Grow Perfect Peppers

Are there few peppers on your bushes with leaves wrinkled and twisted? Here is how to grow tantalizing peppers.  Be they sweet or hot, peppers take me back to our ancient roots. Camels fully laden with aromatic treasures, travelling the spice route, bringing colour & flavour to the tables of the king and peasant alike.

Untitled design
Download Growing Guide

GROW PEPPERS IN 5 EASY STEPS...

Peppers need warm growing conditions and have a relatively short sowing season from August to November All peppers (chillies or sweet) are green when immature but as they ripen change red, yellow, orange or even purple.  I have successfully grown mine in containers and they also perfect for small gardens.

1 - SOIL RECIPE:

Peppers grow best in well drained fertile loam soil. I have found that for best results, my peppers must grow quickly.  I prepare the soil with plenty of old manure (horse manure is best) and mulch with wood chips on top to keep soil moist.

2 - HOW TO SOW:

I have seen that peppers grow best if grown in seedling pots first rather than sown directly into soil.  I used the seedling pot maker to make my pots from recycled newspaper which gets planted straight into the soil = no root disturbance & the newspaper is fully biodegradable & feeds the earthworms.

*TIP: soak seeds overnight to speed up germination period which is 10-18 days.     

3 - HOW TO PLANT:

I  plant out my seedlings 40 – 50cm apart about 6 weeks after I sowed them. When transplanting, I bury them so that their leaves are just above the ground helping them develop stronger roots. They love a warm climate & don’t like the cold. I shade new seedlings with leafy twigs & keep well watered (never allow to dry out).

4 - FLOWERS & FRUIT:

As peppers start to flower, I feed with a high potassium fertilizer like Biotrissol.  I keep my plants well watered & mulched to stop poor flower set or bud drop (which can be a problem in hot weather) as flowers become the fruit.  Pick fruit pods often, using sharp secateurs (the more I harvest the more they bear).

5 - SEED & COMPANION PLANTING:

On my journeys I discovered the most delightful pepper seeds to plant like these gorgeous sweet purple peppers called “Purple Beauty“, or the heart shaped “Pimento” or the hot colourful “Tabasco” chillies, like in the famous sauce. I find that peppers do well as a follow-on crop to beetroot, carrots, turnips or radishes.

Extra Tips

Untitled design

I eradicate pests like Cutworm and Powdery Mildew with organic  Bioneem and/or  Copper Soap.  Chillies get hotter the longer they left on the bush and are the main ingredient in curry, cayenne pepper & paprika. I made some of Nigella Lawson’s ‘chilli jam‘ with mine.

REMEMBER: Peppers are prone to cross pollinate so if you want to save the seed plant the same variety together.

FACT:  The same chemical that makes Chillies hot (Capsaicin) also helps boost the metabolism and burn calories in our bodies! If looked after, a chilli plant will keep producing for up to 5 years.

GO & GROW

Gourmet Peppers
Gourmet Peppers
Gourmet Peppers
Gourmet Peppers
Gourmet Peppers
Gourmet Peppers

Gourmet Peppers

R95.00
The 'Slab of Seed'  is our original invention, handmade from a special blend of organically enriched super-soil and infused with the finest Heirloom seed sourced from expert farmers from around the world. The slab itself will hold water 3x longer than the soil it is planted in, is easy to space and plant and the added soil pro-biotics improve the growth of the plant and the taste of the harvest. This Slab of Seed will grow you 3 delicious heirloom* sweet pepper varieties: Chocolate Beauty - Hungarian Yellow Wax - Topepo Rosso (*Heirloom seed is the purest & oldest seed on earth - read below why I chose these delicious varieties)
  • SPROUTS IN: 18 - 20 days
  • HARVEST IN: 10 - 12 weeks
  • PICK FOR: 4+ weeks
  • GROWS 'SOW' MUCH: 12 block slab - 1 block yields  = 6+ Peppers
   
Pure Heart Peppers
Pure Heart Peppers
Pure Heart Peppers
Pure Heart Peppers
Pure Heart Peppers
Pure Heart Peppers

Pure Heart Peppers

R59.00
The 'Slab of Seed'  is our original invention, handmade from a special blend of organically enriched super-soil and infused with the finest Heirloom seed sourced from expert farmers from around the world. The slab itself will hold water 3x longer than the soil it is planted in, is easy to space and plant and the added soil pro-biotics improve the growth of the plant and the taste of the harvest. This Slab of Seed will grow you a delicious heirloom* variety of heart peppers called Pimento (*Heirloom seed is the purest & oldest seed on earth - read below why I chose this delicious variety)
  • SPROUTS IN: 18 - 20 days
  • HARVEST IN: 10-12 weeks
  • PICK FOR: 4+ weeks
  • GROWS 'SOW' MUCH: 5 block slab - 1 block yields  = 6+ peppers