How to Grow and Harvest Banana Peppers

Every time I say banana I start singing the Gwen Stefani “Holla back” song!! Right or wrong…I do it!

When planning the garden this year, Kris mentioned he wanted to try to grow some banana peppers. I thought about this for about 10 seconds and asked if there would be pickling involved? Of course, his answer was “YES!” So I jumped on the Team BANANA pepper wagon!!! And man, am I glad I did!

Like other peppers, we started some inside and bought one plant. We clapped and spelled the whole way – “this plant is B-A-N-A-N-A-S”

1 – Growing from seeds

Build you own indoor greenhouse with biodegradable pots, seed starting mix (organic like this one), organic seeds, and a greenhouse made out of foil pans with plastic lids (like this). I encourage you to find that green and white label on your seeds for true organic gardening.

To create your greenhouse:

1. Lay out the foil pans
2. Break the pots apart and lay them in the foil pans
3. Don’t over stuff your greenhouse, just buy extra foil pans…they are only $1
4. Put the seed starting soil in the pots – pack the soil slightly
5. Follow the directions on the seed package for how deep to insert the seed
6. Water the soil
7. Put water at the bottom of the foil pan, just enough to reach all the pots, DO NOT over water the bottom
8. Put the top on the foil pan
9. Place the pan in the sunlight
10. The sun and water will create a greenhouse for you! SO don’t open it until it’s time to water.

2 – Harden your seedlings

When your seeds are ready for the great outdoors, you must acclimate them one day at a time. Start, when you KNOW the frost is gone, these seedlings do not like temperatures under 50 degrees! To prepare them for their place in the garden, remove the greenhouse top and set the seedlings outside for a few hours in the shade. You may have some seedlings that die, but that’s ok, Darwin would be proud! Increase their exposure to sunlight with each day they are outside until they are spending 6-8 hours in the sun. Then they are ready.

3 – Transplanting

Banana peppers need to be planted at least a 1/4″ deep. So plant them that deep in their starter pots AND when you place them in the garden. Remember to peel off the bottom layer of the pots before placing them in the final place. They tend not to grow roots out of those so easily.

Check out this post for deciding where to plant.

Water your plants after you have transplanted them, so you don’t cause root shock.

4 – Daily care

Something to keep in mind is that banana peppers are heat sensitive, that means the LOVE warmth! BUT….they still need water. It is recommended that they receive 1 – 2 inches each week.

When your seedlings are stronger and start to form a solid stem, pinch off the bottom leaves. You do not want ANY leaves touching the soil. This invites bugs and diseases all the way up the stem, stop it before it gets to your veggies!

5 – Harvesting

Now let’s talk about what to do when we start seeing veggies! Banana peppers have a 65-90 day harvest period, meaning it takes a long time to see veggies! Once you see the first one, be prepared because they are going to keep on comin’!

Peppers can be harvested when they reach the desired size and have a bright yellow hue. The longer you leave them on the stalk, the sweeter they become….but they will rot….so keep a close eye on them.

Some types of bananas will turn RED after yellow. I have left them on the branch too long and they turn this fantastic red but I’m scared to eat them. We planted sweet bananas and I’m not sure if red means HOT or ROT?!?!?! If you plant HOT bananas, red means spicy. That is when you want to harvest that type. Until I become brave….I’m sticking to YELLOW only!

To remove them from the stalk, use scissors. Pulling the veggie off will bend the plant and cause more leaning. Make sure you leave some of the stem on the plant.

6 – Storage

Peppers are one of those long lasting vegetables. You can store them in a plastic bag in the fridge for 7-10 days after a harvest. I recommend cleaning them and drying them before putting them in the bag.

Now, you have more peppers than you can manage. I’m pretty sure one plant gives hundreds of peppers. And pickling these babies are a great idea, but you will have more than enough to do that. So I scoured the internet to find you some ideas on what to do with your harvest.

Check out these 10 ideas – https://recipes.howstuffworks.com/menus/5-creative-ways-to-use-banana-peppers10.htm

Happy gardening,