When you hear the word ‘pepper,’ I bet the first thing that comes to mind is ‘hot.’ Yes, some are hot, but did you know that there are hundreds of different varieties of pepper plants? Some varieties can be as sweet as sugar.

Peppers are a vegetable that I enjoy growing.

Pepper plants are easy to grow and require low maintenance. With a few tricks, you can have a plentiful harvest to enjoy.

Peppers love full sun, so choose a spot in your garden or on your porch that receives direct sunlight for at least 8 to 10 hours per day. The more sun your pepper plant receives, the happier it will be.

Most pepper plants will open all their blooms at once. More blooms will appear as the peppers are harvested. Pepper plants put all their energy into growing peppers, not the leaves or blossoms.

I typically remove the first set of blossoms. This forces the plant to mature more before producing its next blossoms.

For me, this technique increases my harvest and leads to an overall healthier plant with less disease.

When it comes time to harvest the peppers, I use small scissors to cut the stem from the plant. Pulling or ripping the pepper from the stem may cause stress to the plant.

After harvesting the peppers, I recommend feeding the plants with a high-nitrogen fertilizer. Pepper plants are heavy feeders. Using liquid fertilizer will get the food to the roots faster and should help the development of blossoms to start the process over again. Using a pelletized fertilizer is fine, but it will require more time for the plant to absorb what it needs to reset.

When tending to your pepper plants, take note of any peppers that are rotten or do not look right, and remove them. This allows the plant to spend its energy on development and staying healthy.

Happy Gardening #70