Crop lessons · Fruiting vegetables
Growing Peppers (sweet and hot) in Florida
Capsicum annuum (bell and most peppers); Capsicum chinense (habanero types) · Solanaceae (nightshade family)
Peppers, sweet bells and hot chilies alike, are popular and productive in Florida and often keep bearing into summer. Transplants usually do better than direct seeding, and mulching helps a lot. Once fruit starts to form, cut back on nitrogen; too much leaves plants leafy with fewer peppers.1, 2
Planting1, 2
| How to start | transplant (easily transplanted; start seed indoors) |
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| Seed depth (inches) | ¼ to ½ |
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| Spacing in the row (inches) | 9 to 15 |
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| Between rows (inches) | 15 |
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| Days to harvest | 90 to 100 from seed; 65 to 75 from transplant (SP 103). Gardening Solutions says about 60 to 80 days after transplanting or 80 to 100 from seed. |
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SP 103 planting dates: north late Mar to Apr and July to Aug, central Jan to Mar and Aug to Sept, south Aug to Feb. Start seed indoors, since the small seeds wash away in the garden: in late winter for spring planting after the last frost, and again in midsummer for August and September planting.
Varieties UF/IFAS lists for Florida1, 2
- California Wonder (bell)
- Red Knight (bell)
- Big Bertha (bell)
- Sweet Banana
- Giant Marconi
- Cubanelle
- Mariachi
- Early Jalapeno (hot)
- Jalapeno M (hot)
- Cherry Bomb (hot)
- Hungarian Hot Wax (hot)
- Big Chile II (hot)
- Numex (hot)
- Ancho (hot)
- Thai (hot)
- Anaheim Chile (hot)
- Long Cayenne (hot)
- Habanero (hot)
- Caribbean Red Habanero (hot)
Growing2
| Sun | Full sun. |
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| Soil pH | About 6.5 |
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| Water | Keep soil moist but not wet and water regularly to keep fruit coming. Mulch holds moisture as it gets hot. |
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| Fertilizer | Fertilize at planting and two or three more times during the season, or use a controlled-release fertilizer. Cut back nitrogen once fruit sets, since excess nitrogen means fewer peppers. |
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Well-drained, fertile soil. Stake plants as fruit weighs them down. Spacing depends on variety. Wear gloves and keep hands from your eyes when handling hot peppers.
Pests and diseases in Florida3
- Aphids (including those spreading viruses), whiteflies, thrips, pepper weevil, mites: Listed in the pepper pest table of the commercial Vegetable Production Handbook (CV130), not a home-garden guide.
- Bacterial spot, Phytophthora blight, anthracnose: Listed among pepper diseases in the same commercial handbook, whose variety notes give resistance to bacterial spot (Xcv) and tomato spotted wilt virus.
Harvest2
Pick when fruits are firm and crisp. Bell peppers can be picked green or left to ripen to red, yellow, orange or brown, depending on variety; fully ripe peppers are sweeter.
In an aquaponics system4
suited with care
The FAO manual says all kinds of peppers, sweet to hot, can be grown, preferably in media beds (or 11 cm NFT pipes with extra support). Best fruiting comes at 22 to 28 °C by day and 14 to 16 °C at night, with roots at 15 to 20 °C; above 30 to 35 °C flowers drop. Nitrate (20 to 120 mg/litre) drives early growth, but more potassium and phosphorus are needed at flowering. pH 5.5 to 6.5. Transplant at 6 to 8 true leaves once nights stay above 10 °C, and stake the plants.
What this lesson doesn't cover yet
- No home-garden list of pepper pests was found; pests come from the commercial handbook.
- SP 103's row spacing for peppers is 15 inches, the same as its in-row maximum; it is quoted as printed.
- Days to harvest differ slightly between SP 103 and Gardening Solutions; both are given.
Your county extension office and its Master Gardener volunteers can fill these in for your garden.