination between different hot pepper varieties can occur. It’s important to note that the FRUITS OF CROSSED PEPPERS WILL NOT LOOK OR TASTE DIFFERENT in the same season.

The issue arises if you save seeds from a fruit that cross-pollinated with another variety and plant them. The resulting plant will be a hybrid, and it’s hard to predict the outcome. If you’re not planning to save seeds, then you don’t need to worry about this. You can read more about cross-pollination in chilli peppers here.

If I bring my pepper plant inside for the winter, will it grow again in spring?

Yes, pepper plants are perennial, and if they are provided with good conditions over the winter, they will regrow in spring. The key during winter is to maintain a temperature around 10°C (50°F), provide some light, and water approximately once every two weeks.

As pepper plants are dormant in winter, they don’t need intensive fertilization or frequent watering. More details about wintering chilli peppers can be found here.

Why do flowers sometimes drop off my pepper plants?

Flower drop in pepper plants can be caused by one or more unfavorable conditions:

• Excess moisture in the soil – peppers need less watering than other plants.
• Low air humidity – for flower fertilization, air humidity should be above 30%.
• High temperatures – pollen is not functional at temperatures above 35°C (95°F).
• Plant adaptation to habitat – a change in habitat can cause growth to stall and flowers to drop.
• Transplanting into larger pots or soil during flowering – if this is the cause, the plant should resume flowering after adjustment.
• Lack of calcium in the soil – a common physiological disorder in peppers causing flower drop.
• Excessive nitrogen fertilization – nitrogen encourages the growth of roots, leaves, and stems, which can negatively impact flowers, causing them to drop during flowering.
• Inability to absorb calcium from the soil – after a long drought, the root system struggles to absorb calcium, leading to poorly balanced nutrition and flower drop.
• Difficulty in absorbing calcium from the soil – in very acidic soils, calcium uptake is hindered (leading to flower drop), hence for pepper cultivation, you need a soil pH of 5.0 – 6.5 (slightly acidic to neutral).

How to get rid of aphids on pepper plants?

Mechanical method – suitable for a small number of plants

Take a damp cloth or paper towel, wipe the undersides of the leaves to remove aphids, and then shower the plant with plain water. Repeat for several days in a row, and you’ll get rid of all the aphids. If you can make a nettle concoction, spraying the plants after showering will be even more effective.

To make a nettle spray, soak 100g of fresh nettle in 1 liter of water, leave it for 24 hours, strain, and then spray the peppers with this solution. Use the concoction within 3 days, as after that, the formic acid is no longer active against aphids. If you have leftover concoction, it’s good for watering plants, even after 3 days. This is a simple and quite effective method when dealing with a small number of plants.

Chemical method

Products like Actara or Mospilan are effective and available in small packages. When mixing these products, follow the manufacturer’s instructions on the packaging. For Actara, use the recommended dose for peppers: 15g per 100 liters of water. For a 1L solution, you need 0.15g of the product per liter of water. If using Mospilan, you need 0.12g per liter of water. It’s important to note that these chemical agents should be used a maximum of 2 times per season, and the pre-harvest interval (the required time from the last application of the product to harvest) is 6 days for Mospilan and 14 days for Actara (since we’re talking about hot peppers).

Why are ants gathering on my pepper plants?

Ants on your plants indicate an aphid infestation. Aphids release a sugary substance known as honeydew, which ants feed on. So, ants themselves aren’t damaging your pepper plants, but it’s the aphids you need to get rid of.

When can I harvest my peppers?

Color is the best indicator of pepper maturity. Some varieties, like Jalapenos, are eaten when green, while a fully ripe Jalapeno is red. Thus, peppers are 100% ready to be picked when they reach the characteristic color of their variety (red, orange, yellow, or white), although some can be harvested and eaten green.

What should I do with the fruits after I pick them?

All summer, you’ve been enjoying fresh fruits from your hot pepper plants, but they keep producing more. There are two main ways to store them:

• Drying the fruits – thread the fruits onto a string and hang them in a well-ventilated area away from direct sunlight.
• Freezing the fruits – simply freeze whole peppers or pieces. Once thawed, the fruits will soften but will taste just as fresh. 🙂

I’ve noticed white-gray spots on the soil, are they dangerous and how do I get rid of them?

If you’ve covered the substrate with plastic kitchen wrap after sowing and watered generously, it’s likely that mold will appear on the substrate’s surface due to high moisture and temperature. If the peppers have sprouted, remove the foil, scrape off the mold from the top of the substrate with your fingers, and continue with reduced watering as needed.

I need to transplant my peppers, which substrate should I use?

You can look for substrates for vegetable seedlings, mixed substrates for vegetable seedlings, substrates for tomato and pepper seedlings, or substrates for fruiting vegetables at agricultural pharmacies or larger non-food product chains. Such substrates are sterilized and should not contain weed seeds, fungal spores as plant disease agents, or other pests (insects, mites, bacteria, viruses, and similar organisms).

My peppers are in the cotyledon stage, but they’ve started to dry out (see attached photo). Why?

The cause of this „drying“ or browning of the cotyledon edges is too frequent and excessive watering. When you notice the soil surface is dry, push your finger halfway into the styrofoam hole. If you feel moisture, there’s no need to water until it dries out.

Based on the visible symptoms of elongated stems, these pepper plants chronically lack sunlight (light). Move the container as close to the window as possible and keep it in the sunniest room at a temperature of about 23°C (73°F) or higher.

What should be the spacing between peppers in the garden?

The best spacing between seedlings is 25-30 cm (10-12 inches), and between rows 50-70 cm (20-28 inches).