Peppers provide four times more vitamin C than citrus fruits. Whether cooked or raw as a snack - they taste delicious. Is it any wonder that more and more hobby gardeners are growing these vitamin bombs themselves in order to taste completely new taste experiences from their own garden.
What materials and conditions do I need to grow peppers from seeds?
To grow peppers from seeds, you need seeds, chamomile tea for soaking, a mini greenhouse or foil, peat or yogurt cups, germination substrate or potting soil, sowing soil, a flower pot, plant sticks and long-term fertilizer sticks. Ideally, sowing takes place at the beginning of March at a constant 25° degrees.
From seeds to peppers – everything you need
The ideal location for sowing peppers is a windowsill on the south side or you can support the seeds with plant light during the germination period. Peppers develop more slowly compared to other plants. To grow peppers from your own seeds you need a lot of patience, warmth and light:
- Getting seeds from peppers
- or purchase from the garden center
- Chamomile tea for soaking
- Mini greenhouse or foil
- Peat or yogurt cups
- Germination substrate or growing soil
- Sowing soil
- Flower pot approx. 30 centimeters
- Bamboo or plant sticks as support
- Long-term fertilizer sticks
From seed to seedling
If you garden according to the moon, use the waxing moon phase until the full moon at the beginning of March. This activates the above-ground growth of fruit vegetables such as tomatoes or peppers. From seed to pepper in just a few steps:
- Soak seeds in lukewarm chamomile tea for about 2 days.
- Always only insert one seed into each peat or yogurt cup about 1 centimeter deep.
- Then cover the seed with a little soil and press down lightly.
- The soil should be moist but not wet and must crumble!
- Place the pots in the mini greenhouse or under foil on a bench.
- Important: Ventilate daily to prevent mold growth.
- At a constant, warm, humid 25° degrees, the first seedlings sprout after 1 to 3 weeks.
From seedling to flowering plant with a productive pepper harvest
From a height of 10 centimeters it is time to prick the peppers. To do this, carefully plant the peppers with the entire root ball in pots or in the bed without damaging the tender roots. In addition to warmth, it now requires a little more care, lukewarm watering and fertilizer.
Growing your own peppers in a greenhouse is quicker and more reliable than outdoors. The first fruits in the greenhouse are harvested from July. Outdoor peppers in the garden or on the balcony can be harvested from August to the end of October.
Tips & Tricks
Gardening professionals recommend removing the first flower to give the plant more energy for further flowering and fruit setting. Whether the recommendation delivers what it promises is controversial. Better to try than discuss.