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A fun question came in this week to Ask Gardenerd:

“I am growing a pretty decent size garden in Santa Monica, and I very much appreciate your tips and help! (i.e. Mulch Pit in Culver City).  We are culinary people who have found a true love in gardening. We had great success last year in most of our endeavors (38 tomato plants thanks to your fabulous cradle structures) but one category we fell short in was our peppers.   We tried to grow several types of Mexican chilies last year and had somewhat of a success.  This year I searched far and wide for some Spanish pepper seeds that I have not ever seen here fresh and would like to be able to grow including Piment D’Espelette and Piquillo Peppers.  Do you have any tips for us for growing these peppers in our coastal region that may not get enough heat for the plants to really thrive?  Thanks! Bonnie”

Bonnie, I did a little checking and there are some basic things to know about growing peppers:

• First of all, you want to get your plants off to a good start.  Peppers like to be started indoors under grow lights or in intense direct sunlight for between 12-14 hours a day.  Starting pepper seeds directly in the garden can result in leggy plants with lower production.

• Your soil pH should be between 5.6 and 7.5.  Since this is a pretty broad range, I’m guessing your pH is probably within that range, but it’s worth testing (you can get a soil test kit at most garden centers) if you think that might be a factor.

• Peppers have similar watering needs to tomatoes. This means that they don’t need that much water once they’re established.  I water my in-ground (as opposed to in containers) peppers and tomatoes once a week and once they set fruit I cut back to once every 10 days.  Over watering can reduce fruit production.

• Peppers, like tomatoes, can always benefit from a little help with pollination.  You can either shake the plant every day or so to help distribute the pollen or you can paint pollen from one flower to another with either your fingers or a paintbrush. 

I found a great website that details how to grow your own peppers, with even more detailed guides for each step of the way.  Check this out and bookmark it for later:

On a final note, you don’t really need to worry about it not getting hot enough – these peppers that you are looking to grow have been found growing successfully in cooler climates across the U.S.

Thanks for writing in!

Does anyone else have a great pepper growing tip you’d like to share?  Post it here.