Growing in Canberra

Best time to plant capsicum in Canberra

Capsicum annuum

Also called bell pepper, sweet pepper

Sow capsicum in Canberra in Oct to Nov.

In Australia capsicum means the mild fruit known elsewhere as bell or sweet pepper, from a nightshade plant native to the Americas. Fruit is eaten raw or cooked and ripens from green to red, yellow, orange or chocolate depending on variety. Hot forms of the same species, Capsicum annuum, appear here under chilli.

When to sow in Canberra

Canberra, ACT is in the cool zone. The zone also plants in Sep, but Canberra's frost dates make those months risky for a frost-tender crop.

Matches local guides.

Your local conditions can shift any months shown here, so treat them as a guide.

Frost in Canberra

Frost usually arrives in Canberra around early April and finishes by early November. In about 1 year in 10 it comes as early as mid March or as late as late November, so frost-tender crops are planned around those dates.

From its Bureau of Meteorology station, 1991 to 2020, counting a night at 2°C or lower as a frost. Frost hollows and hillsides can shift these dates by weeks, so ask the growers at your garden too.

On a shared plot: suits a plot

Finishes in a season and stays within its space, so it suits most plots.

Growing details

How to start
Raise seedlings, then transplant
Sowing depth
5mm
Plant spacing
45cm
Row spacing
100cm
Height
50cm
Germination
5-21 days
Time to harvest
70 days
Frost
Frost tender
Sun
Full sun
Life cycle
perennial, grown as an annual in cool climates

These are typical figures, and varieties differ. Your seed packet takes priority.

Capsicum elsewhere

Capsicum across Australia