How to Grow Cayenne Peppers in Pots or Containers is so easy. It is actually one of my favorite things to grow. I never waste a pepper. They are easy to freeze. No blanching required. Perfect for drying into pepper flakes. Here are some of my best tips for growing massive yields of cayenne peppers. Although there are many varieties of Cayenne Peppers, I love to grow the Hot Dragon Cayenne Peppers.
Table of Contents
Planting Your Cayenne Pepper Seeds
- Start your seeds indoors around 8 – 10 weeks before the last frost. They like to face North as well.
- Make sure you don’t use the soil from your previous plants. Especially tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, or potatoes to avoid problems or diseases. Do not use garden soil for these peppers, use a commercial blend.
- Place seeds in the soil 1/4″ deep and I recommend one per planter around 18 – 24″ although I have used a 10″ before.
- If you’re going to transplant them, wait until you have a few leaves on the stems.
- Harden them by putting them outside during the day and then bringing them in at night.
- I don’t use any fertilizers I just use an all-purpose blend. The reason is I like them hot. They tend to be hotter if they have less food or fertilizer added to the soil.
- Plant them near tomatoes, basil, parsley, and carrots. Never plant them near the fennel. Fennel does not grow well with others.
- To avoid diseases keep the soil evenly moist and not over-water them.
Caring for your Cayenne Peppers
They are very easy to maintain and care for. Keep them evenly watered especially during hot and humid weather. Always use commercial potting soil rather than garden soil. Watch for any signs of diseases.
Pests and Diseases in Cayenne Pepper Plants
The two culprits you need to watch for are the Tobacco Mosaic Virus and the Tomato Root-Knot Nematodes. You can use the Pepper Disease Identification to give you further information.
Harvesting Your Cayenne Peppers
What I love about these peppers is they can be picked at any time but I do like to wait until they have turned red. The easiest ways to preserve your cayenne peppers are to freeze them (no blanching required) and to dry them. I can usually get two years’ worth of pepper flakes from 2 plants. You can dry them slowly in your oven if you do not have a dehydrator. I place them on tin foil and in the oven for about 6 hours on low. 200 degrees F.
My Recommendations
-
2 Pack – SimpleHouseware 11″ x 50 Feet Vacuum Sealer Bags (total 100 feet) -
CalmDo Vacuum Sealer, Fully Automatic Food Sealer -
DUOFIRE Herb Drying Rack 6-Layer Hanging Dryer -
‘California Wonder’ Bell Pepper/Capsicum 30-40 Seeds -
Jalapeno Pepper *40-50 Seeds* Organic – Canadian Seed -
Hot Pepper Seed Variety Grow Kit – Ghost (Bhut Jolokia), Habanero, Jalapeno
Hi Brenda my name is Beverly Medley it’s my first time to grow peppers or anything. It’s December in Alabama and cayenne pepper plant have peppers on it and I don’t know how to prune it can you tell me if I should trim it back. I thinking I should let it be in it 10 gallon bucket it’s growing and looks amazing. What do you think? Thanks so much. I’m so scarred because I don’t know what I’m doing. Thanks…
Hi Beverly, thank you for stopping in, and a lot of people debate on whether to prune your peppers or not. I don’t myself. I only keep the dead leaves or any diseased leaves off the plant. Here is a great video I found. As for the pot size, you can transplant, however, I usually only keep mine a 5 Gallon pot for the growing season. I freeze a lot of them and dehydrate them for pepper flakes. So I usually have an abundance all year round. Here is the video I mentioned, I hope it will help you. https://youtu.be/BGyYyiU-1xI
Thanks for the video. ️ It’s April and now my cayenne pepper plant in a 5 gallon bucket and doing great. Do I start feeding my cayenne pepper now and what should I feed it. I didn’t feed it last year because I didn’t know I should but now I know so I want to feed my Cayenne pepper plant the right way. Can you please let me know what to buy to feed my Cayenne pepper plant. Thank you so much for your help.