Peppers all differ in their nutrient contents, but overall are high in vitamins B6 and C, and several other nutrients depending on the type of pepper. Check here for detailed information from the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference.

The Canadian Food Guide recommends that roughly half of the food on your plate should be fruits and vegetables.

Starting your own peppers plants from seed

• Start transplants at least 8 weeks prior to planting out, ideally about two weeks after your last frost free date in spring. In Saskatoon, your frost free date is May 13 so start indoors around March 18.
• These timelines can be shifted with season extending methods such as heating the soil and using water-based transplant sleeves like ‘Wall O’Water’®
• Sow seeds 0.5cm deep in a commercial soil-less media containing peat moss, perlite and vermiculite.  Soil-less media provides a disease-free environment as well as excellent drainage to minimize root disease problems. 
• Use flats, pots or containers with bottom drainage holes.  At a soil media temperature of  25-29˚C, seeds will germinate in 10-21 days. Seedling heating mats help to maintain warm soil temperatures for seed germination. 
• Good lighting is crucial for the growth of healthy pepper seedlings. 
• Leave a fan blowing on your young seedlings as they grow to will help to grow heartier plants and to reduce some seedling diseases.
• For more details, check out our article on growing your own transplants.

The ideal pepper seedling:

• Is approximately 15 cm tall.
• Has not yet flowered or set fruit.
• Is dark green in color, though the lowest leaves may be a lighter color.
• Has a good root system but is not root-bound (tight, hard ball of roots that do not break apart when gently massaged). 
• Has a strong and sturdy stem.  The internodes (spaces between leaves along the stem) will be small.  Transplants that are too tall will tend to break and dry out more easily once planted out into the garden.  Research has shown that stem diameter can be increased and height controlled by providing seedlings with constant air movement from an oscillating fan – or by lightly brushing seedling tops with a tea towel or stick at least 20 times daily.

Start fertilizing after the seedlings have their first true leaves. Wait a few days before fertilizing if you have transplanted your seedlings. Fertilize developing transplants two times/week using 20-20-20 water-soluble fertilizer.  Mix according to label directions.

Pepper transplants must be hardened off before transplanting outdoors.

Timing

• Peppers must be planted as transplants and not sown as seeds. See our transplants tab for tips on growing or purchasing your own pepper transplants.
• Pepper plants are a warm season crop so they are very sensitive to cold temperatures and frost damage. Be prepared to protect plants with covers or blankets in the event of late spring/early summer frosts.  It is best to refrain from transplanting peppers into the garden until all danger of frost has passed.  The “average day of the last spring frost” in the Saskatoon area is typically May 13, but it's best to transplant a week or two after that date.
• These timelines can be shifted with season extending methods such as heating the soil and using water-based transplant sleeves like ‘Wall O’Water’®.
• Pepper transplants must be hardened off before transplanting outdoors.

Planting instructions

• Gently massage the roots within the plug so that the roots will grow into the surrounding soil and not remain restricted within the ball.
• When planting, cover the entire transplant “plug” or seed ball with soil to prevent the plant from drying out.  Exposed peat within the plug will act as a wick, drawing water away from the transplant and drying out the root ball.
• Ideally, transplant on a cool, cloudy day. Hot, windy days will easily desiccate tender transplants.
• Plant pepper transplants so that the lower part of the stem, up to the first set of leaves (the cotyledons) is covered with soil.  Avoid planting into cooler soil. For extra protection for your newly planted pepper transplants, place tin cans or milk cartons with the tops and bottom removed around newly planted peppers and insert containers several centimeters into the soil. Not only does this provide some wind protection and increase soil temperature, but it may also discourage cut worms.
• Peppers should spaced 45 cm apart within the row, allowing at least 50 cm between rows.
• Water-in the transplants with a starter fertilizer higher in phosphorous for good root growth (ex. 10-52-10) Mix according to label directions.

Don't forget to label what you planted. It's also helpful to draw a map or take a photo of your vegetable garden to help you track planting locations and success each year. This information is critical if you're rotating your crops to help prevent insect and disease issues.

• For gardeners that want to get an early jump on the growing season, warm up the soil with ‘Wall O’Water’®: a series of plastic tubes filled with water joined together to form a wall of water around the transplant.  ‘Wall O’ Water’® can protect plants to -11˚C.  Pepper transplants could be planted out at least 2 weeks earlier on the Prairies provided the soil under the ‘Wall O’ Water’® has also been warmed.
• Peppers are a ‘warm season crop’. This means they prefer warm temperatures and very sunny conditions for optimal growth.  Peppers will benefit from planting in black, clear or dark green plastic mulch. The mulch increases soil temperature as well as conserving soil moisture and suppressing weed growth.
• Peppers will also benefit from supported crop covers throughout the season; the covers will warm the air surrounding the plants and encourage plants to flower, fruit and mature earlier than outside covers.  Because peppers are self-pollinating, it is unnecessary to remove the cloth covers during the growing season except to weed.  
• Perforated clear plastic tunnels or covers are not recommended as temperatures can be extreme, which can cause pepper flowers to abort.     

• Factors to consider when deciding what pepper cultivar to grow include; taste, days to maturity, end use, type of pepper, disease resistance and availability
• Peppers that require more than ’75 days to maturity’ will probably not fully mature during an average Saskatchewan growing season.
• Most peppers start off green and ripen to yellow, orange or red.  As bell peppers turn colour, they become sweeter.  As hot peppers turn colour, they usually become hotter.
• Pepper flavours range from sweet to spicy to hot.  The most common peppers found in the North American diet belong to two different species of peppers;  Capsicum annuum var. annuum (Anaheim, bell, cayenne, cubanelle, Hungarian wax, Italian sweet, jalapeno, New Mexico, pimento, serrano) and Capsicum chinense (Aji dulce, habanero, Scotch bonnet)

Sweet bell peppers are large blocky peppers with a hollow interior.  Bell peppers range in colour from green to yellow, red, orange, white, brown or purple.  Yellow, red and orange bell peppers start off green and ripen to their respective colour.  Green bell peppers have not yet ripened to their mature colour.  One of the earliest bell peppers to ripen to red in the Prairie garden is ‘Redstart’. Other recommended cultivars include 

Banana peppers are shaped like small yellow bananas.  They are usually sweet in flavour and not hot.

Poblano peppers are slightly more spicy than bell or banana peppers but are not considered ‘hot peppers’.  Poblano peppers are small blocky peppers and are often used for stuffing.

Hot peppers are sorted by "hotness" by Scoville ratings. We've created a detailed breakdown of recommended hot peppers by Scoville rating here.

Here are cultivar recommendations from the North Dakota State University Cultivar Trials, as they share a similar prairie climate and soils. You may download their list here: North Dakota State University Vegetable Cultivar Recommendations for 2021

• • Bell: Bell Boy, Early Sunsation, Jupiter, New Ace, North Star, Orange Blaze.
  • Frying/Roasting: Carmen, Flamingo, Giant Marconi, Gypsy.
  • Hot: Cheyenne, Early Jalapeno, Garden Salsa, Hot Paper Lantern, Hungarian Hot Wax, Mariachi, Mucho Nacho, Tiburon.

The following cultivars are recommendations from the University of Saskatchewan vegetable program field trials which were conducted from 1989 through 2016. 

• Bastille, Classic, Double Up, Early Summer,  King Arthur, Redstart, Thickset Improved

Peppers benefit from a steady supply of soil moisture throughout the growing season. Consistent moisture will prevent blossom end rot.

Actively growing pepper plants need 2.5 cm water/week. They also benefit from mulch, in the garden or in a pot. 

Peppers will also benefit from supported crop covers throughout the season; the covers will warm the air surrounding the plants and encourage plants to flower, fruit and mature earlier than outside covers. Because peppers are self-pollinating, it is unnecessary to remove the cloth covers during the growing season except to weed.

Perforated clear plastic tunnels or covers are not recommended as temperatures can be extreme under this clear plastic, causing pepper flowers to abort.

CAUTION! Growing hot peppers is both entertaining and dangerous! After handling the pepper plants and fruit, be sure to thoroughly wash your hands with soap and water.

Peppers are not suitable for fall seeding.

Coming soon

See our preservation section for more videos.

• • Bell: Bell Boy, Early Sunsation, Jupiter, New Ace, North Star, Orange Blaze.
  • Frying/Roasting: Carmen, Flamingo, Giant Marconi, Gypsy.
  • Hot: Cheyenne, Early Jalapeno, Garden Salsa, Hot Paper Lantern, Hungarian Hot Wax, Mariachi, Mucho Nacho, Tiburon.

• Bastille, Classic, Double Up, Early Summer,  King Arthur, Redstart, Thickset Improved

Pepper seeds can be saved from “heritage” or “open-pollinated” plants. If the plant tag or seed package from the original plant says “hybrid”, the plants grown from seeds collected from hybrid plants won't look the same next year.

Pepper flowers have both male and female reproductive parts. They self-fertile and need wind or "buzz pollinators" like bumblebees to move pollen from the stamens to the style.

Most of the time, pepper flowers self-pollinate, but cross pollination is possible. Note that sweet and hot peppers can cross pollinate in the right conditions. So, there is a risk that the sweet pepper seeds you want to save, accidentally cross with a hot pepper which may not be the result you want.

To prevent accidental cross-pollination by wind or bumblebees, isolate pepper plants by covering them with row cover. However, your plants may need some help from you to pollinate successfully if the plants are in a sheltered location where there is little air flow under the row cover. One way to do this is to "flick" the flowers with your fingers to encourage the pollen to drop from the stamens on to the style. Another way is to vibrate the flowers using an electric toothbrush (minus the brush), which mimics what a bumblebee does in nature. 

How to save pepper seeds:

1. Select mature, healthy, peppers, ideally ones that have reached their peak colour, which can be green, yellow, orange, red or maroon depending on the type. (Optional: For maximum quality seeds, store mature (uncut) peppers at room temperature for a further 7 - 10 days. Monitor for signs of decay and if so, harvest seeds immediately.)
2. For fleshy peppers, cut open the pepper and scrape off the core and the seeds. Seeds should be white, cream, yellow or orange in colour. Black or darkened seeds are signs of disease.
   
   • Remove all traces of the core and rinse the seeds. Place seeds on a paper towel and allow to dry for several days. 
3. Small, thin-skinned peppers such as cayenne or Thai dragon can be completely dried whole, then crushed to harvest the seeds.
4. When seeds are completely dry, store in a small envelope (marked with the name of the pepper and the year of harvest) inside a sealed jar in the fridge.

CAUTION: Wear gloves when handling hot peppers.

Peppers may be harvested by cutting the stem with a sharp knife, at any size when the fruit is dark green. If you would like a few red peppers for a nice colour contrast in salads, allow some of the fruit to remain on the plant until it turns red. Maturity time needed for transplants is between 75-85 days. Small peppers grow slowly so you will need 6-8 weeks from seed to transplant size.

CAUTION Growing hot peppers is both entertaining and dangerous! Wear gloves when handling pepper plants and fruit, and be sure to thoroughly wash your hands with soap and water afterward. 

• Download entire series here