How to Grow a Pepper from a Pepper Seed

A chili pepper growing in the garden.

Peppers, whether sweet or hot, add lovely spice to many dishes. Pepper enthusiasts looking for a steady supply or facing limited selection at local markets can rest assured that peppers are quite easy to grow. For the widest selection, buy seeds instead of established plants, and get ready to indulge your love for peppers.

Things You'll Need

• Potting soil
• Small pot
• Pencil or stick
• Pepper seeds
• Plastic bag
• Shallow plastic tray or sink
• Grow light or sunny windowsill
• Scissors
• Tomato/pepper fertilizer or compost tea

Instructions

1. Put potting soil into a pot, filling to within an inch of the rim and pressing the soil firmly.

2. Dampen the soil with a water and let the pot sit for a few minutes to drain.

3. Use a pencil or stick to push a hole into the damp soil about a quarter-inch deep.

4. Drop two or three pepper seeds into the hole to ensure successful germination of at least one seed.

5. Sprinkle dirt into the hole to cover the seeds, pressing firmly to make good contact.

6. Place the pot in a plastic bag to keep the soil moist and set the pot in a warm place. Keep the temperature between 65 and 95 F, though 80 F is ideal for germination.

7. Check the pot daily to make sure the soil is evenly moist and slightly warm. Bottom-water the pot as needed by setting it in a sink or plastic tub of water until the soil surface feels damp. Germination usually occurs within 5 to 10 days under optimum conditions of heat and soil moisture.

8. Remove the plastic bag as soon as seedlings emerge and reduce the ambient temperature to around 70 F, with nighttime temperatures around 55 to 60 F.

9. Place the pot under a grow light or in a sunny window, keeping artificial light two or three inches above the seedlings as they grow, to encourage sturdy stems. If using window light, turn seedlings daily so the stems grow straight.

10. Use scissors to carefully snip out all but the strongest seedling once they put out their first true leaves. This ensures the healthiest pepper has room to grow. Seedling leaves emerge with the sprout, while true leaves develop afterward.

11. Transplant the pepper to a sunny spot in the garden once it has at least six true leaves and outside temperatures remain consistently above 50 F at night.

12. Keep the soil evenly moist as your pepper grows, and hand-pull any weeds.

13. Fertilize weekly around the base of the stem with a good tomato and pepper fertilizer or a weak solution of compost "tea" -- made by adding a small amount of compost to water.

Tips & Warnings

• It is a good idea to pinch off any early flowers that appear so that sturdier roots and branches develop before fruiting.

• You may injure or kill young pepper plants by exposing them to direct sunlight without proper conditioning. To "harden" them, move peppers into a semi-shady location outside for a few hours daily before returning them inside. Do this slowly, increasing the amount of light and time outside for at least a week before transplanting to the garden. Continue to shade the young pepper from direct light in the garden for another week or so using a piece of cardboard or a shade cloth.

References

• Alabama Cooperative Extension; Soil Temperature Conditions for Vegetable Seed Germination; Joseph Kemble, et al.; 2006
• North Carolina State University; Starting Plants from Seed; Erv Evans, et al.; January 1999

Resources

• Chili Pepper.com: Growing Peppers
• University of Illinois Extension: Watch Your Garden Grow, Peppers