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

15 Sep 20, Ann (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
My red capsicum has maggots. Green too. How often do I water please.
20 Oct 10, tom berghella (Australia - temperate climate)
how best can I grow capscums in sandy soil and what fertiliser should I use
27 Sep 10, kumar jani (Australia - arid climate)
it should be 400 to 450mm
20 Sep 10, Celia Hale (Australia - temperate climate)
I would like to grow capsicum in a green house, can someone tell me the size of the planter bag I will need to use and the space between each plant
08 Oct 10, Tassy Michele (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Hiya Celia, Follow the "Vegetables & Herbs" planting guide --- Wikipedia can also be a useful and informative guide. Cheers
06 Jul 10, Slatter (Australia - temperate climate)
Help we have been invaded and over run by slaters. How do you irradicate slaters(the ball insect).Not just in veggie patch but all around the home. Have a dog and 5 children under 10, so needs to be a natural source. Have a 10mx10m vegie patch with a 3 stage compost(uncovered). Have tried some natural sprays, but not much luck. With seedling i even put pvc pipe around them, it helps but they still manage to cause damage. Any ideas would be Greatly appreciated.
22 Jan 11, Kate (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Are you sure they are not earwigs? Whatever they are, your garden is out of balance and just killing them won't fix the underlying problem. You need to plant some native things to attract insect eating birds. I surround my veg garden with a wide variety of native plants and let nature take care of it. It works!
02 Nov 10, Ruth (Australia - temperate climate)
Set the Children a competition to see who can collect most Slaters, ( we also called them "Cheesy-bubs" when we lived in UK)
18 Oct 10, boddo (Australia - temperate climate)
i set traps in the vege garden like a newspaper and they all scater under it then i massicar them bit cruel but im sure your kids will love doing it i found they were a problem when i didnt have much plants in the garden and there were no food for them to eat hope this works
12 Jul 10, suga (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
O.k this will sound weird but orgainic farming stats say it works! Collect the caterpillars.... on the full moon burn them and then spread their dead bodies around your problem area... the smell of their dessicrated race will deter them..... cruel yes sorta,but pesticides are worse...
Showing 341 - 350 of 430 comments

Ive had capsicums and chillies over winter and they usually come good once it warms up. I prune them back and when it gets warmer you should find new leaves starting to emerge. Give it a good feed. The old leaves will eventually drop off. I had a chilli plant live for several years in a pot.

- Corinna Wildenauer

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.