Tell me about growing sweet peppers...

I raised three plants from seed and they look nice and healthy - with flowers starting to open. They are in the conservatory. Do they need insects to pollinate them, or will they do their stuff on their own? I gave them some Vitax slow release tomato and pepper feed a week ago, but the box says something like 'apply throughout the growing season as necessary' - any idea how often I should feed them? Should I nip the growing tip out at some point, or will they stop naturally?

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Permalink Reply by Colin Robinson on June 15, 2012 at 21:54

I've grown them in the greenhouse for years and never had any problems with pollination but there are plenty of insects in there. They are similar to tomatoes so I guess they will form fruit without any intervention although you could hand pollinate with a cotton bud or similar if in doubt. It certainly won't do any harm.

Mine are fed the same as my toms, ie once a week with liquid feed but I do have them in a rich compost and not grow bag stuff. With a slow release feed I'd have thought that should keep them going for a couple of months.

I don't nip out the growing tip as they seem quite happy to bush out by themselves and they shouldn't make much more than a couple of feet high.

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Permalink Reply by Bobby on June 16, 2012 at 8:29

Thanks Colin, that's very helpful.

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Permalink Reply by Stephen Shirley on June 16, 2012 at 9:44

Three vids that may help (chillies and peppers are treated in the same way)...

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Permalink Reply by Bobby on June 16, 2012 at 13:30

Just spotted a tiny fruit on one of the plants :)

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Permalink Reply by Bobby on June 16, 2012 at 13:54

Thanks Stephen, it all looks very easy....

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Permalink Reply by Caro on June 18, 2012 at 12:54

Really helpful videos - thanks Stephen! I had the same questions as Bobby as this is the first year I've grown a range of peppers, chillies and capsicums from seed. No probs whatsoever with germinating them in Jiffy 7's but needed to know about final potting on and whether to pinch out growing tips. Mine all looking very healthy in 7 or 10 cm pots; will pot on one final time to large pots and stand back for a bumper harvest. (Love this site, so much good info and advice!!)