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Starting peppers from seed in the UK can be a rewarding experience. With the right conditions, you can enjoy a bountiful harvest of vibrant peppers. You may choose to grow either sweet peppers or chilli’s, but which variety? Our range of chilli’s peppers we have on offer varies from ones with a very low heat rating, up to very fiery chilli’s reaching over 1 million on the Scoville Heat Unit Chart.

Have a look at our handy chart which may help you to decide how hot you can handle, and which chilli peppers to sow this year.

Once you have your seeds, to begin, you'll want to sow them indoors around early spring. You can start them from the end of January through February if you have a propagator. Sow on the surface of free draining seed sowing compost and sprinkle lightly with compost or vermiculite. They will need to be kept at a temperature of around 18-21°C until the seeds germinate. This gives them a head start before the outdoor temperatures warm up. Make sure to provide plenty of light and warmth to encourage healthy growth.

Once the seedlings are strong enough, you can prick them out into pots and grow under glass. Gradually acclimatise them to outdoor conditions before transplanting them into well-drained soil and planting in growbags or into pots in the greenhouse or outdoors in a sunny but sheltered position. With proper care, you'll be on your way to enjoying fresh, homegrown peppers in no time! Feed pepper plants once a week with tomato fertiliser when the first fruits have set. To help support the weight of the crop, we would recommend you support plants with canes and ties as they grow.