Propagating Peppers From Seed

Peppers are among the vegetables that gardeners find difficult to propagate from seeds. For this reason, many home gardeners select seedlings and transplant them to ensure success. You can achieve nearly 85 percent germination with reliable seeds, provided that you care for them properly. Pepper seeds can take up to eight weeks to germinate, so starting them indoors early is essential to a successful crop.

Styrofoam egg carton or sprouting tray
Peat soil
Perlite

Instructions

- 1
  Rinse your pepper seeds then soak them in a tray of water for two hours. Discard any seeds that float as they will not germinate. Drain the seeds before you plant them.
- 2
  Mix equal parts peat and perlite. Fill each of the seeding containers in the tray with soil. Add two to three seeds to each container and cover them with soil.
- 3
  Lightly dampen each container without saturating the soil. Cover the tray with plastic wrap or a dome. Lightly moisten the surface area daily.
- 4
  Set the tray in a warm area. Provide 16 hours of light from either direct sunlight or a lamp until you see the seedlings sprout. Cut the light back to 10 to 12 hours once they sprout. Water the soil until it is just moist once you see leaves show.
- 5
  Transplant your seedlings to the garden once they have sprouted two sets of leaves. Space the plants 12 inches apart for optimum growth.

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