Sow from mid-February to early April indoors in pots or seed trays of seed compost. You will need to keep the temperature around18-21C (65-70F), so use a propagator or place on a warm windowsill, with plastic bags over the pots to keep the heat and moisture in.
Young plants are available from garden centres in spring as an alternative to sowing.
You can grow peppers in containers or in growbags or in open ground, as long as it is a hot, sunny spot (at the base of a wall for instance).
Transplant into 7.5-9cm (3-3.5in) pots when two true leaves have formed.
Further transfer plants to 30cm (12in) pots of good compost once the roots fill the 9cm (3in) pot in late April (if growing in a heated greenhouse), mid-May (if in an unheated greenhouse) or late May if growing outside.
Alternatively, plant 45cm (18in) apart if growing in the soil. Pinch out the growing tips of chillies when they are about 20cm (8in) tall to encourage bushiness; sideshoots (the shoots forming between the main stem and leaves) can be further pinched back if you want lots of smaller fruit.
You may need to stake and tie plants in if they are likely to produce lots of heavy fruit.
Water regularly and feed with a high potash liquid fertiliser once the first fruit has set.
Pick the fruit as required when it is green, swollen and glossy. Alternatively, keep the fruit on the plant to turn red; this affects both flavour and heat. However, leaving fruit on to mature does reduce yield.
‘Gourmet’ AGM: A beautiful bright orange sweet pepper with a long cropping season. It is well-suited for growing outdoors in containers, or in a greenhouse.
‘Gypsy’ AGM: This is an early-cropping, bright red sweet pepper with good flavour.
Red spider mite: This is a pest mainly of crops grown in greenhouses, but will also attack plants outdoors, especially in a hot, dry summer. You may be able to see the spider mite with the naked eye, and they are not actually red, but yellowish-green (they turn red over winter). They suck the plant sap and cause a fine, pale mottling on the leaf surface. In heavy infestations, the leaves turn yellow and fall off.
Remedy: Keep the air around your plants humid by misting with water. You can spray plant oils, fatty acids
More advice on red spider mite
Aphids: Most vegetables suffer from aphid attack sometime during the year. Damage is mostly noticeable in early summer and you will see colonies of green or black aphids at the tips of plants. They suck sap from leaves and stems and excrete a sticky substance called honeydew, which then often attracts black sooty moulds to grow. In most cases the damage can be tolerated.
Remedy: Use your finger and thumb to squash aphid colonies. In most cases you won’t need to spray, but you could use pyrethrum, plant or fish oils or thiacloprid.
More information on aphids
Blossom end rot: Your peppers may form dark blotches at the end of the fruits (opposite end from the stalk). This is a physiological problem ( not caused by a pest or disease) and is caused by lack of calcium in the fruits.
Remedy: There is nothing you can do to save fruits once they have blossom end rot, but you can prevent subsequent fruits from being affected by keeping the soil consistently moist throughout the growing season. During hot periods it may need watering two or more times a day.
More advice on blossom end rot