How to Grow Capsicums That Actually Fruit

Capsicums come up a lot in the shop, usually from someone whose plant looked fine for a fortnight and then just sat there, and nearly every time it comes back to one of three things, which is sun, soil temperature, or watering that swings between drenched and bone dry.

Give them the sunniest spot you have

They want six to eight hours of full sun a day and there is no way around it, so a north or north-west facing spot is what you are after, out of the strong wind but with enough air moving through that the leaves dry off. Anything shadier and you get a tall leggy plant that never really gets going.

Get the soil right before you plant

Capsicums sulk in poor soil and a sulking capsicum stays green when it should be colouring up, so it is worth doing this bit properly rather than fixing it later. You want free-draining soil with compost worked through it, a handful of pelletised fertiliser in the hole at planting, and a mulch over the top to hold the warmth and the moisture in.

Do not plant them out too early

This is the one that catches people, because the weather turns nice in September and everything in the shed says plant me. Capsicums want warm soil, so around here mid to late October is usually the safe window, once the frosts have finished and the ground has actually warmed up rather than just the air. The test I use is whether the nights are staying above about twelve degrees, and whether you are still reaching for a jumper at five o'clock.

Water deep, not often

They drink a fair bit and they hate sitting wet, so a good soak a couple of times a week beats a splash every day, and morning is better than evening because the leaves have all day to dry off and you get less trouble with fungal problems.

Stake them before they need it

The plant looks bushy and self-supporting right up until the fruit sets, and then it goes over sideways and snaps a branch, so put the stake in early while you can still do it without wrecking the roots.

Feed them through fruiting

A liquid feed every two or three weeks while they are fruiting keeps them going, and a dose just after flowering helps those flowers actually turn into fruit rather than dropping. And if you want them sweet, leave them on the bush to colour up properly instead of picking them green, because that is where the flavour is.

The three problems you will probably hit

Flowers dropping off usually means it went in too cold or got too dry early, so keep the water up and be patient until it warms. Tiny black bugs are aphids, and something gentle like a horticultural oil will sort them without wiping out the ladybirds that are already eating them for you. Fruit going soft and dark at the bottom is blossom end rot, which looks like a disease and is actually a calcium uptake problem caused by inconsistent watering, so the fix is in how you water rather than in a bottle.

None of this is complicated and you do not need to be a proper gardener with the knee pads and the Latin names. Come and have a yak with us if you are not sure what to plant when, because the timing is the part that changes with where you are.

Shop related products

• D.T. Brown Capsicum California Wonder Bell, 100 seed pack. The reliable blocky bell type.
• D.T. Brown Capsicum Sweet Delight, 75 seed pack. Sweeter, good for eating fresh.
• Brunnings Seed Raising Mix 5L. For starting them off in trays before the soil warms.
• Neutrog 1L Seamungus Liquid Concentrate. The liquid feed through flowering and fruiting.
• Brunnings Garden Compost with Seaweed 25L. Work it through the bed before anything goes in.
• Martins Organic Pea Straw Mulch 11kg. Holds the warmth and the water in.

The rest of the seed and the soil improvers are in the garden centre.

Keep reading

• 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Growing Tomatoes in the Summer Heat
• A Beginner's Guide to Building Good Soil for Your Vegetable Garden

Candeece. Self-taught, still learning, still asking Guru.

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