My Pepper Growing Secrets For Huge Harvests

In this video, I compress 10 years of pepper growing experience into 10 minutes of advice that's guaranteed to boost your pepper yields this year!

IN THIS VIDEO

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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Intro
00:23 - Topping & Pruning
02:25 - Support Your Peppers
04:56 - Too Much Of A Good Thing
06:34 - Watering Peppers
08:16 - Using Fertilizer
09:05 - Harvesting

DISCLAIMER

[joacoley]

Hello Kevin! I´m Joaquin from Peru and here its so difficult to get your hands on most of the varieties you can easily find in the States. Year after year I saw how you and Jacques grew delicious varieties (especially shishitos!) so this year I finally said to myself I would do whatever it takes to get some shishito seeds. After browsing all the local suppliers and farmer forums to no avail I found a web that hooks you up with U.S travelers bringing products in their luggage. Luckily one traveller agreed to bring me some shishito seeds, which arrived yesterday. I just finished seeding them only to find that you posted a video about peppers, so Im going to take that as a sign that the pepper gods are giving me their blessing! Hopefully this year I will try out Jacques shishito recipe!

[aesop]

My first pepper plant I paid $3 for, and when I harvested my jalapenos I figured what I got off of it I would have possibly paid 20x that for in the store. I also realized I'd never had a good jalapeno before. It's hard to say no to that. Peppers are amazingly productive plants and with so much variety. Love em

[mcrawd]

You can also harvest the red Jalapeños and ferment to make your own Sriracha sauce.

[Dreamzz]

I have my peppers in walmart reusable cloth bags, I over winter them every yr.. every yr I tend to plant more..lol.. so now I have over 10 .. I have 1 Jalapeno that is 4yrs old, was topped by a deer when it was still young and it produces so many peppers each yr .. I love my pepper plants there is nothing like fresh peppers ..🌶🫑

[LowcountryGardener]

Happy to hear you not recommending topping peppers. Years ago everyone was posting videos about how you should top your peppers. I tried it and all it did was shock the peppers more, which stunted their growth and attracted more pests. My peppers have done great with just letting them go. I also plant my peppers close. Pretty much like the square foot method. The Florida weave is my favorite way to hold up peppers. I use a stake every 3-4 peppers and it even held up during hurricane strength winds late last summer.

[themrmanguy]

Kevin, I gotta say as a grower from SC, that there are a lot of similarities between (not California and S. Carolina as a whole) the way YOU do things and the way that I grow now. In my 7 short years of growing, that you’ve been instrumental in my approach to growing food. You seem to be ever positive and realistic. While avoiding the ever growing drama that we’re seeing from so many YouTubers. You’re one I’m happy to share to others. Thank all of y’all who share on this channel.

[LIZZIE-lizzie]

They're so beautiful. There are folk here who have nothing but a small piece of dirt on the sides of their front steps and they utilize that. They grow peppers or tomatos, zucchini etc. It's wonderful to walk down the city block and see peppers sprouting, etc. I hate to call it "dirt" but as long as there is a piece of Earth you can grow something‼️ I hung some Basil on a hook in the brick wall outside the kitchen window. It smells so good. I dry it and put it in jars 😁

[dmick]

I recommend fertilizing with Jacks 20-20-20 combined with Alaskan fish emulsion from May through July. In August I recommend switching to the bloom booster jacks and still use the fish emulsion. Results are insane.

[tomthumb]

Zone 5 here. My peppers are topped 2 - 3 weeks before going outside. Usually, they are outside by the 2nd week of May. By the end of summer, they are huge, and I am dehydrating hot peppers daily.

[corymiller]

I live in Canada a short season for peppers so it takes some practice to get it right. I always take the early flowers off to promote more veg growth and this has helped me get lots of peppers. If I do not they give me a few peppers early and kind of fizzle out. The other things that has helped me is starting at the right time since my climate is so cold and season so short. You would think early is better however peppers like heat and get stunted when given the wrong growing environment. I am trying a later seeding directly planted in the garden which did great last year just need another year to confirm the results.

[RFabs]

Hey Kevin.
Just wanted to add a scenario where topping peppers is useful: The only time that I would top my peppers is if I'm growing under poorly lit conditions (inside in winter without grow light). Under those conditions the plant is gonna get very tall and lanky (reaching for that sun), in which case topping would help the plant to grow sturdier and bush out. It's probably not gonna give a bigger harvest but it will definitely help the plant to build strong before going outside.
Thanks for the vids and always interesting content!

/R

[JulieCuriel]

I NEEDED this video 🥹 none of my pepper seeds did well, so I just ran out & bought a ton of small pepper plants at Home Depot yesterday 😅

[atomicblue]

I like to grow Poblanos here in central Florida. They aren’t hot, but delicious stuffed with cream cheese and herbs and cooked on the grill. 😋

[PepperGeek]

Agree on topping, for the most part we've put that technique behind us. The plants figure it out on their own!

[Cheezitnator]

I'm in north Florida and left my datil pepper outside in the raised bed and it was just fine through the winter. Granted it is in a sheltered location close to the house. It slowed down but still continues to produce peppers even now. Easiest pepper I ever grew and the little things are habanero hot but with a little citrusy sweetness. I made jelly with them.

[marcidevries]

I'm going to try utilizing a flower farmer trick for my pepper patch next year. I'm going to use a support net stretched across the bed about 12 inches off of the ground. The plants grow up through it and are supported. My peppers are 12" apart in a block of 7x20 or so. Lots of peppers!

[jeffereyhopkins]

My peppers get morning sun till about 1 pm. Then they are shaded for 5 or so hours then late in the afternoon to early evening for about an hour or 2 they get some sun. They are doing very well.

[joematty]

I grew peppers for the 1st time last year and experimented with 1/2 my plants toping off and the other half leaving them alone and this is what I learned. My zone is between 6 and 7.
I would only top off on small to medium size peppers like 3 inches or smaller and 4 inches and bigger i would not top off and these were bell shaped peppers. Skinny peppers seemed to be about even with top off or leave alone. My best tasting peppers were the ones i did nothing to i felt like the season wasn't long enough with the ones I topped off for zone 6 and 7.

[HealthyDisrespectforAuthority]

This year, I have my peppers in grow bags.
I have 2 kiddie pools that I sort of do compost tea in.. it's rain water with me throwing yard waste in when passing by. When the plants get dry.. I put them in those pools for a couple hours and just let them drink the "tea"
Pests are my biggest challenge.. just today I got several big green worms off them.. same ones I found and eradicated from my tomatoes a while back

[nolarosdahl]

Your timing is perfect! I've got jalapeno peppers, first time. I really don't eat anything hot, but will give these to the neighbors. Mine are about 2-3 inches long, and I've been wondering about when to harvest. Thank you!