Peppers 2025

R2elk said:

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

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

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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.

digitS' said:

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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.

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

Zeedman said:

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.

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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.

@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!

ducks4you said:

@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!

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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.