Growing Capsicum, also Bell peppers, Sweet peppers

Capsicum annuum : Solanaceae / the nightshade family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
              S S S S  
                  T T  

(Best months for growing Capsicum in Australia - temperate regions)

  • S = Plant undercover in seed trays
  • T = Plant out (transplant) seedlings

August: Sow in pots

  • Grow in seed trays, and plant out in 4-6 weeks. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 18°C and 35°C. (Show °F/in)
  • Space plants: 20 - 50 cm apart
  • Harvest in 10-12 weeks. Cut fruit off with sharp knife.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Egg plant (Aubergine), Nasturtiums, Basil, Parsley, Amaranth

Your comments and tips

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16 Feb 10, Karen (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Help, I am after info on capsicum and Zucchini. 1. Capsicum, I grew my capsicum and it came up fairly well, I then put it into the garden, a fairly sheltered spot there I was told they do not like too much sun, 2 of the plants, did not well at all, droopy leaves and the fruit has brown hard bits on it. Can someone please tell me what I am doing wrong. 2. Zucchini No luck what so ever with them. they get a lot of green foliage, but mostly male flowers, no matter if in pot or ground. Whats happening? We use our compost, rich in all things, horse manure and no chemicals, any help would be greatly appreciated.
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07 Feb 10, Phil (Australia - temperate climate)
Lloyd i have some as well they are light green and the shape of a chilli they bare Jalapeno capsicums taste great as well
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02 Feb 10, Lloyd (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
have a great plant but the fruit is a long light green a bit like a chilly but has mild taste does anyone know what type it is as i would like to keep seeds and replant
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27 Jan 10, michelle (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
hi,I have great capsicum plants with lots of vege, just wondering how long it takes them to go from green to yellow, then red? Should i add something to the soil? thanx
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09 Jan 10, karen (Australia - temperate climate)
help, my capsicum are bearing good quantity but rot before they are ready to pick, what am i doing wrong
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22 Mar 11, marcy (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
it is most probably fruit fly when ytou open the rotting fruit you will most probably see little worms inside you can try home made fruit fly bites ,
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30 Dec 09, Annalisa (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Tamara: Thanks! Perennial, yay! I DID keep those plants from last year in the ground, and they have 2 fruit each, looking great! My new plants are starting much slower. Maybe next year they'll do better. So excited :) Clare - 25cm is about fully grown. My capsicum love the sun here in Brisbane. I have about 10 plants (2 planted last year, 8 sown early this spring) and so far about 10 fruit. I would see if you can gradually introduce your plants to more and more sun, or in a partial sun/shade spot to prevent wilting. Number one capsicum tip: Be patient and you will be pleasantly surprised :) I used seeds from a store-bought capsicum, but it was from a fruit/veg stand, not a supermarket... I made sure I took seed from an extra delicious, perfectly formed capsicum. I don't mess with checking my dirt's PH levels, but I have really great dirt, happy plants, and feed with liquid seaweed fertiliser 1-2/month just for fun. Good luck!
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09 May 17, Ty Buchanan (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I got no germination at all from capsicum in packets bought from Bunnings. Then I decided to buy a fresh capsicum and planted the seeds with the flesh, sliced like you would a tomato. I had hundreds of seedlings shoot up in the tray. Planted them in the garden and we are away! Ty
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10 Dec 09, Clare (Australia - temperate climate)
I was wondering if anyone could help me-I have two small plants in a medium sized pot and they started off growing so well and fast inside during the end of Winter but now they seem to have stopped growing. They are about 25cm high and when I put them outside they wilt but inside they seem to not grow at all. Any advice? Thank you!
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13 Nov 09, Michelle (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Hi, first time growing caps. I planted seedlings about 6 weeks ago. While they are growing, it seems to be quite slow. How fast and how big do the plants get?
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Hi Barbara, I had the same thing happen last year, those plants somehow survived a very hot wet summer and through autumn produced masses of fruit and are also now producing masses of new fruit after I pruned them back hard and started applying a vegetable targeted liquid plant fertilizer with seaweed included. I also added lime around the plants and sprayed the leaves with a bit of epsom salts dissolved in water around the time I pruned them. Don't give up on these ones give them a prune at the end of winter and they will come back for you, if you live in a cooler area you may have to wait til spring but if you get no frost they will come back bigger and better when the weather warms up later this year, caps do last longer than one year and I find they produce much more in the second year than the first, when they put most effort into producing strong stem and branch to support the weight of the following years fruit. Honestly one plant that did this weird year long wait had about 11 fruit on it in March. Sometimes it's better when they start out slow, good luck mate.

- Alison McGregor

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