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Sweet pepper

Capsicum annuum · Bell pepper in the US

In a typical UK garden, sow indoors early February to early March, plant out early May to early June, and harvest mid-July to late October.

When to sow, plant and harvest

Last frost around 20 April, first frost around 31 October.

Sow indoors
early February to early March
Plant out
early May to early June
Harvest
mid-July to late October
Spacing
45 cm apart, rows 60 cm apart
Square foot
1 per square (30 cm squares)
Sowing depth
0.5 cm
Ready in
60 to 90 days from planting out
Grows to
60 cm
Hardiness
Tender: killed by any frost
Sun
Full sun
Crops for
About 10 weeks

Growing tip

Give them your warmest, most sheltered spot; fruit left to turn red is sweeter.

Neighbours

Nightshades are one crop rotation group. Try not to grow them where any of the family grew in the last two or three years. How crop rotation works

Guides

When to plant

Peppers in zone 6 need warm nights more than an early start

In USDA zone 6, start pepper seeds indoors from early February to early March and transplant from early May to early June. Wait for nights to stay above 50 °F, as peppers set back by cold take weeks to recover. Picking runs from mid-July to the first frost in mid-October.

More nightshades

Where these figures come from

Every crop in VegLog was checked against published growing advice. Dates are worked out from average frost dates, so they shift with your garden. For sweet pepper, we used:

Grow sweet pepper with VegLog

Add sweet pepper to a bed and VegLog reminds you when to sow, plant out and pick, timed to your own town's frost dates.