When to plant Sweet pepper in Area 3

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Sweet pepper

Contested, Ethiopia

Known here as karya

Sweet pepper (bell pepper, capsicum) is a warm-season vegetable grown for its thick-walled, mild, juicy fruit — the kind you slice into relish, stew and salad.

Sweet pepper in Area 3, rain-fed and with irrigation
Measure Rain-fed With irrigation
Fit Favourable
When to plant 23 Jun 2027 – 2 Jul 2027 opens in 38 weeks 21 Jan 2026 – 1 Jan 2027
Expected harvest about 12.5 t/ha about 14.7 t/ha
Harvest From 21 Oct 2027 to 29 Dec 2027, depending on the planting date
Ready to harvest 120–180 days after planting
Work it takes 100–210 days per hectare, by hand
Rain meets its needs 82%

Rain-fed. These dates are worked out from each place's own rainfall, for a field watered by the season — with irrigation a window can open earlier, close later, or come round more than once a year. Check your own field under What grows, or get the Divisi app for a calendar dated to your farm.

If you only get one chance to plant, aim for around 23 Jun 2027. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.

No seasonal forecast reaches Area 3 yet, so these dates follow the rains it usually gets rather than this year's.

Planting after 2 Jul 2027 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.

What decides this in Area 3

Rain and temperature 76%
The soil 96%
The lie of the land 96%

For sweet pepper in Area 3, rain and temperature is the tightest of the three at 76%. This one is fixed. It is why the planting window above is where it is — hitting those dates is the whole of your control here.

The 2027 season in Area 3

Rainy seasonsOne each year — one chance to plant, so timing carries it
When the rains are expectedJune 2027 to October 2027
Rain in a typical yearAbout 747 mm
This season's rainLeaning wet — October look heavier than usual. Make sure water can drain off the field; a wet year does more damage through waterlogging and disease than through the rain itself.
This season's heatHotter than usual — about +1.4 °C over the growing months. Heat makes the same rain do less, so a dry spell bites sooner: do not plant late, and shade or mulch what you can.
What that supportsenough rain for one short crop, and only if timed to it, warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season
Ground this covers3 kinds of ground. The season below is the largest that farms — about 55% of this area.
Agro-ecological zones covering this area
55% enough rain for one short crop, and only if timed to it; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 100 growing days · about 750 mm · June to September
26% enough rain for one short crop, and only if timed to it; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 104 growing days · about 740 mm · June to September
18% enough rain for one short crop, and only if timed to it; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 98 growing days · about 720 mm · June to September

last updated 16 September 2026

Temperature holds back about 40% of yield here.

What sweet pepper needs to grow here

Soil it likes well-drained sandy loam or loam soil
Soil sourness (pH) Happiest between pH 6.0 and 6.5
Spacing 60 cm between rows, 40 cm between plants
Feed it most with potassium, nitrogen and calcium

What it takes to grow sweet pepper in Area 3

Planting materialAbout 38,000 plants per hectare
Nitrogen (N)About 25 kg per hectare
Phosphate (P₂O₅)About 8 kg per hectare
Potash (K₂O)About 44 kg per hectare
In the shopsA basal compound at planting — Compound D, or an NPK blend — covers the phosphate and potash. A nitrogen top dressing — urea or AN — goes on once the crop is established.
Hand work100–210 days per hectare, by hand

These are the nutrients a sweet pepper crop of that size carries off the field. What you actually apply depends on what your soil already holds — which is what a soil test, or the app's field records, tell you.

What to watch for

Pest/disease risk — manageableSoil pH outside the crop's rangeCorrect soil pH (acidifier)

Grow Sweet pepper with a plan, not a guess

Everything above describes Area 3 as a whole — your own soil, slope and rainfall will shift the dates. The Divisi app works them out for your field, and dates each job that follows.

Or check your field first

Sweet pepper in nearby districts

This calendar moves

Planting windows shift with the forecast. Leave your email and we'll send what changed, and a note when planting time nears — a couple of emails a month at most.

Frequently asked questions

Will sweet pepper grow well in Area 3?

Area 3 rates as favourable for sweet pepper.

When should I plant sweet pepper in Area 3?

Typically 23 Jun 2027 to 2 Jul 2027, typical season.

Is this exact for my own field?

No — these are readings taken across Area 3, not on your field. Soil, slope and rainfall change from one farm to the next. Check your own location to see your own numbers.

Also worth considering in Area 3

Keep going

Timing is one question. What the crop needs at every stage, what attacks it and where to sell it are the others.