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Bring on in seed trays, then plant out seedlings. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed.
Best planted at soil temperatures between 18°C and 35°C.

Capsicums are frost tender and need warmth to ripen the fruit to the brilliant reds and yellows of commercial ones. They can be used green but are not as sweet.

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Culinary hints - cooking and eating Capsicum

Can be sliced and seeded and used raw in salads.
Will freeze successfully without blanching if seeded and sliced.

Or brush with olive oil, roast at a high temperature until the skin changes colour
then put in a covered dish until cool and rub off the skin and remove seeds.

Your comments and tips

07 Dec 07 Sally (Unknown climate)

do you know why my leaves are turning black and falling off my capsicum plant

02 Jan 08 jim kitis (Unknown climate)

sally have you done a complete nutrient analysis on your soil? a lot of capsicum plants have leaves that go dark but with them going black and falling off it may be something simple as lackign a trace element. also is your ph spot on? kindest regards jimbo

08 Jan 08 daniel (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

sally,i have approx 30-40 chilli plants which most are fruiting really well,but i have recently added 12 mexican chilli plants to my garden and they seem to having the same problem as yours.they are planted in containers and i always use the same fertilizers and potting mix as i know it works well on my existing plants.the new plants have almost become plastic like and the new growth at the top of the plant has become stunted-plant still is green and healthy looking though? i live in brisbane and we recently got a lot of rain followed by pretty extreme sunny hot days. also,can anyone advise me on knowing when your chillis are ready for picking,as all the seeds i used for my plants are from red chillis and i seem to have a lot of green fruit that has been on the plants for a few weeks going on a month.i would hat to waste them as i have had a few drop off which i have cut up and put in a jar of good olive oil-a awesome italian oil trick i got from a mates mother from italy-she provided me with my sedds.

14 Jan 08 margherita (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

We live in subtropical Queensland, and have great difficulty in preventing capisum from falling prey to caterpillars. any suggestions?

15 Jan 08 liam pilsworth (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

why wont my capsicums grow big like the ones in the shop do you have any ideas?

13 Feb 08 jack (Unknown climate)

try buying seedlings as it is easier from there. with bugs just get a thin light mesh to cover your plant but don't do it on smaller plants as it can harm them, but you could post stick in the ground and make a roof kind of area.

19 Feb 08 Jim (Unknown climate)

The capsicum seedlings I bought are producing black capsicums is this normal

24 Feb 08 Leisa (Unknown climate)

Once harvested can you cut back and continue to grow and harvest again. We only have 10 plants and they have already yielded.

27 Mar 08 Jo (Unknown climate)

Hi, I've just moved into a home which has a huge capsicum bush, however the seeds are black and i tried the flesh of the capsicum and they are very hot! any ideas or tips would be much appreciated

30 Mar 08 Chris (Unknown climate)

Jo, that sounds like it could be some sort of chilli. You can get large chilli varieties which look like capsicums. My tip would be to blacken them over a flame, cool to handling temperature in a plastic bag (so the steam is trapped), and chop finely to make a delicious salsa with chopped tomato and onion! (This works very well for ordinary capsicums as well as most chillies)

18 Apr 08 Bruce (Unknown climate)

capsicum plants are producing some capsicum not a lot and the leaves are a become somewhat wilted as they grow the plants are in a large pot with good quality soil mix with good drainage any ideas how to improve the numbers is vegies or health of the plants.

04 Jul 08 chris (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

my caps, are all getting a tiny pin hole in them, and there is silk inside. would fine mesh restrict the sunlight