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

Not recommended for growing in New Zealand - cool/mountain regions

  • 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 64°F and 95°F. (Show °C/cm)
  • Space plants: 8 - 20 inches 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

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12 Nov 17, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate)
You might be lucky, capsicum like heat and our summer seems to be very slow starting. It is worth a try.
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11 Feb 15, Rob (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi I have been growing Californian Capsicums in pots, the fruit on the plant are the size of a golf ball and have been this size for about 6 weeks but seem not to be getting any bigger. Any thoughts
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07 Dec 11, cherry rotella (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
I planted red capsicums in august. They are growing tall, lots of foliage. Very tiny peppers are appearing but they are not growing any bigger. They appear to be turning brown and falling off.
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07 Apr 11, Sara Boeyen (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Last summer I planted four green capsicum seedlings and they have been prolific producers and are still flowering now. However the capsicums have been very bitter, only the very large ones are edible. This is the first time I have grown capsicum, could the soil nutrients be to blame? I think next year I will try a coloured capsicum so at least I know I won't be harvesting them too early.
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12 Jan 09, Lucy (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Hi, I am wanting to know why my capsicums are getting dry on the bottom of the base stem, my mum says it's because i'm not watering them enough (i'm 13) but I water them every day, can somebody please tell me why and how I can fix it?
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18 Dec 08, Wayne (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Hi my caps and chillis are in my hothouse the temperatures can get up to 42cel is this too hot and will it affect their growth
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11 Dec 08, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Lucy, my capsicums have also been slow starting. I think the cool spring nights have slowed them down. You should see some improvement as the weather settles down.
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10 Dec 08, lucy (New Zealand - temperate climate)
how long do capsicums take to grow? because I put some in in september and they were allready seedlings and now their about 20cm tall but they are not flowering, why not???
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19 Oct 08, lucy (New Zealand - temperate climate)
thanks, i will plant the courgettes in my vege garden.
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15 Oct 08, lucy Dobinson (New Zealand - temperate climate)
can you grow capsicums with courgette?
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Showing 21 - 30 of 34 comments
See comments for all plants

Depends on what type of capsium you are looking for. For ordinary bell peppers try California Wonder. They grow quite easily. I don't know how well you know the cycle of the pepper, but yellow peppers actually come from the same plant as green and red. All peppers start out green - hence the name "green pepper". This is also the time to start picking them. However, if you leave them on the plant, the green pepper will turn yellow. If left longer it will turn orange, then red and finally purple. There's just one snag: your plant will produce more peppers if they are picked green than left to turn yellow, orange, red and purple which is probably why green peppers are so much cheaper then their brothers. I always found it difficult to grow peppers from seeds gotten from fruits bought in stores. Rather buy a dried, treated seed like Stykes and Ayres. There's a wonderful seller on Bid or Buy called Seeds for Africa. They sell all matter of seeds and have quite a variety of capsium seeds from peppers to chillies. You might want to check them out.

- Micky Brand

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