How to Harvest Peppers the Right Way, According to Martha’s Head Gardener

On Martha’s farm, we are currently growing over 100 pepper plants. Peppers are a great crop because they are relatively easy to care for, few pests and diseases bother them, and they continue to grow and produce fruit no matter how hot summer gets. But the main reason we love planting peppers at the farm is the variety. The fruit comes in many different sizes, colors, flavors, and heat levels—there is much more to peppers than just bells and jalapeños.

The varieties we grow are split between sweet and hot peppers of various heat levels. In addition to different colors of bell peppers, we also grow other sweet peppers, such as shishitos, biquinhos, Anaheims, sweet bananas, frying peppers, and more. The hot peppers we grow include jalapeños, serranos, poblanos, and sometimes habaneros.  

We try out new varieties each year to see what works well for us and what we like to harvest and eat. While peppers are generally low-maintenance, one of the best ways to ensure you have a longer harvest is by regularly picking them. If you don’t harvest your peppers, the plant will stop producing new flowers and fruit. 

Here are some of my best tips to keep in mind for picking peppers so you can ensure a delicious, long-lasting harvest. 

What to Consider Before Harvesting

There are two main ways to tell if peppers are ready to be picked: size and color. In addition to those two factors, you should also consider how sweet or spicy you want your peppers to taste. 

Color

The easiest way to tell if your peppers are ready to be harvested is by their color. Unless you are harvesting them green (like a green bell pepper or a jalapeño), wait until the pepper turns the color it’s meant to be. For example, if you’re growing red bell peppers, they will start out green, then lighten up with blotches of red before turning fully red. 

Size

Once your peppers reach a usable size, which will vary depending on the type you’re growing, you can pick them. How the peppers feel is also an indicator of whether or not they can be harvested. If they feel hollow when you squeeze them, the mature size has been reached, and they won’t grow much larger. 

Flavor

How long you wait to harvest your peppers can impact how sweet or hot they taste.

• Sweet peppers: The longer you let sweet peppers mature on the plant, the sweeter they become. For the sweetest peppers, let them fully mature on the plant and develop a vivid, bright color. 
• Hot peppers: Hot peppers are slightly different in that they generally become hotter or more strongly flavored the longer they stay on the plant. They also tend to get even hotter if grown during an extra hot summer or if water is scarce that year. 

The Best Method for Harvesting Peppers

Harvesting peppers is very easy. There are two ways I like to do it. 

By Hand

Once the peppers have reached the size and color that I’m looking for, I just bend the stem of the fruit backward from the plant and it will usually just snap right off. That's the quickest way to do it, though some varieties are more stubborn than others. I tend to use this method most for smaller pepper varieties. 

With Pruners or Scissors

Since you risk breaking the plant if you’re not careful or the pepper isn’t fully ready to be harvested, the safest way to harvest peppers is with a pair of pruners or scissors. For this method, cut the pepper stem about an inch above where it attaches to the fruit—it’s that simple. 

How Often to Harvest Peppers

You should harvest peppers every few days to once a week (at minimum); that way, you keep the plant producing as late in the season as possible. I'd say that if you aim to harvest one to two times a week, you’re doing good. Peppers can stay on the plant for quite a while without quality issues, though waiting will reduce the overall harvest you will get from each plant. 

Harvest Your Peppers Before the First Frost

Pepper plants are cold-sensitive. A frost will damage them, and a freeze will kill them. To avoid this, fully harvest your plants before the threat of a frost or freeze. You can harvest them individually or just cut off the whole plant, which is especially useful for many of the hot varieties. When harvesting the whole plant, hang it upside down to dry indoors in a shady, non-humid area.

How to Store Peppers After Harvesting

Harvested peppers can be stored in the fridge or on the counter, depending on where you live and how warm it is in your house. Dry peppers can continue drying in the open and then stored in a sealed container, ideally glass.