How to Propagate Habanero Pepper Seed

Break up the soil to a depth of 6 inches and till 2 inches of compost into it. Rake the area to a smooth bed.

Make 1/4-inch-deep furrows for the habanero seeds.

Sow your seeds 1 inch apart in the furrows and cover them with topsoil.

Lay a soaker hose on the habanero bed so you can provide gentle irrigation that won't dislodge the seeds. Water the seeds thoroughly after you sow them. Continue to irrigate them lightly every day to keep them moist, a requirement for germination, which occurs within two weeks. Give the pepper seedlings 1 inch of water weekly, as a general rule. Make adjustments when it rains or if your region experiences extended dry or hot weather.

Broadcast nitrogen fertilizer 3 inches away from the habanero plants when they first flower. Apply it at the rate of 35 lb. per acre and irrigate the bed evenly. Feed the peppers again when they set fruit, giving the plants 15 lb. of nitrogen per acre. Repeat that four weeks later.

Harvest habanero peppers when the skin feels smooth and the fruit firm. Or pick them before they reach full maturity and maximum heat. Snap them at the stem or cut with garden scissors. Finish your harvest before the first frost.