Pepper seeds!

[Hunter77]

Hello all, I am new to this forum and I joined it cause I want to get as much knowledge as I can. I have some chilli pepper seeds some of which are Bhut Jolokias. I live in New
Orleans and even thought its fairly warm here in the winter, I know now is not the time to germinate pepper seeds, but I am going to do it indoors . I have done research but I still don't feel I have the knowledge to be successful. I am going to try my other chilli peppers before I start my Bhut Jolokias. I really just want anyone's knowledge on starting my seeds indoors and the best ways to do it! I have a small seed germinating heated green house type thing to help maintain temp, and humidity. I know you have to keep the seed warm, about 80-86 degrees and moist, not wet and not dry. I know that once you get sprouts then you need the lighting. If anyone can give me more info on growing successful pepper plants, and lighting etc. Thanks in advance to all!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Casey (aka) Hunter77!

[tjg911]

i'll be interested to see comments. i have grown a lot of things from seed over 20 years but never peppers so i know zip. i started fatalli seeds a month ago to test for germination and now have 6 healthy plants with 2 sets of true leaves. i've transplanted to a 6 pack in promix but have yet to fertilize. i have them in a window sill getting sun. while tomatoes would do poorly in a window i wonder if peppers are ok with the poor light as they grow soooo slowly they won't get leggy?

i hate to destroy any seedling but it's not even halloween yet so what the heck will i do with 6 pepper plants! i'm not running a shop light for 3 months.

tom

[biscgolf]

hunter- you seem to have the gist of it... continue as planned... seeds of the superhots (jolokia's etc) take longer to germinate in my experience (and higher temps but you should be fine at 80-85) so don't give up on them if they are behind everything else...

tom- they're peppers- they are tough, they may still get a bit leggy but should come through ok...if nothing else you can cut them back hard once spring arrives...

[Boutique Tomatoes]

The only other thing I might add would be a seed soak. Some varieties seem to be prone to stuck seed coats and pre-soaking the seeds seems to help reduce that.

[Farmette]

Using a heating pad on low has definitely helped the germination process of my peppers. Really hot ones seem to have taken longer to germinate. The first year I germinated Fatali I did it without heat; it took so long that by the time the plants were mature enough to possibly flower, it was the season was over and it was too cold to leave them outside. I brought them inside and kept them by a window, put them out in late May and had peppers that year. I think if yours get too leggy, you could try transplanting them deeper when time to set out. I have done that with peppers as well as tomatoes and it worked fine. Good luck!

[spannerwiz]

I have in the past had a job to germinate the hot chillis ( Bhut Jolokias ) , this works for me on small scale . Place the seeds on damp piece of tissue or similar , fold the tissue so the seeds are in the middle then place in a small plastic bag that seals at the end , seal bag place on small plastic saucer , then place on top of a cable box . dvd player or sat box or similar . these devices seem to have a steady temp of about 80f . don’t block vent holes and check daily after about a fortnight works every time for me , but don’t over do it . If they are slow to germinate moisten tissue and don’t let them dry out . Its cheap But it works !

[Ostara]

Hi there,

I live in holland and the summer is very short here. Last year I had some peppers in my greenhouse and in a few weeks time they were all covered with lice so I had to put them outside. Result : only a few peppers. This year I grew them in my house, in the livingroom. It goes great. The plants are covered with fruit. Specialy the pepperoncindy tondi, baccio de santantana, pyramid, prairie fire and the sweet banana. Also have some special eggplants in my room, they do very good as well.
Good luck!

[aropupu]

The best advice I can give to get you started: at least with C. chinenses like the Bhut jolokia, you simply cannot have too much light, especially when starting them in the wrong time of the season. Have some CFL's or such to light them up, as close as the lamps can be, just be sure that they don't heat up the plants too much to dry them. Without enough light, you'll have leggy branches and a weak plant that can't carry many fruits.

In my experience this is the most important thing, at least after having the right amount of watering that's a thing you'll basically only learn by growing chillies and seeing how they react to overwatering and such. Nutrients etc are just details, at least when growing in soil.

[clkeiper]

In my experience with peppers,hot or sweet, you must have bottom heat and a clear cover of some sort. Prop the lid if you are in a sunny window and have direct sun on them or shade it if it is in the greenhouse, so you don't cook them in the sunshine. I stock up every spring on a new heat mat or two when I find them for spring seed starting season. Usually I find them at Menards for the best price. Usually less than $20.00 a piece.

[hardwaterbob]

Has anyone thought about using a fish tank heater submerged in a large aluminum roasting pan and then place the seeds on a cookie sheet on top of the al roasting pan.

u could control the heat with a low enough heat setting to help the sprouting process.

[ScottinAtlanta]

Originally Posted by Ostara

Hi there,

I live in holland and the summer is very short here. Last year I had some peppers in my greenhouse and in a few weeks time they were all covered with lice so I had to put them outside. Result : only a few peppers. This year I grew them in my house, in the livingroom. It goes great. The plants are covered with fruit. Specialy the pepperoncindy tondi, baccio de santantana, pyramid, prairie fire and the sweet banana. Also have some special eggplants in my room, they do very good as well.
Good luck!

How do you pollinate them in your house?

[ContainerTed]

How do you pollinate them in your house?
------------------------------------------------------

Hey, Scotty, that's private stuff behind closed doors.

Seriously, peppers get along just fine, same as tomatoes. Peppers DO have an exerted stigma which increases crosses where little critters can get to them, but are otherwise self-pollinating.

[ScottinAtlanta]

Thanks, Ted. No need to share any more information.

[velikipop]

They self-pollinate, if you know what I mean