Find more growing tips & recipes: Read all Blog Posts »

Soil for Peppers

Best soil for starting pepper seeds

Best Soil for Peppers:

Best Soil for Starting Pepper Seeds

When starting pepper seeds indoors, it's important to use a good quality seed/seedling starting mix such as Coast of Maine's which performs very well with all pepper seeds. Be sure to use seedling mix rather than garden soil or top soil as seedling/seed mixes are created to be well-draining. We do not recommend using those small Jiffy Pots or peat for starting  pepper seeds, as they just don't seem to like to germinate very well in peat.

Best soil for peppers to transplant into

Once they seedlings have grown and you're ready to transplant, the soil you plant them into is also important. 

In the garden, peppers prefer a well-drained loam or sandy loam soil with a pH of 7.0–8.5. Since peppers prefer rich, loamy soil that is well draining, we like to dig in an inch or so of good, organic compost in garden beds before planting each season. Compost is nature's free fertilizer, and chile plants love it! Learn more about Growing Peppers with Compost. You'll find if you have well-draining soil with lots of compost mixed in, your chile plants will thrive.

If you plant peppers in containers, make sure they are large, at least 5 gallons and filled with good quality potting soil (not garden or top soil!) and has holes for proper drainage. A good potting mix also allows the roots to grow better in pots, and it allows the water to drain out easily so roots don't become waterlogged.

The one thing peppers hate most is wet feet! We find that if your chile plants are turning yellow, overwatering or poor draining soils are most often the problem!


Hatch Chile Seeds – Grown in Wyoming!
Shown above:  One of our seed customers in northern Wyoming grows our Heritage Big Jim seeds with great success!


Nitrogen:
If you use fertilizer, don't over-fertilize with nitrogen especially later in the season – as peppers will grow lots of leaves but won't bloom and fruit as well if they have too much nitrogen!


Hatch Chile Seeds

Customer Question: 

Can soil outside New Mexico be manipulated in any way to mimic New Mexico soil enough to give similar if not the same results in the harvest?

If you have ever lived in New Mexico or tasted Hatch green chile then you know you can’t live without it! Well maybe you’ll live, but wouldn’t it be great to have them growing in your garden? Well you can!

While it's hard to match New Mexico's soils exactly, there are ways to ensure your soil is perfect for peppers! We have customers growing our Hatch Chile seeds all around the world with great success, so you don't need New Mexico soils and climate to be successful.

To try to mimic the soil in, say, the Hatch Chile valley of New Mexico, you want to emulate soils with sandy loam and good aeration and drainage.

Here are some examples of the best conditions for growing Hatch Chile:
  • Soil Composition: The Hatch Valley features well-drained, sandy loam or loam soils with good aeration and drainage, which are ideal for chile growth.
  • Volcanic Soil: The region's volcanic soil is rich in minerals, contributing to the unique flavor profile of Hatch chiles. Volcanic soil generally drains better than many other soil types, which is likely one of the reasons green chile varieties grow well in the Hatch Valley of New Mexico. 
  • pH Levels: Slightly acidic to neutral soil (pH 6.0–7.0) is ideal.
  • Climate: The arid Hatch, New Mexico Valley environment, along with abundant sunlight, and controlled irrigation are all critical factors that influence chile growth and flavor. Know that achieving identical flavor and quality of Hatch chile depends on not only replicating the soil characteristics but also the unique climate conditions of the Hatch Valley. Even there, the weather can be different from season to season so some summers have better production, or have hotter chile such as when the conditions are dry.

Just remember: Technically, if you don't grow Hatch Chile in the Hatch region, then you can't call them Hatch chiles. And you're never going to be able to replicate the exact weather and soil conditions of the Hatch Valley and other chile growing areas in New Mexico unless you live there or are Mother Nature. ;) However, we think New Mexico Chile varieties still taste great no matter where you live in the world, and, for a lot of people who are not in New Mexico, it's hard to even get Hatch chile!

We find that mixing homemade compost into the garden beds before the beginning of each season (and topping with homemade compost sometimes during the summer months) greatly helps build good loamy soil with natural nutrients that Hatch chile plants and all peppers enjoy. 


How to Grow Peppers
Read more of our Top Tips for Growing Peppers »


 
Back to blog
  • Top 5 Peppers to Grow in 2025

    Top 5 Peppers to Grow in 2025

    Here's our Top 5 Peppers to Grow in 2025 Make 2025 great with some super tasty (and spicy) new peppers that are sure to boost those endorphins and delight your...

    Top 5 Peppers to Grow in 2025

    Here's our Top 5 Peppers to Grow in 2025 Make 2025 great with some super tasty (and spicy) new peppers that are sure to boost those endorphins and delight your...

  • Growing seeds in winter - Winter Sowing in February

    Growing seeds in winter: Winter Sowing in February

    Can I winter sow in February? Yes, February is a great time for Winter Sowing in many regions like the West. We usually have to wait until mid-May here in...

    Growing seeds in winter: Winter Sowing in February

    Can I winter sow in February? Yes, February is a great time for Winter Sowing in many regions like the West. We usually have to wait until mid-May here in...

  • Growing Habaneros in Pots

    Growing Habaneros in Pots

    Growing Habaneros in Pots:Growing habanero in pots (or any peppers that are suited to containers) is great for getting a big harvest of habaneros. All habanero varieties grow very well...

    Growing Habaneros in Pots

    Growing Habaneros in Pots:Growing habanero in pots (or any peppers that are suited to containers) is great for getting a big harvest of habaneros. All habanero varieties grow very well...

1 of 3
Fastest Growing Peppers

Fastest Growing Peppers

These are the fastest growing peppers that you can grow from seeds... 

Discount Seeds: 50% Off Seeds + Free Shipping on US Orders over $30

50% OFF SEEDS

Check out our 50% off Seed Discount deals below.  These seeds rotate... 

Best Peppers for Containers

Best Peppers for Containers

If you want to grow peppers in containers, below are our top favorite...