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4) Plant pepper plants
Once it is at least 15°C at night, you can plant your peppers in the garden. You can warm the soil by covering it with black plastic for a week before planting your pepper plants.
When planting, plant them no deeper than they were in the pots. Peppers do not like to be planted deep. Space them about 45 to 60 cm apart.
5) Choosing the right pepper garden companions
Plant your peppers near your tomatoes. Tomatoes help keep beetles and soil microbes away to protect the peppers.
Peppers can also be planted near cucumbers, carrots, eggplants and onions. If you have problems with beetles, plant geraniums or petunias near peppers.
Basil grows well near peppers and keeps insects away. Parsley attracts pollinators and certain types of wasps that repel aphids.
Avoid planting broccoli, cabbage, or mustard plants near your peppers. You should also avoid planting peppers near fennel or green beans.
6) Supports
You don’t need to stake the peppers, but it can keep them off the ground. If your plants droop, they are more susceptible to pests and soil microbes.
7) Make a good mulch
Peppers like to stay warm and have well-drained soil, so mulching the plants is essential. A dark mulch absorbs more heat from the sun to keep the soil warm.
Peppers also love cut grass. Lawn mulch helps prevent weeds from entering your garden quickly and damaging plant roots.
8) Proper irrigation
Peppers need a lot of water, about 2-5 cm of water per week. Observe the amount of water obtained through rain with a rain gauge and top up with water if necessary.
If you live in a warm climate or on very hot days, you may need to water twice a day. If your peppers become too dry, they can become bitter.
However, overwatering can damage the roots or rot the flowers.
9) Pruning pepper plants
Remove the first flowers from each plant. This forces the plant to use its energy to grow the entire plant and not just one fruit.
This can help the plant produce more peppers later and you will get a better harvest.
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