Paprika
Light and heat
Peppers are a member of the nightshade family and are therefore related to potatoes and tomatoes. Peppers have been cultivated in South America for a long time. It came to Europe when seeds were shipped back from 16th century expeditions. With its crunchy texture and sweet taste, it quickly became a favourite in European cuisine.
As a true South American, paprika loves light and heat. It is therefore best grown in a greenhouse, on a glassed-in patio or in another sheltered location with plenty of sun.
Sowing and planting peppers
Peppers need a long time to develop fruit. Sow indoors already in Jan-April. Soak the seeds in lukewarm water for 24 hours before sowing to speed up germination. Cover with 0.5-1 cm of soil and keep moist during germination. Peppers need warm temperatures to germinate, around 22-25 degrees. Once the seedlings have emerged, they need extra light to become compact. To avoid gangly plants, we also tend to top them just above a leaf at some point while they are growing.
Replant the plants in increasingly larger pots. For the final transplant, they need a really big pot, preferably 10-20 litres. This will give the roots plenty of room to grow and the pepper will have the strength to set fruit.
After a couple of weeks, the plant has eaten up the nutrients in the pot. Then we start giving liquid fertiliser about every three weeks. Maybe a little more when they are in the process of producing fruit.
It is good to top the pepper plant again when it is about 20 cm high to encourage branching. When fully grown it will be between 50-100cm high. Some varieties have a shrub-like growth habit. Others may need some support, for example by a bamboo stick, trellis or wall.
Pests on peppers
Peppers can be susceptible to pests. Unwanted visits can be prevented by regularly spraying with ordinary lukewarm water. If aphids or whiteflies do appear, they can be controlled with soap solution. Half a decilitre of soap to a litre of water is sufficient. You can also mix in 2 tsp. methylated spirits or 1 tbsp. neem oil. Spray the mixture on both soil surface and leaves. Visits by spider mites show themselves in the form of light-coloured webs between the leaves. Rinse away these webs with a soft shower jet or spray bottle.
Overwintering peppers
When the days get cooler, it’s a good idea to bring one or more pepper plants inside to overwinter. Indoors, it doesn’t necessarily need to be kept in a warm or sunny place, as the plant will rest during the winter anyway. It is quite normal for it to lose some leaves. In spring, when the light returns, it’s time to add light and nutrients again. The pepper won’t bear fruit during the cold months, but by the time summer arrives you’ll have a strong plant with a well-developed root system. It will get a real kick-start to the growing season.
Peppers in cooking
Paprika is a ‘vegetable fruit’ – that is, a plant that is botanically a fruit, but is used in the kitchen as a vegetable. It is harvested from August. Cutting off the fruits stimulates the plant to produce more. Green peppers are perfectly edible, but the yellow or red fruits are slightly sweeter.
Peppers add colour to cooking. It’s sweet and tasty as a raw vegetable, for example in salads and on sandwiches. Or mix red peppers with pumpkin seeds and spices for a beautifully pink-tinted dip. Heat-treating the peppers brings out their sweetness even more. Peppers are delicious in woks, stews, stuffed and au gratin or oven roasted.
Author: Johanna Damm
Fact-checked by Erik Hoekstra
Last updated 2022-10-14