Wondering how to make peppers grow faster? Here are our top tips for faster growing pepper plants.
1. Start Fast-Growing Pepper Seeds Early:
Keep the seeds very warm for germinating. Keeping pepper seeds warm at 80-90˚ F is best for fast and successful germination. Most pepper seeds germinate within 7-21 days, but some can take longer than that so be patient and keep them consistently warm. Seedling heat mats can help greatly!
Pepper Seed Germination Time:
Starting peppers earlier than other vegetables is helpful as some pepper seeds, especially the super hot peppers like the Carolina Reaper, take a lot longer to germinate. Read more about pepper seed germination »
2. Start Peppers Seeds Indoors
Get a head start, most peppers need along growing season. See below for some faster growing varieties, as well if you want to speed it up. Use bright indoor lights which will help them grow until the warm weather comes to stay.
Don't plant peppers outside unless it's warmed up to over 60-70˚ F at night consistently. Peppers don't like cool weather and their growth will be stunted if they are planted before the weather has sufficiently warmed up. You can also plant them earlier and protect them from spring cold-spells by using season extenders such as cold frames, hoop houses, water-walls, or greenhouses.
It's also good to brush the pepper plants daily with your hands or put a small fan on them to stimulate them to grow healthier and thicker (not so leggy). Make sure there is good air circulation, don't keep domes on them once they are sprouted.
3. Grow Short Season Peppers:
Of course finding faster growing pepper varieties will also really help you to get a jump on the harvest season. One of the fastest growing peppers include all of our Jalapenos which are one of the first hot peppers to harvest for all you spice lovers.
Below are lots of other early peppers so you can grow peppers faster:
Meet The Earliest Pepper:
The Sweet Chocolate Bell Pepper is the earliest pepper we carry at Sandia Seed! These grow fast into into robust pepper plants with delicious small chocolate-colored bell peppers around just 57 days after planting!
Early Jalapeño Seeds – Of course one of our favorites is the early Jalapeno, because it's a spicy pepper ready around just 65 days to harvest, making it one of our fastest growing peppers.
Orange Spice Jalapeño Seeds:
Orange jalapeños are a bright delight when fully ripe, and, like most jalapeños, are super fast growing – ready to harvest around 65 days from planting the seeds!
Lemon Spice Jalapeño Seeds:
Yellow jalapeños are also our most popular peppers lately, and start harvesting fast in just 65 days, and they also keep bearing all season.
Fushimi Pepper Seeds – These Japanese sweet peppers can be harvested earlier than most other peppers, and are very prolific the entire season.
Shishito Pepper Seeds – Shishito peppers are always among the first to appear in the garden, and we get to keep picking them all summer long. They are delicious when fried in a little sesame oil with salt and a splash of lemon. Very tasty!! 
Mild Hatch Green Chile NM 6-4 Seeds – Great for short seasons, this is our most popular Hatch green chile to grow because of its mild heat content and it matures early at just 70 days from seed to first harvest.
This early hatch chile has thick fleshy walls and grows on 30” plants. A large amount of this Mild Hatch Green Chile can be added to recipes for delicious and traditional flavor and aroma with mild heat and not the burn of hotter varieties.
Find more of the Fastest Growing Peppers:
FOR MORE PEPPER GROWING TIPS:
Learn more about how to grow chiles faster »
