Care Info | Black Pepper | Piper nigrum

Catchy description

So you want to grow your own food forest? Don't let lack of garden space dissuade you. Piper Nigrum can grow very well in a house too. It won't take over your kitchen either; just pot it with a small trellis or stake and watch it vine out in a controlled manner--it won't wrap around like crazy.

While black pepper is a staple in most kitchens, it can now become a staple in your garden or on your windowsill. But not just any old dried, powdery-thin pepper. If you grow your own peppercorns, you'll be rewarded with a stronger, fresher taste and you can grind it to whatever thickness you want in a mortar and pestle or grinder. and pick it off whenever you're ready for it, it'll be there. The peppercorns and flowers are so stunning and rewarding to grow. Learn more about this kitchen gem and how to care for it. 

 

In a nutshell (baby plant-specific term)

The full deets:

• Average mature height: 12 to 15 feet
• Zones: 10-11

🌵Culture

• Plants have a culture they prefer. Just like people from various countries and even households - customs, traditions, ways they do things, ways they prefer. To keep your plant happy, give it the culture it craves. But the great news is, you don't have to live in its original destination. Melting pot - acclimate your home or yard to its culture. Bring inside when cold etc. 
• Some grow in desert-like conditions storing up water and needing hardly a drop to stay hydrated. Others grow next to ponds and love to be sitting in water. 

🗺 Origin

Images

• Fruiting plant 
• Starter size
• Next size up
• Black Spots

📏 Height potential: 12-15 foot vine

✂️ Pruning

⏱Growth rate

🍎 Fruit 

• what it's like 
• when to pick
• Year-round

🔆 Light

• Full to part sun
• Windowsill if growing indoors

🍴Fertilizer: low to moderate feeders, can have too much fertilizer - higher light/warmer temperatures - they need more. Winter motnths = less

 

🌱 Growth habit:

• vine - climb up but not tangled-growing
• Black spots: Beads of sugar that are clear but turn black over time. Part of the plant

🏡 Indoor or outdoor: both. Great windowsill plant

🌡 Zone

💦 Watering / Humidity 

• PLANT NAME prefers plenty of water, but allow it to dry out somewhat between waterings.

🪴Soil

🧑‍🌾Planting

• Pot
• Landscape

🩺 Health Troubleshooting -

• Diseases,
• Pests (low) - mealybugs