Gardening

Pick a Pepper

Growing your own peppers is as easy as cultivating tomatoes. Pepper plants are pretty too, with fruits in a range of shapes and colours, generally on compact plants and preceded by ornamental as well as edible potential. Chilli and bell peppers can both be grown in a greenhouse border, in a sunny spot in the garden or on a sheltered spot on the patio, although a greenhouse or conservatory will give you a heavier and earlier crop. Sweet peppers, especially the red ones, are very high in vitamin A and both red and green peppers are high in vitamin C. Chilli peppers also contain both beta-carotene and something called capsaicin which is believed to have a positive effect on blood cholesterol levels. Seeds or plants? catalogues or garden centres and should be sown between now and early April in a germination you will need to provide a bit of extra warmth, ideally from a heated propagator positioned in a spot where it receives plenty of natural light. If you don’t have the time or facilities to raise your own from seed, you can always buy a few plants in a garden centre or send off for them. At plant stage Either once your seeds have sprouted or if you have ready bought plants, grow them on in a good quality multi-purpose compost. Keep them a bit drier than you would a tomato plant and feed regularly with a high-potash liquid feed helps to keep the plants growing strongly and hence fruits to form. Potted plants If you are going for plants in pots, choose a container that has good drainage, add broken pots for extra drainage, and make sure that the pot is 30cm (12in) or more in diameter. Once there is no danger of late frosts, ideally by early June when temperatures are also warming up, you can put the plants outside. Some sweet pepper plants can get quite tall and rather ungainly, so be ready to give them a bit of extra support if necessary. A bamboo cane will usually do the trick – tie the plant in loosely with twine, string or any other soft garden tie. At maturity Once your plant has produced the fruits, you’ll ripe, particularly where they are grown in warmer conditions. For sweet peppers, if you are growing them in patio pots in a sunny spot then you are likely on the plants when temperatures start to fall at the end of summer and well into autumn. increasing to full size, move the pots to a warmer spot or, if possible, to a porch, conservatory or greenhouse where they’ll get extra warmth and also plenty of natural light.

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