Peppers are known for not just their flavors and colors, but also for the various health benefits that they have to offer. From fighting the flu to reducing cancer risks, the benefits of adding pepper to your meals go on.
Peppers would grow pretty easily in warm temperatures but would have to be started indoors during cold weather. If you are a pepper aficionado and wondering when to start planting pepper seeds indoors, read further.
When to Start Pepper Seeds Indoors
Peppers grow very well in warm temperatures but they can’t tolerate frost. If you are planning to cultivate peppers during a relatively cold time of the year, it’s best to start the pepper seeds indoors.
Ideally, the pepper seeds should be started indoors for eight to ten weeks before you transplant them to the outdoors. If you have no intentions of transplanting them to your garden outdoors, you could start pepper seeds indoors whenever you like. Peppers would make great indoor plants when provided with all the right conditions for their growth.
If you start the pepper seeds indoors in late winter, there is a good chance that they would be fully grown and matured by the end of the season. You don’t have to worry about providing the right temperature to the pepper seeds if you start them indoors, as ample light and a heating mat would do the trick.
Though peppers would grow without many hassles indoors, it would be better to transplant them to the garden if the soil and air conditions outside are really good and could help them in their growth.
Starting Hot Pepper Seeds Indoors
If you are a fan of the super-hot pepper varieties and wondering when to start hot pepper seeds indoors, keep in mind that they need more time to sprout. So if you’re dealing with the hot varieties of pepper, you’ll have to start them at least two weeks earlier than the normal varieties as they require more time to germinate and grow.
There is a huge variety of hot pepper seeds that you could choose from, including poblanos, jalapenos, dragon’s breath, habaneros, etc. The hot peppers range from mildly hot to super spicy. The super hot pepper varieties like ghost pepper may take even a month or more to germinate.
The ideal time to start hot pepper seeds indoors would be six to ten weeks before the last frost in your region. You could start as early as November or as late as February, but the month of January is considered the best time to sprout hot pepper seeds indoors.
Starting Bell Pepper Seeds Indoors
If you are pondering over when to start bell pepper seeds indoors, the best time would be eight to ten weeks before the last frost. Make sure that the bell peppers are transplanted two to three weeks after the last frost has passed.
Bell peppers that come in green, yellow, and red colors are a popular pepper garden variety and grow best in warm climates.
How to Start Pepper Seeds Indoors
Germinating pepper seeds indoors is an easy task and all you need would be a seed-starting tray or peat pots, a seed-starting mix, a heating mat, regular watering, and ample light. Pepper seeds require constant moisture for germination to take place.
You can start pepper seeds from a store-bought pepper, regardless of whether it is organic or not. But keep in mind that you can’t take the seeds out from a cooked pepper for seed starting.
Seed-Starting Mix
The first step is to fill in your trays or peat pots with the seed-starting mix. You could either purchase the potting soil or mix compost with the soil to get the desired consistency and quality to plant the pepper seeds.
The advantage of using a peat pot is that it would make the transplantation procedure easier when compared to a tray or regular pot.
Watering
It’s important to make your soil moist before the pepper seeds are added. Make sure not to overwater the mix. The next step involves planting the pepper seeds in moist soil. The seeds should be planted about one-fourth of an inch deep.
Feel free to add multiple seeds in a single pot or a cell of a tray to increase the chances of having at least one seedling in every pot or every cell. Lightly water the seeds after planting, making sure that you are only spraying and not watering them heavily.
Warm Temperature
However, if several seedlings grow in a single pot, make sure to thin them to avoid overcrowding. Ensure that the temperature of the soil is above 70°F or above to aid in the fast germination of the pepper seeds. You could use a heating mat or a grow light for this purpose.
If not, you could keep the pots or tray near a windowsill that gets enough sunlight throughout the day. Rotate the pots or tray to ensure that all the seeds get ample sunlight. Even with enough sunlight, it would be better to use a heating mat or grow light to ensure that the seeds are getting the right temperature for their germination.
Germination and Hardening Off
If provided with all the ideal conditions that would aid in the germination of the seeds, the pepper seedlings would begin to show within two weeks. Some varieties like the hot peppers might take as long as a month for the seedlings to appear. Make sure that the seedlings get enough light until you plant them.
Also, don’t forget to harden off the seedlings at least ten days before you transplant them into the garden. Hardening the seedlings is an essential step in getting them acquainted with the outdoor elements and it could take about one to two weeks.
Final Thoughts
Starting pepper seeds indoors is indeed an easy process. Make sure that you take all the necessary steps to ensure the germination of the pepper seeds. The best time to start pepper seeds indoors is about eight to ten weeks before you transplant them outdoors. There is no doubt that peppers would make a great addition to your garden.