After you perform the frist main pruning of the season, in which you should remove most or all of the nonessential stems, you should water and fertilize your plant to help it recover from your pruning cuts and put forth new growth more quickly. Following the second main pruning of the season, you should allow the fruits on your
Pepper to fully mature. Fertilization can also be helpful following this pruning, as many of the leaves you remove will hold stored growth energy. A feeding of fertilizer can more than make up for removing that energy store, and will help yoru plant direct energy towards fruit development rather than sustaining leaves. Once the peppers are fully mature, you can harvest them and use them as you please in your kitchen. After harvest, your
Pepper will have reached the end of its life cycle. With that being the case, you are not free to cut down your
Pepper at its base. This will remove the entirety of your
Pepper’s above ground structure, which will wither and die as the cold weather approaches. Clearing out your
Pepper also cleans your garden bed and gives you the opportunity to plant something else in its place.