Yellow Pepper Seeds 10 Seeds

Yellow Pepper (Capsicum annuum) is a sweet bell type prized for its glossy, blocky fruit that ripens from green to a brilliant golden-yellow. The thick, crisp walls are mild and completely free of heat, and the flavour grows noticeably sweeter the longer the fruit is left to colour on the plant. Its cheerful colour brightens fresh salads and crudités, while the firm flesh holds its shape beautifully when stuffed, roasted or tossed on the grill — making this a rewarding, versatile variety for any sunny Egyptian garden or balcony.

Planting

This is a warm-season crop that is best started indoors from seed about 8 weeks before you plan to transplant outdoors. Sow the seeds roughly 0.6 cm deep in a sterile seed-starting mix. Warmth is the key to good germination: keep the mix at about 27-32 C, where seeds typically come up in around 7-10 days; in cooler soil germination is very slow. Peppers need full sun and perform best in air above 15 C, while temperatures above 30 C reduce fruit set and nights below 10-13 C slow growth. Move plants outdoors only once all frost has passed, nighttime lows stay above 10 C, and the soil has warmed to about 18 C. Space the transplants roughly 30-46 cm apart in rows 61-91 cm apart.

Fertilizing

Go easy on nitrogen — too much produces bushy, leafy plants with poor fruit set. At transplanting, water the young plants in with a high-phosphorus starter solution. Once the first flush of peppers has set, apply a supplemental side-dressing, adding phosphorus and potassium according to a soil test. For peppers grown in containers, feed weekly with a high-potassium liquid fertiliser from the time flowering begins.

Care

Aim to give plants about 2.5 cm of water per week when natural rain is lacking, using drip irrigation and avoiding overhead watering. Keep the soil evenly moist, since inconsistent moisture causes flower and bud drop as well as blossom-end rot. Watch for common pests such as aphids, cutworms, tomato hornworms, tarnished plant bugs and flea beetles, and for diseases including bacterial spot, Phytophthora and mosaic viruses; blossom-end rot (a calcium issue) and sunscald are the main physiological disorders. Harvest yellow peppers once they are firm, glossy and full-sized at about 8-10 cm; leaving the fruit on the plant longer to colour up fully gives the sweetest flavour. Pick the first fruits promptly with shears to encourage further fruit set. Maturity runs roughly 60-90 days from transplant depending on conditions.

Growing in Egypt: Peppers are frost-sensitive and need soil above about 18 C to transplant, with air of 15-30 C for the best fruit set; above 30 C and on hot dry winds, flowers drop and fruit fails to set. In the Nile Delta and Lower Egypt, start seed in a nursery or greenhouse in January-February and transplant the 45-60 day-old seedlings in March-April once frost risk is gone and the soil has warmed, for a harvest from late spring into early summer before the peak heat. A fall ("Nili") crop can be sown in July-August and transplanted in late August-September for a cooler autumn harvest. In the North Delta, peppers can also be grown through the mild winter under simple low tunnels or greenhouses. In warmer Upper Egypt (Assiut, Sohag, Aswan), shift the spring planting a little earlier, transplanting in February-March so flowering finishes before the very hot months, and favour the autumn and winter slots over summer, when temperatures routinely exceed 35-40 C and abort the blossoms.