When it comes to hot peppers, there are endless varieties ranging from mild to extremely spicy, so whichever variety you decide to plant, the instructions below will work on most types! Keep reading on how to grow hot peppers and have an endless bounty of this delicious veggie that can complement a slew of dishes!
How to Grow Hot Peppers
Planting Hot Peppers:
- Purchase your favorite variety of hot pepper seeds from your local nursery or online.
- Hot peppers can be quite finicky while germinating, so it's important to keep them warm.
- Wet a paper towel square with room temperature water and place a seed on top of it. Then, place another wet paper towel square on top of the seed.
- Slide the paper towels with seed into a plastic ziploc bag.
- Do this for every seed and keep at room temperature (70-80F)
- The seeds should sprout within a week as this method creates an incubator-like environment keeping them warm.
- After the seeds have sprouted, transplant them into a small pot (about 4 inches) with good draining holes.
- Make sure the soil is also well draining, and plant your hot pepper plant 1/8 to 1/4 inch deep into the soil.
- Keep the plant in the pot until it grows to about 8-12 inches in height.
- Water the soil just enough that it's moist.
Caring for Hot Pepper Plants:
- Check the soil daily to make sure it is moist, but be careful not to over water.
- Keep the plant indoors, on a windowsill, until all danger of frost has passed.
- Once temperatures have warmed up, you can move your potted pepper plant outdoors in direct sunlight.
- Move your plant outdoors every day for a few hours for a couple of weeks. Add an additional hour each day so your plant can get used to the outdoors.
- After the soil has hardened, dig a hole that's deep enough to support your plant, and plant your hot pepper directly into the soil.
- Make sure to choose a site with full sun.
So now that you know how to grow hot peppers, it's time to roll up your sleeves and get to planting!
Happy Planting!
