The season begins. 

Originally I was going to post at the end of each week but that would leave everyone a week behind. If you want to plant when I plant for our Zone 5 gardens then you need to know the plan ahead of time. Thank you to my sister for the great idea!

So I’m going to post the plan for the week at the beginning and then addendums as we go if anything pops up unexpectedly. That way there’s a guaranteed post every 1st, 8th, 15th and 22nd and then some bonuses in between as things get done. Are you ready to start your peppers?

Starting Hot Peppers Indoors 

An interesting piece of information that I came across when reading Northern gardener’s comments is: don’t be fooled by the planting instructions on the seed packet. They are written generally, and usually for a much more temperate zone than ours. I sowed my tomato and pepper plants “early” on April 1, 12ish weeks before our last frost date May 31st. My pepper plants that went out June 1 were maybe 3 or 4 inches tall. The picture I have of them July 13th interplanted with the strawberries shows that they are tiny. How did I expect them to grow, flower, and ripen fruit all before Oct 1 which is technically our first possible frost date? Insane!

That’s why this year I decided to start much, much earlier. Some gardeners start their peppers in November or December to plant out June 1. Maybe next year, we’ll see how these guys grow. 

General 

A suggestion I’ve come across many times for reusing your seed starting trays is make sure you sanitize them well! Many people use a 10 percent bleach solution (9 parts water to 1 part bleach) to kill any pathogens that may be present on the trays. Because of my multiple chemical sensitivities I can’t be around bleach so I’m going to soak them and then wash them really well. Cinnamon is a natural antifungal that can be sprinkled on the soil after you plant the seeds to prevent damping off and other common fungal issues that affect seedlings. 

Because many varieties originate in areas with sandy soil, hot pepper plants love sand. It also provides excellent drainage. Don’t let your seedlings or young plants stay wet for too long. It will rot the roots. 

Control/Prevention of common Pests/Disease see https://www.almanac.com/plant/bell-peppers

Germination

Everything I’ve read states that peppers can be very slow to break dormancy and germinate. Seeing as they are tropical in origin this makes sense, why put all that effort into growing if it will be too cold outside and you won't thrive?

Many sources say be patient. On average it can take 3-4 weeks, sometimes up to 6 weeks if they’re really persnickety. 

Best practices include providing as much heat as you can to help them germinate within a reasonable time. They like their growing medium to be between 70 and 80 degrees. Many find success with placing the germinating seeds on top of the fridge - this is often the warmest place in the home. They also like a greenhouse environment so if you don't have a dome place them in a clear plastic bag to provide the right conditions. 

Even with the domes last year we had slow germination rates. This year we purchased 2 seed heating mats and hopefully this will give us the correct amount of heat for them to be happy. 

Another good tip: Never plant your seeds in a dry growing medium. When you water the top the seeds may float to the surface and this can impact their germination. Always wet your growing medium completely before you plant the seeds into it. 

It’s best to water from the bottom if at all possible so as not to disrupt the seed while sprouting. If you can’t water from below, try to use a spray bottle and disturb the soil as little as possible. If the growing medium has the correct amount of moisture and you place the seed trays in a bag or dome you may not have water them again until after they sprout. 

Pepper seeds do not need light to germinate. 

Seedlings

Once they germinate your seedlings must have the proper amount of light to grow. 

Unfortunately, a south facing window in January, even in March, just won’t be the right quality of light for optimum growth. 

We chose to purchase grow lights this year after our leggy brassicas last spring. The tomatoes hogged all the best spots for sunlight and everyone else suffered because of it. We have a better set up this year and I think the grow lights will really make a difference. Having the light as close as possible, even within inches, can make the difference between a sturdy plant that can withstand the wind and weather or something tall and thin that will snap in a storm. 

AS the seedling grows they will put out their first true leaves after their cotyledons (their embryonic leaves). They are often a few inches tall at this point. Now would be a good time to pot them up to give them more room to grow good strong roots. 

To encourage this, hold off on watering if the soil is still moist. Always water from the bottom. When the soil dries out a bit between watering it will force the roots to grow down and out searching for more water. This will strengthen the entire plant and also help reduce the risk of the surface producing mold or other fungal problems. 

Another important tip for seedlings 

I learned this last year while researching best practises for growing our tomatoes from seed. 

In the home plants are in a very controlled environment. There are no gusts of wind, no heavy rainstorms, no attacking chickens. Because of this plants in the home can be unprepared for the outdoor world once hardened off. 

In order to strengthen their stems (and avoid fungal diseases) air circulation is essential. A fan set to run for a couple hours morning and evening is great. I didn’t have a fan last year but I made sure a couple times a day I would brush my hands along the tops of the seedlings to provide a bit of friction enabling them to strengthen their stems in response. That movement will give them a fighting chance when they are transplanted into the great big world. 

Fertilizing

Your plants will only require fertilizing once they have been potted up and have their true leaves. 

You have so many options when it comes to fertilizing. Understanding that a plant in a container is trapped and can’t go in search of vital nutrients for its growth and survival helps you to understand why you need to fertilize. 

Many chose to use a diluted liquid fertilizer, as per instructions, increasing as the plant grows. This is often used every other week when watering. 

Foliar feeding is also an option. After your pepper plants develop 3 or 4 sets of true leaves you can use epsom salt to keep the foliage strong. Mix 1 tsp epsom salt into 4 litres of water (use one of those distilled water jugs) and shake well until the salt is dissolved. Pour this solution into a spray bottle that has not had any chemicals in it (you don’t want to accidentally burn your precious seedlings with any leftover residue). Spritz the leaves and stems with the solution so they are thoroughly covered. Repeat every other week. 

Pruning

Pruning can seem terrifying when your plants are so tiny and you really want them to grow big and strong. 

I’ve read about a couple different options. As I haven't ever tried pruning seedlings,  I’m going to try a scientific approach and see which option works best. 

Option 1: 

When they develop their first set of true leaves snip off the weakest one. Then with the second set of leaves, snip off all leaves but the healthiest one. If they start to grow too fast and get leggy, open a window to allow some cool air into the room or take away the heating mat to shock the plant a little bit. This will slow down their growth and force them to make their stem thicker and stronger. 

Option 2:

When the main stem of your pepper plant is as thick as a pencil, and the plant is around 10 inches tall, snip off the growth tip. This is the point on the stem just above the third or fourth set of leaves. This will force the plant to send out side shoots making the plant stronger and bushier. You want your plant to be strong and wide, not weak and tall. Pruning will be required every other week or so until you transplant them out into the garden proper. 

Pro top: When you cut off the grow tip, place it in a cup of water and let it root. After a couple of weeks you can put it in a pot and you have another plant. This can also be done with tomatoes. 

Hardening off

Because your pepper plant has been living inside, behind a window, it is not prepared for full sun and wind, especially when you have a freak windstorm that blows all your melon seedlings away.

How exactly does one properly harden off a plant?

A good plan is 

• Day One: Place plants out in partial sunlight in a place that is protected from the wind. Give them half an hour and bring them back in. 

• Day Two: Put plants in the same place and leave them there for an hour.

• Day Three through Nine: Increase the time each day by an hour - 3, 4, 5 until the plant has been outside for 8 hours. 

• Day Ten: Leave the plants out all day and overnight (as long as there is no threat of frost). At this point they will be properly hardened off and ready to be planted in the garden. 

If you have a cool spring into June you can help the peppers along by covering them at night, or on cool days. Cloches can be made out of 2L pop bottles or those 4L water bottles by cutting the bottoms off. Unscrew the caps as well to allow moisture out or they might get too damp and suffer from fungal problems. 

Transplant

After you have properly hardened off your plants they will be ready to go into the garden. 

Depending on how early you start your peppers they may want to put effort into blooms while still in the house. This is generally frowned upon. 

Most people say do not allow your pepper or tomato plants to flower until they are outside. I did read about how one lady hand pollinates her plants while in the house and they go into the garden with fruit already on them. 

This sounds lovely, they're in fruit and ready to go. But they that know say that this actually produces problems for your plant. Apparently when the plant is allowed to bloom it's like a switch goes off changing from grow mode to produce mode. Instead of putting energy into sturdy root development in the garden it will focus on producing and in the end, so they say, this will result in smaller yields of smaller fruit. It may also leave the plant weakened and unable to fend off insect attack or disease because it couldn’t get properly established in the garden while in grow mode.

Now I want to know if this is true so I will allow some plants to do what they will and I’ll debloom the others. We shall see what they look like in the garden once the height of summer comes. 

Because peppers are warm season crops make sure your nights are at least 50 degrees before you plant them out. Their happy place is nights between 60 and 70 degrees and days between 70 and 80 degrees. And they really hate frost!

Do you want to try this with your peppers?

The Pepper Project:Pruning