How to Grow Peppers from Seed

Growing peppers from seed is one of the best ways to grow a wide variety of peppers from super spicy to sweet! 

One of the best reasons to grow peppers from seed is that you can pick the best peppers for your garden and taste. For example, if you live in a short season climate, you can grow the Fastest Growing Peppers for a more successful harvest. Or, if you love super hot peppers, you can grow a wide variety of hot peppers like Habaneros or the famous hottest pepper in the world, the Carolina Reaper.  Or, if you are not a spice-lover, you can grow any of our delicious Sweet Pepper seeds so that you can fill your salads and recipes with color and flavor. 




START PEPPER SEEDS INDOORS:

The best way to grow peppers from seed is to start your pepper seeds indoors. This will help your plants get a head start on the pepper growing season and get healthy seedlings to transplant into your garden.

KEEP THEM WARM:

One of our biggest tips for growing peppers from seed is to keep the seeds nice and warm when germinating. Pepper seeds, unlike most other vegetable seeds, are a bit slower to sprout, taking anywhere from 7-21+ days to germinate. When you keep them warm (80-90˚ F) they will sprout much faster! 

DON'T OVERWATER:
Another big tip for growing peppers from seed is NOT to overwater seedlings once sprouted. Peppers dislike soggy feet, so make sure to let your growing medium dry out slightly between watering so you don't drown the pepper plant roots. Also, be sure to use well-draining seedling mix or potting mix for your peppers, you want soil that drains quickly. Don't use top soil or garden soil in pots, which will not drain properly. 


AIR CIRCULATION & MOVEMENT:

Another tip for growing peppers from seed is to make sure the seedlings get stimulation and circulation! You can "pet" them daily with your hands, or run a small fan on them to get the air circulating and increase movement of the seedlings. Weak seedlings are not always caused by lack of light, but often are caused by lack of air circulation and movement. By "petting" your pepper seedlings daily or keeping a fan on them, this will stimulate the seedlings to grow thicker stems and not be as leggy. Movement and air circulation also helps prevent damping off, a common seedling ailment that causes seedlings to wither and die.


GOOD LIGHT:

Of course, having good light on your pepper seedlings is also important. Florescent lights and LEDs will work wonders to help them grow strong indoors before transplanting outdoors. Just putting them in a sunny windowsill will not likely be enough so make sure to supplement the light. You don't need fancy grow lights, an old florescent shop light will do the trick. Make sure to keep the light relatively close to the seedlings for best results (6"-12" above the plants.) One thing to note, though, is that pepper seedlings can also get too much light, so don't zap them with super bright lights like we did with this wicked bright LED light.


HARDEN OFF YOUR SEEDLINGS:

Make sure to harden off your pepper plants that you start from seed indoors! Hardening off seedlings is important for seedlings to get used to the sun and breezes of the outdoors, so don't skip this crucial step. It's easy to do, by just exposing your pepper seedlings to the sun a little at a time until you work up to  full days of sun. 

MORE PEPPER GROWING TIPS:

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