How to Grow Red Pepper Spice

While there are more than a few hot red peppers, the pepper most commonly used for ground and crushed spices is the cayenne pepper. Gardeners who love spicy food will be happy to know that cayenne peppers are not difficult to grow and fit well into any vegetable garden with a long growing season. These peppers love heat and thrive in the summer gardens of the southern U.S. and Florida. Cayenne peppers dry well and strings of dried cayennes are ornamental as well as useful for storage.

Plant Tray
Soaker tray
Seed starter mix
Cell packs or peat pots
Fertilizer
Compost or well-rotted manure
Natural pesticides and fungicides

Instructions

- 1
  Place cell packs or peat pots into a plant tray and fill them with seed starter mix. Place three seeds on the top of each section of the container and cover lightly with the same mix. Place the plant tray into a soaker tray and water from the bottom until the soil is saturated. Bottom-water until seeds sprout and have one set of true leaves. Keep the seeds at temperatures no lower than 70 degrees F during the day and 60 F at night.
- 2
  Thin seedlings to one per pot when they have two sets of true leaves. Fertilize seedlings weekly with a one-quarter strength solution of 20-20-20 fertilizer.
- 3
  Add 6 inches of compost or composted manure to the planting area and work into the top 12 inches of soil with a tiller or turning fork. Add 5-10-10 fertilizer at the rate of 3 pounds per 100 square feet, and work into the top 6 inches of the soil.
- 4
  Move 3-inch tall plants outside to harden off when temperatures are consistently at least 70 F during the day and 50 F at night. Place the small plants in a semi-shady spot and gradually acclimate them into full sun over the course of one week.
- 5
  Space hardened plants 24 inches apart in the garden. Water with a one-quarter strength solution of 20-20-20 liquid fertilizer at planting.
- 6
  Use a low-nitrogen fertilizer, such as 5-10-10, after 4 weeks and monthly until sufficient fruit is set. Cayennes will not set fruit if they receive too much nitrogen. Thereafter, fertilize lightly bi-monthly with a complete fertilizer containing minor elements.
- 7
  Water plants regularly but don't overwater. Cayennes grow best in hot, dry conditions. Cut back watering after the peppers reach half of their mature size to increase the capsaicin content of the fruits. It is what makes the pepper hot.
- 8
  Check plants regularly for infestation by thrips, leafhoppers, aphids and flea beetles. Check leaves and fruit for signs of fungal diseases. Use a natural insecticide or fungicide to treat the plants according to label directions.
- 9
  Harvest red fruits when fully ripe, or leave to dry on the plants if weather conditions allow it.

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