When you don’t know how to make bell peppers grow bigger, your problem lies in the climate conditions, water requirements, and transplanting. It can feel frustrating to develop small and low-quality peppers continuously. How come you’ve ticked everything in the manual and extension handouts, yet the harvest is disappointing?
The three factors mentioned playing a role in the size of the bell peppers. Capsicum annum, like most crops, has a set of conditions and requirements to grow quality fruits. So next time you’re growing bell peppers, keep the information below in mind to get bigger peppers.
How To Make Bell Peppers Grow Bigger – Conditions And Requirments
Climate conditions
If your bell peppers are developing small fruits, you may have to check the temperatures in your area. It’s best to maintain 70 to 80°F in the day and 60 to 70°F in the night. These conditions can be hard to achieve in some UK regions, but you can refer to Krostrade.com for a solution.
Indoor growing of bell peppers in a polytunnel makes it easier for the farmer to maintain the temperatures. If your location reaches extreme conditions, you can protect your bell peppers by having them indoors. If it gets higher than 80°F, one can expect misshapen and small peppers since it injures the blossoms.
Another climatic condition that delays the plant’s growth and leads to small peppers is transplanting at the wrong climate. If you transplanted the pepper seedlings when the soil isn’t warm yet, they would experience shock. It can even take up to 20 days for the crop to mature if the temperature is too low.
Water requirements
If you’re thinking, how come your peppers are still small even with the ideal climate, you might not be giving them enough water. The lack of water can damage the flowering of the peppers, which also affects the fruit. Therefore, aim to deliver an inch of water to your crops every week.
Growing bell peppers in the polytunnel will make it more convenient for you to keep them hydrated. You can use a drip hose to soak the roots instead of drenching the leaves with sprinklers. It is also important to remember the soil type as some can drain quicker than others.
Transplanting
According to Cornell University, transplanting too early can weaken the plants. Therefore, this also affects the quality of the fruits. You can make bell peppers grow bigger if you start them indoors. Afterwards, choose the plants with three to five sets of true leaves since they will grow large peppers.
You can get your plants outside three weeks after the last frost. Be careful with covering the rows because overheating can affect the pepper size. One can also encounter the fruits if the temperature is too high on either end during transplanting.
Another trick to ensure big peppers is applying fertiliser on the area before transplanting and fertilising each plant after transplanting. You can also mulch to maintain moisture and keep weeds at bay. And lastly, don’t forget that the plants need 24 inches of space to support growth and big peppers.
How Can I Make My Peppers Grow Faster?
Bell peppers can take three to four months to mature. You can wait as long as 95 days before you can harvest the fruits after you planted the seeds. You can make peppers grow faster if you ensure that the plants’ location and maintenance are ideal.
Location
You want your bell peppers to be in an area that’s sunny with fertile and well-draining soil. A soil pH of 5.5 to 7.0 with added compost is a perfect example of what can optimise the growth of bell peppers. If these are hard to achieve, you can grow your crops indoors.
Add a light inside the polytunnel and improve the soil drainage and nutrition using compost. If you’ve met these conditions, but your peppers still take long to mature, check if the plants have enough space to grow. An overcrowded area means competition among the crops, and the restricted space can affect the root system.
Maintenance
Maintenance also plays a significant role in the duration of growth of your peppers. Maintenance includes ensuring that the soil is always moist with proper adjustments on your part, depending on the season. You can also help your plants grow faster by side-dressing them after transplanting and when fruiting starts.
Weeds can compete with the nutrients, so it’s best to cultivate and mulch the soil. You can also encourage new flowers often if you regularly prune your bell peppers. And lastly, harvest ripe peppers so that the plant can focus its nutrients on the remaining peppers.
Why Are My Green Peppers So Small?
If your green peppers are small, check the temperature, soil, and pollination in your UK garden. Green peppers are similar to other crops where extreme temperatures affect the quality of their fruits. You have to ensure that the temperature doesn’t go over 75°F or below 60°F. Otherwise, the blossoms will fall.
You can also use a polytunnel, especially in the season, where the night temperatures get very cold. In addition to the temperatures, you might need to check the phosphate content and add aged compost to your soil. If the ground has high nitrogen content, it encourages lush foliage but leads to reduced fruit production.
Lastly, small and flattened peppers are typical in poorly pollinated plants. Poor pollination is the reason why it’s advantageous to plant when the pollinators are active. You can also lightly tap the plants to help with pollen distribution in your garden in the UK.
What Helps Pepper Plants Grow?
Sun exposure, well-drained fertile soil, temperature, and care will help pepper plants grow. Various extension manuals have emphasised how sunny days are beneficial for the growth and development of peppers. At the same time, using well-drained soil with aged compost will support the plants further.
After you checked the sun exposure and soil for your pepper plants, make sure to monitor the temperature continuously. A continuous monitor includes checking the soil temperature, especially when you’re transplanting peppers. For caring, consistent watering, feeding, and weeding will help your plants grow without any setbacks.
Are Coffee Grounds Good For Pepper Plants?
Coffee grounds are good for pepper plants because they have components that improve the soil structure and nutrition. In addition to these benefits, coffee grounds prevent fungal growth and weed growth when you use them as mulch. Because of the various studies about the benefits of coffee grounds, one can conclude that using coffee grounds as mulch or compost will help pepper plants.
Conclusion
Plants like bell peppers are rewarding to grow, especially when you start harvesting. However, a common dilemma among farmers is how to make bell peppers grow bigger. You can improve the quality and size of the fruits by ensuring that the climate conditions, water requirements, and transplanting are ideal.
Since climate and temperature are significant to the growth and development of pepper plants, you can cultivate bell peppers in a polytunnel. Extensions and farmers recommend indoor cultivation of bell peppers before transplanting to ensure meeting the conditions for optimum plant health. You can also mulch or compost with coffee grounds to improve the structure and quality of the soil.