If you’re seriously thinking about growing peppers in Southern California, know that peppers can be temperamental compared to the rest of the plants in your garden. Even though these peppers can be finicky, they’re also considered to be the top favorites of cooks and gardeners alike. When you grow them right, these peppers can offer you more than just color to your garden and flavor to your food.
Can I Grow Bell Peppers In California?
Yes, you can grow bell peppers in anywhere in the state of California. Research shows that the Golden State produces approximately 38% of the total number of bell peppers that are grown in the country. Furthermore, California’s main bell pepper production areas include the southern coast, the southern desert valleys, the central coast, as well as the central valley.
The most common bell-peppers that are grown in the state are the open-pollinated varieties that include Keystone Resistant Giant Strains, California Wonder 300, Capistrano, Yolo Wonder, Jupiter, and Grande Rio66. These warm-season vegetable plants grow best in areas where the temperature is anywhere between 75˚F to 85˚F, and they also thrive in well-drained soils.
Is Growing Peppers In Southern California Easy?
It sure is! Although peppers are grown as annuals in areas that experience cold winters, these vegetables can be grown as perennials in Southern California.
In case you’re a newbie to gardening and horticultural alchemy, an annual plant lives and dies in one season while a perennial comes back for many seasons. In other words, peppers are really easy to grow when you’re somewhere within the southern half of the Golden State. Once you get these plants established in your backyard garden or your greenhouse, you won’t have to replant them every year.
Needless to say, a vegetable garden in Southern California won’t be complete without myriads of colorful and tasty pepper varieties that range from mild to spicy hot!
How Do You Grow Good Peppers In Southern California?
Growing peppers in Southern California will require you to plant them in areas that get a lot of sunshine. You’ll also need to transplant them into moist soil that has a vegetable fertilizer during the late afternoon or early evening. To produce good peppers, remember to sprinkle the young and tender plants lightly with water every day for about 5 days before watering them every week.
Top Vegetables That Grow Best In Southern California
Thanks to Southern California’s growing climate, gardeners can choose to grow a wide variety of vegetable crops all-year-round such as rhubarb, radicchio, asparagus, and artichoke. Aside from the fact that these vegetables require minimal maintenance, you can also grow them all year and year after year. Take a closer look at each of them here:
Rhubarb
Although most people know that cobbler and pie won’t taste the same without rhubarb in them, not everybody knows that rhubarb is a prolific vegetable plant. When they’re mature enough, these plants can grow up to four feet tall with the crunchiest and sweetest green-, red-, or pink-colored stalks.
Furthermore, their leaves can also be a wonderful addition to your compost pile. However, keep in mind that it’s not a good idea to eat rhubarb leaves due to their high oxalic acid content. In case you’re wondering, high doses of this chemical compound can be toxic to human health.
You can expect these vegetables to produce for up to eight years. During the first year, you’ll only get to harvest a couple of stalks but you’ll harvest a little bit more starting in the second year. By the third year, you’ll be able to harvest a lot of stalks.
Radicchio
The red-leafed chicory called Radicchio is another vegetable that grows well in Southern California. Although it looks a lot like a ruby red cabbage with white veins, its head doesn’t grow bigger than the size of a grapefruit and it stays compact.
What makes this plant interesting is the fact that it turns sweeter as the weather turns cooler. You have the option to harvest their leaves during the growing season or cut the whole plant off when its head is formed.
Asparagus
If there’s one thing you need to know about this vegetable crop, it’s the fact that it takes longer to establish it than other types of vegetables. For instance, if you decide to plant crowns, you’ll need to wait for a year before you can harvest them. On the other hand, if you start planting from seed, a waiting time of up to three years is required before you get to harvest your asparagus.
Although growing them takes a little more commitment on your part, you won’t regret it once you enjoy a bountiful harvest of fresh asparagus spears for up to 30 years. Between planting and harvest time, your garden will be graced with flowery asparagus spears and their tall and feathery ferns that are a sight to behold.
Artichoke
With buds that look like beautiful pinecones in green and purple varieties and green leaves with a hint of silver in them, artichokes will make any ornamental garden look glorious. What’s more, they don’t just look nice – they taste great too! These plants can yield for up to five years
Is It A Great Idea To Grow Peppers In A Greenhouse?
Yes, it is! Whether you’re dreaming about yielding a harvest of mild or spicy hot peppers, you can expect to reap a great harvest if you plant your peppers in a greenhouse. Aside from stabilizing your plants’ growing environment by protecting them from harsh weather conditions and pests, a greenhouse can also be your haven and a place of mindfulness where you can be free to nurture and care for your plants.
Tips For Planting Peppers In A Greenhouse
With a greenhouse, you can provide your peppers with enough warmth, moisture, and light to develop generously and healthily. To get you started, check out these tips
Soak pepper seeds
If you want to speed up your pepper’s maturing period, all you have to do is to soak the seeds for about 10 minutes before you plant them. Doing so will soften the pepper’s hard seed cover and enhance its germination time.
Let them get at least 6 hours of direct sunlight
If you want to grow the best-tasting peppers in Southern California, find a location within your greenhouse that gets about 6 hours of direct sunlight daily and place your peppers in that spot.
Maintain proper temperature control
One of the best things about setting up your own greenhouse is the fact that it allows you to maintain proper control of your plants’ growing conditions, including the temperature. You’ll make your pepper seedlings happy if the daytime temperature is kept at about 70˚F and the evening temperature at 60˚.
Use a powerful water hose to remove pests
You can get those pesky aphids and other pests from your adult plants if you hose them down. However, keep in mind that this method isn’t recommended for young seedlings.
Keep the soil wet
Peppers need plenty of water to thrive. For this reason, it’s best to keep the soil consistently wet. When the temperatures rise, be sure to water them daily and apply an inch of water every 4 days.
Plant them in nutrient-rich soil
Make sure that you plant your peppers in soil that has enough calcium and phosphorus in it. Furthermore, keep the soil pH at 6.0 to 7.0 and its temperature at 70˚F to enhance the plant’s germination process.
Conclusion
When it comes to growing peppers in Southern California, nothing beats growing them in a greenhouse. Krostrade offers top-quality greenhouses that are made from the strongest and most durable materials. Get in touch with us today to learn more about our products.