Bell peppers are one of the most versatile ingredients known to man, and there are a thousand different things that you can do with bell peppers in the kitchen ranging from the base for an unforgettable stir fry through to a roasted bell pepper soup.
There are several different types of bell pepper out there, including cherry peppers, orange bell peppers and red bell peppers – but the first thing you should know as a gardener who wants to plant them is the fact that most types of bell peppers will thrive under the right conditions.
Bell peppers are higher in vitamin C than most fruits, and they also happen to add a great crunchy element to a salad – or great flavor to a range of other dishes. But first, you have to grow them!
Here are 8 simple instructions on how to plant & harvest bell peppers that everyone can use.
1. Seeds or Plants?
One of the first choices a gardener will have to make once they’ve decided to plant bell peppers is what they’ll be growing it from.
Most types of bell peppers are happy growing from seeds in most cases, but there are many varieties of bell pepper (especially previously modified, store-bought) ones that just won’t work when grown from seeds.
This is why most gardeners will choose to transplant existing bell pepper plants – and this can get you to the harvesting stage a lot quicker, which is the most exciting part of gardening where you finally get to see results.
If you do choose to plant from seeds, the best time to do it is after the frost and cold of winter is already over: If there’s one thing bell pepper plants hate, it’s any exposure to the cold. Sometimes it can help to germinate seeds between layers of tissue paper first and then to transplant these into the ground.