How to Take Care of Tender Pepper Plants Indoors in February

Fill each section of your planting containers about three-quarters full with potting soil suitable for growing vegetables; the ideal pH range for peppers is 6.0 to 6.7. Place a few seeds in each compartment and cover with 1/8 inch of potting soil to about 1/4 inch below the top edge of the planting container. Label each container or pot section with the type of pepper using plastic plant identification tabs and a permanent marker. Place the planting containers in a sunny window with trays or saucers underneath each container for catching excess water.

Prepare a seed-starting solution using 1 tablespoon of fertilizer in 1 gallon of distilled water. Water the seeds gently using this solution while taking care not to dislodge the seeds from the soil. Water your pepper seeds with the seed-starting solution when the surface of the soil becomes dry. Observe how the pepper sprouts grow; rotate their containers when they begin leaning toward the light source. This keeps the plants growing upright and provides sufficient light to all of the plants.

Repot your pepper plants when they are 4 to 5 inches tall. Use one 3- or 4-inch-square plastic pot for each plant and potting soil appropriate for vegetables. Add a tablespoon of bone meal to each pot and mix well with the potting soil before transplanting. Transplant one pepper seedling into each pot and water thoroughly; repeat watering when surface soil becomes dry. Continue turning plants and stake them if necessary using straws or bamboo skewers. Wait until the nighttime temperatures consistently exceed 50 degrees F before transplanting young pepper plants outdoors.