How To Grow Capsicum At Home? Follow These Kitchen Garden Tips
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Capsicum, or shimla mirch, is one of the most frequently used vegetables in kitchens. Whether you’re whipping up a rich serving of kadhai paneer, tandoori snacks like tikkas and kebabs, or Italian favourites like pizzas and garlic bread, the addition of capsicum makes every dish better. 

If you too frequently add green veggies to your meals, why don’t you add them to your kitchen garden and enjoy healthy produce such as organic capsicum? Just imagine you’re going to your backyard, harvesting fresh capsicum, and adding it to your stir fries. And the best part is that since capsicum is super easy to grow, you don’t even need to be an experienced gardener to get started. All you have to do is follow these tips and enjoy healthy produce.

Choose The Right Variety

There are many types of capsicum that you can choose from to add to your kitchen garden.

  • Green capsicum: It is the most common variety and is highly adaptable to the Indian climate.
  • Yellow and red bell peppers: These take longer to mature and need slightly more attention, but grow well in most parts with warm weather.
  • Hybrid seeds: You can get hybrid seeds from a nursery that offers better yield and resistance to disease.

Prep The Soil

Once you have selected the variety, you can buy the seeds and prepare the soil to sow them. Since you want your vegetables to be highly nutritious, making the soil fertile and rich in organic matter is essential. You can add liquid fertilisers before sowing the seed or use a mild NPK (Nitrogen Phosphorus Potassium) fertiliser.

Regular Watering

While consistently watering the capsicum plant is necessary, you should also ensure that you are not over-watering. Traditionally, capsicums require about 1 inch of water every week. If you are sowing the seeds in the monsoon season, take the rains into account and prevent any waterlogging in the soil, which can harm the plant.

Prune Regularly

Pruning and pinching can go a long way in helping your plants grow faster and increase the yield. Whenever you spot the early flower buds, you can pinch them to encourage better vegetative growth. Also, regularly prune the lower leaves to reduce the risk of diseases and channel the energy towards fruiting.

Pest Control And Harvest

Protecting kitchen vegetables without the addition of strong insecticides and pesticides involves a series of natural methods. To minimise the risk, you need to be careful while watering and keep an eye on any discolouration or abnormal growth before the fungal growth or disease spreads to the plant. And in about 2-3 months, you’ll be able to harvest a healthy batch of capsicum.