How to grow chili pepper
Capsicum annuum / chinense · Solanaceae · Vegetable
Chili 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 70–100 days. It is killed by frost, so nothing goes outside until the danger has passed and the soil has warmed.
Grower’s note: Superhots (C. chinense) can need 100+ days and the longest indoor start. Withholding some water late raises heat.
Sowing
Sow about 0.25″ deep, into soil between 65–95°F — germination is quickest near 85°F. It is slow and often erratic to germinate (7–21 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 24″ 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 10″ deep.
Fitting it to your season
Chili Pepper needs roughly 70–100 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 chili pepper
Companions
Basil, Onion, Carrot, Okra
Bush Bean, Pole Bean, Cabbage
Common problems
Pests: aphids, flea beetle, pepper maggot, spider mite.
Diseases & disorders: bacterial leaf spot, anthracnose, 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.