As soon as the night air hits 13 degrees Celsius (55 f) its time to plant peppers. They prefer the warmest spot in the garden. They need a location that is well drained and soil that is organically enriched. Peppers are heavy feeders; an organic foliar spray weekly and a bi- weekly feeding of manure tea work well. When buying pepper plants look for strong plants with dark green colour. Buy the biggest plants possible. Starting bigger will ensure a healthy crop just in case we have a short season. Plant your peppers in rows 30” apart, and space your peppers 18” apart. They can also be grown in containers, a minimum size is 2 gallons. If pepper plants are in a hot area such as a greenhouse, patio or against the house they will need to be staked. Another good idea is to mulch the base with black fish compost. This will help warm the soil, provide nutrients, and help protect the roots from rain compaction. Keep an eye out for Aphids and Leafhoppers; a few applications of ladybugs to the garden will help.

Some sweet varieties to try are:

    1. Red Beauty: Brightest red sweet pepper available, ready in 68 days.
    2. Chocolate Beauty: Medium size fruit in a chocolate colour, heavy yields, ready in 67 days.
    3. Golden Bell: Smooth thick walled golden pepper. Ready in 68 days Jupiter: A very productive green pepper. Superior. Ready in 74 days.
    4. Purple Beauty: Sweet bell of deep purple colour. Ready in 70 days.
    5. Jingle Bells: High yields of small blocky fruit, which mature to bright red. Compact habit, perfect for containers.
    6. Red Bulls Horn: Italian heirloom, favourite for frying, excellent producer.

Hot Peppers:

    1. Thai Dragon: Very hot. Bumper crops of 3 ½ inch fruits. Red.
    2. Chili Grande: Large Tapered Chili peppers, 3” fruits are smooth and very hot.
    3. Bolivian Rainbow: Tear dropped shaped peppers from purple to yellow, orange and red. Great container plant, very prolific.