Growing Pepper from Seeds

Instead of buying shop bought peppers for the kitchen garden, why not buy the seeds and grow them yourself?

Growing pepper seeds is a fascinating hobby, that will fill your kitchen garden with the most delicious range of peppers for you and your family.

There is a huge range of pepper seeds available now, from chili peppers to sweet peppers, in practically all the colours of the rainbow.

If you would like to try growing peppers, or try growing a different variety from what is available to buy in the shops, why not grow peppers from seed?

There are so many different culinary and medicinal uses for peppers, you will be spoilt for choice. They are not hard to grow, so why not set aside a space in your kitchen garden for some delicious peppers this year?

This may be the start of a new hobby for you, growing peppers.

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Plant a few pepper seeds in some moist compost in a flower pot. [Do NOT attempt to grow peppers from household peppercorns - they have been treated and cannot grow]

Keep slightly moist and leave on a sunny windowsill until they have germinated, and the new plantlet is through.

When growing peppers it is best to wait until the little pepper plants have formed their second set of leaves, then transplant into individual pots.

Grow them on until they are quite sturdy and healthy looking, then transplant them directly into the soil if you live in a warm country, or into a big pot in the greenhouse in a less warm country.

Protect from frost.

Some plants are bigger than others, but generally expect them to reach 2' - 3' in height.

After they flower the little peppers will form and refer to seed packet instructions about when to harvest them.

Peppers can be washed, chopped and frozen after picking, so don't feel you have to use them all at once.

Let's look first at the chili peppers.

Chili peppers have long been used in South American, Indian and Asian countries for food flavouring. They contain a substance called capsaicin which gives your mouth the feeling of burning and individual tolerance levels needs to be built up slowly.

Pepper spray, used by many police forces, is made from capsaicin that comes from chili peppers. Casaicin is the chemical name for the hot substance in chili peppers.

There is actually nothing better than a chili pepper to spice up food and bering out the flavours.

Chili peppers can be used fresh, dried, powdered or flaked, added to food during cooking or afterwards, as well as it being an essential ingredient of many sauces of the oriental variety.

What is a red hot chili pepper? Green chili peppers can be even hotter than red ones, because green peppers are simply under-ripe red peppers. The hottest known chili pepper is called Naga Jolokia and extreme care must be taken when using it. Just one seed can cause intense pain that can last for half an hour!

Chili peppers are also widely reported to aid digestion, relieve sore throats, assist the circulation and help prevent heart attacks, and in a new study, they are finding that capsaicin, the active ingredient in chili peppers, can dramatically slow the growth rate of cancerous prostate cells. It helps the pain of arthritis.

Chili peppers are also said to be a hangover cure! Must try that one sometime!

It is Christopher Columbus who first discovered capsicums (sweet peppers) in the New World, and who named them peppers. He brought them back to the Mediterranean shores where the plant grew and flourished and is an important part of Italian and Spanish diets today.

Used in cooking or raw the world over, sweet peppers are increasing in their popularity due to their versatility as well as the fantastic flavour. They are used in soups, stews, casseroles, curries, salads and sauces.

Also, they can be frozen. Just de-seed them and cut them up as if you are about to use them, then shove them in a polybag or plastic container and put them in the freezer where they will keep for months at a time.

Sweet peppers are especially good for eating due to their high content of vitamin A (especially the red peppers), vitamin C and vitamin K. They also contain iron and are high in fibre.