Growing Great Peppers: Checklist

Sun: 8 hours of direct sun a day. No negotiation.

Wait for real warmth: peppers sulk in the cold. Plant out once nights stay above 55°F (13°C) and soil has warmed to about 65°F (18°C). Cold-stunted plants are slow to recover.

Soil: well-drained, rich in organic matter, pH 6.0 to 6.8.

Plant at the same depth: unlike tomatoes, peppers don't root along a buried stem. Set them at the depth they grew in the pot.

Spacing: 18 to 24 inches apart.

Support: stake tall or heavy-fruited varieties. Branches are brittle and snap under a load of fruit.

Water: about 1 inch a week, deeply and evenly, at the soil. Uneven watering leads to blossom end rot, same as tomatoes.

Mulch: once the soil is warm, to hold moisture and keep soil off the leaves.

Feed: go easy on nitrogen. Too much gives big leafy plants and few peppers.

Heat: very hot spells, around 90°F (32°C) and up, can make plants drop their flowers. They'll set fruit again when it cools.

Harvest: cut peppers off with pruners or scissors; pulling can break the branch. Picking regularly keeps the plant producing. Leave them on longer for red, yellow or orange.

Rotate: no peppers, tomatoes, potatoes or eggplant in the same spot for 3 years.