Growing Peppers in a Cold Climate

Growing peppers in a cold climate is in many ways similar to growing tomatoes, but still different. Tomatoes are more popular, more forgiving, and a bit easier to grow. Overall, though, if you are successful in growing tomatoes, peppers can be your next thing to conquer.

We love to grow peppers. There are so many delicious recipes that call for peppers. Peppers are also on the dirty dozen list and are expensive to buy organic. It makes sense to grow our own. In this article, we share what we have learned about growing peppers in a cold climate. 

Choose an early pepper variety

To successfully grow peppers in a cold climate with a short growing season, choose an early pepper variety. By early, we mean that the days to maturity should be fewer than the number of frost-free days in your area. We have about 100 frost-free days, so the peppers we grow need to be below that to get a bit of a harvest window. 

There are many choices for early pepper varieties. Here are some that we have successfully grown in our garden:

• Early Jalapeno (70 days) Productive.
• Red Bulls Horn (80 days). Sweet Italian heirloom, a favourite.
• Doe Hill (60-65 days). Very tasty and beautiful yellow tomato pepper.
• King of the North (70 days) A pepper that actually matures in a short season, a favorite.
• Orange Bell (85 days) Tasty.
• Orange King (72 Days): Thick-skinned, large, sweet peppers, a favorite.
• Canoncito – Early, vigorous, and packing some heat, but not crazy.
• Joe E. Parker (75-95 days): Mildly hot Anaheim-type pepper.

As with any seeds, it is best to get them from local growers or a climate similar to yours. Find a list of Canadian seed companies here. Those plants have already been adapted to the weather and will grow and produce better.

Growing Pepper in Soil or Hydroponics

Growing peppers in good organic soil, mulched with compost, is best. We find that taste-wise, the soil-grown peppers are better than the hydroponically grown peppers.

Peppers like it warm, so if you are to succeed growing them in soil, choose either a very warm microclimate or a greenhouse. Often, the fruit of plants growing in soil is larger but takes longer to mature, so at the end of the season, many are still green. 

Peppers seem to love being a bit crowded. They can be planted quite densely. The Square Foot Gardening book recommends one plant per square foot. Containers are also a great option. Use compost-rich soil and water regularly.

We grow many of our peppers in the aeroponic Tower Garden. It does not matter which system you use, aeroponic (meaning the roots are in the air and are watered with a nutrient solution), simply allows plants to grow about 30% faster. This advantage is what moves us to grow peppers in aeroponics. They simply mature and ripen way earlier. Growing them in the Tower Garden allows us to grow them vertically, another advantage in a small garden or greenhouse.

Since the alternative to homegrown peppers is store-bought peppers, which are often grown hydroponically, we prefer to grow them ourselves. Yes, most greenhouses today do grow things also in water instead of soil.

Note: We do not sell or promote the Tower Garden for money. In fact, I wish the Tower Garden were available through a different channel. The cost is high, but the product is good. A DIY hydroponic option is an NFT system.

Start pepper seeds indoors 

Pepper seeds need to be started indoors 8-10 weeks prior to planting them out. You want the seedling to be just about setting out buds but not blooming yet. Peppers like it warm. If you plan to grow peppers outdoors, wait another week or two after the official last frost date. 

Just like with tomatoes, we do not rush seed starting, even though peppers usually do need a bit longer than tomatoes. Still, later-starting summer crops grow faster, and young seedlings transplant better. Here is a free printable seed starting schedule. By starting the seedlings later, the plant does not have to undergo transplant shock, and we get beautiful peppers sooner. 

To start seed use good potting soil instead of seed starter soil. The plants will be in that soil for several weeks and need nutrients to grow. Read more on starting seeds indoors here: Starting seeds indoors.

Wait till all danger of frost is gone before planting the pepper seedlings into the ground. If you choose to grow peppers in containers, you can plant them earlier and bring them in for cool nights.

Since plants in aeroponics grow quickly, we start the hydroponic seedlings 6 – 8 weeks before we can move the plants outside or into the greenhouse. The plants do not need to be transplanted; we just move the whole Tower Garden out. Read more on planting a hydroponic garden here: Planting a hydroponic garden.

Pruning back seedlings, yes or no?

Many growers like to start pepper seeds very early, let them grow a bit, and then prune the seedlings back. The theory is that the seedling will branch out when pruned back. And that is true. However, a not-pruned-back seedling branches too. Early pepper varieties, in our experience, branch into 2 -4 stems naturally. 

Here I made an end-of-season picture of a pepper plant that was never pruned back. I took the leaves off so the structure could be better seen. As you see, it did not just branch at the start but continued to branch as it grew. We see no reason to force branching.

That being said, peppers, like any nightshade plant, grow into a bush or a vine. Personally, I have only seen tall pepper plants in a commercial greenhouse. 

Choose a perfect location

Peppers are a summer crop and prefer a warm, well-drained location. In a cold climate, a greenhouse or a south-facing hot microclimate is best for them.

A warm spot on your deck can be a great location for peppers grown in containers or grow bags. See how to grow in grow-bags.

The Tower Garden alongside a south-facing wall does well, but even in hydroponics, peppers do better for us in a greenhouse.

To grow peppers in an open garden in a cold climate is often not worth it. If growing in soil, they do best in a greenhouse.

Even in raised beds in a sheltered location, they do not grow well, as the picture above shows a local demonstration garden. The fruit did set, but it is still very small even at the end of the season.

Note that I’m aware your summer is probably at least a few degrees warmer than in our area. If your nighttime temperature does not regularly fall below 10 °C (50 °F), you might have better results growing peppers outside. Just know, peppers are heat-loving plants.

However, peppers do not tolerate too much direct sunlight on the fruit. If there are not enough leaves to cover the fruit, give it some shade with a shade cloth.

Protect pepper plants from cold

I hope you have learned by now that peppers like it warm. In case of a cold spell, give them as much protection as you can. I like the Plant Protection Blanket; it is lightweight and can be left on for days, as needed. You can cover an entire bed with it or wrap an individual plant.

As I mentioned above, the fruit does not tolerate too much direct sunlight. The protection blanket is also great for that.

Create a microclimate by building a wind barrier for the plants using recycled windows or by building a window-protected garden bed.

Aphids love peppers

We have tried to grow pepper plants indoors in our window garden room. It is nice and warm there, and it seems like the perfect location to grow peppers. However, because aphids love pepper plants, it is a constant battle.

In the greenhouse, pepper plants are also often infested by aphids. We shower them off with a garden hose as needed to reduce aphid populations. Otherwise, we just leave them alone.

Usually, as plants get stronger, aphids don’t do much harm. Also, as the season progresses, in an organic garden, ladybugs and other beneficial insects move in and keep the aphids at bay.

Watering the pepper plants

Pepper plants do not need constant watering. Keep them moist but not wet, much like tomato plants.

Watering plants with tap water is too cold for heat-loving plants. It is better to use stagnant water that has been warmed by the sun. That way, the plants will not go into shock every time you water.

If you grow in water instead of soil, add a water heater in the spring and also at the end of the season. If the summer nights are cool, you can also set a timer on a heater to heat only at night.

Pruning and support

Pepper plants are just like tomatoes from the nightshade family. As we mentioned earlier, they come in bush and vine varieties. For home use, especially early pepper varieties are normally bush-type peppers. A bush pepper plant does well in a cage to support it.

We do not prune our pepper plants at all. As mentioned above, some growers like to start plants very early, only to prune them back to force branching. It is an option; we haven’t found it to be necessary. You also want to keep all the leaves to protect the fruit from sunburn. 

You can prune pepper plants back at the end of the season and bring them inside. They will overwinter and continue to grow next spring. 

Ripening peppers indoors

In a cold climate and short growing season, we are often left with a fair amount of green peppers. Green peppers are great tasting, too, and can be used as-is. However, the question came up, can peppers be ripened indoors just like we ripen tomatoes?

It seems that the results are very mixed. Trying it myself, I think it depends more on the variety. Some seem to turn color, and some don’t. Also, of course, it depends on the fruit’s maturity.

To ripen the peppers more quickly, they need to be in a warmer place, which can lead to drying out. In the end, they are not as crispy as freshly harvested. Wrapping them in newspapers or storing them in a brown bag would help some with that. 

My conclusion was that it is not worth it. Use the juicy green peppers instead. 

Preserving peppers

We use peppers mainly in cooking. For that, peppers can be diced and frozen. Blanching is not needed.

We also love pickled hot peppers, fermented hot pepper paste, and canned bell peppers. See our favorite Lecho recipe here. Many of our canning recipes ask for peppers, both sweet and hot.

Make your own hot pepper flakes or powder. 

Growing peppers in a cold climate has been a great experience, and every year we seem to learn more.

Do you grow peppers? Please share your best tips for growing peppers with us.

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