Like the past few seasons, I started growing all my peppers from seed and indoors. Most of the peppers I grow have to be started from seed – you can’t buy them anywhere (plants or pods) and surely can’t find them locally (I’m in Northern Illinois). They also have to be started indoors. Growing peppers indoors for the first few months is required in my part of the country because of the long growing cycles needed. Most of the hot peppers I grow take a minimum of 120 days to produce ripe pods, most take more than 150 days.
Tips for Growing Peppers from Seed
I wish I could say that I follow all of this advice but I don’t. I’ve found that peppers are very resilient and despite my best efforts to prevent growth they thrive anyways:-) I would also add that these are just tips/guidelines…many pepper growers do things differently with great results. In no particular order of importance….
1 When it comes to growing peppers, less is more. I’ve read countless threads and blogs where people describe problems with their pepper plants and very often it’s because they are doing too much. Over fertilizing, over watering, tinkering with the soil, re-potting again and again, etc. You have to remember that in the wild peppers just fall to the ground and the next season the seeds grow. Not saying you should take that approach to your peppers just highlighting the fact that nature has a pretty basic process that works well. Don’t over think it when it comes to peppers – you don’t need to spend a lot of money buying all kinds of fertilizers and high end soils. My peppers spend the first 6 – 10 weeks of their lives in your basic red solo cup typically in MG potting soil.
2 For the most part, tap water is just fine. I’ve read all sort of claims that you need to buy water or use heavily filtered water to get seeds to sprout / successfully grow peppers. BS. Unless your tap water is really, really bad – like undrinkable for humans – it’s fine for growing peppers. Save your money, no need to buy water for pepper growing. Rainwater is great if you can collect and store it. All I have ever used is unfiltered tap water and I’ve never had any water related problems when it comes to growing peppers.
3 Pepper seeds germinate best between 75 and 85 degrees. There are quite a few different ways to germinate peppers seeds – in wet paper towels, in baggies, in dirt, etc. Regardless of how you choose to germinate your seeds temp is important and you’ll want to aim for a consistent 75 – 85 degree range. Temperatures in that range really speed germination. That said, I just fill solo cups with MG potting soil and bury seeds about 1/2 inch deep. I germinate everything in my basement where the temps float between 60 and 65 degrees. I typically get 80% germination but it takes a lot longer due to the lower temps…25+ days is not at all unusual for hot pepper seeds germinating in lower temperatures.
4 Start hot pepper seeds early. The biggest mistake I made during my first season growing hot peppers was that I started way to late. Last frost/plant out in my part of the country is May 15th. My first year I didn’t start my seeds until mid April and most of them had not even sprouted by plant out time. That year 90% of my peppers will still on the plants and far from being ripe by the time the season changed and temperatures started dropping below freezing. It goes without saying I was not happy about throwing away 90% of my peppers and that has never happened again. Here’s a good place to determine when it’s safe to plant out in your area. You can use this info to determine when to start your seeds. Depending on the type of pepper you’re growing you’ll want to start seeds indoors anywhere from 8 – 12 weeks before your plant out date.
5 Give them light! The moment your pepper seeds poke through the dirt they need light and lots of it. If you plan to move your plants outside when it’s warm enough you don’t need fancy or expensive lights, basic florescent lights will do just fine. Get a florescent fixture or two and keep the lights 2 – 3 inches off the tops of your plants. Give your pepper sprouts 24/7 light for the first 4 – 5 weeks then switch them to a 16/8 cycle, also 7 days a week.
6 Keep the air moving. Probably the most common threat to young seedlings is dampening off. Having a fan come on a few times a day (just set it with a timer) is a great way to keep the air moving and helps prevent dampening off.
7 Don’t water until pepper plants start to wilt. Over watering contributes dampening off and other nasties. After your plants start growing don’t water them until the wilt. Even if the soil is bone dry don’t water until the plant actually starts to wilt. Peppers just don’t need that much water.
8 Drainage is key. Pepper plants hate “wet feet”. Make sure your pots or whatever you have your peppers planted in has great drainage. For example I start my plants in solo cups and drill 4 – 5 good size holes in the bottom of each cup. If you have poor drainage it can lead to root rot.
9 While indoors, pinch off any buds. Until you move your plants outside it’s a good idea to pinch off any buds before they form into flowers. You don’t want your plants using energy on buds/flowers while they are inside, you want them using energy on growing leaves and roots. Pinching off the buds will force the plant to focus it’s energy while it’s still inside and trust me, once outside and the conditions are right it will start to bud/flower again.
I’ll update this post from time to time with other tips or suggestions for growing peppers from seed. If you have any suggestions, questions or comments please feel free to leave them in the comment section below.
thanks for the info. i have grown habeneros but this is my first years for butch t’s. my plants are about 18 inches tall and have alot of buds. we are going through a bit of a drought but the peppers seem to be thriving. i’m glad you mentioned about overwatering.
Thanks for the information. I just planted 72 cells of Trinidad Yellows, Trinidad Scorpions, and Jamaican Chocolates, and this infomation is great. Thanks a mil.
do you have any chocolate seeds please
thanks chillihead james
@james, no, I don’t sell seeds.
Glad to help Larry. I’ve found peppers really prefer to be dry. I’m amazed how long I can without watering them, especially after they really take root in the garden. Once they start wilting I give them a nice long drink and they do great.
Thanks for the info, we returned right at 80% germination, but I fear we may have planted them too early, it is august 12 and flowering is in process as we speak, I live in North Central Indiana so we share common season temperatures with a few variances in weather conditions im sure. My question is how long between flowering a fruit cycle. Do we have a good shot at getting some hot peppers yet this year? If so about when can I expect them.
Hey James, you should start seeing fruit a week or two after flowering. What kind of peppers are you growing?
What potting mix should I transplant my Butch T’s into. They just emerged and have their two leaves. Also is there a site that tells you how to transplant them? Its my first shot a growing them. Also I am growing them indoors seed-finish.
Hey Barry, I use Pro Mix.
Thank you for posting this! I am new to gardening and this is the first year I have ever started anything from seed and the info here is incredibly useful. I have started a few pots of jalapeno and regular bell peppers and while everything else (herbs, cucumbers, tomatoes, spinach) has already started to sprout, I’ve had no action from the peppers. I started them indoors about a week and a half ago, putting them outside during the day and bringing them in at night (daytime temps here in Tennessee have been running in the mid-seventies, but dropping to about mid-fifties at night, and the last frost isn’t until mid-April). I’m going to try watering them less than the other plants and keeping them warm and see if that will do the trick.
Hi Summer,
Happy to have helped. Peppers can be slow to sprout, I have some this year that have taken up to a month. I think my jalapenos took 12 – 15 days. Keep em’ warm and give them time and they should pop through the dirt soon
Glad I found this post… though it might be a bit late for some of my little sprouts.
I have my seedlings under a fluorescent light and over a plug in oil radiator. I am in fear of maybe over watering a few of the little ones (with a spray bottle 5 sprays). I have a few Serranos and early Jalapenos that were the first up (about 1″) and I resprayed only to find them wilted and in a state of non recovery. I am hoping that the other seeds planted with them will come up and I won’t make the same mistake.
When they are this vulnerable size, what are the signs of needing water, just wait for a slight wilt in the leaves, the stems or???
Hi John,
You mention having the seedlings on a radiator…make sure it’s not too hot. Temps that are too high can kill seedlings off pretty quick.
My rule of thumb for watering pepper seedlings is to wait until the soil is completely dried out. If it’s moist all the seedlings will be fine, too much water and you can end up with dampening off…perhaps that’s what happened to your seedlings this time?
I planted 13 Scorpians, within 4 days only the front row (5) became visible. One took off with two leaves right away. I “thought” at that point the warm sun room (90) would be a treat. Fail! All five stopped doing anything and the other 8 have not shown up yet. The best one is barely standing or alive for all I know. Question: Should I be patient for the other 8 to break the surface or do you believe I’ve killed them all (It’s been 9 days total). I’ve brought them back to their heating pad and put the top back on their planter but I’m just wondering if I should just resow with the seeds I stored in the refrigerator.
Thanks
Munsch,
Super hots can take up to 30 days to sprout so it’s ok to be patient. Did you sprout them inside and them move them outside into the sun room? If so that can kill them quick…if you sprout them inside you need to introduce them to the sun slowly, maybe 1 – 3 hours of partial sun for a few days gradually increasing.
90+ degrees is pretty hot for seedlings too. All my sprouts come up in temps in the 60′s and 70′s and then gradually move the areas of the house where it’s in the 80′s. My plants never see antying close to 90 degrees until mid summer when they have already been outside for a at least 4 – 6 weeks and are pretty good size.
Thanks. Yes, I sprouted them inside last week, what was interesting was that only the front row started to sprout.
As long as you don’t believe the un-sprouted ones could be ruined I will not dump them and I will also from now on leave them inside under the lights and on their warm happy pad for quite a bit longer. Only 3 of my Ghosts last year out of 13 made it. Actually 2, it was my first time growing and I thought #1 was a weed and plucked it….DOH!
Thanks!
My husband and I are growing the moruga scorpion and purple ghost pepper this year. We are experienced gardeners who like to try new things and we have grown other varieties of hot peppers in the past. We started the seeds indoors in March with the help of a heat mat and had sprouts within 3-4 days. We were considering growing them in our sunroom when they are ready. Our sunroom reaches 90-100 temps in the middle of Summer. Do the morugas and ghosts do best with the real high heat or can they be grown in 80 degree temps? My husband was wondering what PH level is ideal for them and if it’s possible to grow them hyroponically in rockwool? Would they prefer sandy soil?
Hi Michele,
Sorry to be the one to tell you that you’ll be disappointed with the “purple ghost”. The pepper will not look anything like real ghost peppers (some say they are not even hot) and they will ripen to red.
In terms of your growing conditions temps in the 80′s are fine, sunroom temps may be a little on the high side especially if they are consistently hot. You’ll want a ph around 7 and some sand in the soil (for drainage) is ok too. Good luck with your grow!
Thank for the reply and info. The Morugas are really the ones we are excited about. We bought the purple ghost pepper seeds before we knew about the Morugas. We’ve decided to grow half hydroponically and half in soil.
Hi
really interesting post.
i cant eat hot peppers, but love salad peppers. I bought some seeds, but they didnt sprout. with hindsite i think i over watered them. a week ago i was chopping salad peppers and thought ‘what the hell’ and threw some seeds from the peppers into the trays, and they have sprouted.
im a bit concererned now that they should have been dried and stored for a year before being planted. im a bit of a haphazard kind of gardener! was going to move to the window sill for light now and plant into bigger pots in a week or two when they were bigger. i live in the uk so they wont be going outside for a while yet. far too cold!
do you think they’ll survive? not sure whether to get excited about them or not!
thanks
I have a grown what was stated to be a trinidad scorpion/bhut jolokia hybrid, the plant itself is fine and has reached nearly 3ft tall, only thing that is bothering me is that it has only one chilli on the entire plant which sprouted about a week and a half ago, it has plenty of flowers and buds but nothing seems to be happening with them,should i remove the buds and flowers and allow it to grow further or just wait and see what happens?? any info would be much appreciated thank you
Hi Lee,
I would just give it some time. Pepper plants tend to drop flowers if the time and conditions are not right for it to produce pods. When the plant is ready it will start producing pods like crazy. No need to pull the flowers or anything else, just let it do it’s thing. Thanks for stopping by!
- PepperSeed
You can place a heating pad underneath the seeds when you start them in a room which is not the ideal temperature. I leave the h.p. on 24/7 and get really solid results.
Thanks for the tips, esp. the watering info.
I’d like to comment again about starting peppers from seed. I highly recommend a seed germination mat (heating mat specifically for sprouting seeds). Just make sure you either have a thermostat for it or an accurate way to test the temp. of your seed starting medium. You can buy them online or in garden stores. Mine stayed around 80-82 and I had the Morugas sprouting in 4 days!!! Some of my tomatoes popped up in two days! This is how I start all my pepper and tomato seeds.
Hi Michele,
A heat mat definitely helps speed up germination and great point about being able to measure the temperature…pretty easy to cook the seeds if you can’t!
I’ve started all my peppers in the past with peat moss, and this year in trying to grow some bhut jolokia and butch t. Its been almost a month and I have yet to see any sprouts! I’ve tried keeping the soil no less than 80 degrees and no hotter than 90! I always start my seeds inside, my jalapenos, and banana peppers are doing great, I just need some help, what’s going on? Thank you!
Hi Andrew,
If it’s been a month you may have some bad seeds. I have had seeds sprout after a month but generally speaking they should sprout a lot faster.
That’s what I was thinking! I’ll give them another week then I’ll start a new batch! Thanks!
Here’s an update on our Moruga Scorpions and Purple Ghosts. We now have seven very healthy looking Moruga Scorpion plants and three very healthy looking Purple Ghosts. My husband gave up on the hydroponic method after killing three of the Ghosts. They are all currently in our sunroom which has been staying in the high 70′s-high 80′s and all thriving.
My habanero plants flower and then the stem turns yellow and flower and stem fall off. Can anyone please help me. I have maybe five plants left of the twelve that have stem and flowers on them the other ones don’t. But they are like three foot tall and very green and no yellow leaves.
Hey Josh,
Not sure of your growing conditions but in general flower drop is nothing to worry about, happens to every plant. Once the plat is ready the flower drop will stop and it will start to pod up.
I have found that if you are loosing flowers that your plants may need more light
Ok just worried cuz all my other banana and jalapeno plants have many peppers in fact I’ve pick and Jared some. 8 of the habanero don’t even have any more stems for peppers. This the first Year your growing them. But fifth year growing peppers first year with problems. thank you for the help. I was excited when I seen all these flower and stems on each plant I was like holy cow. Must of been like 30 to 40 at a time all flowering and then one by one the stem would turn yellow and fall off. I said to my self come on you got to be kidden me, but thanks now I know. How long do you think they will start to pod?
Hey Josh,
My plants never typically drop flowers more than a few weeks. Are you growing in the ground and what part of the country are you in?
I was just worried that if I was gonna get some peppers before it got cooler out, but I guess I have a couple months yet. And yes my plants are in the ground. Thanks again for the help. I live in Pennsylvania, Schuylkill county to exact.
I planted some Trinidad Butch-T scorpions at the beginning of the year from seeds. They are now outside in five gallon buckets and growing fine. They are about three feet tall and full of blossoms. Only problem is that some of the blossoms turn yellow and fall while the others flower but don’t produce fruit. I live in Louisiana and the day time temperatures reach in the high 90’s. I am trying to be patient and sit back to let the plants do their thing but am somewhat disappointed with not seeing any fruit.
Hi Mark,
The heat and lack of rain this year has been hard on plants for sure. I think excessive heat contributes to flower drop. I normally get two big waves of harvests…one in the late spring early summer and the other in late summer / fall. This year the first wave will be tiny…most flowers dropped since it was well over 100 for a lot of days and even now mostly in the mid to upper 90′s. Now that’s it started to cool down even a little I’m noticing more pod set and less flower drop. You probably have a longer season where you live and I bet you’ll get a nice “second wave” later this season.
Hi,,,
first,,,thank you for all this great info,, i am a 1st time grower.i live in upstate NY. i have 5 ghost and 15 bird pepper plants, i started in solo cups in march and now have them in 5 gallon buckets in my sun drenched deck. my plants are any where from 6 inches tall to 12 in tall,, big rich green leafs. my question is how long to i see bud and or flowers? i figure i and about 140 days since the solo cups.
thanks for any help or suggestions ,,,
Hey Mike,
If the heat in NY has been anything like it’s been in IL this year it’s really slowing things down in terms of flower/pod production. That said you want your plants to be at least foot tall before they start putting out pods otherwise you’ll end up with plants that only put out a few pods for the whole year. I have one bhut jolokia/ghost pepper in a pot this year and it’s just now flowering up so pods should start setting anytime now. Once you start seeing flowers pods won’t be far behind.
Thanks for your help,, i will post again when it pod up,,,,,
Hey Gang,
This is one reason I always grow part of my Pepper crop in 5 gallon containers. In a really hot summer or a drought I can just move the containers into a more shaded area. Same deal with a bad thunderstorm coming, hail, even the tropical storms and hurricanes we are prone to in a Coastal area like Myrtle Beach and Florida. The good news is your plants will start holding the flowers and buds and setting peppers when the nights get chillier in a month or so…
Fiery Regards,
Pepper Joe
pepperjoe.com
Pepper joe. I purchased the box of hot peppers from you and they are great. I live in south Florida and I am growing in a greenhouse. Many peppers but they are not turning red. Especially peters. Over 100 peppers and Butch T. Over 400 peppers on the 8 plants. How can I turn these peppers red. It’s been a month and no red peppers. Please help!
Hi. I am an amature Gardner and very excited of butc t pepper and ghost peppers. I transplanted them into five gallon pots with porting soil and small amount of fertilizer. I have had them in direct sun. I live in southern California where weather has been hi 90′s and low 60′s. Is there any special instructions which I have to follow in order to have them grow healthy and sprout many peppers.. just so excited.
Hey Dave, sounds like you have it dialed in, no need to worry you should have many peppers before you know it
is it good to trim off some leaves ?
i have bhut jolokias and pequin plants,,,,,
Hey Mike, I sometimes remove damaged leaves or leaves that look “sick”. I also pull the leaves off the bottom 4 – 6 inches of all of my plants since I grow them in rows with a short fence:
Plants need leaves to grow and produce so generally speaking removing leaves won’t help the plant and there’s no need to trim them.
Hello all.
I am a first-time grower – I have successfully grown a banana pepper plant from a seedling to fruit production. I planted some Butch Ts around July 1st and they had sprouts just a few days later (I soaked the seeds in a paper towel suspended just above water in a cup and left it outside in 95+ degree weather. Maybe that’s their version of HGH). I ordered 10 seeds from refiningfirechilis, but they sent me 24. Every last one had sprouted by week 2. I just moved three of the larger sprouts outside as a test group (being as I have plenty to spare), and they seem to be doing well. Their leaves are about an inch long.
I was wondering if I can expect to get some peppers off of them before the end of the season. I’m in Augusta, GA, and it doesn’t get cold until early-to-mid-November. How long does it typically take them to produce fruit?
Thanks!
I started my super hot pepper seeds in late Feb this year and started seeing green pods in June. Just now as of this week starting to see my first ripe pods. Even in GA you might have started too late to see any ripe pods this year
Would they survive if I kept them inside the house d’you think?
They could if you have the space/light.
All my Ghost and Moruga Scorpion pepper plants (all started from seed) are in 5 gallon pots. We kept them in our sunroom (where they got full sun) until the temps in the sunroom started reaching 100. Then we moved them into the backyard. We live in Oregon (Pacific Northwest) and our sunroom stays warm through most of the fall. (We had a sweet pepper produce a pod in November!) I did start all my pepper seeds in early March. Both the Ghosts and Moruga Scorpions started producing lots of flower buds about a week and a half ago and none have fallen off yet. Meanwhile the plants keep growing and seem to be thriving. All are atleast a foot tall and thick with leaves.
We got pods!!! Our Moruga Scorpions are producing pods left and right!!! They are still tiny but very healthy looking!
Cool! You should be on fire in no time
Doesn’t it take them about a month to ripen though? One of the Moruga Scorpion is pretty close to full size. The ghosts are also podding up left and right.
Yea it can take anywhere from 2 – 4 weeks Once it starts though it’s quick. I’ve looked at peppers that are 100% green at night and the next morning they are 50% ripe and the next day completely ripe. Have you ever had any super hot peppers or super hot powder / flakes? If not I have some extra I could send your way while you wait for the ripening. If you’re interested e-mail your name/address to info@thepepperseed.com and I’ll send a care package your way. Have a great day and grow on!
hello
I bought some pepper plants a while ago and they seem to be thriving, lots of fruits and plenty of flowers still, the peppers that have grown seem very dimpled and Im wondering if this is normal? Most of the peppers are still green but I do have two which are turning red
Hi Amanda,
The dimples could be normal, really depends on what kind of peppers you’re growing?
Hiya my friend gave me a small pepper plant and and its grow a foot since, i live in a flat so cant plant them out side i have loads of flowers wiv green buds growin in the middle looks like peppers to me , can they b peppers? And i dont over water them x
Hiya my friend gave me a small pepper plant and and its grow a foot since, i live in a flat so cant plant them out side i have loads of flowers wiv green buds growin in the middle looks like peppers to me , can they b peppers? And i dont over water them x
After a month and a half our Moruga Scorpion pods have gone from yellow to neon orange to orange with hints of red.
I plant my pepper seed outdoor on a well drained loamy soil on 18/10/2012 bt not germinating.
I left my birds eye pepper plant outside after frost, the plant appears dead but there’s still dried peppers on it, is there any way to plant those indoors or should I just buy a new plant?
I live in.the uk and its freezing here with snow could i still stary peppers off and have success
Exactly what genuinely inspired you to write “Growing Peppers from Seed | The Pepper Seed”?
I personallytruly loved the post! Thanks ,
Tristan
Thanks for the post! We live in Las Vegas and recently started planting in the house, many different varieities of peppers after my hubby had success with one seed! Variety TBD on ‘David’…
This project has provided endless entertainment! What we have found though is that ‘David’ (about 6″-8″ tall right now) doesn’t like it outside with natural light. We have only put him out in 60+ degree weather since he was planted around Christmas, but his leaves turn in/shrivel and almost darken in color. 20 minutes inside under the light and he’s perked up and picture perfect! (For you indoor growers out there- Compact Flourescent Bulb in Bright White installed in desk and floor lamps works great)
Anyone here know if these pepper plants can stay in the house permanently? We’d be happy to have producing plants in the house if it’s feasable.
Hi Samantha, plants need to be “hardened off” when they are started indoors. You can google it but basically it means slowly exposing them to natural outside light…like putting them in the shade/partial sun for a few hours a day so they can get use to it. If you want to leave it indoors it can produce peppers (CFL won’t cut it, would have to be in a window or use lights like HPS) but not nearly as much as it will outside.
Good luck and happy pepper growing!
I started all my seeds last week and my tomatoes, cukes and beans are all sprouting fabulously. I didn’t understand why my peppers weren’t! After reading this article, I now know why.
1. They are too wet.
2. They are at a lower temp (about 65° – 68°)
Looks like I’ll be starting the pepper seeds over again. Thanks for the tips!
Hi Sarah, they may still sprout…cool temps just seem to slow them down. I typically wait 12 – 15 days before I give up on pepper seeds and start over. It’s ok if they are kind of moist before they sprout but after they do you’ll want to make sure they don’t stay too wet or you could have issues with dampening off.
Thanks for reading and good luck!
I just took seeds out of peppers from the grocery. I am drying them. How long before I can sow them?
I’d just let them dry a day or two before planting. What kind of peppers?
They are Sweet Mini Peppers – like little bell peppers, 2lbs in a bag of thirty odd peppers. Very tasty – not a lot of seeds – many have no seeds.
Thanks for the your response. It is the first time I ever see these peppers in the grocery store. The name in the bag is Mini Peppers. I would say they measure an average of about 1″ to 2.5″ long, with a variety of widths with colors from yellow to red. They are quite crunchy and juicy, making them great for lunch bags. The bag gives the website: http://www.mightyminipeppers.com
Sound tasty, good luck!
They are Sweet Mini Peppers – like little bell peppers, 2lbs in a bag of thirty odd peppers. Very tasty – not a lot of seeds – many have no seeds.
A twist and question on starting peppers;
I found a site online and made an “A” frame and covered it with greenhouse type poly on a 4′x8′ table with heating coils. (think big heating mat). Hanging from the top of the “A” frame is a 4 bulb T-5 florescent fixture. Sort of like a miniature greenhouse nursery inside my home.
Using some fast draining seed starting mix, and making sure it was damp and not wet, I planted pepper seeds 1/8 to 1/4 inch deep after soaking them overnight between two sheets of paper towels. They were started in #2 Jiffy Pots under bright light in a “nursery” about 85 degrees. They germinated in 2 days!! Some varieties took 5 days, and a couple made appearances in about 2 weeks but it blew me away! I also had roughly a 95% germination rate. I say their name earlier in the post; the seeds came from Pepper Joe’s.
Now, here is my question — The first “true” leaves are just starting to appear. Of course, their “nursery” has been humid and around 85 degrees. But I need the nursery for some other starts. Can the peppers be moved into the room outside of the nursery? It is about 65 degrees. I have some racks with t-8 bulbs I can put them under, but the bulbs are more like 12″ above the plants instead of 2″. I can’t do anything about the light height short of setting the starts on blocks or something. I am wondering if this will be too cool or if 65 is o.k. to continue growing them.
Hi Norm, 65ish is fine for the pepper sprouts, mine are in my basement for months and rarely get above 70. Most of the time they are the mid 60′s even during germination.
Hello, I live in arizona and during the summer the temps can get to 115. Is that hot of direct sunlight good for my pepper or should i move them into the shade.
I’d set them in partial shade.
I started some peppers in my basement a few weeks ago and the pepper seedlings are not growing. How big should they be 3 weeks after they pop up?
A lot things can impact how fast pepper seedlings are growing. Some but not all of the things can impact growth in peppers are;
1. Type of pepper
2. Temperature of growing area
3. Type of light(s)
4. Distance from light to top of pepper plants
5. Number of hours lights are on
6. Growing medium (type)
7. Drainage
8. Size of pot or container
9. Fertilizer use
10. Lots of other things…
In general growing my basement is solo cups using pro mix my seedlings are usually 1 – 3 inches tall a few weeks after sprouting. 3 would be on the high side, my basement is cool and I keep my lights (T5s) pretty close so the plants grow stocky instead of tall. Here’s a picture from today to give you an idea of size. I put seeds in the dirt on February 3rd or 4th.
Great article. I planted scorpions about 3 days ago in a small “greenhouse” box. I have a heating Matt under it and there is a good amount of moisture at the top. Am I doing this right? I live in georgia and it is still very cold so I’m heating them inside.
Hi Tony, yea sounds like you’re doing it right. You should have some sprouts any day!
Does anyone think having sprouts a couple weeks old now will be good enough to plant in may? I live in southeastern wisconsin.
Yes, I’m in Northern Illinois and am basically at the same spot with my pepper plants. You should be good!
thank you very much. hopefully we’ll actually be able to put our plants outside by then !If the weather permits.
Yea after they get outside and settled in they tend to grow pretty quick. .. unless of course we have another drought!
Hi, I have some maruga scorpions that I started from seeds and are in 5 gallon buckets now and are about a foot tall. I bring them inside when it’s cold but otherwise they stay outside. Do I need to transplant them in the ground or will they do well and make peppers in the bucket? Also if I do need to transplant should they be in full sun, partial or what? I live in louisiana and it gets quite hot in summer.
Hi duane, yes your pepper plants will produce pods in the buckets. Make sure they have good drainage. If you transplant them to decent soil in the ground they will likely get bigger and produce more pods than If you leave them in buckets. If you do transplant them I would suggest some partial shade. As you said it can get hot! I’m in Northern Illinois and most of my plants are in partial shade. Good luck and keep us posted.
Hey thanks for the quick replay and the info. I have 1 more question. If I leave them in the bucket what should I do to fertilize them?
Duane, no problem happy to help. Depends on what they are in now and how much fertilizer it already has in it. When I have grown in buckets I just used the most economical organic/natural fertilizer I could find at the local nursery. Less is more when it comes to peppers
We have had very good luck growing our peppers in 5 gallon pots. It makes it handy if you need to move them. We live in the Pacific Northwest and our Moruga Scorpions produced tons of pods in their pots. We have a sunroom we move them into when the weather cools in the fall that works wonders. We have had good luck with Black Gold potting soil, Miracle Gro soil as well as the organic potting mix our local garden store sells. We didn’t have to actually feed the peppers for quite some time because they did so well with what was already in the potting mix. This year we are growing the Moruga Scorpions, Red Bhuts (ghost peppers) and the Aconcagua pepper (largest pepper in the world that is said to be as sweet as an apple and prized by culinary chefs). So far our seedlings are healthy and doing well.
I’m from Melbourne, Australia and even though our seasons are opposite it’s good to read all the info provided on this site. I have grown 6 Ghost chillies and each one has lost their first lot of flowers completly. Is there any specific reason for this?
@ Pete, it’s pretty common and generally nothing to worry about. I’ve seen this posted as a list of possible reasons for flower drop:
1. Day temp too high >95F
2. Night temp too low <65F
3. Too much nitrogen fertilizer
4. Too much water
5. Low light levels (reduces fertility).
6. Very low humidity (reduces fertility)
7. Poor air circulation (air circulation contributes to pollination).
8. Lack of pollinating insects.
9. Size of pot
10. Too much mineral in feedwater.
11. Too much grower attention.
In my experience pepper plants to drop flowers – sometimes even all flowers – until growing conditions are just right for creating peppers. I’ve had them drop in almost everyone of the points listed above but have had them set pods in most of those same conditions.
Thanks for the response Pepperseed, greatly appreciated. As it’s now mid Autumn here and the days are warm and the mornings have been quite fresh 11C or 52 F this may have caused the flower drop. I only water as the plant shows signs of wilting. I think I will bring them inside at night and see if that improves the situation.
Sorry forgot to mention that my Butch T and Harbaneros are thriving at the moment, so I’m perplexed about why the Ghost’s are struggling.
@pete sound good I’m sure you will dial them in. Sounds like your peppers area in pots… When I grew in pots I had issues with too much nitrogen. Keep us posted if you get the chance, thanks.
Hi there,
I am a fairly new gardener, and am attempting to start some seeds indoors this year (rather than buying plants from the nursery like i have in the past). I started them in one of those seed starting kits 8 days ago. I have pea seeds and cucumber seeds sprouting well, but the bell peppers have not shown any sign of movement yet. Just a few questions for when I go to transplant outside. BTW I’m just north of Grand Rapids, MI.
1) About how large should the plants get indoors before it is okay to harden off and transplant outside?
2) Should I transplant from the starter kit into larger containers after they sprout and have a few leaves? or is it fine to leave them in the small space they have for a month or so?
3) Should I fertilize in between now and transplanting?
4) Also, my garden plot outside is mostly sandy soil on top of clay. I have been able to grow in it before but would like to know if you have any suggestions for what I could mix with the sand when planting to improve the quality of the plants.
I would really appreciate your help, I am nervous that a whole garden started from seeds may not go very well…
THANKS!
@ SarahSeeds,
Hi, thanks for reading and welcome to thepepperseed. Let me take a shot at your questions.
1. You can transplant outside at any size really, same goes for hardening off. The key is the temperature. I start all my seeds in my basement and move them out to the garage once the night time temsp are not dropping below 40. That way its easy to move them outside for hardening off. When hardening off start slow…maybe 30 – 60 minutes in partial sun or shade for a day or two with gradual increases in the amount of time and sun.
2. I start my seeds in solo cups and when growth slows I transplant them to some larger pots before they go outside. I’ve found the key to a quick outdoor start is to make sure they dont get root bound while they are still inside. One year I started my plants in Dec and had huge plants by April but they were so root bound when I moved them outside in mid may it took them forever to start growing again.
3. I primarily use pro mix for my potting soil and don’t fertilize before they head outside. Peppers are fine without fertilizer for the first 4 – 6 weeks (or more) of their lives, and, if your soil has fertilizer already that should be more than enough to keep the plants healthy until they find their permanent homes.
4. Compost and then some more compost. I’ve tried a bunch of things over the years but have found that nothing helps peppers like piles of compost.
Keep us posted and feel free to ask any questions as your plants progress. Good luck with your peppers and your garden!
Hi, I started my ghost peppers about 3 weeks ago here in MN. Only about 2 inches tall now i hope they will be fine. But i was wondering, I’m using a blue heat light and they dont seem to be growing as fast as i though. Should i get a flourescent light also or is this blue heat light fine? Or can i do both. Thanks.
@matthew, fluorescent is the way to go. You’ll want to keep the tops of the plants 2 – 3 inches away from the fluorescent bulbs.
Thanks, just went out and got 1.
this is my first time growing trinidad moruga scorpions. I planted indoors in late february, 5 inch pots using MG. germination in 12 days. I had an overwatering problem and almost lost the lot, until I read your advice and started watering only after wilt. most recovered nicely and look green and healthy. but after @ 9 weeks, the plants are only 2 inches tall. is this normal?
Yea mine are still 2 inches and planted them 3 weeks ago but yours planted in feb? I don’t know its my first time also.
@ Terry/ Matthew
I would not worry about height just quiet yet, especially if you had some troubles early on. Sometimes I have plants that are 6+ weeks old and only a few inches tall…heck, that describes about 1/2 my plants right now and I put seeds in the dirt in early Feb. Mine do start a little slower though since they are in my basement and the temp is always around 65 – 70.
Great resource thanks for posting! I am looking to trade advice and seeds from Phoenix area. I am growing Ghosts in light box, also in ground and hydroponically and am interested in getting seeds for Trinidad Scorpions and other hots. Look me up:) Tlk2you@yahoo.com or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/447505218665670/
I got great yield off my butch T plant in a 5Gal container. I brought it into the basement in September under lights. I had a mite infestation and the last leave fell of by mid February. Left it in the dark and put it out in the yard in May and surprisingly it spouted at all of the branch nodes and it had another great year. Took it in again and left it by a basement window. The leaves were off by December. I started watering last month and I’m getting new growth again. Any idea how many years a plant can go domint for before I have to try growing from seed again? Having a mature plant in may seems to be the best way of getting around the short wisconsin growing season.
@ RichD, what you’re doing is commonly referred to as over wintering. I’ve seen people get the 3 – 5 good seasons from pepper plants using this method. Pests to be the only hassle…if you have a solution for them (thanks Michele!) you should be set.
We grew Moruga Scorpions last year l in big pots and we had great sucess. We also have a sunroom where we move the plants into when the weather cools off in the fall. We live in the Pacific Northwest and we had fully ripe Morugas by the first of October. I also highly recommend Neem oil for the mite infestations but get the straight oil and mix your own spray. (t tells you on the bottle how to mix it). Most of the premixed Neem sprays are too diluted to do any good. Neem is organic and you can usually get it in any garden dept. or garden store. We also successfully grew Peanuts in our sunroom last year in 15 gallon pots with great success. The mites liked the peanut plants even more than the pepper plants and that Neem stopped them in their tracks.
My Bhut Jolokia has been thriving and is now starting to produce pepper pods. It’s currently inside but what should I do? It’s on a 18/6 light cycle. Should I keep that? Keep both 6500k and 2700k lights going or just the 2700k? Should I add any bloom booster fertilizer like 10-30-10? (I have never fertilized it and it’s 10 months old in a 5 gal pot) ANY advice would be terrific! Thank you!
Hi Drew, I don’t take my plants to the pod stage inside, everything always gets moved outside very early on. I guess I would say if the plants are thriving under the conditions you have been giving them keep giving them more of the same:-) Sorry I can’t be of much assistance. Good luck with your bhut!
Hi, thank you for the wonderful article,i get peppers fruit from market and use the seeds to grow pepper, it grow and became red color but the size of the fruit is about the size of an egg, if I use the seeds of these fruits and sow theme am I going to have a normal fruit size . Thank you
Hi Ola, are the peppers you grew from the seeds you saved bigger or smaller than the original pepper? Unless they crossed you should get the same kind of pepper. Lots of things can influence pepper size…temps, space, watering, nutrients, etc.