Grow your own sweet and chilli pepper plants

If you like to use peppers in salads and dishes such as ratatouille, or you like hotter varieties for spicier meals, and you have some space to grow your own, then why not give them a go this year?

For the very best results grow your pepper plants under glass or in a polytunnel as they need plenty of sun to mature.

But don’t be disheartened if you don’t have a greenhouse, as they can also be grown outside in full sun if we have a good summer like last year. 

And smaller chilli plants can be popped into decorated pots and grown on sunny kitchen windowsills where they look great and will fruit happily even if the sun doesn’t shine quite so much.

Sweet pepper plants can be popped into the soil, into pots or growbags. They may need support, as the fruits begin to swell, from a cane.

Chilli plants look after themselves and don’t need any support.

During warmer weather keep an eye on the soil or compost and check, using your finger to see if the soil is dry, if your plants need watering daily. As a general rule of thumb, water regularly if the weather is hot and once the flowers start to form, feed with a tomato food such as Tomorite.

The fruits can be picked when their skin is nice and smooth. Peppers can be many colours including green, yellow, orange, red and even purple. Most go from green to red as they ripen. If you pick some initial fruits in early to mid-summer then it will encourage more to form.

Take care with chillies as they can be very hot. Add a little, gradually to soups and stews and dishes such as chilli-con-carne to ensure you get the required level of heat you wish to have.

Sweet peppers have so many culinary uses. They can be stuffed, roasted, used as pizza toppings, made into soup or added to salads.