Everything you need to know about growing capsicum
Growing capsicum is very easy if you live in the warmer climates, but it also can be done indoors if you life in a cooler one. The capsicum is also known as the bell pepper. Growing capsicum successfully depends entirely on having enough warm weather for long enough. It’s very important that you want until after the last frost before you start to plant any capsicum because frost will destroy the plant.
The best place to grow capsicum is in a well-drained bed that’s in direct sunlight. It also helps if you prepared the bed the previous fall. Using manure or another organic fertilizer in the fall is a great way to prepare your soil for growing capsicum. The best time to plant your capsicum seeds is in late winter. Start them in pots indoors, and then transplant them after the average nightly temperature is over 55 degrees regularly and you’re sure that the last frost is past.
Before you transplant the capsicum, you should put down a two-inch layer of compost over the garden bed. Then add a layer of fertilizer and till both layers in the soil. This will make sure the soil has enough nutrients for when you do transplant the capsicum. When you start transplanting the capsicum, set them about 15 inches apart in rows. The rows should be about 20 inches apart. You’ll probably only need about 12 capsicum plants to provide enough peppers for your family, although you may want to plant more if you’re sure you’ll be able to give a lot of peppers away.
For growing capsicum, you’ll need a garden that drains very well. You should use a starter fertilizer when you transplant your seeds from the pots into your garden. You won’t need to fertilize again until after the first round of peppers is up. Make sure you keep the soil moist all throughout the growing season. You’ll need to water your capsicum about once a week. Water them just enough so the water stays moist but never gets soggy.
You can harvest the capsicum whenever they are the size you want them to be. A fully mature pepper is about three or four inches long and firm. You’ll need to use shears to trim the peppers from the plant in order to prevent any damage to them. If you smoke, then it’s very important that you wash your hands before you handle your pepper plants. If you touch them with tobacco on your hands, you could spread tobacco mosaic disease, which will likely kill your plants.
Growing capsicum is a great family project for anyone, but especially for those who love ethic food. Having fresh capsicum in the house is a wonderful treat anytime you want to make different kinds of food. Imagine making your own salsa or having fresh peppers on hand for a morning omelet? Peppers also make a great addition to your garden because they tend to keep some kinds of pests away.