I started a tray of peppers this spring from seed. The red heirloom peppers all came up ... ten for ten. The King of the North green peppers didn't sprout but about one in every four and they weren't all that healthy looking ... I planted 20 and I would say that maybe seven came up. I sprouted one yellow pepper from a Kroger Yellow Pepper that was delicious ... so I saved the seed. I planted 20 yellow seed, and only one came up, but he's looking really healthy. The red and green peppers were heirloom from 2008. The red variety was "Certified Organic Marconi Red Peppers", and it came from:I have been trying to grow peppers from seeds for two years now. I have planted seeds inside, outside, in early summer, winter, fall, in small planters, Pre-sprouted before planting.... Nothing has worked yet, so I just bought some plants. After 3 weeks the plants are still alive.
I would like to hear others with success with bell peppers.
www.heirloomseeds.com
I have noticed that it takes three or four weeks for the pepper seed to actually do anything, and the soil has to stay moist, but you have to be careful that it doesn't mold the soil. I put them in the sunshine and let them dry out and then soak them again. I have had a couple of seeds pop in the last week or so, and I planted them all around the beginning of April. Those don't look healthy at all. I keep my heirloom and the store bought seperated, so the seeds don't get contaminated. The heirlooms stay up at the house in containers while the store bought ones go in the garden.
For about eight years, I only grew the peppers in containers, and they worked really well. You want a container that is at least 18 inches tall, because they need room for their roots, and also, you need enough soil to be able to put a stake into the pot to support the weight of the plant, so that rain or wind doesn't break it or uproot it. Hope this helps.
