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              
        T T T          

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

  • S = Plant undercover in seed trays
  • T = Plant out (transplant) seedlings
  • 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 64°F and 95°F. (Show °C/cm)
  • Space plants: 8 - 20 inches 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

20 Jul 14, peter (Australia - temperate climate)
deterrent from wasps laying there eggs in them,i have to pick them early due to the wasps destroying them.
10 May 14, craig (Australia - temperate climate)
Your capsicum and chilli plants of all varieties will sit dormant like a dead stick for the winter months. Prune as you would a Hibiscus or rose and keep up the fortnightly seaweed/liquid fertilizer as the roots are still strong. Each year the yield will be larger and more prolific. My second year banana capsicum tree which is 2 metres tall produced 3 times from October till march. Stay loyal!
25 Oct 14, trish.j (Australia - temperate climate)
great tip Craig - thank you. I'll try leaving next year instead of pulling up. Though they do look terrible in the slightly cooler, but north facing Dandenong Ranges over Winter.
11 May 14, Rae (Australia - temperate climate)
Is this why when i planted a seedling it had tiny little capsicums on it?
28 Apr 14, Di (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I am wanting to grow capsicum from seeds from a shop bought capsicum. Am I using the right type of seed or should I purchase seeds from commercial seed packets? What is the best time to plant and what type of soil should I use in pots?
10 May 15, Gloria (Australia - temperate climate)
I germinated capsicum seeds from supermarket , I dried them throughly then put them in water until they sprouted,then, put them in a pot of normal soil ( not sand) then I planted them out in March ( Perth W A ) in good composted soil , adding liquid fertilizer,then as they grew, blood and bone.It is now May and they are almost ready to harvest.A very healthy crop.Now I'm wondering if I can plant more this month as this area gets little frost mostly likely in September?
11 May 14, Rosalie (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I've just germinated capsicum seeds from the store bought capsicum. It's only now, looking at this website, that I realise I've done it too early (should be doing in August/September) but I'll give it a go. I don't really get any frosts, so fingers crossed.
20 Oct 14, Donna (Australia - temperate climate)
I germinated capsicum seed as I do tomato, (the old school way) I take them from the tomato or capsicum (I do not dry them out), I use a flat, round face cleanser cotton pad, place seeds on that in old plastic container with constant water no higher than the side of the wool pad as not to drown the seeds, place lid over top for a little air and place in the sun, I generally get all seed germination, then once they are approx. 3 to 5 cm or show at least 4 leaves, ( slowly pull seedling from pad as not to pull on the root that has threaded its way through the wool ) and transplant to seedling pots of wet seedling mix, I use a skewer to pierce hole in mix and place seedling root into the soil very gently and allow to grow until they are at a decent size to transplant into ground or pots....
18 Apr 14, Michael (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
split (don't sever completely) a lower branch and redirect down into the soil. Just leave the plant attached and hold down with a small weight (a half brick) and push dirt around it til it roots. Then sever the new growth and plant like you would a normal seedling. It is a sure fire way to get a guaranteed clone.
16 Apr 14, dr anju pal (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
What is the methodology for capsicum cutting for generating new plants.
Showing 201 - 210 of 430 comments

Hi Jen, This is a bit late because you are maybe 2 months into your work but I planted a similar garden in raised beds at the start of Sep/16, my first time with most of these plants. Put the strawberries in their own patch because they have different requirements to everything else and will try to invade the surroundings via their runners (stolons). Try to keep stolon production to a minimum unless you want baby plants, in which case let the runners root in separate peat cups and then cut+transplant when they look big and healthy, but not too big because they will punch through the peat and start rooting in the bed where they sit (you can use plastic instead of peat, but the peat ones go straight into the ground when you transplant). I had mediocre fruit production when the strawbs were planted last year but mega crops this year (27 plants). Don't keep them too wet, be on regular lookout for slugs, tear away old leaves which promote rotting and fruit turning, fortnightly seaweed with a splash of fertiliser for the leaves. Rosemary becomes a full-grown bush - put it where you would want a hedge and cut it back twice a year, esp after flowering, to encourage a nice full shape (it will shoot rather vertically otherwise). Rosemary doesn't need much water or fertiliser, I use some slow-release and let rain do the rest except for prolonged dry spells. Zuccs and cukes get quite large, so make sure you allow at least a foot between plants because they come on really quickly from seedling. I got fruit in about 2 months and they are still going now, don't let the fruit sit too long or they can get quite huge quite quickly, tending towards being woody. Zuccs I find can start to yellow when the flower falls off, so keep an eye on that. Also give the cukes some support to climb, otherwise they will just spread like a kind of moppy mess over the garden bed. Basil I did from seeds, they are annuals so just get a packet and put some down about a foot in front of your tomatoes, they do well as companions. The basil can get to about 1-2 feet high if really happy. Capsicums I managed 6 in two rows of 1.2 m, they are quite slender plants and don't need heaps of space like tomatoes or zuccs. These are nearby the tomatoes as they have similar requirements. I also chucked in two chilis that look very happy, consider this as you get capsicum + basil + chili + tomato in one go = a meal waiting. Lastly toms - IMO the most difficult to keep happy. They need more water and fertiliser than the other guys and get wilty more quickly in hot weather. My main tips in my second year with cherry toms is to limit the number of branches you allow, because they will get tall and thick really quickly. I planted mine 1 ft apart but they are a little too close, I'd try 2 ft next time around. You need staking or cages obviously, but in 3 months my toms have gone from 20 cm to about 4 ft, so be prepared for them to outstrip your initial heigh expectations if they are happy. If they are intermediates, they will try to off-shoot at every junction (you can see the baby shoots at the V-intersection between two existing main shoots), so pluck those away everywhere except at the top. You'll also want to thin the tom leaves out because they will get thick and happy and green, but at the expense of fruit. Also remove the lower tom leaves as they can get a bit soggy and disease prone. Buy yourself some garden twine because you'll be at it every week or two to keep the toms supported. I find the toms are quite temperamental, they are prone to yellowing and disease. Keep an eye out for caterpillars, around spring they can come without warning and start putting holes all through your leaves and fruit. I was out daily for about a week in October crushing hundreds of tiny little green caterpillars before they could decimate the plants. Also after excessive water some toms can split, so take those off the vine and refrigerate - eat quickly before they spoil. Any green toms that fall off you can put them next to bananas in the fruit bowl and they'll ripen up nicely. I find my collected unsplit toms last 1-2 weeks in the fruit bowl. Taste is beyond anything in the supermarket! That's my experience, hope it helps. Oh last thing - use good soil to start up, I was filling raised beds so I bought new soil. Next year I will rake in my first year of compost when re-doing the used beds. If you have good soil and it drains, you don't need to do anything else like sand. I used raised beds because I am sitting on clay-type soils with lots of shale under the surface = no good for veggies.

- Tom

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