THE usual advice is to sow sweet peppers in February or March, preferably in a heated propagator, because they need a long season to mature. In practice, however, I regularly find that my earliest sowings fail and I end up starting off another batch in April.

My experience has been that more often than not the later sowings germinate faster and better than the early ones. So, if you haven’t got your peppers going yet, it’s definitely worth giving them a go now.

There are dozens of varieties available to the home gardener these days, with most seed catalogues listing several, and the choice is largely a matter of personal preference. For what it’s worth, I’ve found that the types with large numbers of smaller peppers seem to ripen more readily in our short summers than those with fewer but larger fruits.

Place a few seeds on the surface of a small pot or tray of fresh seed or multi-purpose compost, which you’ve already watered, and then cover them with about a quarter of an inch of dry compost.

It can be helpful to cover the pot with a mini-cloche made from half a plastic pop bottle, so as to keep it moist without needing to water it again. Watering before the seedlings emerge should be avoided if possible, as it can cause germination problems.

Place the pots somewhere warm and light, like a windowsill. A surrounding temperature in the mid-60s Fahrenheit (26ºC) is ideal. What you’re aiming for is warmth rather than heat.

Once the seedlings have two leaves, prick them out individually into 3 inch pots of multi-purpose or potting compost. Move them to somewhere a bit cooler, but not cold — remembering that night-time temperatures at this time of year can still drop significantly even indoors.

Pot them on next to 8 inch pots, but don’t be in a rush. Wait until there are flowers on the point of opening.

Restriction of the roots at this stage help encourage fruit formation.

Some varieties will want a final move to 10 or 12 inch containers. Remember to put canes in at this time, as the full-grown plants will need some support.

In warmer areas of the country, you can grow peppers in the ground outside after the frosts have gone, or in greenhouse beds, but I’m not convinced it’s worth the risk of a late cold spell.

On the other hand, and perhaps surprisingly, they don’t respond well to really hot conditions. In summer, they often do better in a pot on the patio than under glass. Good ventilation is important throughout the plant’s life, to help prevent pests and diseases.

Regular, gentle watering, to keep the compost evenly moist, is essential, and a weekly feed is worthwhile. Use a fertiliser that’s high in potash rather than nitrogen: comfrey liquid is perfect.

If you pick the fruits while they’re still green, the plants will produce more. Or you can let them finish colouring, for smaller but sweeter crops.