So, you want to try your hand at growing chile peppers of your own, and you’re not sure where to start? There are so many types of pepper plants, from green peppers to red peppers and sweet peppers to hot peppers, but Anaheim peppers are one of our favorites. These versatile chili peppers have the perfect blend of Scoville heat units and sweetness, and growing Anaheim peppers at home is easier than you think.
These mild California peppers originated in New Mexico, usually do not contain much capsaicin, and have a Scoville scale range of 500 to 2,500.
However, their spiciness depends on where you grow them. They are milder than the jalapeno, serrano, and cayenne peppers and similar to poblano and banana peppers.
Anaheim peppers are a medium-sized chili that grows six to ten inches long and delicious in various Mexican recipes, from chili Rellenos to salsa verde.
Their color ranges from light green to deep red, and they are a useful substitute for any dish that calls for bell peppers.
Easy Ways to Grow Anaheim Peppers at Home
It’s a great idea to grow your own peppers. Before you know it you will be able to identify hot peppers over mild varieties and choose the best ones for your favorite recipes.
Anaheim peppers are closer on the Scoville scale to mild bell peppers than super-hot habanero peppers, which makes them the perfect pepper to grow if you don’t like your food too spicy.
The best way to grow Anaheim peppers is to start them from seed indoors. Growing plants from seeds is a great way to get a head start on the growing season.
Anaheim pepper seeds are inexpensive and available at garden nurseries and online merchants. We’ll show you how to grow Anaheim peppers at home by starting them from seed indoors and caring for them in the garden, raised beds, or containers.
What to Know before Growing Anaheim Peppers
It’s essential to learn a few things before you grow Anaheim pepper plants to produce the healthiest plants and tastiest pepper fruits. How much sunlight do they need, and can you grow them in pots? We’ll answer these questions and more.
The first thing to check when you decide to start growing your own peppers at home is sunshine. Chilies require at least six hours of full sun daily to thrive and grow better when they get up to eight hours of light.
Pick a spot in your yard or patio that gives them enough sunshine. To grow the healthiest spicy, sweet pepper plants, consider purchasing heirloom seeds passed down from generations for the best-tasting fruit.
Choose seeds that are resistant to disease and common problems. When your seedlings are ready to transplant outside, ensure that the soil temperature is about 65°F, the nighttime temperatures are above 55°F, and that the last frost has passed.
Anaheim pepper plants take about 75 to 80 days to mature, so it’s not advisable to plant pepper seeds directly outdoors unless you live in a southern region within suitable hardiness zones.
After you plant your peppers outside, don’t forget to spread mulch over the garden bed or in the pot to retain moisture and stop weeds from stealing nutrients.
Fertilize peppers right after you plant them and then again once they produce fruit. Use a fertilizer balanced with nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, and add calcium if your soil is lacking. The best soil for pepper plants contains these elements.
Best Way to Grow Anaheim Peppers from Seed
The entire growing process of peppers is often longer than the length of warm temperatures in many climates.
While some regions are fine for growing vegetables from seed outdoors, other places have a shorter growing season. Here is the best way to grow Anaheim peppers from seed inside your home.
Before growing Anaheim pepper plants outside, start them indoors from seed six to eight weeks before the last frost. Fill a seed starting tray with damp potting mix, press one or two seeds down into the top quarter-inch of the soil, and cover them with dirt.
Set the tray in front of a sunny window where the temperature is between 80 and 85°F and cover it with black plastic. If your home is not warm enough or you don’t have a north-facing window, consider placing them beneath a grow light.
Keep the seeds moist but not soggy by spraying the tray daily with water. The germination process takes roughly four to six weeks. Once they germinate, remove the plastic and let them grow three to four more weeks in the tray before transplanting them outside.
How to Grow Anaheim Peppers Outdoors
Once your seeds germinate and grow true leaves, it’s time to get them ready for the outdoors, where they flourish and produce the most fruit. Here is how to grow Anaheim peppers or grow habaneros by transplanting your pepper seedlings in a garden or pot.
Once your plants are ready to move from the windowsill to the garden, harden them off by taking them outside each day for a couple of hours.
Prepare the garden or fill a large pot with garden soil and make a hole in the dirt that is slightly deeper and wider than your plant’s bottom. Remove the seedling from its original pot and carefully set it in the hole.
Cover the base with dirt and pat it down lightly with your hands. Water the pepper plants to help them settle, feed them with a balanced fertilizer, and spread mulch around the base.
Grow hot pepper companion plants like tomatoes and basil near your Anaheim peppers to take advantage of their mutually beneficial properties.
Water them daily when the top inch of soil is dry. Growing poblano peppers in containers, as well as other pepper plants, have higher watering needs than a garden.
How big do ghost pepper plants get? What about Anaheim peppers? These plants can reach up to six feet when fully grown. In about 80 days, your plants begin producing green and red pepper fruits.
Knowing how to grow Anaheim pepper plants in a garden bed or container has its perks. Provide them with the right conditions and give them some TLC, and the plants compensate you with a mildly sweet and spicy crop of peppers for your favorite recipes.
Growing Anaheim peppers of your own takes a bit of time and patience, but the reward is well worth it, so why not share our Anaheim pepper growing guide with the gardeners in your life on Pinterest and Facebook?