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

26 Feb 12, tonya (Australia - temperate climate)
i have 2 capsicum plants supported by trelis's. they're both about a metre high. they produce small-medium green to yellow chilli shape fruit, but if i let them get to yellow, they go rotten and soggy. dearly after red capsicum - any hints? many thanks :)
17 Jan 12, Kay (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
I have 4 capsicum plants outside in my garden, 2 have green fruit on them, but now one has started to show black coloration on the bottom of the fruit, still seems very firm and still growing, I just am wondering what to do, as if it is diseased I don't want to infect my other plants.
28 Jan 12, Tassy Michele (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Hiya Kay .... Don't stress as this is part of the ripening process. The darkish bottom is a sign that the fruit is chaniging from green and ripening into the red capsicum like those you buy at the supermarket ....not unlike an apple that is green and turns to red when ripened. Hope this helps. Cheers Michele
15 Jan 12, Hans (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Hi! I have 3 capsicum plants and I am getting fruit on them but they do not grow large; one is a purple and 2 green; the fruit on the green plant start to rot before ripening. I give them plenty of water and fertilizer. Can anyone tell me what I am doing wrong??
12 Jan 12, (Australia - temperate climate)
I have three mini capsicums, each in its own pot, purchased from a very reputable source. The red one produced one minute and one tiny capsicum - and they were on the plant when I bought it. The brown one has a single tiny capsicum. (They are supposed to be 5cm across.) The yellow one has only tiny blossoms. I put them into new potting mix, added a little chook poo, new pots, watered with seaweed solution, good sunny spot. I live in northern part of Sydney. I have dealt with white flies by spraying with Natrasoap which has finally worked.
15 Dec 13, kathy (Australia - temperate climate)
this is the second yr have grown mini capsicum..they are heavy feeders so I chook poo very regularly. I have harvested well this yr (5 plants-about 100 capsicum but am coming to the end of crop-still months of summer yet will they reflower-no sign yet..How do I encourage this
09 Dec 11, alison (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi, I'm growning capsicum in Perth. The flowers keep dropping off and I'm wondering why?? Any ideas? Thanks
19 May 12, Randy (Australia - temperate climate)
They might not be getting pollenated, also give it a boost with pot-ash.
13 Dec 11, Tracey (Australia - temperate climate)
Blossom drop is common early in the season. The number one cause is that temperatures are not yet quite right. Like tomatoes, if it is too cool or too hot fruit will not set. Capsicums like night time temps to be above about 16 C for fruit set. Also if daytime temps are too high (above about 35) fruit will not set. There is probably minor variation among varieties in the actual optimal temperature range, but you get the idea...Generally patience is the only remedy required. Other possible causes are not enough airflow (capsicums are primarily wind pollinated), too much nitrogen, not enough water, too much water...
20 Nov 11, susan (Australia - temperate climate)
hi, dose any one know why my capsicums are getting black patches on them and have a sogy mush inside behind the black patch, we are in geraldton WA (400ks nrth of Perth). thank you for your help.
Showing 291 - 300 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

Please provide your email address if you are hoping for a reply


All comments are reviewed before displaying on the site, so your posting will not appear immediately

Gardenate App

Put Gardenate in your pocket. Get our app for iPhone, iPad or Android to add your own plants and record your plantings and harvests

Planting Reminders

Join 60,000+ gardeners who already use Gardenate and subscribe to the free Gardenate planting reminders email newsletter.


Home | Vegetables and herbs to plant | Climate zones | About Gardenate | Contact us | Privacy Policy

This planting guide is a general reference intended for home gardeners. We recommend that you take into account your local conditions in making planting decisions. Gardenate is not a farming or commercial advisory service. For specific advice, please contact your local plant suppliers, gardening groups, or agricultural department. The information on this site is presented in good faith, but we take no responsibility as to the accuracy of the information provided.
We cannot help if you are overrun by giant slugs.