Guide on Cultivating Bell Peppers
In the heart of the UK's cooler climate and shorter growing season, growing peppers can seem like a daunting task. However, with a bit of planning and careful attention, it is possible to enjoy a bountiful harvest of sweet, cone-shaped 'Gypsy' peppers or cone-shaped, red 'Corno di Toro Rosso' peppers, among others.
To set your peppers up for success, start by sowing seeds indoors as early as February. Place them on a south-facing windowsill or in a heated environment to provide the warmth and light they need to germinate. Once seedlings have 3-4 true leaves, pot them on into larger pots with fresh compost to encourage healthy growth. Continue growing indoors until at least June.
When the UK soil and outdoor temperature become warmer in June, it's time to choose a sheltered, sunny spot for your pepper plants. Peppers need at least 8 to 10 hours of full sunlight daily, so a location that gets plenty of sun is crucial. If daytime temperatures rise too high (above 30°C/upper 80s Fahrenheit), provide some light afternoon shade to prevent heat stress.
Growing peppers in pots outside can be advantageous, allowing you to bring them indoors if the weather gets cold in autumn. Compact, smaller-fruited varieties like 'Prairie Fire' or 'Bolivian Rainbow' chillies and sweet pepper 'Gourmet' are good choices for container growing. For larger sweet peppers, such as 'Mohawk' with its small, sweet green, bell-shaped fruits that ripen to orange, they typically require more space and produce fewer fruits per plant, so they are best grown outside in a sheltered sunny spot or in a polytunnel to extend the growing season and protect from the cold.
By following these steps, you can maximize your chances of a successful outdoor pepper crop in the UK's challenging climate. Starting indoors early, careful hardening off, and choosing sunny, sheltered spots or pots are the primary ways to cope with the UK’s relatively cool weather and short summers.
Once harvested, peppers can be used in a variety of dishes. They can be added to chutneys, soups, and sauces for long-term storage, or enjoyed fresh in salads or cooked dishes such as stews, ratatouille, and stir fries. To prepare a sweet pepper, simply remove the seeds and stalk.
With a little effort and the right conditions, growing peppers outdoors in the UK can be a rewarding experience, providing you with a taste of the sunshine right in your own garden.
Your home-and-garden lifestyle can include growing peppers even in the UK's cooler climate, as starting seeds indoors as early as February and transferring them to sunny spots outside in June can set your pepper plants up for success. For a bountiful harvest, consider growing compact varieties like 'Prairie Fire' or 'Bolivian Rainbow' chillies and 'Gourmet' peppers in pots, or larger varieties like 'Mohawk' in a sheltered sunny spot or polytunnel.
