Home gardening can be enjoyable and sometimes rewarding if you have a plentiful harvest.
Although shishito peppers are tropical vegetables and versatile, they will flourish in different regions just as long as there are certain conditions that are met.
Thus, they can really be a wonderful addition to your container gardening.
Shishito peppers are very easy to grow and care for in containers. As all plants do, they have needs that help it grow into its full potential, and the below aspects need to be ensured.
In order to have a solid harvest from your shishito plants, you only need to ensure nutrition access and soil moisture, amount of sun, spacing, water levels, and a good draining pot.
If this is followed, you can get best results by simply ensuring the following tips:
How to Grow Shishito Peppers in Pots
Choose A Large Container
Starting to grow shishito peppers in pots, or buckets, begins with choosing the right pot or bucket.
Since shishito peppers require well-drained soil, select a container that is made of a non-absorbent plastic or metal.
Shishito peppers require space for their roots to expand so, choose a container that is at least 12 inches across, and a gallon in depth.
This plant also requires good drainage. And so, when selecting a pot, make sure it has drainage holes.
Quick Tip: If using a container like a bucket that does not already have drainage holes, plan to drill them in the bottom with a 3/8 inch drill bit, before adding the potting mix.
Get Organic Potting Mix
Shishito peppers are happiest when they are planted in well-draining, fertile soils whose pH sits between 6 – 6.8.
This plant is not heavy on application of organic fertilizer. However, if you have some homemade compost at the base of the plant, it will provide the necessary nutrients until harvest.
Make sure you are using an organic potting mix, as it drains more efficiently and it keep in some moisture without the worry of the peppers becoming soggy soil.
A good potting mix should retain moisture while simultaneously providing aeration and the nutrients the plants need for their roots.
Seed Planting and Germination
You can start the seeds in soil pods, cell packs, or in pots with pre-moistened seed-starting mix along with organic fertilizer.
Plant many seeds on the surface of the soil, generally 3 or 4 per hole. Then plant the seeds not more than 1/4 of an inch deep while scanting them.
The optimal soil temperature for pepper seeds to germinate is between 75° and 90° F.
The recommended soil temperature to plant shishito peppers outdoors is a minimum of 70°F during the day and above 55°F overnight.
To encourage germination faster, you can soak your seeds overnight in warm water before planting them onto soil. Alternatively, you can place those trays, seedpods, or pots on a heat mat.
A heat mat helps to keep your peppers warm enough to speed up the germination process while also increasing the germination rates for pepper seeds, especially if you live in a generally cooler climate.
It Works Well: If you don’t have a heat mat, you can out the seeds on the top of the refrigerator, or in the warmest area of your home. After half of the seeds have sprouted, go ahead and turn off the heat mat and move to a sunny area or under lights for the remainder of the growing process.
Sprouting
As the seedlings develop, they will need more light after sprouting.
If you are keeping your peppers indoors, you can put them in grow lights, or place them on a warm windowsill, but turn them every few days to help the seedlings grow straight.
Once your seedlings get their first set of true leaves (6 – 8 hours of direct sunlight or keeping the artificial lights on for 16 to 18 hours a day is sufficient for the best growth). After two to three weeks, the little seedlings will begin to sprout and will require less moisture than before.
After the plants have sprouted several sets of leaves, start giving them diluted water-soluble organic fertilizer once a week when the plants get their second set of leaves. Once your seedlings grow to 2 to 3 inches tall, thin them out, leaving only the strongest plant.
As soon as your Shishito peppers have their first pair of leaves, they are ready for the outdoors in individual pots. Give them plenty of room to grow and mature especially if you will leave them in pots during the growing season.
Pro Tip: While a sunny windowsill is okay, they thrive better if you buy plant grow lights, even better, if you also purchase a heating mat.
Watering
Like all pepper plants, shishito peppers prefer not to live in overly damp soil, so be cautious of this.
When you excessively water the soil, it will cause mold to form and rot to occur. Thus, ensure you keep the soil only moderately wet and about 75°F at the time of the last watering.
You can water your pot peppers with a total amount of between 0.25 and 0.75 gallons per week. You can do this daily or every other day.
Of course, the frequency of watering cockroaches depends mostly on the weather and soil type.
If possible, try to water the soil, not the plant. If water splashes onto the leaves from overhead watering, you may spread soil-borne diseases. You may use drip irrigation or a soaker hose to help with this.
Unfortunately, you should probably keep mulch from, or at least around the base, of the actual plant in hotter climates and conditions to try to keep the moisture in the soil.
Transplanting Shishito Peppers
When plants germinate in tiny seedling cells for too long, a few complications can arise. The roots have nowhere to go and this can lead to stunted foliar growth. For this reason, it’s best to safely transplant them to a container outside.
After germination, pepper seedlings should be transplanted into larger containers for about 3 to 4 weeks to try to get them to around 4-6 inches tall.
So if you’re unsure if sprouting plants are ready to be transplanted – are they good if not? Just carefully loosen the plant from the root cell and check out the root system. If the plant has formed a firm white-colored root ball all the way to the bottom of the container, it is ready to be safe to transplant.
Finally, if you want to make sure the peppers don’t go into shock you need to harden them off first to acclimatize your indoor pepper plants to the outdoor weather conditions:
- About a week before being ready to take them outside, place your containers outside in the sun for several hours each day.
- Once hardened off, move them outdoors for good. Fill the pots with a good potting mix and compost (approximately 2/3 potting mix and 1/3 compost). You may also want to consider slow-release organic fertilizer. Transplant seedlings into pots and water.
- A tomato cage or bamboo stake should be placed in the pot to supprt the plant as it grows. Keep containers spaced about two feet apart and cover the surface of the soil with mulch to help regulate soil temperature and moisture.
Harvesting Shishito Peppers
It normally takes around four months for Shishito pepper plants to grow to around 2 foot tall and 15 – 18 inches wide and mature.
Depending on the species, some of the peppers can turn red, yellow, or green upon maturity. The riper they get, the hotter and more flavorful they become. It is, however, ideal to pick them at vivid green when they are around 3 to 5 inches.
Using a pair of pruning shears or sharp knife, cut them off at the stem while leaving a piece attached at the top of the vegetable.
Be careful: please do not yank the peppers by hand because it might break the branches – which are very brittle. You can keep your shishito peppers unwashed in the refrigerator in a half-open plastic bag.
Final Thoughts
Although shishito peppers are tropical vegetables, they can grow in most regions if grown in the proper conditions.
They are among the easiest vegetable plants to grow from pl, they produce early, and they generally produce well.
They are also versatile and can grow in pots given ample sunshine, water, and adequately drained soil with nutrients.