Planting and Harvesting Chile Peppers in the United States

When pepper seeds are planted in pepper fields it is called direct-seeding. Direct-seeding is usually done in March and April in the southwestern U.S. Other seeds are planted in greenhouses in February, and transplanting the greenhouse plants to the fields is done in April or May depending on the weather and other factors.

The new chile peppers on the plants are green, and many are harvested when they are still green. This is especially true with the varieties that have been developed specifically for green chile production. The green chile harvest begins in late summer and continues into the fall.

In the past, if you needed red chiles you left the green pods on the plant to mature. When the chile peppers mature they turn red. Today, like the green chiles, many chile varieties have been developed for the production of red chiles and virtually all of the pods are left on the plants to ripen and turn red.

Red chile harvest occurs later in the year (late fall and continuing into the winter months), because it takes longer for the peppers to mature when they are left to ripen.

Peppers grown in the cayenne, paprika and jalapeno sectors of the industry have slightly different planting and growing seasons, but they are basically spring-summer-fall like the others.

We are currently in the prime period for green chile harvest. Get 'em while you can, folks!