PEPPER and BASIL metal planter

Growing a selection of bell (sweet) peppers and chili peppers will give you a plentiful harvest throughout the summer. Planting a few basil plants with the peppers is supposed to improve the flavor of the chili peppers and may also help to deter troublesome aphids and spider mites.

YOU WILL NEED

Shallow metal planter

Hammer and heavy-duty nail (optional)

Drainage crocks

Potting mix

Gravel

Short garden canes and raffia, for tying in the peppers (optional)

plants:

1 each of Capsicum annuum ‘Cajun Belle’, C. annuum ‘Cheyenne’, and C. annuum ‘Loco’ (chili pepper)

2 Capsicum annuum var. annuum (Grossum Group) ‘Sweet Banana’ (bell/sweet pepper)

1 Capsicum chinense ‘Scotch Bonnet Red’ (Scotch bonnet)

1 Ocimum basilicum (sweet basil)

1 Soak the rootballs of all the plants in water for about 10 minutes, or until they are wet through. If necessary, use the hammer and nail to make drainage holes in the bottom of the planter (see page 8). Cover the holes with crocks to improve drainage and stop them becoming blocked with potting mix.

2 Half-fill the planter with potting mix and spread it out evenly.

3 Remove one of the chili peppers from its plastic pot and plant it toward one side of the planter.

4 Continue to plant the remaining chili peppers in the planter.

5 Remove the bell (sweet) peppers from their plastic pots and plant them among the chili peppers.

6 Remove the basil from its pot and plant it in the container among the pepper plants.

7 Fill any gaps between the plants with more potting mix, as required, pressing down the surface to hold the plants in place.

8 Spread gravel over the surface of the potting mix, pouring it carefully around the stalks of the plants. Water the container and let drain.

AFTERCARE

Ensure the potting mix is kept moist and feed the plants weekly with a high-potassium fertilizer to encourage fruiting. Keep the display in a warm, sunny spot and move it inside in the colder months. As the pepper plants grow, you may find they need staking. To do this, use pieces of raffia to tie the plants to garden canes or twiggy branches pushed into the potting mix.