Customer Question:
When should I start my hatch chile seeds for summer if I live inland near San Diego?
Answer:
The San Diego Master Gardeners recommend to start peppers like Hatch chiles anytime between April-July, as peppers grow better in warm weather rather than during cool winters. But really, as long as the pepper plants are not out in a frost, you can start anytime – you can start them indoors too in the winter to get more robust plants to plant outside come warmer spring weather. As long as your weather is frost-free, you can plant peppers like Hatch chile outdoors anytime. If you get any kind of frost warnings, you'll need to bring them under shelter, as they die at frost.
