Do you have a home garden? Or a backyard that could use some more plants to make it more vibrant? Well, how about growing a black pepper plant? Have you ever thought about it?
Black pepper is a widely used spice that finds its way around many dishes. It’s an indispensable part of so many meals that we couldn’t imagine life without it. So would you like to learn how to grow it on your own? If you have a backyard or a home garden it’s completely doable and quite easy as a matter of fact.
Black pepper grows like a vine and has beautiful heart-shaped leaves. It thrives in hot and humid climates and before bearing the fruits, it blossoms with beautiful white flowers.
Growing Black Pepper at Home
As we already mentioned, growing black pepper at home is super easy, you can do it from seeds as long as they’re fresh. The fresher, the better the results.
Fill a pot with a high-quality potting mix and organic matter. The pot should be quite large as the plant grows large roots. Once you fill the pot with soil make small holes (1/2 inches deep) and place a seed in each hole. Cover them back up with soil and make sure you water them often.
Place your pot in a spot that has high humidity and a constant high temperature (75-85F). The spot should be plenty bright but don’t put the pot in direct sunlight. Black pepper loves humidity so make sure you mist it on a regular basis with distilled water. You can also place a tray under the pot filled with water to make sure it’s always humid.
Water the plant often, don’t let it dry out completely but don’t drown it in water either, it will make the roots rot.
And lastly, the best part, the harvest. You can harvest white, black or green peppers from the same plant because the color depends on how mature they are. Harvest your black peppers before they reach full maturity and let them dry out in the hot sun. Then you can collect your black peppercorns and grind them for use.
