Banana Pepper Plants – Varieties – How To Plant – How To Grow – How To Harvest – Using Banana Peppers – Propagating Seedlings – Summary – FAQ
As most hobby gardeners begin with growing basil or perhaps rosemary at home, the next step to learn more about gardening could be pepper plants. They are easy to care for and quite often resilient against a lot of diseases and other issues.
Below we will talk about growing and caring for the banana pepper plant. Perhaps not the most common variety out there but definitely one worth exploring anyway. It has a great flavor and is easy to cultivate and care for too.
What Are Banana Pepper Plants
Banana pepper plants are one of the best varieties to start out with if you are a beginner. They don’t grow too quickly, meaning you need to start quite early in the year to have the plant able to produce chilis by the end of the summer.
The chilis on banana plants are quite large. They are long and quite thin with a distinct green color to them. Almost bright green and not the darker shade that jalapenos can have. They grow in preferably warm climates where the temperatures stay elevated for large parts of the year.
Types Of Banana Peppers
There are many different varieties of banana plants out there, some going more on the spicy side but there are also those that lean to the more sweeter end of the spectrum. This means that you will be able to find your favorite and the variety that fits you.
As a general rule of thumb, the spicer varieties take longer to grow and be ready for harvest. While the sweeter or less spicy ones grow more quickly. It will take about 6 months from start to finish to be able to harvest from the plant if you do everything right.
How To Plant A Banana Pepper Plant
Planting the seed is the first step of growing a banana pepper plant. Once you have found the variety that you like then you need to prepare small containers with soil. Make sure there are some small holes in the bottom of the containers that will help lead away any excess water. It will make it easier for the roots to grow if you have this.
Place the seeds on the soil and then lightly cover with more soil. Add some water and then leave the container in a very sunny and warm place in order to get the seeds to start germinating. This will normally take anywhere between 2 – 3 weeks or so.
After a month you should start seeing the first signs of progress. Try and keep the soil slightly damp all the time as well. That will greatly help the roots be able to pass on nutrition and not be stressed out by dry soil.
After about 3 months the plant is able to be transplanted into a larger container where it will live for the rest of its time. Here we want the container to also have some holes in the bottom.
How To Grow And Care For A Banana Pepper Plant
Growing and caring for a banana pepper plant is mostly about keeping the soil healthy and every now and again rotating the plant to give a good amount of sunlight exposure.
Keep the soil slightly damp all the time in order to have the roots growing at a steady pace. The thing that happens when they get overwatered is that oxygen can properly reach them, resulting in them beginning to drown instead.
If that happens then the leaves will often begin to change in color and might even start to curl up. To fix this you need to hold off on watering and also find a warmer and sunnier place where the water can more quickly evaporate.
How To Harvest Banana Peppers
Harvesting banana peppers is really not that hard. It’s the most exciting time of growing the plant as all the hard work of keeping an eye on it will now show some results.
Pick the banana peppers when they have a nice green color to them and almost a snap. That will mean they are really ripe and full of both flavor and nutrition. Try and have a plan for using them too when you havrest, Since the flavor will start to diminish the longer you wait with using them.
What To Use The Plant For
There are a number of different ways you could use banana peppers for. We like to use them in chili oils as the flavor you get for the effort put in is remarkable. Chop the chilis finely and then pour warm oil on top. Let this sit and infuse until the next day before using. Now you have your own spicy chili oil, or sweet chili oil if you have that variety.
Propagating Banana Pepper Seedlings
It’s easy to proparage and repot seedlings of the plant. Make sure they are about 7 – 8 inches tall or so before transplanting them into a new container. That way the plant is large enough to fit and fill the new space more efficiently.
Fill the new and larger container with healthy soil and make a small hole in the middle. Plant the seedling in there and fill with soil around it. Tap down gently to make sure the seedling is also stable enough. Water the top soil until it’s slightly damp and leave the plant in a sunny spot.
Summary
In short, growing a banana pepper plant is all about keeping the soil well watered and rich in nutrition. But also balancing that with finding a good and sunny spot where the plant can grow steady.
FAQ
Are Banana Peppers Easy To Grow
Banana peppers are definitely one of the easier plants to grow as a beginner. It’s quite rare that you run into issues with diseases or pests. The only real issue would be overwatering perhaps, but even then the banana pepper is quite sturdy and resilient.
How Long Does It Take For A Banana Pepper Plant To Produce
It will take about 5 months from start to finish before you are able to harvest any chilis from the plant. This takes into account the plant has been growing in the perfect environment as well.
How Big Does A Banana Pepper Plant Get
A banana pepper plant can get quite large actually. It’s perhaps one of the larger varieties you can still keep indoors. About 2 – 3 feet tall can be expected at least.
