We’ve put together a list of all our recommended supplies for growing peppers. For each category, we’ll provide a few options depending on your garden type, material, or personal preference. Any of the options we suggest will get the job done, but we want to give a few choices.

Like shopping on Amazon? Check out the Pepper Geek Amazon shop here for some of our suggested supplies available on Amazon.

Be sure to get anything else you may need from the suggestions below.

Fertilizer

Organic Slow Release

Organic Fertilizers - Neptune's Harvest and Espoma Garden Tone

Excellent “set it and forget it” fertilizer option for use in raised beds, containers, or in-ground beds.

Miracle Gro Organics

Miracle gro performance organics all purpose fertilizer

Good water-soluble organic fertilizer for vegetative growth. Switch to lower nitrogen for fruiting stage.

Fox Farm’s Trio

Fox farm trio fertilizers

Best all around non-organic option. Simple instructions on when to use each fertilizer for best yields.

Keep in mind…

Container gardening (in pots or in raised beds) is where fertilizers are essential to healthy plants. For in-ground peppers, the best food always comes from natural, organic ingredients like compost. Plants will produce tastier, healthier pods as well. Amend your ground soil with fresh compost annually, and your peppers will have everything they need.

Learn much more about fertilizing peppers in our dedicated article here.

Containers

Seedling Cells

Loosening seedling cells

We use Bootstrap Farmer’s thick plastic seedling cells for planting our pepper seeds. They will last many years, though traditional cells are easier for transplanting.

Seed Trays

Pepper Geek Seed Starter Kit Bootstrap Farmer

We worked with Bootstrap Farmer to create a custom Pepper Growing Kit. High quality materials, all made in the USA.

Grow Bags

Grow bag with pepper plant.

We have had great results using grow bags for our peppers. They are easy to use, collapsible, and produce healthy root systems.

Learn more about choosing a container for growing peppers here. The most important things are size (ideally 3+ gallons) and good drainage.

Soil

Seed Starter Mix

Potting mix closeup

Seed starter mix contains no nutrients. It is made up of highly aerated materials, perfect for germination and starting off pepper plant root systems strong.

Potting Soil (Best)

Happy Frog is an excellent potting soil for growing peppers. Our potted plants love this stuff, and it is ready to use out of the box. It also comes in a smaller size online if you need less.

Organic Compost

Compost in hands

Make your soil happier with this organic humus compost derived from fish manure. This natural amendment adds organic material to your soil.

Note: Potting soil is best sourced from a local nursery to avoid high shipping costs. If you can’t find high quality soil near you, ask other gardeners what they use, or buy online.

Grow Lights

Viparspectra

Viparspectra XS1000 LED panel with lights on

Use discount code “PepperGeek”

A great budget LED series with several size and power options. Very useful features include dimmer knob, heat sink and water resistance.

Spider Farmer SF

Spider Farmer SF600 grow light and power cable

Spider Farmer makes high-quality LEDs with top-shelf components. Built to last, and perfect for seedlings or fully fruiting plants.

Vivosun VS

Vivosun VS 1500 grow light

Newer model with easy-to-use hanging ratchets and a very bright light. LEDs arranged to evenly distribute light across the grow area.

Read more about choosing the best grow light in our article here. We detail everything you should know about LED lights and the different features of each of our recommended grow lights for peppers.

Seed Heating Mat

Seed heating mat with thermostat

This increases germination success dramatically. Keep the soil around 80°F until seeds sprout.

Thermometer

Hardening off thermometer

Essential for monitoring your indoor grow space. Cheap way to keep an eye on temp and humidity!

Pruning Shears

Shears are great for getting clean cuts when pruning your plants. Also great for bonsai!

Spray Bottle

Spraying seedling cells
Misting soil surface.

During germination, we use a spray bottle to keep seeds moist until they sprout.

Nitrile Gloves

Nitrile gloves for handling hot peppers

If you are growing any hot pepper varieties, you’ll want a pair of these to avoid skin burns!

Plant VelCro

Securing staked peppers

Plant Velcro is perfect for securing your plants to stakes and keeping them secured in windy conditions.

Looking for more information about growing peppers and the supplies you’ll need? Read our article about growing bell peppers in pots here for an in-depth guide! Also, come see what we’re up to on YouTube.