PEPPERS
Sow: February to March
Plant: May to June
Harvest: January and July to December
January: Buy seed. In a mild winter, last year’s plants might still be cropping.
February: Sow seed singly in small pots. Just cover with a scattering of compost. Put in a polythene bag and keep at 20–25˚C/68–77˚F. Seed takes 14–21 days to germinate, but can take longer.
March: Remove the plastic bag and grow on at 15–20˚C/59–68˚F. Pot on if necessary.
April: Pot on into 8cm/3in pots when seedlings have grown two true leaves.
May: Pot on into larger pots if plants outgrow existing pots. Watch out for curled leaves as a sign of greenfly. Start to harden plants off. Plant out in late May if night temperatures don’t fall below 12˚C/54˚F. If it’s cold, wait until June before planting out.
June: Plant two or three plants per growbag, or one per 30cm/12in pot. In the border plants should be 45–60cm/18–24in apart, depending on the size of the variety. Soil should have added compost and plenty of potash.
July: First flowers will form in July. These are self-fertile, but tap stems gently and mist with water in dry weather to aid fruit set. Use aluminium foil to reflect light.
August: Use a liquid feed every week while fruit is swelling. Support laden stems. First green peppers can be picked this month, but leave them on the plant to turn red.
September: Harvest ripe fruit. Use aluminium foil to reflect light if sunshine levels are low. Keep feeding and don’t let the soil dry out. Watch out for slugs in fruit.
October: Bring a chilli pepper, in a pot, into the house before the first frost. Keep harvesting ripe fruits. Reduce watering and stop feeding.
November: Clear any fallen or discoloured foliage. Harvest ripe peppers. Clear any plants that have finished cropping.
December: Pick all remaining fruit and clear all plants and fallen leaves.
PEPPER TROUBLES
Slugs: March to June and September to December
Red spider mite: May to September
Whitefly: April to September
Aphids: March to December
Grey mould: March to December
Dry set: June to August