Garden Care Guide

Pepper Care

Capsicum annuum

A heat-loving fruit vegetable that is very sensitive to frost. It comes in types such as long pointed, Charleston, bell and kapya peppers. It is planted later than tomato and needs the soil to be warm.

Frost-tender (protect from frost) · 0 °C / 32 °F

Monthly care calendar

Timings are for a temperate Northern Hemisphere climate. In warmer areas tasks start earlier, in colder areas later; in the Southern Hemisphere shift them by six months.

February
  • General care: For seedlings, sow the seeds 0.5 cm deep in seed trays; germination speeds up at around 25 °C and takes 2-3 weeks in cool conditions.
March
  • General care: For seedlings, sow the seeds 0.5 cm deep in seed trays; germination speeds up at around 25 °C and takes 2-3 weeks in cool conditions.
May
  • Watering: If there is no rain, water twice a week at the base once the top 2-3 cm of soil has dried.
  • Fertilizing: Mix well-rotted manure or compost into the planting hole.
  • Plant protection: If symptoms spread and treatment is needed, consult a licensed plant-protection supplier or an agronomist. Plant protection products are regulated; follow local rules.
  • General care: Plant seedlings after the soil has warmed and night temperatures have risen above 12 °C; 60-70 cm between rows and 35-40 cm within the row. In windy spots, provide a short supporting stake.
  • Pests & diseases: Look for aphids (green or black clusters of small insects) on fresh shoot tips. If there are only a few, you can knock them off with a strong jet of water.
  • Frost risk: Cover the seedlings on nights when a late frost is expected; pepper dies at 0 °C.
June
  • Watering: Water deeply at the base of the plant 3-4 times a week, in the early morning; do not wet the leaves. The soil should be moist down to a depth of 15-20 cm.
  • Fertilizing: During flowering and fruiting, apply a balanced, potassium-rich fertilizer every 3 weeks.
  • Plant protection: If symptoms spread and treatment is needed, consult a licensed plant-protection supplier or an agronomist. Plant protection products are regulated; follow local rules.
  • General care: Spread mulch over the root zone; because pepper has shallow roots, do not hoe deeply.
  • Pests & diseases: Look for aphids (green or black clusters of small insects) on fresh shoot tips. If there are only a few, you can knock them off with a strong jet of water.
  • Pests & diseases: Check the flowers and leaves for silvery scratch marks (thrips).
  • Pests & diseases: If you see blackening at the root collar and sudden wilting of the plant (collar blight), reduce watering; do not plant peppers where water pools.
July
  • Watering: Water deeply at the base of the plant 3-4 times a week, in the early morning; do not wet the leaves. The soil should be moist down to a depth of 15-20 cm.
  • Fertilizing: During flowering and fruiting, apply a balanced, potassium-rich fertilizer every 3 weeks.
  • Plant protection: If symptoms spread and treatment is needed, consult a licensed plant-protection supplier or an agronomist. Plant protection products are regulated; follow local rules.
  • General care: Harvest: Cut the fruits from the stem with pruning shears, either green or when fully colored; regular picking increases new flowering.
  • Pests & diseases: In hot and dry weather, look on the undersides of the leaves for fine webbing and speckled yellowing (spider mites). Washing the leaves during the cool hours reduces their numbers.
  • Pests & diseases: Check the flowers and leaves for silvery scratch marks (thrips).
  • Pests & diseases: If you see blackening at the root collar and sudden wilting of the plant (collar blight), reduce watering; do not plant peppers where water pools.
August
  • Watering: Water deeply at the base of the plant 3-4 times a week, in the early morning; do not wet the leaves. The soil should be moist down to a depth of 15-20 cm.
  • Fertilizing: During flowering and fruiting, apply a balanced, potassium-rich fertilizer every 3 weeks.
  • Plant protection: If symptoms spread and treatment is needed, consult a licensed plant-protection supplier or an agronomist. Plant protection products are regulated; follow local rules.
  • General care: Harvest: Cut the fruits from the stem with pruning shears, either green or when fully colored; regular picking increases new flowering.
  • Pests & diseases: In hot and dry weather, look on the undersides of the leaves for fine webbing and speckled yellowing (spider mites). Washing the leaves during the cool hours reduces their numbers.
  • Pests & diseases: Check the flowers and leaves for silvery scratch marks (thrips).
September
  • Watering: If there is no rain, water twice a week at the base once the top 2-3 cm of soil has dried.
  • General care: Harvest: Cut the fruits from the stem with pruning shears, either green or when fully colored; regular picking increases new flowering.
October
  • Watering: If there is no rain, water twice a week at the base once the top 2-3 cm of soil has dried.
  • General care: Harvest: Cut the fruits from the stem with pruning shears, either green or when fully colored; regular picking increases new flowering.
  • General care: At the end of the season, pull out the plants. Do not plant tomato, pepper, eggplant or potato in the same spot for 3-4 years.
  • Frost risk: Pick the remaining fruits before the first autumn frost.

The care advice on this page is general and for information only; it is not professional advice. Plant age, soil and your garden’s microclimate can change the outcome. Plant protection products are mentioned only as general information; they are regulated, and the choice, dose and timing must be decided by a qualified professional under local rules. Consult a landscape architect or agronomist before applying.

Want reminders for every plant in your garden? Our garden-care app with monthly task lists and frost alerts is currently available in Turkish; the English version is on the way.

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