If you prune by hand, dip your fingers into a solution of powdered milk and water when moving between plants. The protein in the milk solution can deactivate viruses and bacteria that might otherwise spread between your different plants.
The center stem of most pepper plants will likely look like a ‘Y’ when the plant is this tall. Make sure the point you are pruning from is above this ‘Y’, as this is the base of your pepper plant. Pruning excess foliage at this stage will encourage the plant to strengthen that base.
If you are leaving very few leaves per node early on in the growing season, try to leave a few more as the season progresses. By the mid-to-late growing season, the stem structure should be fairly strong, and leaving additional leaves allows the plant to best use increasing levels of light. These leaves can also provide shade for incoming fruit.
Keep new shoots from growing around the base of the stem as well, in order to provide space for peppers to hang down.
