Growing Peppers on an Allotment

Peppers — including sweet/bell peppers and chillies — thrive in warm, sunny conditions and reward steady care with colourful, flavour-packed harvests. They’re ideal for containers, greenhouses, polytunnels, and sheltered outdoor spots. With consistent warmth, watering, and feeding, a few plants can crop for months.

This guide covers how to grow peppers from seed or plug plants, when to plant, spacing, watering and feeding, pests and diseases, container vs ground growing, and proven ways to improve yields.

🌱 1. Types of Peppers You Can Grow

🫑 Sweet / Bell Peppers

• Thick-walled, mild flavour

• Green fruits ripen to red/yellow/orange

• Best under cover in cooler climates

🌶️ Chillies

• Range from mild to very hot

• Generally more compact than sweet peppers

• Often easier to grow and very productive

(Growing methods are the same; heat and feeding needs are similar.)

🌰 2. Ways to Grow Peppers

From Seed (Most Common)

Pros

• Huge variety choice

• Cheapest option

• Strong plants when started early

Cons

• Need warmth and patience early on

Plug Plants

Young pepper plants supplied ready-grown.

Pros

• Faster start

• Ideal for beginners or late planting

Cons

• Limited varieties

• More expensive

👉 Success depends more on warmth, light, and consistency than the starting method.

🗓️ 3. When to Sow & Plant Peppers

From Seed

• Sow indoors (warm): Jan–Feb (best), up to March

• Pot on: Feb–April

Plug Plants

• Buy: April–May

Planting Out

• Greenhouse/polytunnel: April–May

• Outdoors (sheltered): Late May–June (after last frost)

Peppers are frost-tender and sulk in cold soil.

🌾 4. How to Grow Peppers in the Ground

Site & Soil

• Warm, sunny, sheltered position

• Fertile, free-draining soil

• Plenty of compost before planting

Spacing

• Sweet peppers: 40–50cm apart

• Chillies: 35–45cm apart

Good spacing improves airflow and fruit set.

Supports

• Use short canes or stakes once plants carry fruit

• Prevents snapping under weight

🪴 5. Growing Peppers in Containers

Excellent for peppers and chillies.

Container Guidelines

• Minimum size: 10–15L (chillies), 15–20L (sweet peppers)

• One plant per pot

• Free-draining compost

Containers warm up faster — great for early growth — but dry out quicker.

💧 6. Watering Peppers

Peppers like even moisture, not extremes.

Best Practice

• Water regularly at the base

• Let the surface dry slightly between waterings

• Mulch to stabilise moisture

Irregular watering causes:

• flower drop

• small or misshapen fruits

• blossom end rot (rare but possible)

🌿 7. Feeding Peppers

Peppers are moderate to heavy feeders once fruiting.

Feeding Schedule

• Compost at planting

• Start feeding when flowers open

• Feed weekly with tomato or balanced liquid feed

Too much nitrogen = leafy plants, fewer fruits.

✂️ 8. Pruning & Training 

• Pinch out the growing tip at ~20–30cm to encourage branching

• Remove crowded inner shoots for airflow

• Support branches carrying heavy fruit

Chillies often benefit most from light pinching.

🐛 9. Common Pests & Diseases

Aphids

• Cluster on soft growth
  Control: water spray, encourage predators

Red Spider Mite (Under Cover)

• Speckled leaves, fine webbing
  Prevention: increase humidity, mist paths, good airflow

Blossom End Rot

• Dark patch on fruit base
  Cause: irregular watering affecting calcium uptake
  Fix: consistent watering

🧺 10. Harvesting Peppers

• Pick green for earlier harvests

• Leave longer to ripen for sweetness and colour

• Harvest regularly to encourage more fruit

Use scissors or a sharp knife to avoid plant damage.

🌾 11. Improving Pepper Yields

• Start early with warmth

• Keep temperatures steady

• Water and feed consistently

• Harvest often

• Grow under cover where possible

Peppers reward steady, stress-free growing.

⚡ Quick Pepper Growing Tips

• Warmth matters more than feeding

• Fewer plants, better care = higher yields

• Coloured peppers need time — be patient

• Chillies freeze and dry well

🧠 Key Pepper Principles

• Warmth is essential

• Consistency beats intensity

• Feed once flowering starts

• Containers give excellent control

Photo by Gabor Barbely on Unsplash