Growing your own Hot Chili Peppers is an awesome way to add some flavor to your food and color to your home. Not everyone can maintain a full garden, but luckily with Chili Peppers you don’t need to. It can be difficult for your peppers to get started, but once they start sprouting it is easy to maintain them and keep them healthy and fresh. Before you know it you will have more peppers than you know what to do with. Follow these simple steps and you will have your very own indoor hot chili peppers.
Materials
Now before you start here are some things you will need
- Chili Pepper Seeds
- Water
- A Pot (plastic)
- Sun
- Soil (nutrients)
- Time/Patients
- Room to grow
Because all peppers are different there are some variations as to how they will grow. The main component of growing any plant (including peppers) is sunlight, water, and nutrients. If your plant has these three things you are on the right track.
Sunlight
Chili peppers need about 5 hours of direct sunlight, and when it comes to peppers the more light they have the better they will grow. The ideal temperature for growing chili peppers is between 70 and 80 degrees F. If you have a balcony or an open window that is the best place to put your pepper plant. That way it receives sunlight and is in a well ventilated area.
Water
You want to water you pepper plant daily. If it is cooler out you can water it once a day, and if it is warmer out it is better to water it twice daily. You want to use a pot that has draining holes, so when you water the peppers the water comes out of the draining holes.
The best way to know if your plant needs water is to feel the soil. If the soil is dry at the surface you can add some more water.
Nutrients (Soil)
It is ideal to use organic rich potting soil for your peppers. Peppers unlike other plants need a more aerated soil so that the roots have room to grow. Regular potting soil will stunt root growth in peppers, and can harm the plant growth as a whole.
Six Steps to the Perfect Indoor Pepper
- Get the right pot: Use a plastic pot. Clay pots tend to draw moisture out of the soil, so it is better to use a plastic pot for you indoor peppers. You can get creative with the container size and shape, but plastic is ideal for growing bright and healthy peppers.
- Plant the seed: Fill the pot with organic soil until it is 1 inch from the top of the pot. The seeds should be about 2 inches apart from each other, so how many you can plant depends on the size of your pot. You should press each seen into the soil about ¼ an inch deep, and recover with soil.
- Water: water peppers with warm (not hot) water until it comes out the draining holes. Do this routinely.
- Fertilizer: You can also encourage quicker pepper growth by adding vegetable fertilizer. By using a balanced 15-15-15 fertilizer you can speed up your pepper growth. This fertilizer contains equal parts nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium. This will give your peppers a little extra nutrients to help with root strength and fruit growth.
- Wait: Growing any plant will take time. Peppers usually take up to 14-28 days to germinate, then another 90 days to produce fruit.
- Harvest: When your peppers are shiny, and firm, you can now harvest them by pulling each pepper by the stem until it comes loose. You don’t want to pull super hard. If they are not coming off easily you should give them some more time and try again later.
Peppers are a colorful and tasty addition to your home. Growing Chili Peppers in containers is a useful technique for people who don’t have the room or time for a traditional outdoor garden. By following these steps you can be on your way to harvesting beautiful spicy chili peppers for your enjoyment.
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