How to Start Hot Pepper Seeds

You can start hot pepper seeds easily indoors, and then transplant the seedlings outdoors.

Hot peppers require plenty of warmth to thrive. If you're growing hot pepper plants from seed, you'll need to start them indoors in most climates, rather than sowing the seeds directly into the ground. The most widely grown hot pepper varieties include the jalapeno, large red cherry, long red cayenne and Hungarian wax peppers. Start your hot pepper seeds indoors about eight to 10 weeks before the last anticipated frost in your area. Depending on the variety, hot pepper seeds can take up to 20 days to germinate.

Things You'll Need

• Hot pepper seeds
• Seed flats
• Bottom heating unit (optional)
• Pitchfork or tiller
• Organic compost
• Shovel or garden spade
• Garden hose
• Heavy organic mulch
• Foliar fertilizer, 5-10-5 or 5-10-10 NPK formula

Instructions

1. Sow the hot pepper seeds in seed flats indoors, following the spacing and depth instructions on the seed packet for the specific variety of hot pepper that you're growing. You can purchase seed flats at your local garden center, which are typically trays filled with a peat moss-based growing medium.

2. Moisten the hot pepper seeds in the seed tray, but don't water log the soil. Position the seed flats in a spot that has bright sunlight and air temperatures of at least 60 degrees F at night and 75 degrees during the day. For best germination results, place a bottom heating element beneath the seed flats to warm the soil to 80 to 90 degrees.

3. Keep the potting mix in the seed flats evenly moistened, but not soggy. Mist the potting mix with a water spray bottle to prevent disturbing the seeds until the hot pepper seedlings begin to grow. Use warm water, moistening the potting mix when it begins to feel slightly dry to the touch.

4. Clear an outdoor planting site for your hot pepper seedlings that receives full sunlight and has well-draining soil. Cultivate and loosen the soil bed using a tiller or pitchfork, working the soil to a depth of at least 1 foot. Spread a 2- to 4-inch-thick layer of organic compost over the soil bed, and then work it into the soil to the same depth.

5. Transplant your hot pepper seedlings outdoors after all chance of frost has passed and the soil has warmed up. Don't transplant your hot pepper seedlings outdoors until nighttime temperatures are consistently warmer than 55 degrees F. Space your hot pepper plants about 12 to 15 inches apart, planting the seedlings into the prepared soil bed at the same depth as they're growing in the seed flats.

Tips & Warnings

• After you transplant the seedlings outdoors, water your hot pepper plants deeply once every week, soaking the soil down to and around the roots. Spread a 2- to 4-inch layer of heavy organic mulch on the ground around the hot pepper plants to preserve soil moisture and prevent heat damage during summer. Apply a low-nitrogen, foliar-spray fertilizer to the hot pepper plants, according to the instructions on the label. A 5-10-5 or 5-10-10 NPK formula fertilizer works well for hot pepper plants.

• Keep in mind that most hot pepper varieties mature in 60 to 75 days from seed to harvest, but the hottest types can take 90 days or longer. Although hot pepper plants will typically fruit up until the first hard frost, some colder regions with shorter growing seasons may not be suitable for the hottest pepper varieties due to their long maturity time frames.

References

• Cornell University Cooperative Extension: Peppers
• National Gardening Association: Plant Care Guides -- Pepper
• Ohio State University Extension: Growing Peppers in the Home Garden

Resources

• Clemson University Cooperative Extension: Pepper