As with planting zucchini, the ice saints are also an important marker when cultivating peppers. The nightshade plants even like it a little warmer than their pumpkin-like bed neighbors. Most recently, the dreaded frost nights in mid-May were canceled in large parts of Germany, to the delight of all garden lovers. The chances that this will work again in 2024 are not bad. So it’s prepared for the small, large, pointed, round, spicy, sweet and, above all, colorful fruits that once came to Europe from South America. In this article you will find out how to grow peppers on the windowsill, what is important when moving outdoors and what mistakes should not be made when caring for them.
If you know that peppers come from very warm and humid regions, it doesn’t take much imagination and even less gardening know-how to realize that the plants like exactly these conditions in our latitudes. However, it is still not true that the popular vegetable necessarily only makes it big in the greenhouse. Although many pepper varieties have a much better chance in houses that are protected from the rain and at a comfortable temperature. Especially the young plants that have been painstakingly pre-cultivated on the windowsill at home. And that’s how it works.
By the way, the vast majority of pepper varieties don’t have the same problem with proximity. That’s why you should pay attention to the spacing when planting, whether in a bed or a greenhouse. There should be a “safety distance” of around 50 centimeters between the plants. In the best case scenario, the rows are even around 60 centimeters apart if the bed size is appropriate. Friends of balcony gardens should grab the largest possible flower pot and bed the plants in ordinary vegetable soil. You have a much better chance of a rich harvest here if the bucket is protected from the rain, i.e. has a roof over your head. Similar to tomatoes, rain is also a gateway for various fungal cultures that transmit diseases.
If you want to skip the steps taken up to this point, it is best to use a pepper plant that is already bearing (for example, the exotic heart). But the same applies to them: keep them warm and, if possible, out of the rain.
Cultivating peppers requires a lot of patience. In contrast to tomatoes, this crunchy vegetable grows very slowly. A little liquid fertilizer every two weeks and daily watering (especially in the summer months) are therefore mandatory. With a layer of lawn mulch, evaporation can be reduced somewhat and the soil can be kept cozy and warm. The comfortable temperature of the vast majority of wild peppers is between 25 and 28 degrees. Temperatures that in our latitudes can only be achieved with a greenhouse. If you don’t have space for a greenhouse, you need a little imagination.
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