Gardener's Tip: Remove This From Pepper Plants Early For Maximum Growth

A staple in some kitchens, many home gardeners grow their own peppers each year. Unfortunately, a lot of people find that one plant doesn't produce nearly enough peppers to keep up with their cooking habits. If you want a higher yield, there's one easy trick that many experienced gardeners swear by: Once your pepper plant starts producing flowers, pinch off the first few buds. 

Removing the first pepper blossom — the so-called "gateway flower" — might seem counterintuitive at first. After all, those first blooms are exciting, and you want to grow as many delicious peppers as you can. Just because your plant has begun flowering, however, doesn't mean it's quite ready to focus all its energy on production. In fact, allowing your young pepper plant to produce fruit too early on can slow its overall growth. By removing that initial blossom, it can focus on developing stronger foliage and healthier roots. This extra growth means your pepper plant will grow even bigger and produce more peppers later in the season. 

If you're germinating and planting seeds indoors, you'll want to wait about eight weeks before you put your peppers outside. As the little seedlings transform into young plants, you may see tiny buds or even small fruits begin to develop. Don't let these continue to grow. Use your fingernails to gently pinch off any open flowers, buds, or fruitlets you see. You can also use a sanitized pair of scissors or shears. Make sure you're only removing the fruits and flowers, right where its little stem meets the plant. In particular, be careful not to damage the nodes or leaves near the clusters. Continue removing the flowers and buds until it's time to transplant your pepper plant outdoors.

Perhaps you want to start a vegetable garden with plants from the nursery. Just like pepper plants grown from seed, you'll want to remove any flowers or fruitlets that emerge. If you let them continue to produce, your plant will take longer to establish, and it may produce a smaller harvest overall. Give them time to acclimate to their new home in your garden. Once they develop sturdy stems and strong roots, you can allow them to flower.