Green gardening: growing peppers

There are two kinds of peppers: sweet and hot. Like tomatoes and eggplants, peppers are warmth-loving vegetables; all three are similarly cultivated. Read on to learn more.

Sweet peppers — also called bell peppers (for one of their characteristic shapes) or green peppers — may turn red, yellow, purple, or white when fully ripe. Hot peppers also are green at first, turning red, chocolate, or yellow as they mature.

Peppers can be started indoors from seeds about eight weeks before the date of the last expected frost.

• Sow the seeds in individual pots, placing three seeds, six millimetres deep, in each pot.
• Keep the containers in a warm location — about 24°C (75°F).When seedlings appear, move the pots to a place that is sunny as well as warm. When the plants are about three centimetres (one inch) tall, remove all but the strongest one in each container.
• Be especially careful in "hardening off" pepper plants — exposing them gradually to outdoor conditions.
• Do not plant outside until all risk of frost has passed and the nights are warm. Cold will slow the plants' growth and cause any flowers to abort.

1. In planting peppers, avoid areas where you have previously grown tomatoes or eggplants, for all three vegetables are susceptible to similar diseases. Enrich the planting area with an eight- to 10-centimetre (three- to four-inch) layer of organic matter, and work it into the top five centimetres (two inches) of the soil.
2. Space the rows 60 centimetres (25 inches) apart. You can also prepare individual planting areas for the seedlings.
3. Dig holes 15 centimetres (six inches) deep and 15 centimetres (six inches) in diameter. Put in a five-centimetre (two-inch) layer of compost or rotted manure mixed with a handful of bone meal. Then fill the hole with soil.
4. Allow at least 60 centimetres (25 inches) in all directions between holes. Staking the plants will help keep them from toppling in strong winds. Set the stakes in position before you plant the seedlings.
5. When all danger of frost is past and daytime temperatures stay above 21°C (70°F), transplant your seedlings. Set them out on a cloudy day or in the evening, so that the sun will not scorch them. Allow 45 centimetres (18 inches) between seedlings in rows.After planting, water the soil well.

• Few pests attack peppers. If aphids appear, wash them away with a stream of water from the garden hose, or if necessary, spray the plants with insecticidal soap.
• If you see whiteflies, hang sticky traps or spray with insecticidal soap.
• Keep cutworms away by placing around each plant a collar made from a paper cup with its bottom removed.
• Shield the young plants against chilly rains or too much sun by covering them with hot caps, which are available at most garden stores.

Peppers are not heavy feeders. If you have provided sufficient fertilizer before planting, you should not need to fertilize the soil again during the growing season.

• Pepper plants require a moist soil for fruit formation, so cover the ground surrounding the plants with a mulch, and water regularly in dry weather. Sweet peppers can be eaten at any stage of their growth.
• Full-size green peppers left on the plant will turn colour and become slightly sweeter.
• When harvesting peppers, always cut the fruit off its branch.
• Hot peppers should be allowed to achieve full growth and flavour before harvesting. They will keep well if you thread a string through their stems and hang them indoors.