Growing Bell Peppers

Are bell peppers an important ingredient in your food? What about growing them in your backyard? We all enjoy stuffing our dished with various types of bell peppers brought from the market. But, how would be like to tread a different path and cook a dish that has sinful indulgence of bell pepper that is home grown? Sounds great, isn’t it? Bell pepper is such a vegetable which can be very easily grown at home. Originating from the region of North and Central America, bell pepper today is grown in almost all the countries that boast of a warm climate. It belongs to the species called Capsicum annuum or chili peppers and is available in different colors such as red, orange, yellow and green. Bell peppers are used to give a pungent flavor to the food. A little care and attention is all that is required to grow bell peppers at home. The most important factor in growing bell pepper is the amount of sunlight they are being exposed to as bell peppers require a nice quantity of sunlight. In the following line, we have provided information on how to grow bell peppers

How To Grow Bell Peppers

Things Required

Garden Water
Mulch
Bell Pepper Seeds or Seedlings
Organic Insecticide
Fertilizer

Preparation Of Garden Soil

The soil in which you are planning to grow the bell peppers must be fertile.
To plant them, either dig up the ground or the soil in the pots.
For their better growth, you need to add a lot of organic matter in the soil and provide right amount of water to keep the seeds moist for germination.
Bell peppers can grow in almost all pH level of soil.
Make sure you add a lot of compost, manure and general fertilizer while preparing the soil.

Planting

You should plant seeds around 8 weeks before the last frost indoor.
The seed germination of the bell peppers takes around three weeks. For the same, they require a temperature of around 60 degrees.
You can go for container gardening as well till the time of germination. Growing them indoor is very easy. All you need to do is just keep them in container for about 8-10 weeks before actually planting them. Seedlings will become visible during this period.
At the time transplanting, the weather must be hot as bell peppers require a warm atmosphere to grow and develop. If the weather is cold or just semi warm, delay the transplantation for sometime till the weather changes.
At the time of transplanting, make sure that there is around 18-24 inches space between the seedlings. This would allow the roots to grow. In case of rows, give 24- 36 inches space which may vary for different varieties.
Watering is essential for growing healthy bell peppers. If you don’t provide sufficient water to the seeds the bell peppers will acquire a bitter taste. As such, make sure that you water them on a regular basis and fertilize them once in around three months, after the next growth stage has come. Start from the seeding phase, followed by the flowering stage and finally when the peppers become visible.
Surround the bell pepper plants with the mulch to avoid the growth of weeds and to retain moisture. To get rid of spider mites, aphids dust, etc. use organic insecticide as per requirement to dust them away.
When the bell peppers are seen hanging from the stalks, observe them ripening. The color will change from green to yellow, to orange and lastly red. It is advisable to pick them up in each stage for their better yield.

Additional Tips

When the bell peppers begin to grow, place 2 tbsp of fertilizer around every plant. Place it around 6 inches from the stem of the plant and then water. This will increase their yield and quality.
Bell peppers can survive up to 3 weeks if they stored at 45-55 degrees humid atmosphere.
Remember not to add too much nitrogen; it will make the plant bushy with very few bell peppers.
Bell peppers should never be planted with potatoes, tomatoes and egg plants, because they all are vulnerable with common diseases.
Never store bell peppers with other fruits and vegetable. They may produce ethylene gas which affects bell peppers.

So what are you waiting for? Make the best use of these important tips on growing bell peppers and grow them in large quantity to add an extra flavor to your dish!

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