How Often To Water Pepper Plants – Pepper Watering Tips
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Pepper Geek takes part in various affiliate programs. This means that purchases through our links may result in a commission for us.
Water. It is an essential part of all plant life. Without it, any plant will die. Some plants are better than others at surviving in dry conditions, and pepper plants fall somewhere in the middle. In this article, I’ll share my best advice on how often to water pepper plants.

In this article:
- How often to water pepper plants
- How to know when peppers are dry
- What time of day to water
- Drainage
- Using the right soil
- Watering while on vacation
How Often To Water Pepper Plants
Like any plant, the watering schedule for peppers will vary based on its conditions. These are some of the factors that directly influence how much water a pepper plant needs:
- Is the plant in the ground or a container?
- What is the average temperature?
- Is the growing container small or large?
- Is the pepper plant young or fully developed?
- Is there strong wind?
- Are you growing it indoors?
As a loose guideline, pepper plants should be watered about once per week and allowed to thoroughly drain. However, this frequency can vary significantly based on the temperature, wind, and the size of the plant and its growing container. During a heat wave, you may need to water your potted peppers daily!
For example, a 10 gallon planter pot will take longer to dry out than a 1 gallon sized pot. And in general, in-ground plants will take much longer to dry out than potted plants (especially when they’re properly mulched).
If you’re unsure, try using a cheap moisture meter like this one on Amazon to get an instant read on the soil’s moisture level. While they aren’t always accurate, it can help you get a read on deep soil moisture.
Tip: Water deeply and less frequently. Allowing the soil to dry between waterings encourages deeper root growth, leading to an overall healthier root system and plant.
In general, peppers prefer being slightly dry to being too wet. Allow your peppers to dry out a bit between watering to avoid having constantly moist soil. Remember, the deeper soil retains moisture for longer than the surface!
Use mulch to water less often
One of the best ways to reduce the need to water is to mulch your garden. This is mostly helpful for in-ground plants, but it can also benefit potted peppers.
We like to use leaf mulch, straw, or grass clippings for our garden, but wood chips or plastic mulch can be used as well to protect the soil’s moisture. As it rains, the mulch will allow the water to reach the soil, but will protect it from evaporation and excessive heat.

Mulch also helps to suppress weeds and to protect the roots from temperature swings, so it is really a win-win (win!). Again, mulching is a best practice particularly for in-ground or raised bed gardening.
How To Tell When Pepper Plants Are Dry
Perhaps just as important as how often to water pepper plants is knowing when they are dry. Since peppers can have such a variable rate of water usage, it is good to know the warning signs of a dry plant.
There are a few methods to know when your pepper plant is thirsty for water. Use your best judgement, and know that as time goes on, you’ll get better at spotting a dry plant!
Feel the soil
The simplest method for measuring a plant’s dryness is to use your fingers to feel the surface of the soil. Push your finger 1-2 inches below the surface to feel for moisture. If it is completely dry below the surface, it is okay to water. Even a slight dampness means the soil does not need watering.
If you are growing in pots, you can also lift the entire potted plant to gauge the weight of the soil. As the water is used by the plant, the pot will become lighter. You will get the hang of knowing when to water based on the pepper plant’s weight.
Fun Fact: Drying out hot pepper plants during the fruiting stage causes the peppers to be spicier. This is known as “stressing” the plant and it is commonly used to grow hotter peppers.
Check the leaves
When a pepper plant becomes severely dried out, the leaves will begin to wilt. They will also feel very delicate and limp to the touch. This means that the root system is completely dried out and you should water thoroughly, right away.

Thankfully, this is usually no issue for the pepper plant and it should fully recover in a matter of hours after being watered. However, don’t allow your plants to wilt too frequently, as it can cause soil quality to diminish. Try to water before wilting begins.
Lift potted plants
If you’re growing in pots, give them a lift to get used to the weight. After watering, the pots will be significantly heavier. When they become dry, they’ll be lightweight and susceptible to falling over.

Use a moisture meter
If you are growing outside or in larger pots, a moisture meter can help determine the water levels deeper in the soil. Moisture meters work by measuring how well electricity can be conducted through the soil. They are not always 100% reliable, but you can at least get a rough idea of whether the deeper soil is dried out.
What Time Of Day To Water
This may seem like an odd topic, but when you water your pepper plants can make a difference. I recommend that you water pepper plants in the early morning or evening. Try to avoid watering when the sun is at its peak, which can cause faster evaporation.
However, if your plants need water right away, don’t intentionally wait for the sun to go down. Watering mid-day is definitely okay if your plants are showing signs of dehydration.

Drainage
It is one thing to know when your plants are dry, but what about when they are too wet? We have written extensively about common pepper plant issues, like yellowing leaves and curling leaves. Many of them stem from over-watering. One of the best ways to avoid over-watering is the allow for proper drainage.

Most pots come with an attachable bottom that is intended to catch water after it flows through and soaks the soil. However, if you leave these clipped in place, the planter may not be able to release extra water. When this happens, the soil can become muddy and soaked. Using grow bags can solve this problem, as they have excellent drainage.
If your plants are in the ground, drainage can be a bit more tricky. Planting your peppers on a mound is a common technique for improving drainage in heavy soils. This allows water to flow away from the roots of your plants so that they don’t sit in soaked soil for too long.
Perhaps just as important as water drainage is the actual makeup of your soil. Different soil contents will determine how well it drains, as well as how well it holds nutrients.
Using The Right Soil
Having the proper soil composition can make a world of difference in your success with growing peppers. The ideal soil for pepper plants is a well-drained, sandy loam with high levels of organic material (source).
If that went right over your head, not to worry. There are 4 major components to common garden soil: Sand, silt, clay, and organic matter. The perfect sandy loam soil is essentially equal parts sand and silt, with a lower amount of clay. Each soil component has unique attributes.
- Sand contains the largest particles, allowing for great drainage and root penetration. It is essential for peppers to have enough sand to allow for drainage and to avoid root death. For peppers, the percentage of sand should be around 40%.
- Silt contains smaller particles than sand, which is perfect for nutrient retention and delivery to your peppers. Having a higher quantity of silt in your soil will mean less watering. For peppers, the percentage of silt should be around 40%.
- Clay contains the finest particles, allowing for maximum nutrient storage. However, without much room for air and water, soil that is too high in clay could spell disaster for pepper plants. For peppers, the ideal percentage of clay is around 15%.
- Organic material is the final component of healthy garden soil. The most commonly used organic material is homemade compost. Composting your food waste is a simple and affordable way to add a tremendous amount of nutrients to your soil. For peppers, try to work some organic material into your garden soil every year for a percentage of around 5%.

So how can you achieve the perfect soil composition for growing peppers? Unfortunately, you can’t simply buy the perfect mixture from the store. Cheap, store-bought soils tend to be made of peat moss or coir, and are not true “soil.” See our favorite soils for peppers here.
The best method for achieving a perfect loam soil is by regularly adding organic material to your garden each year. This means decomposed compost and manure. If you haven’t already, consider starting a compost pile!
Watering Pepper Plants While Away
It might sound ridiculous to pay someone to come and take care of watering your pepper plants while you’re away from home. You’ve worked hard to keep your plants happy and healthy, so letting them die while you’re away is a huge waste.
However, if you can’t bring yourself to ask the neighbor or a friend to swing by to give the plants water, you have other options.
For containers
Potted plants can be a challenge to keep hydrated, especially in hotter climates. While you can use automated irrigation techniques like a soaker hose or drip irrigation, a self-watering container is a simple option.

Self-watering containers, also called sub-irrigated planters, hold a reserve of water to keep the pots hydrated for much longer. You can buy pre-made versions, but you can also do it yourself with a few simple items and tools. Our large self-watering pot (shown above) can keep a huge pepper plant watered for up to 2 weeks without any additional watering!
For raise beds
Soaker hoses are excellent for automating your irrigation. If you are busy, or plan to leave for an extended period of time, a soaker hose along with a hose timer will give you peace of mind that the garden is being watered on a set schedule.
They are essentially porous hoses that you lay on the soil in early spring. Whenever the spigot is turned on, the water slowly leaks out of the hose, effectively watering all the plants that it runs past.
I hope this article helps you know when to water and when not to water your pepper plants. Watering is essential, but it is important to only do it when the plant truly needs it.
Love your help and the photos of your gardens are beautiful. Just wanted to ask you what to do if your plant gets small black places on the leaves. Is that natural, one person told me it will hurt my plant. I pinched them off because I thought it might be a fungus. Can you set me straight?
2
It likely is some type of infection, but doesn’t mean the plant will die! If you’re providing what the plant needs, it will be able to fight off disease much like a healthy human does
I disagree with some of these comments.
First of all, I water over the tops of my peppers in the hottest part of the day if it’s near 100 because the water evaporates, and cools the leaves. That de-stresses the pepper plants.
Next, I would never water in the evening, because if it can’t evaporate, it can lead to diseases. Morning or heat of the day or both if it’s close to 100F.
The heat of a pepper is not related to how much water stressing you do. It is related to the TYPE of pepper, and its genetics. There can be a wide variance between peppers of the same type. If you want hotter peppers, PLANT hotter peppers, don’t stress them which will reduce overall yield.
Last, I don’t wait until pepper plants show stress before I water. I generally water every day unless it rains.
I have never lost a pepper plant in the last 25 years, and I always have more peppers than I can use. I always grow at least 50 plants, of several varieties, from bell to reaper. I treat them all exactly the same. All they need is sun, fertilizer and water to produce plentifully. I don’t pick off blossoms or top them or anything else unless a leaf gets damaged by sun or bugs. I trim those off so I can spot problems before they become big problems.
I have not had an aphid in the last 4 years of growing peppers. But I DO control ants with diatomacious earth and terro ant traps. No ants, no aphids, at least here in Oregon. You might think Oregon doesn’t get that hot…a couple years ago it got to 116F, and I was watering my peppers and fucsias to prevent heat stroke. It worked.
My peppers will be on a drip system. What size dripper do I use per plant? If the answer is 1 gallon, do I use only one dripper or split into 1/2 gallon on either side of the plant. Next question how often do I water and for how long? They will be in a raised garden with “happy hippie” soil. Totally organic mix. We live in warm to hot climate during the summer. Thanks.
For drippers, I would go with the 1 gallon. You should only need 1 dripper per plant. Let it go for at least an hour per watering. Slow and deep is the name of the game! If growing in containers, you may not need to irrigate for quite as long (depending on the size of the containers).