"A watched pot of water doesn't boil," and peppers seem like they don't do anything either.

A person shouldn't become frustrated because the pepper seeds or the peppers you transplanted just seem to sit there and smile. Seeds or transplants need hot weather and hot soil in order to grow. The soil should be slightly acidic. That means you don't plant them where you put lots of lime. There are two types of peppers; hot and sweet and both should tantalize a person's taste buds.

Gardener, Dick Raymond, in his book, Dawn to Earth Principle Gardening Know How, suggests tearing matches from a matchbook and placing three or four in the ground where you are to plant one pepper plant. You should do this with each plant. The peppers seem to enjoy the sulfur on the match head because the sulfur lowers the pH of the soil around the plant.

Peppers need fertilizer, but they don't appreciate getting it in large doses. It is a good idea to put compost or manure under the plants when they are transplanted, and if you are using seeds get the area ready prior to putting the seeds into the ground. Side dress them with rich organic fertilizer when they blossom. Keep the insects off with rotenone or Sevin.

People sometimes ask, "How do I get red peppers?" The answer to that question is simple enough. Any pepper will turn red if it is left on the plant long enough. This is true with hot peppers, Hungarian Yellow Hots and even California Wonders.

One more trick. When the plants first start to blossom, take an old spray bottle and add a spoonful of Epson salts. Fill the rest of the bottle with lukewarm water and shake the contents so it will go into solution. Spray the mixture right on the leaves of the plant. The plants like the magnesium in the Epson salt, and soon the leaves will turn green and the fruits should be plentiful.