How to grow peppercorns to get the best value? Technical & Environment

Peppercorn is a valuable agricultural crop and the most popular spice. So how to grow peppercorns to bring the highest performance? Read information on how to grow Peppercorns below!

Best Time to grow peppercorns

Black pepper typically grows in hot and humid climates but can be successfully grown in temperatures that are consistently above 65°F. If you live in an area that receives frost throughout the year, be sure to grow your black pepper plant in a container. By growing it in a container you can place it in an area that receives full sun and also bring it inside to protect it over the colder months.

Climate ideal to grow peppercorns

The most suitable is in the range of 20-30°C

Pepper is well adapted to a temperate climate, does not tolerate temperature changes much, the lowest temperature is about 10°C, the most suitable in the range of 20-30°C. At a temperature from 6 to 10°C, the plant will darken young leaves and drop leaves. If the temperature is above 40°C, it will adversely affect the growth and development of pepper plants. If you live for too long at too high or too low a temperature, the plant will wilt and die.

Pepper plants need evenly distributed rainfall

Pepper plants are suitable in conditions of regular rain, annual rainfall in the range of 1500-2500mm. It still grows and develops normally in areas with little rain but needs to be evenly distributed. In addition, a distinct dry season is required to ensure the differentiation of flower buds. Usually, a drought period of 20 – 30 days is appropriate.

The humidity from 70 to 90% 

The hot and humid climate is a suitable condition for the growth and development of pepper plants. However, the constant high humidity limits the growth of pepper plants and creates conditions for pests and diseases to arise and develop. The humidity of the air reaching 70-90% is the required standard to increase the ability to pollinate pepper plants.

Scattered light is suitable for the grow peppercorns 

Pepper plants are suitable for places with scattered light. At the young plant stage, scattered light is suitable for growth and flower differentiation. Therefore, when planting, it is necessary to shade carefully and properly. First, you can use a soluble or liquid fertilizer applied every two weeks when you water. Or, you can use a granular organic fertilizer and top dress the plant once a month. Top dressing means to sprinkle the fertilizer on top of the soil and every time you water, a little bit of fertilizer is released.

Essential elements for plant growth

Soil

Peppercorn plants need humus-rich soil that retains moisture. However, the soil must have good drainage, and heavy clay soils can cause root rot. Use a light potting mix amended with compost or leaf mold.

Water

Peppercorn vines do not like to dry out, so water the plants when the surface of the soil feels dry.

Fertilizer

Black Pepper needs low to moderate fertilization with a balanced fertilizer. There are two ways to fertilize the pepper plant.

First, you can use a soluble or liquid fertilizer applied every two weeks when you water. Or, you can use a granular organic fertilizer and top dress the plant once a month. Top dressing means to sprinkle the fertilizer on top of the soil and every time you water, a little bit of fertilizer is released.

Besides, A note of caution: don’t over fertilize your black pepper plant. We use this rule of thumb: if your plant is being grown under high light and high temperatures then increase the fertilizer. If your pepper plant is grown under lower light and temperature levels, then decrease the fertilizer. During the winter months stop fertilizing the plant until warmer temperatures and higher light levels resume in spring.

Peppercorn Plant Varieties

There is only one variegated cultivar of peppercorn plant worth growing for the unusual and exotic plant hobbyist. ‘Piper nigrum albo variegatum’ features large creamy white splashes on its heart-shaped leaves and produces the same peppercorn fruits as the standard variety. However, like many variegated plants, peppercorn albo vines are less vigorous than the standard cultivar.

Pruning

Pruning peppercorn vines isn’t necessary for plant health. You may prune plants to remove any dead or dying foliage or keep plants in bounds when growing in a small space.

How to Grow Peppercorns From Seed

You can grow peppercorns from seed purchased at a retailer but not the fruit that you find in the spice aisle. Those berries are no longer “alive.” Once you have your seeds, you only need to do a few things to grow your own pepper vines.

1. Gather pots and well-draining soil.
2. Soak the seeds in lukewarm water for a day.
3. Fill the pots with soil.
4. Plant the seeds roughly half a cm (a quarter-inch) deep.
5. Plant the seeds 5 cm (2 in) apart.
6. Mist the soil gently until the earth is moist.
7. Provide consistent temperatures of 24 – 29 °C (75 – 85 °F).
8. Mist when the soil is dry.
9. Your seedlings will appear in about a week or so.

How to Grow Peppercorns From Cuttings

You can grow peppercorns from cuttings too. The process is simple and the cuttings are easy to care for.

1. Gather pots, well-draining soil, and scissors.
2. Fill the pots with soil.
3. Choose a healthy and mature pepper plant.
4. Make sure the scissors are sharp and clean.
5. Identify the secondary runners on the pepper plant.
6. From these, take cuttings that have one or two leaves.
7. Use one pot per cutting.
8. Plant the cutting. You can add trellis to keep the plant stable.
9. Mist around the cutting until the soil is moist.
10. Move the cuttings to an indoor location where they can enjoy consistent warmth (their temperature needs are the same as seeds).
11. The cuttings are ready for bigger pots or the outside world when they have 4 to 7 leaves.

Harvesting and curing

After flowering and fruiting, the pepper fruit usually takes from 8 to 10 months to ripen. Depending on the weather conditions and cultivar, the harvest time of pepper also changes. Normally in Vietnam, people grow pepper in the Central Highlands and Southeast. Then, people  harvest pepper in February or March while in the North Central and Central Coast regions, it will be harvested in April and May.

Farmers separated berries from the spikes by rubbing them between the hands or trampling them under the feet. After the separation, people dried the berries in the sun for 7 to 10 days; until the outer skin becomes black and shrunken and assumes the characteristic wrinkled appearance of commercial black pepper.

To produce black pepper of good quality and uniform color, the farmer separates the harvested pods in a bamboo or perforated barrel and immerses them in boiling water for one minute. The basket is then taken out and drained. Then they place the berries to dry in the sun on a clean bamboo mat or cement floor.

To process white pepper, farmers remove the outer skin and pulp below before drying the fruit. Spikes with fully ripe berries are filled in gunny bags and steeped in flowing water for about 7 days. Outer rind of the berries is then removed by rubbing them with hands in a bucket of water and further cleaning the seeds with fresh water.

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