Growing your own hot peppers from seed can be very rewarding. The selection of hot peppers available at the supermarket is very poor. Although the selection of plants from a nursery or store is a little better, when you start from seeds, there is a terrific variety available. And as hot pepper popularity is growing constantly, the varieties just keep expanding.
Peppers are easy to start from seed. Even if you sow them in pots on a windowsill, without heat or lights or precautions against damping-off, you'll probably end up with some plants for your garden. The following tips and tricks can speed up the process and create stronger, sturdier pepper plants.
Selecting your seed is the first (and possibly the biggest) challenge. If you're new to growing peppers, you'll be amazed at the varieties available at seed racks, in catalogs, and on online websites. If you have a short summer season, be sure to look at the "days to maturity" in the description. With peppers, that's the time from planting out seedlings to harvesting the first green peppers. Ripe peppers will take a couple more weeks.
When should you start your seeds? Begin by deciding when you'll plant the pepper in your garden. Pepper plants will survive as long as there's no frost or freeze. However, if you plant them out before the soil warms, they will just sulk. It's better to leave them inside under the lights if the weather is still cool. A good rule of thumb for peppers is to plant them out at least a month after your average date of last frost, or 2 weeks after setting out tomatoes.
Pepper seeds should be started indoors, or in a greenhouse, and then transplanted once they are large enough and it is warm enough outside. For best results, you should not plant pepper seeds directly outside.
Count backwards on your calendar to find your seed starting date. I start sweet peppers eight to ten weeks before planting out. Hot peppers are sometimes a little slower, so they get a twelve week head start. Here, I transplant them into the garden around Memorial Day, so I'll start sowing seeds the first week in March.
Soaking pepper seeds speeds germination. Try a two to eight hour soak, until seeds sink to the bottom of the cup. Although you could use plain water, a solution of hydrogen peroxide or weak chamomile tea may help to break down the seed coat as well as to disinfect the seed. Use one to two teaspoons of standard 3% hydrogen peroxide per cup of warm water. Some varieties can be finicky to germinate. I recommend soaking seeds overnight in warm water to give them a head start.
Containers: I like plastic gro-packs for 6 to 12 plants, peat pellets or peat pots. Gro packs are especially good because you can cover tightly with "cling-wrap" after first watering and create a little "hothouse" environment. The soil stays moist longer at a higher temperature. Just remove cling-wrap when seedlings emerge. Put your soil/seedling mix into containers. Don't fill to exact top but leave at least 1/4 inch for watering or it will run off.
Although you could sow your seeds into individual pots, managing moisture levels is easier in a seed starting tray. Seed starting trays don't have to be high tech. I punch holes in the top and bottom shallow take-out containers with clear lids. Sow seeds at least half an inch apart in an inch or two of barely moist, sterilized potting mix with a pinch of added polymer moisture crystals. Lightly cover the seeds, or just press them down onto the surface of the mix.
Sow seeds 1/4 inch deep 6 to 10 weeks before the last frost. Keep seeds moist, but not soaked, through germination phase. They germinate best above 65 degrees. Ideal is 75 to 85 degrees. Because most homes are not this warm, another tip is to place them on top of your refrigerator until seedlings emerge. It stays pretty warm there. Don't forget my cling-wrap tip in a sunny windowsill.
Peppers love heat and seem to germinate best at around 80 degrees. Most pepper seeds will still germinate at cooler temperatures, but they'll take longer. The first year I used a seedling heat mat, I was amazed when habanero seedlings were ready to transplant twelve days after sowing, less time than they'd taken just to germinate in the past.
Lights ensure stocky seedlings. As soon as you see the first sign of sprouting, if not before, put your seed starting tray under lights. You don't need fancy grow lights for seedlings; inexpensive cool fluorescent "shop" lights will work fine. The lights should be as close to the developing seedlings as possible.
Find a good and warm sunny windowsill. Seedlings prefer at least 6 hours of sunlight, the more the better. Hot pepper seeds need to be coaxed through the germination and transplant stages. Remember they all originated from a tropical environment. But keep in mind you'll be rewarded with a healthy, robust, prolific plant for your patience.
Again, be patient, some varieties can take 4 to 6 weeks to germinate. Others can show up in 7 to 10 days. It depends on temperature,sunlight, soil and variety. After they emerge I believe in the mother nature theory: "Survival Of The Fittest". I plant 3 or 4 seeds per growing area.
As they develop their first set of leaves I'll snip off with a scissors the weakest one. As they develop their second set of leaves I'll snip off all but the healthiest one. If any variety starts to grow tall and too "leggy", open the window just a little bit to shock the plant with cooler air. This will slow down its growth and make its stem thicker and more conducive to transplant. Once you have healthy seedlings you're ready for the transplant and growing stage, then the harvesting stage, then my favorite the cooking and eating stage.
Transplant your little pepper seedlings when they have two pairs of true leaves. If you have room for four inch pots, that's fine, but pepper seedlings will do fine in two inch pots. I use 606 deep sheet pots, extra tall cell pack inserts that come 36 to a tray. I can grow a lot of peppers on one light shelf!
Handle little seedlings gently by their leaves, planting them a little lower than they were growing in the seed starting tray. Water them in, and put them back under the lights. young plant with a cluster of small pale yellow peppers, surrounded by dry grass clippingsAs when you soaked the seeds, adding chamomile tea or hydrogen peroxide to the water may be useful. Bottom watering from now on is best and will help prevent damping off.
Harden off your plants before planting out in your garden. I space peppers 12 to 18 inches apart, depending on the variety. Close spacing often allows the plants to support each other, with no need for caging. Grass clippings or straw makes an excellent mulch for peppers. Although plants may tolerate some dryness, you'll get more peppers if you water them regularly.
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