Could you make an episode on red and green chilies from Santa Fe and the difference, I live in Santa Fe and the entire state of New Mexico eat these two kinds of chillies on every single thing they eat and it is expected of every single restaurant to serve these, you even get them on your McDonald's burger. This would probably make a great on-location video, because it's tied into every aspect of life there.
Are you sure I grow green chiles and I've waited and wanted them to turn into red chilies because I love red chillies, so I was thinking they had to be a different plant altogether.?.?
Zone 5b here (Michigan.) I will be planting mid-March to allow them two months to be ready. My peppers usually do well enough but I have noticed that I should probably be giving them the extra couple weeks because I haven't seen as much growth as I want.
There are so many factors at play aside from the outdoor climate, such as indoor lighting set ups and temperature that all dictate how quickly the young plants grow. Glad to hear you’ll be experimenting and figuring out what works best for you.
Great video thank you! Here in Co. Wicklow, Ireland - I Just sowed some basket of fire and Cayenne seeds as an experiment this evening! I soaked them for 10 hours in tepid water, and I have them sitting in a shallow tray on top of a hot water bottle in the windowsill😅 my house is about 18C during the day and 15C at night so I will need some luck.. Only looking for colourful window plants and a small harvest, let's see!
Zone 3a in Minnesota is always a gamble, some years spring comes in March, other years winter lasts until June. I started a bunch of different peppers in the past few days. If winter runs long, I have room in my basement where they can keep growing
3A just above you in Canada. Started mine early January, but Farmer’s Almanac is calling for an early spring. Been getting milder, so fingers crossed I can move them outside early May at the latest, and hopefully April at best!
Having more plants in pots (potentially large ones mostly kept outdoors) give you flexibility in extreme weather. My strategy during the time when there is good warmth outside but a hard frost still could come, is to keep my plants in pots until I'm confident that it's 90% safe to plant out. And I don't do that all at once either. If there is a late small frost (25F/-4C) or less, I want to be able to cover the in-ground plants with at least thin plastic and move the ones still in pots into my garage or basement or greenhouse. Having no good backup plans for exceptionally late frosts prevents you from having a good option for more favorable years. And "worst case", like 1709 or 1816, is so dire that it's not useful for your normal annual planning process.
Currently have bell peppers, nadapenos, sweet mini peppers, and pablanos (zone 6a) growing indoors in my furnace room. Started last November, all going strong!
You can grow peppers year round. I intentionally start mine around November & the size isn’t a problem since I normally cut the plants in half anyway over winter to strengthen the stem & encourage a strong Y shape. This gives the plant a low center of gravity to better hold the weight of large fruits. You can also trim the flowers off if you don’t want early peppers indoors, but if timed correctly you can get a decent harvest in spring & maybe 1-2 more throughout the year by starting peppers early. I’m in Zone 6a. Happy growing everyone 😃
I'm in Zone 7b Virginia, and I just started some pepper seeds yesterday in a seedling tray on a heat mat under grow lights. I have the same Pepper from three different suppliers, as I want to see which grows best for me.
"We've started peppers as early as February..." I had to chuckle, as I start my peppers and tomatoes the week between Christmas and New Years. I've honestly forgotten how nasty the weather is in CT. In Charlotte; Zone 8A pushing a 9A microclimate. Potatoes are usually in by 2/01. PS- I love your cat! She's a doll.
Oops I've planted my seeds today. First timer mistake, not a big deal 😄 Last year I bought small pepper plants but all of them were mislabeled so I wanted to be sure. Here's what I'll be growing this year: - Craigs Grande Jalapeno - Carolina Reaper - Buena Mulata - Aji Charapita Have a great day, thank you for your videos!
Why does nobody talk about fabric pots for chilis? I noticed a huge improvement in the speed and quality of plant growth when I switched to fabric pots. Plants never get root bound.
I have a mix of fabric and plastic pots. The fabric pots definitely did better last year, even when they were a little overcrowded. They still outproduced the plastic ones.
Zone 9a Florida and I still started too soon ... last of January ! (Bell Peppers) ... so it's going to be a battle ... won't be able to plant until early March 😪
I'm in zone 10a in south FL so I can pretty much start whenever I want, but sometimes it seems to get too hot for my peppers and causes the flowers to fall off. Shade and putting them by a non-south facing side of my house seem to help. My palms sure love all the sun and heat though!
Night temps have a strong effect on flowers, even more than day temps. Both too hot or too cool. The flowers drop on the hot end, and on the cool end the pollen cannot do its thing if night temps are much below about 60f(also for tomatoes) even if you hand transfer pollen with a brush it just won't take.
Started early in january, our last frost is usually early June so that would put us planting seeds in April (8 weeks) and then our fall frosts start happening in September so our superhots would get frost before pods are even ripe.
@@kyleblandon2250 that it does, I planted at the end of February last season, got HUGE plants but none of them fruited because of the early frost we got
another reason for starting peppers earlier you didn't mention is so that you can prune out the tops early to promote more branching so that you have a bushier plant at planting time.
I live in northern Quebec (zone 2) and the season is really short. So I start my seeds every year on December 25th. This year I have 32 different varieties in my basement. I hope to put them outside at the end of June
Cool! Not sure how late your last frost is, but if it is very late, you may still want to start in March/early April to give the plants long enough to ripen fruits. Good luck!
Near Phoenix Arizona. I started in October and have been planting more seeds as I transition plants outdoors and make room in my grow tent. Lowest temperature we have had is 37 degrees. A lot of the plants outdoors have slowed way down on growth, but they are alive! This is my first year really getting into peppers so we’ll see what I end up doing next year from what I learn this year.
Is it normal that my ~9cm high pepper plants (sweet pepper) already start to produce flowers? They are very small. I will definetly remove them but i found it kinda strange.
Southern Canada here, gonna start bell peppers so I can pinch and get them branchy and heavy with fruit by planting under a garden cloche in may! Does that sound logical? Soil might be a bit cooler when transplanted but most are going into grow bags or raised beds
9B California Central Coast - I started 32 seeds, 4 varieties, earlier tonight. Also transplanted a chocolate bell I'm trying to overwinter into a 15 gallon nursery tub.
I have a question about germinating seeds from frozen peppers after peppers have been in freezer storage. Will the seeds still be viable. Also can the seeds be germinated after peppers have been dehydrated ? Kind regards Stretton
For frozen peppers, if the seeds were not dried first, they will not be viable after freezing. For dehydrated seeds, if the dehydrator temp was not above ~120°F then the seeds may germinate. I’d recommend testing for seed viability by just planting a few and seeing what sprouts
*Living in South Dakota it’s a toss up. Last year I grew a Ghost and a Scorpion plant and they grew more than I would’ve thought, but every summer is so different here, we will see how this year shakes out!*
80 to 90 degrees on a heat matt WITH 15 hours of supplemental light is the first two things that are absolutely necessary. Spraying them in a humidity dome is the next thing. Any deviation from the above will take longer for your seeds to sprout.
Im in Middle Georgia zone 8b I made the mistake of putting my peppers and tomatoes out with the spinach, kale and radishes. Im now afraid that they might not grow...we have has some unusual cold nights here, (usually we are headed into the 60's at night, not this year!) the climate change here is making growing a bit confusing. We usually NEVER have this cold of nights (into the 30's) this late in the year. How do you compensate for this? I cover my plants religiously when the temps drop below 50. They look healthy and fine...
Zone 5a here, I planted last week indoors and will plant a second batch later in March to compare results this year, almost 20 strains in 2 different locations it's gonna be wild :D
That sounds like a great test. Ultimately I think everyone should play around with when to plant their own seeds to figure out what works best in their specific climate. Good luck, sounds like you have a fun season ahead!
I planted (January 1st 2024) my Chocolate Primotalli (I think that one is #3) and some Dragon's Breath (#2 Hottest Peppers in the World) today in my upstairs green room!!! Im super excited about the yeild i will get!😁 I've got these germinating on my Vivosun Thermostat and Heat Pad with the soil at 85°F!
My Carolina reaper and ghost pepper plants took forever for the fruits to ripen last year, so I plan on starting some in the next week or 2. The rest (habanero, mad hatter, jalapeño, Fresno, Hungarian wax, and red bell) are waiting until next month. Zone 5b.
This was a great information! I live on Long Island and as a ritual, started my seeds the day before Super Bowl (hope I don't get sued). Can't hurt to push back two weeks.
Zone 5 in Upstate NY, planted 2 pots of Pasilla Baijo. Just for fun, know it’s too early but my green thumb is twitching lol. Excited to plant some seeds from bell peppers I grew last year this season.
What part of New England? I am in 7a, not far from Boston, and end up putting my plant spout 1st of May (depending on that week of whether) I am usually hardening off everything, the last couple weeks of April. So, I tend to plant seeds Feb 15th for pepper and onion.
I found success last year starting in Feb. I live in a 3b/4a area, the growing season is short and the nights cool. I planted them in 10 gallon cloth bags that way if there was a danger of hail I could quickly move them into the garage.
I am so glad I found you and your wife's videos! I am in south Louisiana, im starting my seed this weekend. Y'alls videos are very good and very informative!! Thanks Joe
Hello, I live in North Carolina, when can I start pot planting my garden, tomatoes, hot peppers, and okra. What kind of soil should I use ? Last year my plants didn't success 😕 the soil I used is Miracle gro , all purposes for in ground soil, I think that's the wrong soil, for the fertilizer I used dr Earth 4-6- 3 . Please please correct me I'm not giving up. Thank you for replying!!
I like to get a jump on pepper seed production here in 9b Sacramento. I start from seeds in Jan and have nice stable plants to put outside when the lows dont go below 60F in my above ground beds. that is usually Mid March, so I am only 4 weeks away from outdoor planting my seedlings which have been up-potted one time already. My hottest peppers dont produce until September, my sweet red, orange and green bells start producing in June/July. Thx Pepper Geek. love your vids.
I'm afraid to use soil in my home as it seems even the unopened store bought bags has fungus gnats. What should I do to avoid the bugs?. I tried sterilization by using boiling water, did not work
hey @Peppergeek, i started growing my habaneros indoor to make sure when they go outside they are already a strong plant. They seem to have stopped growing more then 2 inch ever since, i checked the roots when planting in the larger container outside but that looked fine. Am i just panicing to early? summer has yet to start here. love your videos, keep them comming :)
I'm in zone 8, but I also grow indoors a lot...for 100% indoor grows, you can start whenever you want...I started some new ones on the 13th...some will move outside, some will stay inside...
For a lot of gardeners they rely on transplanting based on the last frost date. But for many...myself included...that is a disaster. My last frost date is April 5th but at that time nighttime temps are 4 or 5 Celsius...way to cold for peppers. Best to look at your nighttime historical average for nighttime temps and plan based on that.
I live in Ohio and I started my " HOT " peppers in January. My goal is to have mature plants by May. Currently I have over 100 plants. I have plenty of indoor space and thought doing this would be a good plan to set my plants outside fully mature. I have over 60 4' Led lights and so far everything is looking. As they grow I pot them into larger container prior to being root bound. I like you r opinion on this, thanks.
I have nowhere to put the plants (if they grow...) so can they stay indoors in a big pot? Also I have a current chilli growing and it has one fruit on it but it's in a smallish pot, should I re pot it into a bigger container?
Thank you so much for this video. I started early as a test to make sure that I can successfully grow indoors before March. I now have huge plants that I had to transplant to 4-in pots. Tomatoes, eggplants, pepper plants & my bush beans are flowering in a 4-in pot. I passed the test, I can grow indoors but now I'm running out of space. I had to buy two more 4-ft shop lights.
I will be starting my SEEDS this month, I am in zone 7ish south central Missouri about 6 miles from AR, it is ALL ways windy here. Last frost date around April 15th. I started my seeds last yr in January and well my PLANTS was not pleased about the lack of lighting or the wind, I am also going to direct sow some SEEDS as well to see if that will help them love the wind here.
I still have my Trinidad scorpions and Carolina reapers going from last year, kept them over winter indoors just been trimming them back to keep to size then il let them go nuts when its time to go outside.
Wow! Some excellent points and ideas. I have 3 questions: 1) it seems to me that the limiting factor in early growth is the amount of indoor well-lit space (grow lights + big south-facing windows if you're in the Northern hemisphere) , and the largest square pots that can be bottom-watered, which for me is 5.5" square x 8" deep. Does anyone have a good source for square pots bigger than that? (There are round pots of any size you might like, but they take up more space, so I find only 8"(20 cm) or larger to be worthwhile indoors). 2) This is a corner case, but I'm trying to get two seasons of growth in for hybrids (given they need about 8 generations to stabilize) -- here, I'm looking for fast production of a few ripe pods, not mass productivity. Does it make sense to try for smaller containers that can produce a few mature pods for seed saving the next generation, while finding out which pod type this plant produces? 3) I'm not seeing anything special about specific temperature for established young pepper plants, as long as they don't freeze, and you don't expect much ripening while temperatures are cool. I've found peppers to be much more forgiving about temperatures below 55F than tomatoes for example. And here in my zone 7a forested microclimate, I typically plant out in late April and start seeds of C. Baccatum and C. Chinense in mid-January with pretty good results. Can you provide more details about the 55F guideline? Is it peak, minumum, average, or something else? People from hot climates say don't plant peppers out until minimum temps are in the 60s, which would cost me several weeks of useful growing time.
Planning to start my seeds tonight. Superhot Capsicum Chinense varieties, so zone 6, 8-10 weeks away from last frost. Hope to have a bountiful harvest. Happy planting!
i'm in north east pennsylvania, what about superhot peppers like carolina reapers, lemon yellow brain strain since they take longer to ripen should i start these earlier then say a jalapeno pepper. i'm zone 6A also.
Hi, Calvin. I live in central France where one can only purchase bell peppers and occasionally "point peppers" and, suprisingly once or twice, a Scotch bonnet. I grew up with and love Tex-Mex food, and I've expanded over the years to appreciate the flavors of New Mexican food. I also love cherry peppers filled with cream cheese and preserved in vinegar. Thus, given the unavailability of many types of peppers and my need for numerous varieties, I must grow them myself. Having several acres of land, I, happily, have the room to grow as many plants as I have time to tend (we run a Bed and Breakfast which takes a lot of time in the prime pepper growing season). Last year, we had a frost which cost us almost all our plants. I was reluctant to start my seeds until late April. I've, thus, lost about ten weeks of growing time, as this year our weather held to the norms for our region. Nevertheless, I now have some sixty pepper plants in the ground. Thanks to your advice, using my electric propagator and the lighting you suggested, most of my seeds germinated and developed quickly into plants I could move into the open garden. With the halogen lamps and a small fan, my transplants required just a day or two of hardening off before I could set them out into the natural world. Since our climate in the Livradois-Forez encompasses warm days and cooler nights, I hope we can produce many quality peppers. I look forward to using your other videos to preserve this bounty. I will keep you posted as our growing season approaches harvest. Best regards, D.
Thanks for sharing! Glad to see our videos are helping, and all the way over in France. If we visit, maybe we’ll come stay at the B&B and sample your harvests :). Best of luck and definitely do keep us up to date!
I have started my seeds since october 2021 til now. I always sow with couple of weeks between and i do this all year long. Just because so i have plants if something happens. And i only grow indoors in my growtents. Great episode 😊👍🏼
I start a fifty cell tray of peppers every month, year round. Different varieties, different colour variants. I get a lot of pest pressure throughout the year so I can always cull a few crappy plants and replace them with new ones or just add more pots.
I'm in 4A and planned to start my peppers last week due to the fact I always seem to be hauling plants into and out of the garage in the fall when it might freeze. I remembered I used up all my Gurney's seed starter refill plugs last year so now I'm stuck waiting for replacements. Last year I planted my pepper seeds the first weekend in March so hopefully I'll get a head start of some sort.
I started already but I also had an entire room with nothing in it. Got a new grow tent but it is my 1st time and think I planted tomany lol will be giving some away for sure.
I’m in 4b and sowed my super hots on January 1st. They are looking very good in their 2x4 grow tent. More importantly these seedling calms my busy mind.
@@PepperGeek ok thank u i planted jalapeno, cayenne, bell,naga,birds eye, habanero, chocolate bell, orange pepperoncini and scoth bonnet. i hope ill still get a few chillies. right now the uk is very warm so im feeling good because it might still be warm when the chillies will ripen like late september or october
Another great video Calvin. Thanks to your wonderful vids and information I have a magnificent crop of super hots, Reaper, Ghost and Scorpion. I planted the seeds in October last year, hardened off late November and planted outside into the ground in mid December. It was a horrible November in Melbourne (Australia) for any gardening, storms, wind and other crazy weather. The plants are over a metre tall and are loaded with flowers and early fruit. This would not have been possible without Pepper Geek knowledge. Thank you. I'm look forward already to my second crop.
Hey! That is amazing! Thanks for sharing, and I'm so happy we've been helpful. If you get the chance, share a picture or 2 of your plants on our new subreddit: reddit.com/r/peppergeek
If you live in the right place you can, but they are so slow to grow that it is almost always best to sow indoors. A mouse could come along and ruin your 3 week old plants in 2 bites!
Could you make an episode on red and green chilies from Santa Fe and the difference, I live in Santa Fe and the entire state of New Mexico eat these two kinds of chillies on every single thing they eat and it is expected of every single restaurant to serve these, you even get them on your McDonald's burger.
This would probably make a great on-location video, because it's tied into every aspect of life there.
I believe red are the mature green Anaheim. I used to live in Albuquerque. I grow them in CT now and it's my reason for gardening.
Are you sure I grow green chiles and I've waited and wanted them to turn into red chilies because I love red chillies, so I was thinking they had to be a different plant altogether.?.?
@@Twin-jl1bi yes They turn slightly orange and then deepen into red in fall.
I will start mid April for South Eastern PA. They will be ready to go by end to mid to late May.
Zone 5b here (Michigan.) I will be planting mid-March to allow them two months to be ready. My peppers usually do well enough but I have noticed that I should probably be giving them the extra couple weeks because I haven't seen as much growth as I want.
There are so many factors at play aside from the outdoor climate, such as indoor lighting set ups and temperature that all dictate how quickly the young plants grow. Glad to hear you’ll be experimenting and figuring out what works best for you.
Great video thank you! Here in Co. Wicklow, Ireland - I Just sowed some basket of fire and Cayenne seeds as an experiment this evening!
I soaked them for 10 hours in tepid water, and I have them sitting in a shallow tray on top of a hot water bottle in the windowsill😅 my house is about 18C during the day and 15C at night so I will need some luck..
Only looking for colourful window plants and a small harvest, let's see!
Sounds like a fun indoor project. Good luck, I’m sure they will sprout eventually!
@@PepperGeek here is one of his comments
Zone 3a in Minnesota is always a gamble, some years spring comes in March, other years winter lasts until June. I started a bunch of different peppers in the past few days. If winter runs long, I have room in my basement where they can keep growing
I live in Manitoba and have planted a few varieties also
Same in Wisconsin I like to start mine in February, I had a few super hots last year that I started in April and got no fruit on a few
3A just above you in Canada. Started mine early January, but Farmer’s Almanac is calling for an early spring. Been getting milder, so fingers crossed I can move them outside early May at the latest, and hopefully April at best!
Having more plants in pots (potentially large ones mostly kept outdoors) give you flexibility in extreme weather. My strategy during the time when there is good warmth outside but a hard frost still could come, is to keep my plants in pots until I'm confident that it's 90% safe to plant out. And I don't do that all at once either. If there is a late small frost (25F/-4C) or less, I want to be able to cover the in-ground plants with at least thin plastic and move the ones still in pots into my garage or basement or greenhouse.
Having no good backup plans for exceptionally late frosts prevents you from having a good option for more favorable years. And "worst case", like 1709 or 1816, is so dire that it's not useful for your normal annual planning process.
Winter lasts forever here in Muskoka too 🥶
Can't wait to start stuff for 2022 🌱💕
I started way to early again yesterday. Later than last year though.
Currently have bell peppers, nadapenos, sweet mini peppers, and pablanos (zone 6a) growing indoors in my furnace room. Started last November, all going strong!
That's a great idea, make use of that excess heat!
You can grow peppers year round. I intentionally start mine around November & the size isn’t a problem since I normally cut the plants in half anyway over winter to strengthen the stem & encourage a strong Y shape. This gives the plant a low center of gravity to better hold the weight of large fruits. You can also trim the flowers off if you don’t want early peppers indoors, but if timed correctly you can get a decent harvest in spring & maybe 1-2 more throughout the year by starting peppers early. I’m in Zone 6a. Happy growing everyone 😃
Just top your plants once they have 4-6 true leaves. Gives you better control of the plants branching and you can prune and train them better
I'm in Zone 7b Virginia, and I just started some pepper seeds yesterday in a seedling tray on a heat mat under grow lights. I have the same Pepper from three different suppliers, as I want to see which grows best for me.
Same....zone 6b/7a Maryland
"We've started peppers as early as February..." I had to chuckle, as I start my peppers and tomatoes the week between Christmas and New Years. I've honestly forgotten how nasty the weather is in CT. In Charlotte; Zone 8A pushing a 9A microclimate. Potatoes are usually in by 2/01.
PS- I love your cat! She's a doll.
Oops I've planted my seeds today.
First timer mistake, not a big deal 😄
Last year I bought small pepper plants but all of them were mislabeled so I wanted to be sure.
Here's what I'll be growing this year:
- Craigs Grande Jalapeno
- Carolina Reaper
- Buena Mulata
- Aji Charapita
Have a great day, thank you for your videos!
Why does nobody talk about fabric pots for chilis? I noticed a huge improvement in the speed and quality of plant growth when I switched to fabric pots. Plants never get root bound.
I have a mix of fabric and plastic pots. The fabric pots definitely did better last year, even when they were a little overcrowded. They still outproduced the plastic ones.
Do you use small fabric pots for your young plants?
@@PepperGeek I started seed in plastic solo cups inside then moved to 3 gallon fabric pots outside. I grow on a small balcony.
Do you mean the fabric grow bags?
@@PepperGeek half gallon is the smallest fabric I use. I make soil blocks for my seed starts then transplant into half gallon fabric.
i planted Feb 14, worked out for Vancouver zone 7B, a few were early but all are out first week of May
Hello from Northern Canada, zone 3. Short grow season here unless under lights inside to start early. Thanks for the good information
Zone 5B Ontario, and I have older seed. Gonna start my jalapenos about the 10th of March and bells around the 21st of March. Thanks for the good info.
5B here in NW Pennsylvania.
I saw this video today, 2/4/2024, after I started my seeds in Chicago. I'm hoping I can avoid the challenges of starting too soon.
Zone 9a Florida and I still started too soon ... last of January ! (Bell Peppers) ... so it's going to be a battle ... won't be able to plant until early March 😪
The real question is why are people obsessed with peppers😄and starting them too early.Including me.
I'm in zone 10a in south FL so I can pretty much start whenever I want, but sometimes it seems to get too hot for my peppers and causes the flowers to fall off. Shade and putting them by a non-south facing side of my house seem to help. My palms sure love all the sun and heat though!
Night temps have a strong effect on flowers, even more than day temps. Both too hot or too cool.
The flowers drop on the hot end, and on the cool end the pollen cannot do its thing if night temps are much below about 60f(also for tomatoes) even if you hand transfer pollen with a brush it just won't take.
I may have started to early 😂. They are awesome little seedlings tho
Not a huge deal! It’s good to hone in on what truly works best for you
Like call the number?
@@kcmysticmountainmorphs5227 Sorry, this is spam and someone impersonating us. We have reported them to RUclips.
Darn I thought I won something 😂. Groovy I am glad you got them off here then. Hope y'all have a great day.
Mine are already a few weeks old already xD
Started early in january, our last frost is usually early June so that would put us planting seeds in April (8 weeks) and then our fall frosts start happening in September so our superhots would get frost before pods are even ripe.
That's why I start early here in Michigan, I'm 6 weeks deep into mine (only 6 plants total).
@@wesmcfadden9860 sucks having to worry about frost on both ends 😂
@@kyleblandon2250 that it does, I planted at the end of February last season, got HUGE plants but none of them fruited because of the early frost we got
This is an important point, thanks for bringing it up. Very cold climates have a little extra work to put in
Planted them weeks ago. In 1.25 Qt containers. Double-cup method. Inconsistent watering was my only mistake so far but otherwise they are doing great.
I live in noth germany, an started at end of December :D we have very short summers :D
another reason for starting peppers earlier you didn't mention is so that you can prune out the tops early to promote more branching so that you have a bushier plant at planting time.
I live in northern Quebec (zone 2) and the season is really short. So I start my seeds every year on December 25th. This year I have 32 different varieties in my basement. I hope to put them outside at the end of June
So lucky I live in a tropical country. I can start anytime.
Definitely! The peppers appreciate the nice weather :D
Good to know, I live in Nova Scotia. Real close to New England
Cool! Not sure how late your last frost is, but if it is very late, you may still want to start in March/early April to give the plants long enough to ripen fruits. Good luck!
WINsconsin zone five. I’m going to start mine seven. I have tons of room
Oh man, I think I started too many seeds too early. Zone 6a
Near Phoenix Arizona. I started in October and have been planting more seeds as I transition plants outdoors and make room in my grow tent. Lowest temperature we have had is 37 degrees. A lot of the plants outdoors have slowed way down on growth, but they are alive! This is my first year really getting into peppers so we’ll see what I end up doing next year from what I learn this year.
Is it normal that my ~9cm high pepper plants (sweet pepper) already start to produce flowers? They are very small. I will definetly remove them but i found it kinda strange.
Seems that they might be outgrowing their pots, or maybe they lack the necessary nutrients to keep growing
It’s always pepper season, here in Hawai’i.
Starting at the end of this month or beginning of March. I'm in zone 7a.
Since I watch and follow what you do....around that time. Thanks!
Southern Canada here, gonna start bell peppers so I can pinch and get them branchy and heavy with fruit by planting under a garden cloche in may! Does that sound logical? Soil might be a bit cooler when transplanted but most are going into grow bags or raised beds
That sounds like a good plan to me
9B California Central Coast - I started 32 seeds, 4 varieties, earlier tonight. Also transplanted a chocolate bell I'm trying to overwinter into a 15 gallon nursery tub.
I have a question about germinating seeds from frozen peppers after peppers have been in freezer storage.
Will the seeds still be viable.
Also can the seeds be germinated after peppers have been dehydrated ?
Kind regards
Stretton
For frozen peppers, if the seeds were not dried first, they will not be viable after freezing. For dehydrated seeds, if the dehydrator temp was not above ~120°F then the seeds may germinate. I’d recommend testing for seed viability by just planting a few and seeing what sprouts
Thank you for all these awesome tips and tricks. I love your videos!!!
*Living in South Dakota it’s a toss up. Last year I grew a Ghost and a Scorpion plant and they grew more than I would’ve thought, but every summer is so different here, we will see how this year shakes out!*
my peppers just sprouted
80 to 90 degrees on a heat matt WITH 15 hours of supplemental light is the first two things that are absolutely necessary.
Spraying them in a humidity dome is the next thing.
Any deviation from the above will take longer for your seeds to sprout.
just started my peppers plants lol zone 7b wish me luck
You should be good there, good luck!
Just a question; about how long did it take for you to receive seeds from Fatali?
I believe it was about 2 weeks after ordering
I started min today! Thanks
Im in Middle Georgia zone 8b I made the mistake of putting my peppers and tomatoes out with the spinach, kale and radishes. Im now afraid that they might not grow...we have has some unusual cold nights here, (usually we are headed into the 60's at night, not this year!) the climate change here is making growing a bit confusing. We usually NEVER have this cold of nights (into the 30's) this late in the year. How do you compensate for this? I cover my plants religiously when the temps drop below 50.
They look healthy and fine...
Started now because last frost date is Mar 26. Local ag extension shows I can start now.
Definitely!
Zone 5a here, I planted last week indoors and will plant a second batch later in March to compare results this year, almost 20 strains in 2 different locations it's gonna be wild :D
That sounds like a great test. Ultimately I think everyone should play around with when to plant their own seeds to figure out what works best in their specific climate. Good luck, sounds like you have a fun season ahead!
I planted (January 1st 2024) my Chocolate Primotalli (I think that one is #3) and some Dragon's Breath (#2 Hottest Peppers in the World) today in my upstairs green room!!! Im super excited about the yeild i will get!😁 I've got these germinating on my Vivosun Thermostat and Heat Pad with the soil at 85°F!
I was just thinking about this
My Carolina reaper and ghost pepper plants took forever for the fruits to ripen last year, so I plan on starting some in the next week or 2. The rest (habanero, mad hatter, jalapeño, Fresno, Hungarian wax, and red bell) are waiting until next month. Zone 5b.
Sounds like a great plan. Good luck, sounds like a nice spread of varieties
This was a great information! I live on Long Island and as a ritual, started my seeds the day before Super Bowl (hope I don't get sued). Can't hurt to push back two weeks.
just planted chilli peppers,zone 7 EU...first time doing this,wish me luck lol! Hoping they germinate...
February in New Hampshire and I'm dyin' here so planted some Jimmy Nardellos. By the time (if ever) they sprout it should be mid summer, lol.
Zone 5 in Upstate NY, planted 2 pots of Pasilla Baijo. Just for fun, know it’s too early but my green thumb is twitching lol. Excited to plant some seeds from bell peppers I grew last year this season.
What part of New England? I am in 7a, not far from Boston, and end up putting my plant spout 1st of May (depending on that week of whether) I am usually hardening off everything, the last couple weeks of April.
So, I tend to plant seeds Feb 15th for pepper and onion.
I found success last year starting in Feb. I live in a 3b/4a area, the growing season is short and the nights cool. I planted them in 10 gallon cloth bags that way if there was a danger of hail I could quickly move them into the garage.
I am so glad I found you and your wife's videos! I am in south Louisiana, im starting my seed this weekend. Y'alls videos are very good and very informative!! Thanks Joe
Awesome! Glad you found us too - I hope the seed starting went well.
Hello, I live in North Carolina, when can I start pot planting my garden, tomatoes, hot peppers, and okra. What kind of soil should I use ? Last year my plants didn't success 😕 the soil I used is Miracle gro , all purposes for in ground soil, I think that's the wrong soil, for the fertilizer I used dr Earth 4-6- 3 . Please please correct me I'm not giving up. Thank you for replying!!
Good evening,
I was wondering if you have a chili recipe with hot peppers and stuff?
Thank you
Great video - here in MA zone 6 b, I start my seeds towards the end of March - or in your opinion, should I consider more towards mid March? Ty
I like to get a jump on pepper seed production here in 9b Sacramento. I start from seeds in Jan and have nice stable plants to put outside when the lows dont go below 60F in my above ground beds. that is usually Mid March, so I am only 4 weeks away from outdoor planting my seedlings which have been up-potted one time already. My hottest peppers dont produce until September, my sweet red, orange and green bells start producing in June/July. Thx Pepper Geek. love your vids.
I always get impatient and start my seeds a little too early.
I'm afraid to use soil in my home as it seems even the unopened store bought bags has fungus gnats. What should I do to avoid the bugs?. I tried sterilization by using boiling water, did not work
hey @Peppergeek, i started growing my habaneros indoor to make sure when they go outside they are already a strong plant. They seem to have stopped growing more then 2 inch ever since, i checked the roots when planting in the larger container outside but that looked fine. Am i just panicing to early? summer has yet to start here. love your videos, keep them comming :)
Incredibly useful. So many videos don't get into the starter pot size.
I'm in zone 8, but I also grow indoors a lot...for 100% indoor grows, you can start whenever you want...I started some new ones on the 13th...some will move outside, some will stay inside...
For a lot of gardeners they rely on transplanting based on the last frost date. But for many...myself included...that is a disaster. My last frost date is April 5th but at that time nighttime temps are 4 or 5 Celsius...way to cold for peppers. Best to look at your nighttime historical average for nighttime temps and plan based on that.
the purple leaves at the beguinning, what is the cause?
That is a purple variety of pepper called the Purple UFO
I live in Ohio and I started my " HOT " peppers in January. My goal is to have mature plants by May. Currently I have over 100 plants. I have plenty of indoor space and thought doing this would be a good plan to set my plants outside fully mature. I have over 60 4' Led lights and so far everything is looking. As they grow I pot them into larger container prior to being root bound. I like you r opinion on this, thanks.
Keep us updated in comments of future videos
I have nowhere to put the plants (if they grow...) so can they stay indoors in a big pot? Also I have a current chilli growing and it has one fruit on it but it's in a smallish pot, should I re pot it into a bigger container?
Thank you so much for this video. I started early as a test to make sure that I can successfully grow indoors before March. I now have huge plants that I had to transplant to 4-in pots. Tomatoes, eggplants, pepper plants & my bush beans are flowering in a 4-in pot. I passed the test, I can grow indoors but now I'm running out of space. I had to buy two more 4-ft shop lights.
I will be starting my SEEDS this month, I am in zone 7ish south central Missouri about 6 miles from AR, it is ALL ways windy here. Last frost date around April 15th. I started my seeds last yr in January and well my PLANTS was not pleased about the lack of lighting or the wind, I am also going to direct sow some SEEDS as well to see if that will help them love the wind here.
I still have my Trinidad scorpions and Carolina reapers going from last year, kept them over winter indoors just been trimming them back to keep to size then il let them go nuts when its time to go outside.
Wow! Some excellent points and ideas. I have 3 questions:
1) it seems to me that the limiting factor in early growth is the amount of indoor well-lit space (grow lights + big south-facing windows if you're in the Northern hemisphere) , and the largest square pots that can be bottom-watered, which for me is 5.5" square x 8" deep. Does anyone have a good source for square pots bigger than that? (There are round pots of any size you might like, but they take up more space, so I find only 8"(20 cm) or larger to be worthwhile indoors).
2) This is a corner case, but I'm trying to get two seasons of growth in for hybrids (given they need about 8 generations to stabilize) -- here, I'm looking for fast production of a few ripe pods, not mass productivity. Does it make sense to try for smaller containers that can produce a few mature pods for seed saving the next generation, while finding out which pod type this plant produces?
3) I'm not seeing anything special about specific temperature for established young pepper plants, as long as they don't freeze, and you don't expect much ripening while temperatures are cool. I've found peppers to be much more forgiving about temperatures below 55F than tomatoes for example. And here in my zone 7a forested microclimate, I typically plant out in late April and start seeds of C. Baccatum and C. Chinense in mid-January with pretty good results. Can you provide more details about the 55F guideline? Is it peak, minumum, average, or something else? People from hot climates say don't plant peppers out until minimum temps are in the 60s, which would cost me several weeks of useful growing time.
Yikes, I planted mine two weeks ago...
Not the end of the world! You always have options :)
Started in December :)
Southern California
Soaking round 2 ATM
Planning to start my seeds tonight. Superhot Capsicum Chinense varieties, so zone 6, 8-10 weeks away from last frost. Hope to have a bountiful harvest. Happy planting!
Zone 9B/10A and I just started them last Friday…and they are starting to pop already!
i'm in north east pennsylvania, what about superhot peppers like carolina reapers, lemon yellow brain strain since they take longer to ripen should i start these earlier then say a jalapeno pepper. i'm zone 6A also.
Hi, Calvin. I live in central France where one can only purchase bell peppers and occasionally "point peppers" and, suprisingly once or twice, a Scotch bonnet. I grew up with and love Tex-Mex food, and I've expanded over the years to appreciate the flavors of New Mexican food. I also love cherry peppers filled with cream cheese and preserved in vinegar. Thus, given the unavailability of many types of peppers and my need for numerous varieties, I must grow them myself. Having several acres of land, I, happily, have the room to grow as many plants as I have time to tend (we run a Bed and Breakfast which takes a lot of time in the prime pepper growing season). Last year, we had a frost which cost us almost all our plants. I was reluctant to start my seeds until late April. I've, thus, lost about ten weeks of growing time, as this year our weather held to the norms for our region. Nevertheless, I now have some sixty pepper plants in the ground. Thanks to your advice, using my electric propagator and the lighting you suggested, most of my seeds germinated and developed quickly into plants I could move into the open garden. With the halogen lamps and a small fan, my transplants required just a day or two of hardening off before I could set them out into the natural world. Since our climate in the Livradois-Forez encompasses warm days and cooler nights, I hope we can produce many quality peppers. I look forward to using your other videos to preserve this bounty. I will keep you posted as our growing season approaches harvest. Best regards, D.
Thanks for sharing! Glad to see our videos are helping, and all the way over in France. If we visit, maybe we’ll come stay at the B&B and sample your harvests :). Best of luck and definitely do keep us up to date!
I have started my seeds since october 2021 til now. I always sow with couple of weeks between and i do this all year long. Just because so i have plants if something happens. And i only grow indoors in my growtents. Great episode 😊👍🏼
WHAT is too hot. I need 6-8 weeks before temperatures drop below .??
I always germinate 60-80 weeks before they go into the garden.
I got frozen habanero seed to germinate
Nice!
Saoking seeds is my go to for great germination rates. 48hrs and I usually don’t have many that don’t
I'm in the mountains an I love growing peppers during winter. Bug free.
I see fox farm nutes is that what you use??
We use a few different types of nutrients, Fox Farm is one
I start a fifty cell tray of peppers every month, year round. Different varieties, different colour variants. I get a lot of pest pressure throughout the year so I can always cull a few crappy plants and replace them with new ones or just add more pots.
I'm in 4A and planned to start my peppers last week due to the fact I always seem to be hauling plants into and out of the garage in the fall when it might freeze. I remembered I used up all my Gurney's seed starter refill plugs last year so now I'm stuck waiting for replacements. Last year I planted my pepper seeds the first weekend in March so hopefully I'll get a head start of some sort.
I started already but I also had an entire room with nothing in it. Got a new grow tent but it is my 1st time and think I planted tomany lol will be giving some away for sure.
Zone 7b Oklahoma starting them next weekend!
We had some unusually cold weather this year in Florida I’ve actually just started my seeds recently
Where do you keep all your plants?
We grow many in a garden plot in the ground, and then several at home in pots and in raised beds.
I’m in 4b and sowed my super hots on January 1st. They are looking very good in their 2x4 grow tent. More importantly these seedling calms my busy mind.
That's reason enough to have the plants started early :)
I planted pepper seeds and waiting for germination is killing me. 😂
Is it bad that in in England and planting my seeds beginning of may?
It is a bit late but some early ripening types can still give you a harvest
@@PepperGeek ok thank u i planted jalapeno, cayenne, bell,naga,birds eye, habanero, chocolate bell, orange pepperoncini and scoth bonnet. i hope ill still get a few chillies. right now the uk is very warm so im feeling good because it might still be warm when the chillies will ripen like late september or october
Another great video Calvin. Thanks to your wonderful vids and information I have a magnificent crop of super hots, Reaper, Ghost and Scorpion.
I planted the seeds in October last year, hardened off late November and planted outside into the ground in mid December. It was a horrible November in Melbourne (Australia) for any gardening, storms, wind and other crazy weather. The plants are over a metre tall and are loaded with flowers and early fruit. This would not have been possible without Pepper Geek knowledge. Thank you. I'm look forward already to my second crop.
Hey! That is amazing! Thanks for sharing, and I'm so happy we've been helpful. If you get the chance, share a picture or 2 of your plants on our new subreddit: reddit.com/r/peppergeek
You about a week late on this video. I’ve already started
Can you start peppers outdoors, or do they have to start indoors?
If you live in the right place you can, but they are so slow to grow that it is almost always best to sow indoors. A mouse could come along and ruin your 3 week old plants in 2 bites!
@@PepperGeek I live in Houston, so I dunno if that's the right place or not, but thank you for your quick response!
I'll be starting in March as well since I'm also in CT.