More Pepper Seed Germination Tips
Including one that this week made a dramatic difference!
Before we sow our seeds, in a manner of speaking, here’s what’s been happening on the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts, or at our home page, GardenBasics.net:
Episode 306: Q&A Mason Bee Basics
On the Tuesday Q&A episode of Feb. 6, Joshua of Southwest Missouri asks: “Do you have any episodes about native mason bees for pollination instead of honey bees? I'd like to learn more from a standpoint on how to take care of them, especially on taking care of the mason bee homes themselves. I'm having trouble drilling the holes in a straight line and don't know if I should be using a different tool.”
As you can see from the above picture, mason bee housing can be rather ornate, or as simple as a series of small tubes, plugged at one end. Mason bees are an interesting breed of solitary bee species, that is especially efficient at pollinating. We talk with Master Gardener and mason bee aficianado Quentyn Young about mason bee basics. Find out how you can attract this very beneficial insect to your garden in Episode 306, Mason Bee Basics.
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Episode 307: First Garden Tips
Do you want a successful garden? (As the picture might indicate, I’m fond of raised garden beds!) Before planting, you need to do some planning. And if it’s a first garden, you need to do a lot of planning. It’s not overwhelming, but it is necessary for a productive garden of food and flowers. America’s Favorite Retired College Horticulture Professor, Debbie Flower, and I offer tips for your first garden, tips that will save you a lot of time and money in your pursuit of getting your family the healthiest food possible, as well as the most colorful flowers to attract some garden help in your battle against the bad bugs. From Feb. 9. it’s Episode 307, The First Garden? We Have Tips.
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Episode 308: Q&A Improving Lawn Drainage; Perennial Pruning.
Evan writes, "I live in San Jose, CA and in my backyard, I have a very small patch of grass that is around 200 square feet. I want to keep this patch because my daughter practices her gymnastics on it. But in the rainy season, it becomes a swampy bog, so I have to fight the moisture for a few months. During that period, I tend to aerate it with my fork quite a bit. Usually I spend 15 minutes aerating it each week to help it dry out and de-compact it. I usually only disturb the top four to six inches of the soil. But I'm starting to worry that I'm doing too much. Is it possible to aerate the lawn too much? Can you recommend any non-destructive ways to fight moisture and compaction? On a small lawn?" My first comment to Evan is, if you're using a fork, you're not aerating the soil. You are compacting it. The picture above offers a couple of clues for improving lawn drainage, a power aerator (l) and a power dethatcher (r), also known as a vertical mower. Debbie Flower and I tackle how to cure a soggy lawn; and we get tips on getting the best advice for pruning and protecting frost sensitive perennials from Master Gardener Anita Clevenger on Episode 308, Q&A Improving Lawn Drainage; Perennial Pruning
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Episode 309: Pepper Seed Starting Tips. What is Coppicing?
We are at the time of the year to start pepper seeds indoors. Pepper seeds can be notoriously slow to germinate, sometimes taking up to three weeks. We have tips to speed up pepper seed germination, with a little help from America’s Favorite Retired College Horticulture Professor, Debbie Flower.
Have you heard of coppicing? It’s a drastic pruning technique where some woody plants are cut back, close to ground level to stimulate the growth of vigorous shoots. I happened upon a demonstration of coppicing in a perennial garden recently. What the heck is coppicing? We have the details.
It’s all in Episode 309 of Garden Basics - Pepper Seed Starting Tips. And Coppicing of woody ornamental plants.
However, since life is a constant learning experience, I have had a few more Aha! moments about pepper seed germination since that episode was recorded. Thus:
More Pepper Seed Germination Tips
Patience. That’s what it takes, waiting for sweet and hot pepper seeds to germinate in small containers in a warm(ish) environment. In our greenhouse, it took over two weeks before the first pepper sprouts appeared, and it took another adjustment to get the majority of the pepper seeds to germinate before week 3 elapsed (explained below). That’s not unusual, but it’s frustrating. Here, then, as more of a reminder to me, are the steps needed for successful (and quicker) pepper seed germination:
• Use fresh seed. Pepper seeds are usually viable for two to five years, according to the pepperheads at UC Davis. However, that’s only true if the seeds were stored properly: in their original packet, and stored in a cool, dry location such as a closet or under your bed. And it’s always a good idea to leave yourself notes around the house that there are seeds under the bed! Several of the seed varieties I tried were from three years ago, so I was playing “Pepper Seed Germination Roulette” with those questionable seeds.
• Pre-germinate the seeds to test viability. Not only will that let you know that the seeds are still good, but you can also then transplant (carefully) those seeds with the little roots into a container filled with a soilless seed starting mix. Germinate your pepper seeds in between two moist paper towels or coffee filters in a room that is between 70 and 80 degrees. For many, that room might be the kitchen or bathroom. When the "tails" appear after about 6 or 7 days (the tails are the emerging roots), gently transplant them into a moist, seed starting mix, preferably one that uses the more neutral coir instead of the lower pH peat moss. Peppers prefer a soil mix with a neutral pH, around 6.5. My home seed starting mix consists of equal parts coir, perlite, and finely screened compost.
• I prefer to use coffee filters instead of paper towels. That way, the emerging root doesn't get tangled, as happens when using fibrous paper towels. Pulling out germinated seeds from paper towels may be hazardous to their health. Also, to ensure a warm environment, here's something you could do in just about any indoor room: place the moist coffee filters, containing the pepper seeds, inside a glass baking pan. Place that on top of a heat-generating propagation mat. Cover the baking pan with plastic wrap to keep it warmer. I tried this at home a few years ago, and the pepper seeds germinated with six days. This pre-germination tip is the one I didn’t follow this year.
• Soak pepper seeds…or not. Retired college horticulture professor Debbie Flower is a proponent for presoaking the seeds: “We soaked our pepper seeds in hydrogen peroxide for 10 minutes," explains Flower. "That's not enough time to scarify (soften or break the seedcoat), or even get them soaked, but enough time to kill exterior diseases and allow water to penetrate the seed coat.” That would be an important step, especially for older seeds.
• Add heat until they start showing their first or second set of true leaves. "The important thing in getting your pepper seeds to germinate is to keep them warm. The soil temperature should be in the 80's", says Renee Shepherd of Renee's Garden, a popular seed catalog based in Felton, California. "Germination is very much related to even moisture and warm temperatures. You should see germination within 2 to 3 weeks if it's warm enough. I strongly suggest using bottom heat to achieve the warmth the seeds need. Most good nurseries carry good little electric seed starting mats which will keep your seeds at the right temperature to sprout.”
My Pepper Germination Aha! Moment of 2024
And that’s another lesson I learned the hard way about pepper germination. I was using inexpensive propagation mats, that did not have a thermostat attached to adjust to the desired temperature. This ambient propagation mat worked as advertised, raising the temperature of the soil by about 10 to 20 degrees above the existing room temperature. I started the seeds in the greenhouse that has a room heater with a greenhouse thermostat, which was set to keep the minimum temperature in the greenhouse at 50 degrees. But the ambient temperature that the propagation mat would provide was well below the optimum requirement for peppers, which as Renee Shepherd pointed out, should in the 80’s. No wonder it took over two weeks for those pepper seedlings to appear! After week two of no pepper seedlings, I raised the greenhouse heater temperature to 60, instead of 50. In two days, four of the five pepper varieties finally pushed up sprouts! In three days - a full three weeks since sowing - all the varieties are showing at least one sprout each.
Lesson learned, which was: if using ambient heat propagation mats (ones that have no built in thermostat), make sure the minimum room temperature is within 10 to 20 degrees of the desired soil temperature level. Or, better yet, get new propagation mats, with built in thermostats.
If starting several pepper seeds in a single pot, you’ll want to separate them out to their own pots once the true leaves appear. True leaves will appear after the initial leaves, which are referred to as the cotyledons.
• When the pepper seeds sprout, add light. Either use a lighting system intended for seed starting, available at local nurseries, or a sunny window. If placing them in a sunny window, be sure to rotate the containers a quarter-turn each day so the main stems won’t bend towards the light too much.
Thank you for also listening to the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast! It’s available wherever you get your podcasts. Please share it with your garden friends.
Fred Hoffman is also a University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardener in Sacramento County. And he likes to ride his bike(s).