How To Grow Peppers!

Sneak Peak #1 from "How To Grow Peppers"

What Kinds of Peppers Are There?

Today, a vast variety of bell peppers are grown and sold. A multitude of colors are available that each hold different flavors and health benefits. These colors include green, red, yellow, orange, purple, black, and even chocolate brown. While almost all bell peppers are watery and crunchy, different variations in color cause variations in taste. The red, orange, and yellow peppers are very sweet and have an almost fruity taste. Unlike the sweeter ones, green and purple peppers have a slightly bitter flavor, such as the purple pepper Lilac Hybrid. The purple and black peppers also tend to have thicker walls, or skin, than the lighter colors.

Not only do the flavors vary, but other characteristics and the long list of health benefits that most peppers have do too. Multiple types of peppers, such as the type Chocolate Beauty Hybrid, are now resistant to the Tobacco Mosaic Virus. Brighter colored peppers hold many essential nutrients that your body needs. Red peppers alone hold approximately 290% of the suggested daily intake of Vitamin C. 1 whole cup of raw, red peppers also has only 24 calories.

Each color of peppers also has different variations, or types, of that certain color. For instance, three very popular types of green sweet bell peppers are the Big Bertha Hybrid, the California Wonder Hybrid, and the Keystone Giant Res. The specific pepper type determines characteristics such as the shade of whatever color it is, size, how sweet it is, and how firm, thick, and smooth the walls of the pepper are.

While multiple types of peppers might share the same general color, all of the above characteristics can vary greatly. Two types of peppers may both be green, but one may have a large amount of Vitamin A, have 3 lobes, and be bitter. The other could have more Vitamin C than Vitamin A, have 4 lobes (the most common amount of lobes for bell peppers), and have an extremely sweet flavor.

While all colors and variations of peppers are extremely popular amongst consumers, red, yellow and green peppers are the most popular. Out of those three, currently green is the most produced and consumed sweet bell pepper.

Sneak Peak #2 from "How To Grow Peppers"

Getting the Right Soil Conditions

Before you begin the process of planting and growing your peppers, you need to make sure that your soil is in the perfect growing condition. One of the most important steps to growing your own pepper crops is making sure that the soil that you are using is a perfect, healthy mixture with lots of nutrients.

The best thing you can do in the soil preparation process is to reach the perfect mixture of sand, silt,and clay. Preferably there would be 40 percent sand, 40 percent silt, and 20 percent clay. The addition of a vegetable fertilizer is a very good, but not necessary idea to help make the soil even more rich and nutrient filled.

There are several ways to check if your soil is properly balanced and has enough sand, soil, and silt in it. First, you can compress it in your hand. If it doesn’t hold its shape and crumbles without any outside force, your sand ratio is probably a little high. If you poke the compressed ball with your finger and it doesn’t fall apart easily, your soil contains too much clay.

If you’re still not sure about the content of your soil, you can separate each ingredient by using this simple method. Put a cup or two of dirt into a jar of water. Shake the water up until the soil is suspended, then let it set until you see it separate into 3 separate layers. The top layer is clay, the next is silt, and on the bottom is sand. You should be able to judge the presence of each component within your dirt, and act accordingly.

The water content of your soil is another important factor in how to have the best possible soil conditions to grow your sweet bell peppers. The soil needs to be extremely moist yet well drained. Also, the water needs to be evenly spread throughout the soil so that some areas aren't more damp than others. Even moisture is essential for the best growth and performance of pepper plants. During droughts or dry seasons, irrigation of your plants is highly recommended and at times very necessary.

Pepper plants specifically require soil that is high in organic matter and moderately fertile. But, too much nitrogen fertilizer can cause an end result of lush, green plants, but little to no fruit. Generally speaking, the most common fertilizer that pepper plants respond well to is phosphorus fertilizer. A starting fertilizer should initially be used when you first plant your peppers, and a supplemental fertilizer should then be used after.