Do you have to max out pepper plants? Opinions differ on this question. Here are a few reasons why you should take care of them, as well as a guide to pinching out pepper plants.

Pulking peppers can result in a more stable and higher yield

Grow your own peppers in the garden and bring in a bountiful harvest - many people dream of that. In reality, however, it is often not that easy to stimulate your peppers (Capsicum) to produce many large fruits. In addition to sufficient sun, warmth, water and nutrients, cutting out the pepper plants is a measure that can increase yields and prevent diseases. You can find out the exact procedure, what needs to be considered and what applies to cutting out chili and pepperoni in this article.

Do you have to exhaust peppers?

As with cucumbers (Cucumis), it is not absolutely necessary to use up the peppers. But it offers some advantages:

  • Removal of superfluous side shoots: The growth energy is put into the formation of fruit and not from a lot of leaf mass and long shoots. In this way, the plant may set fewer fruits, but still have enough energy for good growth.
  • A better microclimate in the stand: If the foliage is too dense, it is often warm and humid in between - perfect living conditions for many pests and pathogens. If the crop is thinned out, it can dry faster and air can circulate better. This is how diseases can be prevented.
  • In the wild, pepper plants tend to shed some flowers on their own because they don't have enough vigor to produce fruit from each flower. Pinching out takes some of the work off pepper plants. At the same time you can steer the growth of the plant into the desired shape.

If the pepper plant is left alone, it grows rather bushy, because a new shoot forms in each leaf axil. In this way, the number of side shoots quickly increases. If you pinch peppers, you direct the growth of the plant from width to height.

Tip: Fasten pinched peppers to a support - the growth in width does not correspond to the natural growth of pepper plants.

Nonehuman intervention, pepper plants tend to stay small and grow bushy

Peppers, chillies and hot peppers all belong to the same plant genus (Capsicum). For this reason, the care is also very similar. Since the fruits of chili and pepperoni are smaller, you can also leave more side shoots and you will get a larger harvest. If at all, chili or pepperoni should only be used in greatly reduced form.

Tip: Opinions differ when it comes to the question of whether pepper plants should be used to the full or not. However, it has been proven that at least the bursting of the king flower usually increases the yield. The king flower is the first flower to form at the top of the plant, between the main shoot and the first side shoot. If it is broken out, the pepper plant usually produces more fruit overall.

When cutting out peppers, you have to be careful not to accidentally remove the fruit base

Peppers: Instructions

If you decide to pinch your pepper plants, you should start with the young plants. The earlier a stinging shoot is removed, the smaller the wound and the less unnecessary energy the plant has already put into this shoot. You should therefore regularly check your pepper plants for new stinging shoots and, if possible, remove them in the morning and when the weather is dry. This reduces the risk of infection. But which shoots have to be removed? There are different approaches, of which we would like to present two:

  1. Remove each side shoot directly on the main shoot. With this method, only the flowers and fruits are left on the main shoot. If the side shoots are discovered in time, they can easily be broken out with your fingers. However, if they are a bit larger, it is better to use a sharp knife or sharp pruning shears. This keeps the wound smaller and doesn't fray, which promises faster healing and a lower risk of infection.
  2. Prune the shoot tips of the side shoots after their first flowering and the development of the first leaf. As already described, a new shoot forms in each leaf axil of the side shoot, so that with this method the side shoots of the side shoot have to be removed. What speaks for this method is that you stick a little more to the natural growth of the plant. In contrast to tomatoes, the side shoots of pepper plants are often more fertile.
In commercial cultivation, only the main shoot and the fruits on it are often left

You can be a little more relaxed when using up pepperoni and chili. The plants often also have very fertile side shoots and with the smaller fruits, chilli plants usually have enough strength to ripen their fruits even without pinching.

Tip: Peppers are often large and cost the plant a lot of energy. To ensure a rich harvest, regular watering and an adequate supply of nutrients are therefore essential. If you want to be sure that your plant is optimally cared for, you can use our Plantura organic tomato and vegetable fertilizer, for example. It is completely animal-free and, with its slightly higher potassium content, also has an ideal nutrient composition for pepper plants.

Usually you don't have to exhaust chilli plants

Pepper plants are therefore not absolutely necessary. The situation is similar with cucumbers, but it can also make sense there. In our guide to picking cucumbers, you will learn when the care measure is worthwhile and how to proceed.

Category:

Vegetables