What are the easiest peppers to grow?
We think most peppers are easy to grow, but growing faster growing peppers can help improve your success, especially in shorter growing seasons. The fastest germinating peppers are typically in the Capsicum Annuum family, so we'd say they are easiest to grow. This is a big family of peppers, so for an easier garden, you can grow fast-growing jalapeño seeds, serrano seeds, cayenne seeds, Anaheim chile seeds, Hatch chile seeds, and poblano seeds.
Green Chile varieties like the Big Jim, Anaheim, Pueblo Chiles, and Hatch Chiles are easy to grow. These New Mexican pod types, and they grow readily anywhere you can grow summer vegetables. They have shorter growing seasons, and produce large, beautiful chiles that are delicious when roasted. In fact, they are known around the world for their exceptional flavor. We have customers that grow them all over the world, including Japan, Canada, Michigan, Montana, Texas, Florida, The West Coast, the East Coast... everywhere!
Green Chiles also come in a variety of heat levels from mild to extra hot, so pick the ones that are best suited to what you enjoy!
View our list of Green Chile by Heat »
A couple of our favorite easiest peppers to grow include the delicious and easy to grow Shishito sweet peppers, shown above. Or, for spicy we love growing Early Jalapenos, Yellow Jalapenos and Orange Jalapenos. 
Our garden includes the super-easy-to-grow Ring of Fire Cayenne pepper, which plants seem to be ever-abundant and the peppers are super easy to dry for storage and using year-round in the kitchen. We will crush these dried peppers using our fingers or with a knife or cut them down with scissors to qucklly add a whole pepper to a stew or salsa. You can also put them into a spice grinder or food processor to break them down into flakes or powder, but do it outside and/or cover with a towel to keep the hot dust from burning your eyes. :) With soups, stews and salsas, or you can also just toss the whole Cayenne pepper in and let it cook into the sauce.
The easiest peppers to grow are usually short-season pepper varieties that give you cushion in case the season is short due to early frosts or storms. These fast growing peppers will quickly grow into robust plants and start flowering and producing pods so you can enjoy peppers earlier in the summer. And they typically keep producing all summer long so they keep them coming for use in the kitchen.
How do I germinate pepper seeds more easily?
Keep them warm, if you use a heat mat or keep in a warm spot at around 80-90˚F the pepper seeds will germinate much faster. Pepper seeds are a little slower than most other vegetable seeds, so it's good to be patient and allow them 7-21+ days to sprout, so don't give up on them!
Do peppers grow well in containers?
Most peppers do well in pots and containers. Here are some of our Best Peppers for Pots. Bigger containers are better for growing peppers, we like to use at least a 5 gallon pot or larger. Make sure the containers are well draining – pepper plants hate wet feet and will quickly droop and stop growing if the soil is soggy.
