How to grow bell pepper
Capsicum annuum · Solanaceae · Vegetable
Bell Pepper is a warm-season vegetable in the Solanaceae family, usually started indoors and set out as transplants. It wants full sun (six or more hours of direct light) and steady, even moisture. From sowing to first pick is about 60–90 days. It is killed by frost, so nothing goes outside until the danger has passed and the soil has warmed.
Grower’s note: Needs warm soil; wait until nights stay above 55 F to transplant. Green peppers are just unripe coloured peppers left another 2-3 weeks.
Sowing
Sow about 0.25″ deep, into soil between 60–95°F — germination is quickest near 82°F. Germination takes a week or two (7–14 days). For an early crop, start seed indoors about 8 weeks before your last spring frost and grow it under bright light.
Spacing & layout
Give each plant about 18″ along the row with roughly 30″ between rows. On a square-foot grid that is 1 per square foot. Allow at least 12″ of loose, workable soil for the roots. It grows well in containers at least 12″ deep.
Fitting it to your season
Bell Pepper needs roughly 60–90 frost-free days to crop. Where the season is shorter than that, start it indoors and choose the earliest-maturing varieties, or grow it in a container you can move under cover on cold nights. In long, hot-summer regions it can often be planted twice — once in spring and again in mid-to-late summer for a fall harvest.
Quick facts
When to plant bell pepper
Companions
Basil, Onion, Carrot, Spinach, Okra
Bush Bean, Pole Bean, Cabbage
Common problems
Pests: aphids, flea beetle, pepper maggot, tomato hornworm.
Diseases & disorders: bacterial leaf spot, anthracnose, blossom-end rot (calcium disorder), phytophthora blight.
Same family (Solanaceae)
Rotate these so they don’t follow each other in the same bed year to year.
Figures are typical home-garden ranges from Cooperative Extension planting guides, cross-checked against multiple state sources. Your variety and conditions will vary.