Peppers 2025

[ducks4you]

They may be perennials in your zone but they are not perennials here.

Tomatoes in a warm enough zone can also be considered perennials.

My SIL, Jane, (1954-1999, RIP) lived in Niceville, FL. When we visited she didn't have any bathroom curtains bc their indeterminate tomato plant had leafed out on the outside of the window and became a curtain. Dunno how old it was, but it was still producing.

 

[flowerbug]

...
I was reading about another Solanaceae, the Tropical Soda Apple. Apparently, it is not all that tropical. Now classified as an invasive, it wasn't even in the US 40 years ago but now grows as far north as Pennsylvania! Unlike the capsicum species, it does this entirely on its own.

that one looks viscious! it isn't even edible for human consumption... oh yay, another pain in the a$$ invasive.

 

[Branching Out]

Peppers really need more heat to germinate reliably - especially with older seed, which is often what I am using. I've documented my germination results in past threads.

Tomatoes are more tolerant of cooler temperatures, and I see little variation in germination days or vigor, even between new & old seed. Tomato seed also has a much longer storage life than peppers.

Pepper seed is much more sensitive to soil temperature, and even the difference between 70F (20C) and 80F (26C) can make a big difference in germination. I used to start seeds under lights at room temperature; some peppers might take 3-4 weeks to germinate, and then poorly, often with weak seedlings. When I began using heat thermostatically regulated to 80F, germination was still variable, but less so; and I'd estimate the average was 5-7 days faster. More importantly for me, the germination rate was much better for older seed.

As @digitS' mentioned, the old-style refrigerators (those with coils on the back) were a good place to germinate seeds. They are warmer on top than the rest of the room, due to warm air rising from the coils. But my new(er) fridge has the cooling soils on the bottom, with a cooling fan - so the top is cooler than the room (I store my flour there for that reason).

You can also increase the germination rate of peppers (and almost any annual seed) by watering the first time with a light nitrogen-containing fertilizer solution. This is especially helpful with older seed.

All good points Zeedman-- I'm truly shocked by what a difference those few degrees can make with peppers. In the photo below there are 17/24 pepper seeds putting down a radicle after just 4 days on heat-- I could hardly believe it. And your suggestion to include a bit of nitrogen at the start is something I have long wondered about. Over the past 30 years I've installed several lawns, and lawn start fertilizer is always applied to give the seeds a shot of nitrogen right from the beginning. I figured that if it's good for grass seed it must have a positive effect on other seeds too. Presumably not all seeds would benefit from this, however it is very helpful to know that it can improve pepper germination.

My heat source is an inexpensive heat mat, so no bells and whistles. I put a cookie cooling rack on top of it, and then a domed tray on top of that. Inside the dome are a couple of 1" deep sealed Tupperware containers full of water; my thinking is that the water will heat up, and then hold a steady temperature even when the lid of the dome is removed briefly. There is no thermostat, so I put a small thermometer inside the dome instead. Typically it's about 24C in there. Sometimes I use a blanket on top to achieve this. For example in the morning after I check on my seeds I lay a thick fluffy blanket on top for an hour or two to help it warm up again, and then I remove the blanket once it gets to 24C so the seeds don't overheat. If I leave the blanket on it can reach 28C+ during the heat of the day, and I would prefer to stay in the 24C range for now. I may start putting a thin blanket over top at night time as well; we turn the heat down to 17.5C at night, and sometimes it's only 22C in the dome come morning.

Next to the heat mat is my table top LED grow light, and that is where the little cups of seeds go once most of them have germinated. Then after a few days there I move them to the downstairs light set-up, where they can continue to grow bright and cool at 18C in our basement.

 

[ducks4you]

@Branching Out, I see you have a tall dome. I asked for/received 4 of these from middle DD for Christmas. Especially for tomato seedlings, I found that the tiny 4 inch domes that come with seed starting trays get in the way and then you Really have to babysit seedlings.
I am hoping with my new stash, which will total 5 tall domes, will enable me to do a better job at seed starting...like you do!

 

[Branching Out]

@Branching Out, I see you have a tall dome. I asked for/received 4 of these from middle DD for Christmas. Especially for tomato seedlings, I found that the tiny 4 inch domes that come with seed starting trays get in the way and then you Really have to babysit seedlings.
I am hoping with my new stash, which will total 5 tall domes, will enable me to do a better job at seed starting...like you do!

What a thoughtful gift! I hope that gives your seeds a boost, to get them off to a good start. My dome is beginning to crack a bit, and the bottom tray is feeling a bit sketchy too. I think I will put a strong nursery tray under it; the folks at Bare Mountain Farm suggest doing that, to protect the corners of the bottom tray. By the way I do not keep seedlings in the dome though. Once the seed germinate they come out, and grow under lights without the dome.

 

[Branching Out]

Still working on developing a more uniform approach to starting pepper seeds, and one point in particular is confounding me. There seems to be consensus that the pepper seeds benefit from heat at the beginning, which makes sense. Pepper growers also say that the pepper seeds should come off the heat after they sprout. Suggestions are along the lines of this, from Pepper Geek: 'Once the seeds sprout, immediately move them under grow lights and remove the humidity dome'. The thing is I cannot find any articles that describe in detail what it looks like when the pepper seeds 'sprout.' Are they saying to remove the seeds from the heat when the radicle emerges, or perhaps when the little green 'hook' starts to push up from the seed starting medium? Or is it better to keep them on the heat until the cotyledons are ready to unfurl? This is a critical point in the life of the seed, and despite my best efforts I am not at all sure what I am looking for. And given that there can be many, many days between these different stages of growth identifying the appropriate timing seems rather important.

For now I am taking them off the heat and moving them under lights once some of the little green hooks appear, mostly because I am afraid of cooking the seedlings by keeping them warm for too long-- but I cannot say with confidence that this is the right thing to do. Maybe someone can assist with this, and offer tips on what to look for when pepper seeds 'sprout'.

 

[ducks4you]

I am not sure about taking them off of the heat, since all peppers are tropical and grow naturally in a warm environment.
All I know is that once they start, even if they grow slowly, they are really tough.
You can kill them with a frost, or stop watering them, but otherwise, they will stay alive for a LOOOONNNNGGG TIME.
I will start mine soon--I have 4 varieties for 2025--and I intend to Keep them on a heat mat.
I have used my heat mats for years now and no vegetable/flower has ever cooked on top of one.
They are YOUR peppers, do what you think is best.

 

[digitS']

Peppers are a problem for me and have required some compromises.

It probably all has to do with temperatures but there is a little complexity surrounding this and a part of that, of course, is taste. Fortunately, DW and I have similar tolerance/appreciation for heat. Jalapeño heat fits well for me although DW prefers her homemade salsa with similar heat but, because of the addition of tomato, cilantro, green onion, etc., the flavor of whatever pepper is used very much reduced. It is okay with me because I enjoy the other additions and wouldn't be eating a hot pepper by itself, anyway. Sweet peppers are a different story .

The temperature of the environment in which they grow has the complexity of daytime and nighttime conditions. Here, a 30⁰f drop (11⁰C) within 12 hours is not at all unusual. Afternoon temperatures are probably very appropriate but chilly overnights sets the chili back and growing slows. That's certainly what the experts say. I am no pepper expert but can recognize a great deal of difference between those plants grown in a greenhouse bed and those grown outdoors and fully exposed to nighttime temperatures.

Besides the sweet peppers, we usually have Thai Hot, Super Chili and Jalapeño, of 1 variety or another — all Capsicum annuum. Seeds for all are in the soil mix for 2025. I say seeds but all varieties are seedlings at the moment with 1 exception, the Thai Hot. Germination, if it has occurred, is below the soil surface. This difference in starting Thai Hot occurs every year, except in 2024. For the first time in probably 30 years, we didn't start seed for that variety. The reason, we simply had way to many dried Thai peppers in the kitchen from previous years. How was this possible?

I have never bothered to grow those little guys through the Summer in the greenhouse. They are outdoors all of those growing seasons and do pretty darn well . I imagine that the plants small size would make them early anywhere and their slow germination probably indicates their own need for warmer growing temperatures. What I think is that the small size and continued closeness to the garden soil, protects them just enough that they prove very productive individually and the plants can be grown closely together.


Steve, having just caught a glimpse of some sunshine thru the South Window

 

[Branching Out]

We have had a long warm dry summer and the pepper plants have done great. Thankfully they hold well in the garden because we have a bumper harvest this year, and we can't get to them all at once. Today I picked 15 Alpine Poblanos off of just one plant-- almost all red. I'll save the seeds and then roast them up. Yum. This rockstar specimen was especially important because I had a number of poblano plants this year, and all but this one were a bust. I am selecting for fruit that have smooth tops rather than the typical poblano 'trough', which holds water and tends to encourage rot when autumn rains arrive.

Just for fun I grew out a whole bunch of seeds from a bag of grocery store mini red, orange, and yellow sweet peppers too. There are quite a variety of different shapes that resulted, all on very short plants. I'm thinking these could be ideal for those growing in small spaces like condos or balconies. For now we're picking peppers from the most prolific and best tasting fruits for seed saving-- and a bunch of orange peppers made it into a Thai chicken curry the other night (we used the Red Thai Curry recipe from Chili Pepper Madness.)

Another favourite are these large heart-shaped red peppers that I'm quite certain are called 'Lesya'. So beautiful and so tasty too, growing on very short plants.