Why You Should Plant Two Pepper Plants Per Hole (My Most Productive Method Ever)

 Why You Should Plant Two Pepper Plants Per Hole (My Most Productive Method Ever)

 If you want happier pepper plants, fewer issues, and a bigger harvest, there’s one simple planting method that has completely transformed my pepper garden: planting two pepper plants per individual planting hole.

   If you want happier pepper plants, fewer issues, and a bigger harvest, there’s one simple planting method that has completely transformed my pepper garden: planting two pepper plants per individual planting hole.

    It may sound unconventional, but after years of testing both methods, planting peppers in pairs has consistently produced stronger plants, larger harvests, and better pod quality than planting them separately. Sometimes, I still plant my peppers individually, but only when the spacing will be rather tight. 

Large basket full of green bell peppers! My bell pepper plants are insanely productive when I grow them in pairs.  

The Benefits of Planting Peppers Together as Twins

    When peppers grow side by side, they naturally shade each other and help protect one another from harsh sunlight. During June, July, and August, the intense summer sun can take a toll on the plants, increasing the risk of blossom drop and fruit drop. High temperatures don't help this problem, either.

    The paired plants also create a hedge-like structure that keeps the root zone cooler, which peppers love. A cooler root zone can help to offset a warm canopy, helping to delay heat stress as long as possible. Water loss is lessened with the densely planted hedge, an important benefit during drought. 

    That's still not all, folks! This shading can greatly reduce sunscald, one of the most common pepper pod problems. Sunscald results in a soft, inedible portion of the pepper due to sunburn. Sometimes it's just a small spot, other times, it could be half of the pepper. If a bad summer storm blows in and lays all of your pepper plants down, the newly exposed pods could burn severely, and quickly. I've seen some pretty big losses due to sunscald, especially after storms. The more foliage there is to protect the pods from sun damage, the better!

This beautiful pod is a Blot Pepper. It's a stunning purple, yellow bell pepper! It's not as productive as the run of the mill varieties like California Wonder, but it's a tasty one to try!

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Here's a quick bullet list of some of the advantages I've encountered when growing pepper plants in close quarters:

• Thicker, more vigorous plants
• More pods per plant
• Better pod quality
• Less sunscald
• Healthier plants overall
• Cooler soil around the roots
• Less water loss during drought
• Pepper plants help to support one another
• A hedge structure that supports higher yields

    Using this method, a single 35' double planted, double row pepper hedge could produce over 100 lb of peppers for you. Of course, this all depends upon the varieties grown! Bell peppers and large frying peppers will produce even more, while smaller pods will produce a little less. 

So many peppers in all colors! Here, you see Habanada Peppers, Purple Bells, UFO Peppers, Jalapenos, Brown Jalapenos, Banana Peppers, and more!

How to Plant Two Peppers Per Hole to Maximize Production 

    You can start from the very beginning by sowing multiple seeds per cell when you start your seedlings. You'll cut your seed starting space requirements in half, a significant benefit when you're working with limited space. 

    Typically, you'd sow 2-3 seeds per hole and thin later in the season for single plant cells. With twins, you'll plant 3-4 seeds per cell. If you want to minimize thinning or if you have limited seeds, sow 2 seeds per cell. You could either plant two cells together at planting time, or you could plant the singles individually if you choose to do a mixed planting (twins and singles.)

    At planting time, you'll simply drop two seedlings into one planting hole, treating them as one plant. The key to this method is treating twins as a single plant. 

Pippins Golden Honey Pepper, this was a very delicious variety that I absolutely loved. It's a sweet pepper!

Don’t Forget the Fertilizer for Happy Pepper Plants, Though!

    Just like any other productive vegetable plant, fertilizing is important. If you're using nutrient-rich compost, you may not need to fertilize as often, but peppers do appreciate regular feeding throughout the growing season. 

    Personally, I like to use an organic tomato fertilizer dusted around the inside of the planting hole. Then, I like to add a sprinkle of Black Kow- not too much though, because I have clay soil. I then pinch the clay all around the pepper plants, compacting it down to prevent waterlogging. After, I add a very generous helping of Black Kow around the base of the plant. My pepper plants absolutely thrive with this.

    When the plants are blooming, I am generous with the fertilizer again. This way, the plants have more fertilizer leaching down into the soil around the time that they have depleted what I've planted them with. 

A laundry basket loaded down with jalapenos from twinned jalapeno plants. This was the final "sweep" of the year, when plants got stripped of pods.

Give It a Try in Your Garden and Let Me Know What You Think!

    Experimentation is what makes gardening so much fun- there are so many different ways to accomplish the same goals! If you haven't tried planting your peppers this way, you should trial this method in your own garden. You might just be surprised with what happens to your yields!

Lots of bell peppers from this year's garden. These were hybrid varieties. 

Basket of bell peppers and banana peppers harvested as a spring storm rolled in.